His head wasn’t going to explode, but instead, he felt a superhuman weight that prevented him from opening his eyes. Images of Ariel, the Eroder attacking High Sword and of others who failed to see clearly passed through his mind at full speed. He also saw an unknown place which he barely remembered, although that was the feeling it resting in his chest.

He was not dreaming, but he was sure not to understand something of vital importance. He wanted to scream as soon as he felt the pain was coming back, to cover his head with anything that would comfort him. Because once again, he saw how everything disappeared and, in the end, the pain as well. He remained still, doubting that that had ended and unsure whether he would see anything else again.

“Don’t panic. You’re fine.”

That voice sounded familiar. It was warm, quiet and comforting. Leith’s unmistakable tone showed closeness, which encouraged him to join, hiding his head between his knees.

“How do you feel?”

The dragon rested on his leg, unsure of pressing him more and this time using her own voice. Finnian looked up, seeing her purple scales overshine by a couple of sun rays. They were not in their tent. That was undoubtedly true, but in a place with windows.

“I could sleep for a week,” Finnian admitted, feeling unusual tiredness within him.

“You scared us a lot when you blackout,” said the dragon.

She put a leg on his shoulder, getting Finnian to look at her. His internal clock screamed at him that it was already very early in the morning, although I couldn’t find out that quickly in that cabin. However, the serenity of his dragon companion made him inspire deep, dispelling the fear with which he had awakened.

“Are we... Are we in Galya?” Finnian said.

“Don’t you remember anything?” Leith said, wrinkling the snout.

His mind was blurred, remembering relatively little after the battle. He didn’t even know how he got there, but he wasn’t among the first questions he could think of.

“You always have someone with you,” Leith explained as he reached out to others. “We leave you here because no one would bother you, not near the Guardian’s house.”

She soon explained that the elthean who attacked them was Ailfryd, Guardian of the Galya Tree. Each Dorean zone had a protector, something similar to what they described the domains. The lights that surrounded Galya were nothing but his alarm system, a protection warning of anyone approaching at night. The growing events, the attacks of the Eroder and the Lord of Calamity presence in Elthea change a lot of things. Not only did Ailfryd evolve, but he increased the defences and didn’t even ask them before attacking them.

“It’s still not an answer to engage against us in that way,” Finnian said, rubbing his eyes. “How could he not recognize Aer? Or Rune?”

“I don’t know that, although… I have a theory,” the dragon admitted.

Without Ead, the explanation went far more manageable than the hummingbird will offer to them. Leith spoke to him of something as basic as they all had a smell and energy that characterized them. The Elthean possessed it, but when Finnian shared his power, their union grew and even altered a detail like that.

“The leopards I met upon arriving at Elthea said something like that. I guess it’s a way to locate anyone.”

“It’s not that all the elthean have such a developed smell,” Leith said, pretending to smell him. “But our energy has changed by receiving yours, or that Ead explained after you lost sense.”

Ead and his talks at inopportune times. At least Leith’s summary took away doubts about the night before while leaving the cabin answered other questions. If the Galya looked like a gigantic tree from outside, finding itself right in this one showed him another place that was waiting to be explored.

The most curious thing about his vision was that, even with the number of trees in that forest, the sunlight leaked quickly, giving them the clarity of the day. The grass was not as wild as it was, and I barely carried it under the ankles. After leaving that cabin, which was more significant than even his house on Earth, Leith leads him to the one near the great tree.

Behind them, where the path showed them more houses, they heard movement from the life there, although none were close to them. He wanted to stretch his legs, explore around and find the others. Especially seeing them and making sure they were okay, or so he thought until he saw them appear.

“You’ve finally woken up, Finnian!” Aer exclaimed from the big Guardian’s house.

“And you have a better face, and that’s already a lot!” Rune added with fake sarcasm before Aer dragged her to get closer to them.

Since when was Rune so cautious? The elthean kept silent, sighed and ended up heeding Aer, adding seriously:

“Don’t think of exceeding you again like last night. You scared us a lot.”

“We perceive your fear when at the end,” Aer admitted in a whisper.

“Did you feel it too?” Finnian repeated with a hilt of voice.

“This works in both ways,” Leith said. “You don’t have to impress or do things like that. We know we have you on our side.”

“We’re a team, and we help us be stronger,” Rune nodded with a smile.

“Don’t think for a second that we will allow them to hurt you,” Aer added.

And without saying anything else, the three of them hugged him. It may not have been an awkward or unexpected gesture, but it meant more to Finnian than he would be able to admit.

“You don’t know how to enter a site without causing a show, don’t Finnian?” Ead said, giving him a soft pinch in his nose.

“Get worried when that happens,” Finnian said, without being able to hide his smile.

“You’re quite a peculiar and unusual from previous Signers, or that was telling me.”

Ailfryd’s voice was neither severe nor acute, similar to that of someone of his own age, but much more mature at the same time. He managed to separate them with those words, settling on the lobby to pay attention to them. The same elthean that attacked them at night was a kind of blue-furred mammal and purple eyes. With short arms and legs, his head was cone-shaped with ears in the purest elven style on top. At the tip of his double tail were two purple gems, identical to his eyes colour. The only thing he had of “fairy” was its size, if he was like him, but nothing compared to someone like Tinker Bell. Still levitating, just as when they fought, reminding him that it was a box full of surprises and that he should not underestimate him because of its size.

“Ailfryd, isn’t it?” Finnian said.

“Captain Obvious, who is it going to be?” Aer said, shaking his head.

“Would it have been better for me to call him Rage Fairy? Or Fighter?”

Not that He would have said anything wrong, is it? Ailfryd coughed, perhaps to break that silence that formed suddenly, or maybe he gave himself time to answer.

“I deserve that. First, I apologize for attacking you last night,” Ailfryd said.

“Okay, Rage Fairy then… I’m joking!” Finnian exclaimed, laughing and passing his hand over the neck. “I assume that the others will have already been informed you.”

“Aer and Rune have updated me, yeah,” Ailfryd said, pronouncing a smile.

He remained in the air so calmly that it was hypnotic to the point that he did not even respond when the Guardian spoke to him. Ead revolted in front of her face to realize it, then to hear a roar coming out of her gut.

“We should eat. We have been talking for too long, and a break will be great,” Ailfryd said, looking especially at Aer and Rune. “Besides, there is no reason to run, not here.”

And he hoped it would stay that way for a bit. No rushing, eating, sleeping and finding the answers he needed so much. Although he wouldn’t find out everything there, it was a nice place to start with, even more with all of them.