Jonah exited the opening in the Sentinel Tree and entered the land belonging to the elves. He began to feel dizzy. He was still weak from the long dragon ride back to the Sanctum, but his stubbornness would not let him rest and heal. The salve that Mrs. Clary had made for him, allowed his external wounds heal quickly, but he had still lost a lot of his blood. He saw Kara standing just outside of the tree with the light from the sun at her back.

  He reached a hand towards her to try and steady himself as he lost his balance from the dizziness inside his head. She pushed his arm away not realizing what was happening to him and he stumbled forward. He tried to grab a hold of her hand but missed and he fell to the ground and landed, hard, on his hands and knees. He cursed the dizziness and tried to regain his footing.

  After Kara understood what had happened, she gracefully helped him to his feet and asked him what was wrong. Jonah felt that he had grown close enough to Kara in their training lessons to confide in her, and though he was embarrassed by it, he told her about the past few days and how he came to the land of the elves to find her.

  She escorted him to her dwelling in the trees as she listened to what he had to say about what had transpired in his quest. The stairway that was woven into the trunk of her tree wasn't steep, but by the time they reached her home, his legs were barely strong enough to hold his weight. She led him to her table and helped him to sit.

  While he was finishing telling his story, she made him a tea that was very aromatic and tasted of honey. He drank it down quickly and thanked her afterwards. They sat in silence for a few moments and as they sat at the table, Jonah could begin to feel his strength returning to him slowly. She poured him some more tea and he drank it more slowly while he asked about his siblings.

  She told him all she knew and what she suspected about their journey, along with everything that her plans hoped to accomplish. Jonah was skeptical though. He knew the twins would not be easily be dissuaded from their goal. She also told him about the one that the twins referred to as Tor-kenna. She briefly explained the being’s past and Jonah became more concerned.

  It was still early in the day and Jonah had hoped that Kara would show him the way to Dragon's Point so that he could track down his brother and sister. She packed a traveling bag and since the effects of the tea began working, and Jonah was feeling rejuvenated, the two of them set off in search of Greygon and Pamela who should have returned.

  They located them a short while later. The two had arrived early that morning. It had only taken them half the time to return because they, being elves, did not need to stop and rest. She had the two of them tell Jonah everything about what had happened on their journey with the twins.

  Greygon explained Kara's plan to bribe the ship's captains and dock workers to not allow them passage and how he had personally taken them to see them all. He also explained that he had left them only enough coins to buy food and a place to sleep for a few days, hoping they would return when they ran out of money.

  Pamela kept interjecting random things that she and the twins talked about which irritated the older and more serious elf, Greygon. Pamela was a young elf. She had only seen twenty-three summers compared to Kara’s one-hundred and forty nine. She was always in high spirits and the more mundane the task at hand was, the more chipper that she became. She was always very optimistic. They had nearly wasted the entire afternoon in telling Jonah everything.

  After Greygon finished his explanations of the previous day's events, the four of them entered a common place shared by all the elves. It was a narrow dwelling set in between many trees that overlapped one another. Smaller trees inside had been magically shaped into benches and tables, in a way that allowed them to be unharmed. Jonah thought that it was a tavern of sorts, but there were no waitresses or bar keeps.

  The room was small and for the most part, empty. A lone elder elf sat in a corner seat, staring out a window. They sat down at a table that had four empty plates and a cup for each of them. Jonah slid the plate that was in front of him to the side as he sat down. They began making plans to return to Dragon’s Point. Jonah became surprised to see that the plate that had been in front of him, filled with food. He let out an audible gasp at his disbelief.

  “You must be hungry,” stated Kara. “A little,” said Jonah, “But I didn’t order anything.” Kara and Pamela giggled to themselves, before Kara said, “You humans know nothing.” Jonah was a little offended by her comment and began to argue with her until she stopped him by saying, “The plates, and the cups, are magical. They have been bewitched with powerful magic.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Jonah, who was starting to feel a little uneasy about what had happened. Kara could sense his uneasiness and said, “You needn’t worry. It will not kill you.” She then said, “I will not bore you with how the magic works, all I will say is that the magic senses your body’s needs. Anything that your body is in need of like protein, minerals, and other things. It then prepares a meal that will satisfy what you are needing.”

  “From what it has prepared for you, you must be lacking in many things.” Jonah looked down at his plate and saw that it was piled high and filled with all of his favorite foods like roasted duck and pork. Spinach mixed with greens and onions. There were potatoes that were prepared three different ways, and much more. His cup had been filled with what tasted like dwarven ale.

