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TO BE MATED 1320
Alana walked to the tree to see if he had left any footprints, but there were none. She scanned the nearby trees but could not see him anywhere.'It's okay, he's okay,' she thought. 'The solders haven't got this far yet and nothing in the woods would attack a dragon, even a younger dragon like Ethan.'Alana walked to the closest tree, again looking for footprints, but couldn't find any there either. Her stomach started tying itself up in knots. What if something had happened to him?She was about to start biting her nails when something brushed the back of her shoulder. She whipped around just in time to see Ethan's tail lift up out of sight. She looked up and there he was, sitting there with a mischievous grin on his face. She was also pleased to see he had finished closing his wounds, although he looked like death warmed over."Are you done playing?" Alana asked, though she couldn't help but smile.Ethan nodded and hopped down from the tree. "Where to next? I'm wiped out.""I know a
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"So I need gold to use collect magic." He said. "And I only have a tiny bit of gold in my little dragon crop thingy, which is why I can't recharge my mana very fast.""Exactly, that's why dragons collect and hoard gold." She said, taking another bite."Wow." Ethan said. "I didn't realize that dragons had such a raw deal.""They don't." She replied. "Remember when I said you can't enchant living things, because the flow of mana makes it impossible to get the enchantment to stick?""Yeah. You said it was like trying to build a house in the middle of a raging river."Alana smiled. "You were paying attention. And yes, but dragons aren't like that. Because dragons don't pull magic directly from the Ether, they don't have that constant flow.""So, you can enchant a Dragon?""I can't, but a dragon can enchant himself. Meaning you can use magic to directly augment almost any part of your body. You can make yourself stronger, faster, improve your senses and reflexes, make your scales harder, y
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A few hours of walking and occasional talking later, Alana found Ethan more confusing than ever. She had tried to ask about his family, but he had deflected his questions. As much as she wanted to pry, she also wanted to respect his privacy. She had asked about his work, which resulted in a confusing few minutes while he tried to explain what a 'computer' and 'the internet' was. As best as she could figure, it was like an enchanted scroll with unlimited information that you could also use to communicate with others. She had to admit, the idea had a lot of potential uses. She asked him about his personal life, but it sounded like he didn't have much of a personal life. Or at least, he didn't want to talk about it. "So what do you do for fun?" she asked. His eyes lit up. "I really love..." Ethan trailed off, and then shook his head. "Never mind." Alana sighed in frustration. "We've been walking for hours and you've dodged almost every question I've asked. If you don't want to talk t
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"I don't know what they're like." She said after a few minutes of walking in silence. "Kids I mean. Elves don't have children very often because we live so long. I have older siblings, but they're long gone and my parents... aren't around anymore.""Did something happen to them?" he enquired, although he sounded unsure about asking."Yes, a few years ago." Alana nodded, feeling her eyes moisten. "I've been on my own ever since. In some ways, I'm glad Hermair burned the farm down. I stayed there because it felt like a connection to my parents, but it was stopping me from living my own life. You were talking about the kid's smiles and I don't really know what they're like. I see them playing when I go into town and someday I'd like to have some.""Kids?" he asked."Yes. I have no idea why I'm telling you all this.""It lightens our load when we share it with others." He replied, then took a deep breath. "I know exactly what you mean about wanting kids. I was engaged back home, but my fi
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The tracker drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Judging by the smoothness of the motion, it looked like he was born holding a bow. He thundered closer and Alana tried to get a good shot, but the rider wasn't giving her one.Then the tracker moved.Like greased lightning, he leaned out from behind the horse, drew the bow and released it in one smooth motion. The moment he exposed himself, Alana let her arrow fly. Given his obvious level of skill, she half expected to feel his arrow hit her, but he missed. His arrow went wide by a couple of feet.Alana's arrow didn't.Her arrow struck him in the left eye. He fell from his horse and rolled half a dozen times. When he finally came to a halt, his neck, arms and legs were at odd angles that no living person could endure, not to mention the arrow embedded in his eye."Yes!" Alana Jumped for joy and turned. "Ethan we did--"She stopped cold.The tracker hadn't missed after all; she just hadn't been his target. There was an arrow embedded in Eth
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Ethan felt like he was drifting in a sea of warmth. All was right with the world and he felt a profound sense of peace. It was like slowly waking up from a long nap when you were very tired. He felt refreshed and content; almost happy."Wake up dragon." A strange voice said. Something was shaking him, but a dragon? What did dragons have to do with anything?"Wake up foul beast, or I'll put you down in your sleep." The voice said again.Ethan's eyes slowly opened. He was in a dark room that was very blurry, or maybe that was his vision. The room was plain; there was no furniture and the floor was covered in grass -- a tent maybe? That's when Ethan remembered that Alana was going to meet someone from a traveling caravan.Could this be them?Something kicked him in the ribs. Hard."Wake up and answer me dragon." The voice said"I'm awake." Ethan tried to say, but his mouth wouldn't move. It came out as a muffled sound. He looked down to discover he was wearing a muzzle; an actual muzzle
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"I thought not. Sharing deep mana with someone is a profoundly intimate act. When they share theirs back in return, it creates a strong and permanent bond. It's so intimate, that the sharing of deep mana is the very heart of Elven weddings.""I thought you said it was dangerous.""When you are both wounded and low on mana, yes." Garthildur sighed for the third time, clearly growing frustrated with his ignorance of Elven culture. "But when two people who are full of deep mana share it with each other, nothing is consumed because they replenish each other. There is no danger at all.""Look. I don't know anything about the whole Elven marriage thing. Where I come from, you're not married unless you exchange vows.""You and Alana are both of marriageable age so you can wed according to the laws of the land and Elven tradition." Garthildur frowned. "Yet you would spit on our traditions?""Aren't you assuming I would just abandon my traditions about marriage and adopt yours?" Ethan countere
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Rachel landed butt first on the stone floor.Lord Delmar stood over her, his face dispassionate. There was no anger or fury. He didn't scream or yell. He didn't even look amused. He looked... disappointed. Her own father looked down his nose at her and uttered one word. Just one word, but it shattered her entire world."Pathetic."Rachel felt tears well up in her eyes. He had always been stern, but never cruel. Before today, he had never hit her or said an unkind word to her, though his minions weren't so lucky. Her childhood had been strict, but Rachel could always tell that he disciplined her to help her improve. She thought he wanted the best for her.Now she knew better.She recognized that look in his eyes. It was the look he gave to soldiers and servants who had failed so badly that he didn't consider them useful anymore. The first time she saw that look, he had been gazing at a sword that had broken in practice. He had thrown the sword away without a second glance. He had disca
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