"Do you see it anywhere?" Felix asked, as he scoured a table. He and Eri were back on the third floor of the manor, Fea's workshop. They were sifting through everything, looking for any notes or letters that might contain useful information on their respective armor.

The two of them had only arrived a few minutes ago, after coming back from the Sanctuary. And, after deciding on where to build the new 'town' everyone was set to task. Everyone but Felix and Eri…

They found themselves suddenly alone, almost forgotten, as the Chiefs ran off to start their preparations for their marriage and Eri's coronation. Even Oralyn vanished as she went off to direct…something.

It was strange, only Zira and Kyrith stuck around as they contemplated on what to do. With the sudden downtime, doing nothing felt wrong to them. They couldn't sit back, not when everyone else was busy.

But what to do? That was the question that hung in the air above them. Training was an obvious answer, but Eri worried that the Chiefs would eventually call on her. She would be needed after all.

And that's when the thought occurred, for both of them. They knew little about their new gear, only what Felix had tested. But after making a tree explode, just testing it was looking like a bad idea. There had to be notes on them.

And so, they set off for the manor…

"Nothing yet," Eri responded, looking over near the armor stands.

Meanwhile, Felix peered down at the mess of books and tomes. He picked one up, hoping that it might contain anything useful. However, his expression turned into a frown. The book in question was nothing more than one of Fea's prized 'romance' novels.

He set it down neatly, wanting to start a pile of everything he went through and picked up another. Again, though, another novel…

A few minutes of sifting through the tomes, and he was left with only two that had anything of interest. One was esoteric and most of the words meant very little to him. It was about enchanting, that much he was sure about. However, there didn't appear to be anything they could use to figure out what all enchantments were inscribed into their gear.

Disappointed, he set it aside and picked up the remaining book. This one immediately caught his eye as he flipped it open to a random page. He pulled out a chair from the table and plopped down onto it.

"Hey Eri… I think I might have found something," he called out as he went to the very first page.

"What is it?" she asked and stopped her own search before making her way to him.

Felix held it up. "Look."

Leaning over his shoulder, she squinted as she read the first page. Suddenly it dawned on her. "That's Fea's handwriting!"

He nodded. "Even better, it's her notes."

Eri took the book and quickly paged through it before coming to a stop. "There's so much here…"

Another nod. "Yeah. Only problem is, does it contain the notes we need? As far as I can tell, it contains enchantments she used for the manor and hatchery. Then again, I don't know much about enchanting but the diagrams of both make me believe it."

"Here, let me sit down and go through it. I'm not the most skilled at enchantments but I know enough. I might be able to find it, if it's here."

Felix got up from his seat. "It's all yours… And while you do that, I'll check around to see if there is anything else we missed. Who knows, there might be a secret weapon in here."

"Doubtful," she said with a smile. "But there are a few crates that are open over there."

He looked to where Eri pointed and made his way over towards the armor stands. As he did so, Eri sat down and began reading…

Nothing, he thought after finishing going through everything. The crates held supplies and tools, things that looked expensive but nothing that was useful in their current endeavor.

Disappointed once again, he scanned the room carefully and hoped something else would jump out at him. But, the only thing that did was the ritual drawn on the floor in the middle of the room.

Curiosity got the better of him and he slowly approached before kneeling down next to it. It still had that faint glow like it did the first time they were up here. However, with Eri still working on the book, Felix saw an opportunity to really study it.

And like last time, as he brought his hand close, he felt his mana respond to it instinctively. The two sources of mana mixed and mingled, so much so that he didn't need his mana sight to tell.

Whatever was happening, it was almost certainly tied to him.

But what is happening? Why is it still emanating mana like this? It was those questions that drove him onward and he decided to touch it.

Nothing happened. No flash, no explosion, nothing… Yet, as he left his hand there, something began to stir deep inside him. A dragon woke.

Knowledge flooded his mind, Fea's knowledge. It came quickly, making him dizzy as he took in everything she gave him. He fell backwards and landed on his butt. The dragon fell asleep.

"Felix! Are you okay?" Eri shouted as she began to rise from her seat.

Felix quickly waved her off. "I'm fine… Just had Fea dump a lot of knowledge on me."

She furrowed her brows and gave him a look of worry. "I felt that too– Are you sure you're okay?"

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"I am," he said, getting up. He quickly dusted and presented himself. "See?"

Her worry turned to annoyance. "Yeah, I do. But I thought I told you not to mess with the ritual?"

He froze. "Well… You see, I was just curious." He let out a nervous chuckle, even as she spied on him through their bond.

"Right… Anyway, what sort of information did Fea give you?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah," he did his best to recall everything Fea had shown him. Suddenly, though, his excitement turned dower. "It was what the ritual did. I was right about it being tied to me. This is how she brought me back to life."

The room fell silent and Eri's frustration with him evaporated. "Oh…"

But something else occurred to Felix, something very important. "Eri–" He swallowed. "Eri, I think this might have done something else too."