  The other three touched their plates and they too began to fill with food, but none of them had nearly as much food as Jonah. As Jonah began to clear his plate, Kara mentioned to him that the magic also never gives you more than you can eat. As she said it, his plate began to refill some of the items that he had already finished. Greygon's eyes widened at the sight of what he was witnessing. He had never seen anyone eat so much, and with as much gusto that Jonah possessed.

  Every bite that Jonah took, reminded him of his mother’s cooking. This was, in his mind, the best meal that he had eaten since that fateful day, several months before. He began to wonder how his mother and father were doing, and if they were even still alive. He began to feel guilty that he hadn’t been thinking of them as often as he should. His mind had been distracted lately by other things, such as his journey to the Crescent Mountains, his feelings about Nìa, and more recently, trying to find his brother and sister before they got themselves into serious trouble.

  All three of the elves stared at him while he ate. When he was finally finished, he drank the last of his ale, and then let out a healthy belch. “Pardon me!” he exclaimed and then began to wipe the grease from the roast duck away from his mouth with his hands. Pamela let out an uncontrolled laugh and Jonah joined her in laughing at it. Jonah was feeling much better now. Something about the meal that he had eaten had refreshed him down to his soul.

  After they had all eaten, Jonah and the three elves stepped out into the night air. “Would you like to wait until morning before we go after them or shall we start now?” asked Kara. Jonah breathed in the night air and felt new life in him. He stretched as he thought about what to do. “I believe that we can get in a few miles before I get too tired. Let’s go, we can make camp when we need to. If that is alright with you.”

  Greygon left and returned a few moments later, bringing along two stags and a horse for their journey. Greygon handed the reins of the horse to Jonah and said, “I was afraid that even our finest stag would have been burdened by your evening meal, but I believe that this mare should be able to handle it.” He laughed under his breath, and Kara was caught slightly off guard, because Greygon was always serious, she had never thought that he was capable of jesting.

  Greygon was to remain behind so he could see to Kara and Pamela's duties while they were away. Kara led the way towards the human settlement. They traveled for several hours, but just as they were to cross into the human realm, Jonah suddenly became fatigued. He slumped over in his saddle and nearly fell from atop his horse.

  Kara turned back and she and Pamela helped him back up. He was half asleep, riding in the saddle. Jonah was too fatigued for her tea to give him the energy to continue, so Kara decided to make camp. The night was clear and bright. She placed his blanket on the ground and she and Pamela hefted him off of his horse and put him on the blanket.

  Pamela had been traveling for nearly five days, and she too needed some rest. She laid her blanket beside Jonah and went to sleep. Kara did not need any rest, so she built a small fire and waited for them to awaken. Pamela slept nearly two hours and awoke refreshed. Kara sat there tending the fire and made some tea while she waited.

  Kara and Pamela noticed that the night was nearing its end. They began packing what little items that they had pulled out the night before. Kara and Pamela had taken their belongings to where their mounts had been tied. When they returned to the fire, they saw that Jonah had awoken. He was not in the camp any more. Believing that he had gone to empty his bladder, they sat on a log to wait for his return.

  The sun had begun to peak over the horizon and began shining through the trees. The morning air was cool and fog had entered the trees. Pamela doused the fire with water from a nearby stream while they waited. Jonah had been gone far too long so Kara called out to him. No response came. She called again, but much louder this time. Still there was no response.

  Kara did not panic. She knew the forest well, and she knew that there were no predators that could harm him inside the elven borders. She began to think that he had gotten lost in the fog. She was, like most elves, an expert tracker. The two elves quickly finished packing the camp and began looking for him.

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  They followed his trail out of camp to a nearby glen. Kara knew that Jonah was an excellent hunter and that he knew how to travel in the woods without disturbing it too much. It was second nature to him. She was surprised to find that he had made no effort to hide his movements. He appeared to have clumsily made his way to where he was going.

  There were broken branches, rocks that had been tripped over, and other signs as well. She also noticed that he was moving in a straight line as he made his way through the trees. There were no signs of him being in a hurry or that he might have been being chased. Every sign indicated that he was just clumsily walking through the forest. What she found most curious was that he left no footprints on the ground.

  They followed the trail that he had left behind for several hours. No matter how swiftly Kara and Pamela moved, Jonah was still not in their sight. They followed his trail all morning and throughout the afternoon. Dusk had come and gone and the moon was high in the sky before they finally found him.

