His departure from the Ellery was more than intense. They were completely soaked, and the extra boost from the geyser allowed them to fly over the forest. And it had changed a lot! Recovering their natural colours under a cloak of stars, the end of a malevolent reign made them see how the treetops acquired green, gold, and even blue shades. If it once successfully caught its prey as a predator, it now gave away an aura of warmth. The evil that was there had disappeared.

They considered visiting the forest and seeing that everything was in order. Still, they decided to land outside, camping in what Ead called “Sanctuary”. The appearance it had was quite far from what he had imagined by his name. At first, one may think that it is a temple where no one would bother them. He even hoped to find something like this outside the Ellery Forest, but instead, it was a remarkable elevation of land with rocks around him at a lower level.

“Here we can rest, for now,” Rune said.

“That’s why he called it a Sanctuary, it’s...,” Finnian began to say.

“Quiet, the best place to recover,” Aer added.

It could be a way of expressing it. The trees no longer covered them and instead had a vast open field where their sight could be lost. The area around him and all those symbols emitted such a dim glow that it was impossible not to notice. Even water gushed from among a couple of rocks at the base of the sanctuary. He could even take a quick bath if he wanted to!

“Do you see the marked floor? That means it’s a protected space; evil cannot enter,” Ead said, fluttering over his shoulder.

“Not even above?” Finnian said, pointing out the sky.

“Chill, Finnian. We can rest,” Aer said, rubbing him on his arm.

They took out what was necessary to settle from their backpack, placing the tent in the centre of the sanctuary, next to the fire they lit. Although they found a couple of stones to ignite the flame in his backpack, having a dragon-like Leith had its benefits.

“Look, do you see this?” Aer said after dragging him to the water fountain among the rocks, pointing to the vegetation.

They were berries, although they could look like a miniature of fruit from his world. Blackberries like apples and with a flavour that mixed that ones with the pineapple, although more refreshing. Others looked like a bunch of bananas but blue with a strawberry-grape flavour.

“And the best of all, you don’t have to eat many to fill your stomach!” Aer explained to him, tapping his belly.

“We should take a few for the others,” Finnian said.

“Water too. When you try the one from a Sanctuary, you’ll see it is much better than any potion you can create,” Aer assured him.

And while it wasn’t his favourite dinner, it was better than anything under the circumstances. Gathering next to the bonfire, his group devoured that meal as if they had been days without hitting a bite.

“How do you endure all this? Finnian said. “We have barely stopped in one day, not to mention the mortal danger that always follows us.”

“That’s what it’s like to live in Elthea, or at least when you go outside a safety zone,” Ead added.

The strong survived, the weak perished. At least this could be avoided in the “Dorean” like the Great Galya Tree. These were places similar to the Sanctuaries, protected from evil, although it was also where the elthean eggs appeared. Within them, there were small cities, focused mainly on providing a safe environment where the elthean who were born there were to grow up, in addition to those who ended up staying to live.

“Rune and I are from Galya. This is the first time we left, although we were taught how to fight, but….” Aer said, being quite thoughtful for once. “Not all elthean are good, and we must defend ourselves. In the end, one ends up getting used to fighting. That’s why we know how to survive despite being far away.”

“You’re incredible,” Finnian admitted.

“Is there no such thing in your world?” he asked.

The good, the bad and the ugly? What he knew was from television and at his school. It didn’t look like a battlefield, but it was the closest. Some children bothered him because he was not as tall as them or preferred reading instead of kicking a ball.

“What is football?” Aer said.

“It’s a sport in which I really suck”, Finnian admitted.

“Serious? It seems dangerous.”

“Neither. It’s not that I play a lot. I’m not good at these things,” Finnian explained.

“But here, you’ll get used to it. You take it to you, even if you don’t believe it yet,” Ead added.

After finishing dinner, the fatigue in their group was more than evident. Rune ended up relying on the dragon, which was curious if he thought she didn’t want it in with them. He assumed that fighting side by side had united them. But as soon as they saw them return, they joined in at a stroke, as hungry as they did.