Feeling his apprehension, Eri finally stood up and approached. "What is it?" Her tone matched his emotions.

"This did more than bring me back to life." He peered into her eyes. "It modified–"

"The contract."

Both of them quickly turned their attention to the front of the room. There, standing in front of the door, was Mirezabeth.

Solanna centered herself as she stepped out of the hatchery. The morning had transitioned to afternoon and the meeting had finally ended. On top of that, Falzan was doing well. He, along with the other jewels, were fast asleep with Lorem and Noria now keeping an eye on them.

With her worry for her partner and anger at herself having mostly faded by now, she decided to take action on something else. Something that had been spurred on by her conversation with Chief Oslen.

But that would be a challenge…

Julous had gone out with the rest of the hunters to, well…hunt. But they had left long before the meeting even began. They should be back by now. The question is, where?

She had a few guesses, but the top one was of a new spot they started hanging out at. After the attack, the part of the forest that was scorched had made for a decent area for them to gather.

The irony wasn't lost on her, either. What happened there was meant to destroy them, to kill them. Now there was even talk of building something more permanent than a patchwork of tents.

Unfortunately, those plans would have to wait for now. There were far more important matters that needed attention first. So much so, she didn't bother with bringing up building something like a hunting lodge.

Besides, with the new plans for this…town, we might have to move our hunting grounds. That was a very real possibility and almost certain to happen. Still, having something for just the hunters sounded nice.

Shaking the thoughts away, Solanna focused on where she was going. She passed through the sea of newly set up tents, their owners either milling about or off being useful. But, as she made her way around them and towards the edge of the clearing, she felt many eyes watching her.

They knew who she was, news traveled fast after all. She was one of the elves Felix had selected, one of the elves that hatched a dragon egg. There was no mistaking it, some held jealousy while others held awe. Or perhaps she was imagining it?

Either way, she did her best to ignore the feeling until she made it to the edge of the clearing. Only then did she release a breath…

"Solanna!"

Hearing her name she peered over to who called it out. It was one of the hunters, and a group of them were gathered on a fallen log that had been dragged from somewhere deeper within the forest. A small campfire crackled as one of the hunters slowly turned a spit.

The smell of cooked meat reminded her she hadn't eaten and, judging by the shape, they were roasting rabbits. It made her stomach rumble–

Focus! "Hey," she called back, giving a wave as she came to a stop by them.

"Rabbits' almost ready, want some?"

"Thank you, but I think I will wait."

The one turning the spit raised an eyebrow. "You sure? That meeting dragged on for a while, you must be hungry."

"I'm fine… How did the hunt go?" she asked, hoping to change the topic.

"Eh, it wasn't bad but it could have been better–"

"Could have been better?! Don't listen to him," the other said. "He's mad we didn't stumble upon any more giant elk. But it's not like we returned empty-handed. We came across a herd of deer, managed to snag plenty of them."

That surprised her. "Really? How far out did you go?"

"Hah! It seems the prey are returning already. My guess is they realized the fire scared off all the predators– Well… Save for us, of course."

Interesting, but that doesn't sound right… She let the thought die, however. The man at the fire suddenly pulled the rabbits off and, of course, her stomach betrayed her.

"You sure you don't want any?" he asked, holding the spit towards her.

Damn it all… I don't have time for this! But she couldn't ignore her basic instincts. "Sure…" She gave a forced smile.

A few minutes later Solanna found herself enjoying her food. Conversation had died down as everyone ate. However, as people began to finish it soon picked back up and it was entirely directed towards her.

"So? What news do you bring us from the meeting?"

She considered the question, deciding how best to answer. I really don't have time for this, I need to find– An idea came to her. "None."

The other hunters all looked at each other, confused. "None?"

She nodded. "An official announcement will be made later today. Everything will be revealed then."

"But you know what was talked about, right? You were there, why can't you say?"

She gave them a shrug. "Because the Chiefs want to be careful to not spread rumors. They want to announce everything." Suddenly, she stood up. "Anyway, thank you for the meal. I'm glad you all were successful, despite not having me or Tracker…"

One of them scoffed. "You know we're all capable of hunting by ourselves, right?"

She gave him a wry smile. "Of course, and last I remember you nearly hunted Duram's ass! That arrow narrowly missed it, somehow!"

The entire group burst out into laughter, much to the man's chagrin. And, as they settled down, another piped up. "Where you heading off to anyway? Another meeting?"

"I'm actually looking for Julous. I have some things to discuss with him," she answered nonchalantly, careful to not reveal too much.

"Oh. If you are looking for him, I think he and Duram went to the tree." The man gestured back towards the clearing. "Though, they've been gone for a while…"

Why would he go– Ah, right… To pay respects to the fallen hunter. "I see, thank you."

With farewells made, Solanna turned back to the clearing and stared up at the Tree of Providence. A somber yet joyous feeling took hold of her. The name of the tree wasn't something she remembered hearing but it felt…right.

It was their hope, their dreams, their futures…

And it would hopefully be the place she expressed her feelings.

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