  He was nestled between a pair of roots that had protruded from the ground. They were connected to an ancient tree that the elves considered to be sacred. It was a tree that was even older than the Sentinel Trees, and much, much larger. They called it by many names, but it was more commonly known to the elves as the Blót-tré, or sacred tree; and Frum-tré, the first tree.

  Kara cautiously drew nearer to where Jonah lay sleeping. This part of the forest was ancient, and foreign to her. Elves seldom enter this section of the forest. She, herself, had only been here once before as a child, and had few memories of it. She made her way to where he slept and tried to wake him.

  As he wiped the sleep from his eyes, he saw Kara standing in front of him. He stretched and said, "I had the strangest dream. I heard a voice call out my name. I followed it and it led me to Hamingju-mikill." He yawned and then began to look around. He became dumbfounded. He looked closer at his surroundings and saw that he was no longer asleep by the road.

  "Where are we?" he asked, puzzled. "This is the site of Frum-tré," replied Kara. "It is the oldest tree in all of Tenroha. It was here when my people came to this land. We also call it Blót-tré." "It is extremely sacred to our people," added Pamela.

  Jonah stood and turned to look at the massive tree. It reminded him of the large tree back home, only five times bigger. He stepped backwards, trying to see around it. He thought that it was at least as wide as ten horses standing head to tail across the base. "I saw this in my dream," he said, curiously. Kara stepped next to him and said, "Tell me of your dream."

  “Like I said before. I heard someone call out my name. In my dream, I followed the voice to this.” He stared at the tree as if trying to remember. “I reached out my hand and touched the tree.” He tried to replay the events that were unfolding in his mind. He reached his hand towards the tree, but Kara tackled him to the ground, pulling him away from the tree.

  “You must not touch the tree!’ exclaimed Kara. “It is not safe for one such as you.” “I have to,” said Jonah. “It is calling to me. Can’t you hear it?” “I hear nothing, said Kara. “Only the wind blowing through the trees, and an owl perched nearby.” “It is calling out to me.” He pushed her off of him and got to his feet. He ran towards the tree and placed his hand upon it.

  A bright flash of light sent the three of them flying away from the tree. After their eyes adjusted from the light, they saw before them a doorway that had been opened into the side of the tree. Jonah heard the voice coming from inside the opening. It was louder this time, and the others heard it as well.

  *****

  For a woman that had been dead, no more than a handful of days prior, Chloé felt better than she had in a long time. Having Land-v?ttr, or what remained of her, inside her head made things different. The spirit was another consciousness resting inside her. Her thoughts and memories intertwined with Chloé’s and often made it difficult for her to focus on anything. The past few days had been very difficult, but she was beginning to get used to it.

  J?kob tried to teach her the methods that he had learned to help block out Wi?dwyr?'s consciousness while he tried to focus on other tasks. It made things easier for Chloé, but she was unsure if she liked what was happening to her. Random memories or thoughts from the spirit would enter her mind, and would distract her. Being able to talk with the being made the transition manageable for her, but still left her in easy. When talking with the spirit, Chloé began calling her Elsie, after her mother., because her voice reminded her of her mother.

  Since Chloé's arrival back to the Sanctum, she had been spending a lot more time with Wi?dwyr?. She also spent time with Nagendra. She felt especially close to the newest dragon to the Sanctum. Nagendra had never been outside of the cavern that she called home, and using the memories that she now possessed to grow closer to the dragon, Chloé began to teach Nagendra of the outside world. She didn't share a bond like J?kob and Wi?dwyr?, but the two were growing close.

  She was excited now. She had learned through Wilhelm that Jeremiah was to be returning to the Sanctum the following day to brief the Council of Magi on the state of the war efforts. She was spending the day with Mrs. Clary. She hadn’t been practicing her magic while she was on her quest, and she felt that after everything that had happened, she owed it to everyone to try to learn to control it.

  She was attempting to magically transfer water from one cup to another. It was her first lesson in using magic, and she still had not been able to accomplish it. She had always struggled to gain access to the magical well inside herself. She could sense it, but the magic remained out of her reach.

  She had said the words to perform the feat, but nothing happened. She reached within to try and grasp the magic, but it was locked in place. She strained and struggled trying to grab a hold of it but it was useless. She felt Elsie begin to stir inside as she reached for the magic. She felt Elsie’s presence enter her well of magic and the magic inside began to stir around as if it were in a cauldron.

