Glavas' eyes kept darting tirelessly between the growling dragon youngling and the Circle wizard. His mind was not giving him a moment of peace and constantly provided him with terrifying scenarios of what was about to happen. His own thoughts were filled with images of his son dying in countless terrible ways. After all, against a wizard of the Circle, anything was possible. These people were known for rarely pulling their punches.

"Hunter?" the man spoke, quietly and softly.

"Yeah?"

"Please, do not be alarmed. Your son will be unharmed but the sight might be disturbing. I suggest you close your eyes until the fighting stops."

Glavas did as the man asked for a moment, but quickly opened them once more. The reality in front of him was far less terrifying than what his imagination would paint on the inside of his eyelids.

"I'd rather see."

"Very well. Then please, focus on healing yourself in the meantime and do not disturb me. It would make things unnecessarily difficult." He let go of the weapon in his hand, which disappeared as soon as it was without its wielder. "Eigam, oksal am, jedirap es ek em, misorop. Emyuyo ulopos, kob op kob."

Hearing the man speak was incredible. It was unlike any other magical speech Glavas had previously heard. His words flowed with clarity and softness like those of a world-renowned poet. The pronunciation of each sound was flawless. The hunter, of course, had no idea whether the wizard was making mistakes in his speech or not, but the way his words carried themselves gave off a feeling of unwavering confidence. This man spoke the clearest of magic. There was no doubt about it.

Surdi did not simply wait for the man to recite his prayers to the Goddess. Explosion emanated from his feet, propelling him forward like a cannonball.

"idzevohos ohinsel uhor!" the man spoke, his words coming out so fast Glavas couldn't even try to reproduce them. One second, the man stood in front of the charging dragon. The very next, something happened. Something that the hunter had no words for. It was as if the wizard shrank into a tiny orb of midnight blue, which moment after disappeared completely. Then, everything twisted and darkened. The houses around them bent and stretched. No matter how much Glavas rubbed his eyes, this illusion wouldn't disappear. A few glowing stars appeared briefly on the street. Behind each was a cloud, dark as the night sky. The stars gathered in a vague shape of a constellation, connected by only tiny, string-like lights, before finally, they disappeared, along with the illusions of twisting buildings. The wizard was now standing at the place of the farthest star. The speed at which this happened was incredible. Glavas knew exactly what he saw, but details of the memories escaped him. It was like briefly spotting a diving bird. You know it's a bird, but what kind? And how big? He was unsure if his memory wasn't simply playing tricks on him.

The dragon didn't think of a way to change his trajectory and so he simply flew off towards the end of the street, where he finally managed to slow down again.

"Eigam, jed im, misorp, cem znej ijibaz tosoliz. A k umot, misorp, ukyd oc isjenoku iknimopaz." The men spoke fast, but even so, by the time he was done, the dragon was already flying his way. He dodged away just in time, but the boy's relentless flurry of attacks quickly followed. Despite that, however, it seemed like the wizard didn't have much of a hard time avoiding getting hit. It was almost like his speed increased just enough to match Surdi's.

"idzevohos ukul," he said, and just like before, accompanied by countless brief illusions, he disappeared and transported himself several metres away from the dragon, although this time, the stars of the spell seemed to be in a different formation.

Glavas suddenly noticed the weapons in his hands. His right one was holding was seemed to be a long, sharpened stick of red string, which was also partially wrapped around his fingers and wrist. The left hand was holding a much smaller, knife-sized rod, with just as sharp of a tip as the last one. The weapon was strange though. No matter how hard Glavas was looking at it, its shape always seemed to be dissolving. He had to look away and then back at the object again to see what it truly looked like, albeit even for a brief moment before its shape faded from his sight once more.

"A tepez!" the man said with firm resolution finally replacing his previously calm nature.

The entire transportation effect repeated itself, only this time, the man approached the dragon, rather than moving away from him. In a second, he was now back in front of Surdi.

In one swift motion, the wizard ran the red, stringy blade straight through the young dragon's heart. Glavas twitched and moved, his own heart sinking into oblivion.

"Calm, hunter! Just wait!" the wizard yelled. Every muscle in Glavas' body was telling him to move, but he simply wasn't able to. The fight was so quick that the sealing scroll hadn't yet sucked all the poison out of his body. With half of him numb and paralyzed, he had little choice but to watch what was transpiring and trust the wizard's words.

The man twisted the red blade and a massive stream of red smoke began flowing out of the dragon's back like he was a ruptured dam. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Slowly, his eyes began losing the golden tint, returning back to their original colour and shape. Without a moment to waste, the wizard raised his other arm and stabbed the formless knife right into Surdi's forehead. A faint glow began emanating from it.

Very soon, the stream of red stopped. The stringy blade disappeared, leaving behind not a single wound or mark. Meanwhile, the other weapon slowly sank into the dragon's head and disappeared. All signs of Surdi's magic faded and he slowly slumped down, held upright only by the now-kneeling wizard.

"There you go. It's alright now. No more anger," the man said and lifted the dragon off the ground. Surdi didn't seem to react in any way. His body was limply hanging in the wizard's embrace, his eyes staring blankly into nowhere.