“There’s something we haven’t talked about yet,” Finnian said, pulling the key out of one of his pockets.

He hadn’t had time to look at her carefully, although he was also waiting for the hummingbird to share his knowledge. The key had not left his pocket since he went to him and was quite different from the rusty version of the witch. With a small crystal in the centre, similar to its pendant, that skeleton key was more beautiful but relatively simple. Showing it to him without waiting any longer, he hoped that he could unravel the mystery that surrounds them. After all, it looked like a mini-encyclopedia with wings!

“You’re the only one who doesn’t know what artefacts are. Why didn’t you ask me before?” the hummingbird said.

“I was waiting for our lives not to be threatened,” Finnian said.

“Well seen. Do you know what your pendant is? We call it the Mark of the Signers,” Ead began to explain.

The crystal resting on his chest was the Signers’ distinctive, a unique artefact that belonged only to them. It reacted to their power and was the fastest way to identify them.

“You saw that this witch, Lelile, looked like you, but a bit older,” Ead said.

“You have a smell that makes you unique,” Aer intervened.

“That pendant is what makes it easy for us to know who you are,” Ead said.

“And the key is… another artefact?” Finnian deduced. “Do you have any?”

“Of course, but we cannot all use them,” Ead said. “That is what has happened with Lelile. She got it somehow, and she squeezed its strength, even though it didn’t belong to her. For the same reason, it consumed her until it became what we saw.”

A dark, twisted version with tyranny tendencies if they had not defeated her. Artefacts, in general, were magical objects of many kinds. Not all could be used by anyone, and there were more demanding ones, as was the case with that key. If they fell into the wrong hands, their own power would end up consuming them and transforming them into something they were not.

“And how do you know if you can use it or not?” Finnian said, scratching his neck.

“By our nature, when we contact one, we notice whether it is compatible with us or not,” Ead said. “That is why I am clear that it is a mighty artefact and that Lelile should not be evil.”

“It stopped serving her when you were near the forest. And the key has gone to you. Maybe It was waiting for you to arrive, just like we did,” Aer said.

“It’s quite likely. But its power also seems terrible. It changed not only her, but to the whole forest,” Leith said while resting.

“It was under her domain,” Rune added.

“Domain?” Finnian repeated. “What’s that?”

“The reason why the forest changed,” Aer replied.

It was when one controlled an area. Like his own world, Elthea had regions, countries, continents, all with their divisions. A strong elthean could gain control of their location, which they called “dominion” or “reign.”

“Some are for leadership,” Aer said.

“Others are by brute force, as we saw in the forest,” Ead said.

“But this time, it was because of the influence of this,” Finnian said, swinging the key. “It affected the witch and its surroundings.”

“Exactly!” Ead said enthusiastically when he saw that he understood it.

“I don’t want to end like that,” Finnian said, shaking his head.

“Its power belongs to you, Finnian,” Ead said in a calm tone that made him forget everything for a short moment. “It will not act like that with you. At least I am certain about that.”

“You can always keep it until we get to the Galya,” Aer suggested. “There, we will certainly be able to understand better what it is.”

“This brings us to the next mystery. How did you get them to change?” Ead said, flying at the same height as his head, imitating eye contact.

“That both evolved?” Finnian said. “But you are the ones who repeat to me that I have that power. What’s weird?”

“No. Signers can make their partner evolve, just one, but no more elthean,” Ead said with a specific know-it-all tone. “And you made them two get it”.

“Why do you ask me when you know I have no idea?” Finnian said. “It happened!”

It was like a trigger that only happened when the danger increased. He hoped it wasn’t the only factor, but in just twenty-four hours, it happened twice.

“It was warmth,” Rune said suddenly, opening his eyes as if he just woke up.

“As if hope comes after despair,” Leith added.

“And together, we could face any obstacle. You felt it too, right? “Aer said, to which Finnian nodded.

“However, there are two things to consider,” Ead cut them off decisively. “The first is that being able to do something like this, the danger is greater than we could imagine.”

“And the second?”

“You must learn to use your magic, Finnian, if you want to go back to your world in one piece.”