  All of a sudden, the magic burst through its barrier and the water flowed rapidly out of the cup and landed on the other side of the room. It was as though Elsie removed a dam that was formed around her well. Chloé became excited by this and got ready to try it again. She refilled the cup with a pitcher and began again. She focused on the water in the cup. She reached for the magic, and said “Flytja.”

  The water began to flow from the cup, and began filling the other one. She became even more excited at this, and Mrs. Clary couldn’t believe what she had seen. She began trying to use other forms of magic. Each being as successful as the first. She was not sure what had happened but she was glad that it did.

  Later that evening, while alone in her room, she asked Elsie what she had done. “There was something that was blocking the flow of magic. It was as if someone had purposely placed it there to prevent you from using magic.” Chloé thought of her mother and wondered if it could have been her that did this to her.

  The next morning. While eating breakfast with the others, Wilhelm and J?kob planned on testing Chloé’s new abilities. Chloé wasn’t sure what she was most excited about today. She was finally able to use magic and she was going to get to see her husband that she had not seen in over a month. She felt blessed.

  Jeremiah was not supposed to arrive until after mid-day, so Wilhelm and J?kob prepared a series of tests for Chloé to attempt. The tests were not too difficult, and now that she could access her well of magic and draw from it, she was able to pass through the tests easily. After her tests, she wanted to speak with Wilhelm in private.

  She sent J?kob to prepare Wi?dwyr? and Nagendra for a flight outside the Sanctum while she spoke with Wilhelm about what she had learned from Elsie about her magical well. “Is it possible for someone to magically seal another's well?” she asked. “What do you mean, child?” She explained to him about what Elsie had told her about the magical barrier that surrounded her well and how Elise broke through the magical dam that prevented her from accessing her magic.

  Wilhelm thought about it and after a few minutes he said, “It is possible that your mother did it to you, child.” “Sometimes, very rarely, in the families of magic users, a child can show the signs at a very early age. “Imagine a toddler throwing a tantrum because they wanted something and they accidentally used magic and harmed you. When this happens, and I remind you that this is a very rare occurrence, the parents can block the pool of magic to prevent it from getting out of control.”

  “How does one know if this has happened?” asked Chloé. “It is extremely hard to detect something like that, and usually the one who placed the barrier is the only one who knows where to find it and remove it,” replied Wilhelm. With her questions answered, she went to meet with J?kob and the dragons, having more questions than she had begun with.

  J?kob had found a saddle that could fit around Nagendra in one of the dragon rooms. He had just finished fitting it around her when Chloé entered. He still wasn’t used to seeing a dragon of Nagengra's size. Compared to Wi?dwyr?, she was three to four times his size and a several decades older. He was admiring the emerald color of her scales when Chloé entered.

  The saddle that he had found, not only fit her perfectly, but it matched the color of her scales. It was shaped leather that was dyed a deep emerald green. He wiped the years of dust off of it and it began to shine as if it were newly oiled. Chloé climbed into the saddle that encompassed the dragon's back. It was large enough to hold at least four passengers as well.

  They exited the rooms and entered the Dragon Hall. J?kob was about to open the doors when he heard Chloé say, “Hand-draga.” The giant doors that led to the outside world began to open. Chloé held on as Nagendra walked to the edge of the doorway. They both looked out into the clear sky. Nagendra took a long, deep breath. Chloé did the same. They exhaled at the same time and Nagendra leapt from the edge; out into the open sky. They soared over the clouds. Chloé turned and saw Wi?dwyr? and J?kob flying towards them.

  Chloé felt happy. She was flying on the back of a dragon and she would see her husband when she returned to the Sanctum. Her thoughts were happy, and she felt happier than she had in a long while. She began to think about what she and Wilhelm had spoken about. She felt Elsie’s presence enter her thoughts and she slumped over in her saddle as a vision flooded through her mind.

  She saw a man that she had never seen before. He was with her mother and he was holding a small child. They appeared to be a happy family. The scene changed. The man was standing in front of her. Chloé was looking up at the man. He was laughing and she could hear a child laughing as well. There was a flash of red light. The man was now laying on the floor. Chloé climbed over the man, still laughing at the fun she was having. The man wasn’t breathing. She tried to wake him. Nothing happened. Another flash of red light and her vision ended.

  She awoke from her vision and saw that they were on the ground. J?kob had climbed into her saddle to help her. “Are you alright?” he asked when her vision returned to normal. “I’m not sure,” she replied. She sat there with a look of confusion on her face. “What’s wrong?” asked J?kob, who was growing concerned. “I think that I killed my father,” said Chloé, after she had processed everything that she had seen in her vision.