The wizard carried the dragon over to Glavas and gently placed the boy into his father's arms. Although the hunter still had some trouble moving, he felt that the poison's effect was finally subsiding.

"I-Is he..." he slowly asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

The wizard stretched his back with a loud groan. "UGH! Damn, he was heavy. I should've just teleported him over to you. What was I thinking? Thought it would be more considerate to carry him. Ow... that's gonna hurt for a while. I should do more physical exercise."

"Ehm!" Glavas tried to get his attention.

"Ah, right, your son. Don't worry, he is fine. One blade removed all the anger from his body. He should be calm now. The other helped subdue the memories of the recent few minutes. Best he doesn't remember that he tried to kill his father. I imagine he already has enough troubling him. Right now, his mind is just trying to catch up and process the memory gap. Give it about... a minute or two. He will come back to his senses."

"I... Thank you. I was–"

"Afraid?"

"Yeah."

"Understandable. Hmm..." The man scratched his chin. "Dark magic, huh? You really are fate's punching bag, aren't you? Okay, I can make another, no problem. Let's see though... Hmm... emotions are complex. Dark-haired elves even more so. Oh well, worth a try." He reached with his right hand somewhere to the side. "Eigam, jed im, misorp, cem znej ijibaz laz, ketums a irumuch."

Another stringy blade formed in his hand, only this time, made of a material so dark it almost didn't reflect any light.

"Calm, it doesn't hurt," he said before running the hunter straight through.

Glavas's heart skipped a beat. He wanted to move but couldn't. It was as if he was suddenly a passenger in his own body. And yet, he couldn't say that he felt pain or discomfort. Quite the opposite. With each passing second, he felt more and more at ease. During those few seconds, it was as if he had taken a warm bath in a mountain spa, followed by a good night's sleep in the softest bed in Ezma.

"So? Better?" the wizard asked. Glavas shook his head, trying to collect his senses again.

"I... what–"

"A blade to remove the emotions caused by your dark magic. I have never actually done something like this to a dark-haired elf before, so if I somehow didn't get rid of everything, let me know and I'll stab you again."

"No, I... I do feel better. Like I just woke up."

"Good. Then that is optimal. Give yourself a moment to rest and make sure to take care of your son. I imagine he might feel emotional after he realizes that you've been reunited. In the meantime, I will prepare a path to your daughter."

"You know where she is?"

"Yes, she is deep below the mountain, accompanied by the demon."

"Shit! You have to–"

"Calm, hunter. I am quite certain we still have some time." The man stepped away from them and looked at the ground. "Hmm... They are both quite far. Constellation would never reach there. Simply not enough space." He scratched his chin. "Maybe a portal? No, that would be troublesome. Takes too long to prepare. Bend space then? Hmm... that's too much space to bend. It would cause even more structural damage to the cave. Reinforce it then? Maybe some form of temporal stasis? No no, that's just too big of a project. I need something more straightforward."

Finally, while the wizard was rambling nearby, Surdi twitched and his eyes blinked after a relatively long time of gazing into nowhere.

"Surdi!" Glavas called out the moment he noticed. "Are you alright? How do you feel?"

"Ugh..." he let out a groan and looked at his hands. [Why is there blood on my fingers?]

The wizard's slightly hunched back suddenly straightened. "Shiiiiiit. I forgot to clean him," he mumbled to himself."

[And...] Surdi's tongue slid over his fangs. [Why do I taste blood?]

"Fuuuuuuuuck, I didn't think it through," the man sighed and slapped himself on the forehead. "Hello there, young one. No worries. It seems like you've had a bit of... memory loss. From... a falling rock, yes. I healed you but you may have forgotten about... how these henchmen of the demon tried to hurt you so you defended yourself."

[Really? Isn't that somehow related to why Glavas has a bite mark around his shoulder and the tears in his coat that look like they've been made by my claws?]

"I... Wow... I am a really bad wizard."

[And even worse of a liar. Glavas, did I... did I attack you?]

Glavas nodded. "Yeah. But it's fine. None of these wounds is serious. And given what you've been through, it's understandable you... lost yourself for a moment."

[I see.]

"Hey, don't let it get to you, okay?" Glavas smiled and let his hand rest on the top of the boy's head. "You didn't do it on purpose. It's not your fault. Besides, some of the wounds you see are from Ruun's people too. Those guys aren't as harmless as they might seem."

[Okay, so... I attacked you... but why?]

"Probably stress." Glavas quickly said before the wizard could interrupt. "You saw one of Ruun's people hit me and I guess all that frustration of being trapped here awoke some nasty emotions."

[Oh... I'm sorry.]

"Don't be. We're alright now. Thanks to him." Glavas pointed at the wizard, who gave the young dragon a smile and a wave.

[Who is that?]

"That's... well, a wizard from Valimar. A circle member that Ruun had invited."

"What? No, I'm not!" the wizard protested.

"Huh? You're not from Valimar?!" Glavas' eyes widened.

"No! I hate that place. Never been there nor do I want to go there."

"But... you're so strong! Who are you then if not a Circle member?"

"Ehehe, well..." he looked away, scratching the back of his head, while his face turned a few shades more red. "You see... umm... this is really difficult to say but... you can call me Swen, and I am... kinda... to put it simply... the God of humans?"