The tea tasted like someone made a soup with seaweed and rainwater. Not entirely unpleasant, but definitely not Felix’s favourite. The strange, hot and cold sensation made it an interesting experience, but he wouldn’t be begging Uncle Valenther for a sprig to plant.

  Felix set down his cup and sighed.

  “Yeah, I’ve pretty much only been studying plants. It doesn’t take long to clear a library if I’m just looking for unique books, and I don’t really have anything else to do.

  “I’m slowly building up life mana, slowly building up mind mana by working on my Inner World, but that’s it. I’ve just been going around looking for more plants while I work on the weeds. That’s why I feel like I’m stuck.”

  Uncle Valenther finished his cup while he considered Felix’s words. Before speaking, he gave everyone a refill from the sharing cup.

  “You’re absolutely sure that this is the best way to learn about the relationship between life and mind mana?”

  Felix shook his head.

  “Nope, just following a feeling from my path. I’m not even sure that’s what I’m supposed to be learning about through all of this.”

  Uncle Valenther nodded.

  “If I were in your shoes, I’d settle down, start a garden. Spend a couple of centuries raising plants and see what you can learn from it. You’d probably even pick up a plant affinity if you keep studying them as you have been.”

  Felix grimaced. Before he could protest, Uncle Valenther continued.

  “But I also wouldn’t have fed my left arm to a panther just to save a couple of decades.”

  Felix had the good sense to look chastened. He’d long learned that it was the quickest way to change the topic. He’d probably be scolded about that decision until he managed to regrow his arm. At least he hoped regrowing it would end the scolding.

  “I’m sure you’ve already tried all the ways elves learn about the relationship between plant and life mana. You must have discarded those. So that leaves two options. You can start a new journey, go deeper into the Wilds, travel the Stonehold, or go to the Continent. It doesn’t matter. Change in circumstance is often the best catalyst for growth.

  “The second option is to learn a craft, your best bet would probably be alchemy, but… that’s probably not in the cards for you. I’d recommend formations.”

  Felix’s Inner World churned, feeding him everything he knew about formations. He quickly took on a sceptical look.

  “Why formations?”

  “Look up natural formations in that head of yours”

  By the time Uncle Valenther finished his sentence, Felix had already found the information.

  “Ok, I’ll admit that this is cool, maybe even useful, but I’d hardly call it a craft.”

  Uncle Valenther just waited while sipping his tea.

  “Oh! Huh, it’s a dead craft though. Where am I going to find information on it? Also, I can’t see why this would help me.”

  Uncle Valenther nodded.

  “It’s mostly a dead craft. Modern methods are far easier to set up and maintain. Most formation masters dive into the topic at some point, though. Shaping nature, using it to manipulate the flow of mana until a formation becomes self-sustaining. Natural formations might not be as versatile as modern ones, but there are lessons to be learned from them.”

  Felix groaned.

  “If I knew about this, I’d have paid for the specialised access in Starfarer Willow’s library.”

  Uncle Valenther chuckled as Felix took a sip of tea.

  ”Did you look up the price for specialised access on formations?”

  Without any conscious effort, a number drifted into his head, causing him to choke on his tea. When he could breathe again, he choked out.

  “Right, never mind.”

  “Start by studying general formations. If you happen to come across any natural formations, try to memorise them. You can slowly puzzle out how they work while you save up for some basic primers on the topic. Of course, you can still choose to travel somewhere new instead, or do both at the same time.”

  “Ah, you still haven’t told me why you chose formations, though.”

  Uncle Valenther considered it before shaking his head.

  “I think I’ll leave it to you to discover. I don’t want to rob you of any progress by giving you the answer. In a few years, if you think it isn’t helpful, I’ll explain my reasoning.”

  Felix nodded. He’d have preferred to know, but he could spend a couple of years on it. It wouldn’t even take him much time. His Inner World had already started feeding him everything he knew about the topic. All the knowledge he could need was already in his head. He’d just need to spend a few days internalising it. Once he’d turned knowing into understanding, he’d easily reach the knowledge level of an experienced apprentice. After that, it was just a matter of practice.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  Finding natural formations to study would be trickier, but he already knew of a few he could check out. It was just a matter of finding one simple enough for him to actually understand what was going on.

  Uncle Valenther cleared his throat, breaking Felix’s train of thought.

  “Will you be joining us for dinner?”

  “Ah, if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay a couple of days until we get going again.”

  That won him a big smile.

  “Of course, you’re always welcome. Vaelis will be overjoyed to have his best friend back, and Eirlys has been complaining about some flower she imported that Gaelin’s been having trouble with.”

  Menium soft snores abruptly cut off from the side of the table when he heard Vaelis’ name, and Felix sat up straighter when he heard of a plant Gaelin struggled with. Their responses had Uncle Valenther bursting out into laughter.

  Felix had a hard time hiding his embarrassment, but he still asked.

  “Ah, one more thing, Uncle, I haven’t gotten my mail in a while.”

  Uncle Valenther nodded, expecting Felix to ask. He got up and pulled a stack of letters from a chest near his desk.

  “I’ve kept them for you. Head along now, I have a few loose ends to tie up here before I can join you for dinner.”

  Felix took the letters.

  “Thank you, Uncle, for the letters and for the advice.”

  “Don’t mind it, it’s nothing. Now run along.”

  Felix nodded before he was practically dragged out of the office by Menium.

  Felix did his best to hold on to his letters as Menium dragged him through the Explorer’s guild and onto their cart. Mercifully, the streets weren’t too busy, or Menium would have caused an accident as he rushed the cart towards the estate.

  When they reached the estate, Menium rushed straight through the wooden arch that welcomed visitors, drawing attention from all the families that chose to visit the garden.

  Elves rarely lived in walled-off private estates. It was common for their gardens to be open to the public so others could enjoy it. They even went so far as to host casual parties where people were welcome for tea, dinner, or dances in the gardens. It wasn’t uncommon for houses to compete to see who could attract the most visitors.

  Not all gardens were open, of course, but the closed ones were usually used as training grounds or nurseries. Keeping a garden that was grown for pleasure to oneself was seen as quite selfish.

  Soon enough, Menium dragged Felix to the manor’s front entrance, wasting no time in abandoning the cart at the bottom of the stairs to knock on the door. His frantic knocking served its purpose, since before Felix could even untangle himself from the cart, a worried-looking young maid opened the door. Meniumnearly knocked her over, charging into the manor, eliciting a surprised yelp from the girl.

  “Menium! You rude ape, what do you think you’re doing!”

  Felix rushed up the steps, barely stopping at the panicked maid.

  “I’m so sorry, we’re guests, he’s just really excited to see Vaelis.”

  Pushing past her, he rushed into the room only to see a very sheepish-looking Menium sitting at the feet of a tall raven-haired woman who stared down at him with the pressure that he’d only ever felt coming from her. He wasn’t even sure his grandmother could measure up to her.

  “Ah, Aunty.”

  “Is that all you have to say after so rudely barging into my home, young man?”

  Before Felix could even muster a response, a rushed pitter-patter of little feet could be heard coming from deeper in the manor.

  With a sigh, Aunty Eirlys stopped emitting the stifling pressure and allowed her shoulders to relax. She shot both Felix and Menium a final piercing glare before Vaelis rounded a corner, entering the hall.

  His eyes went as wide as saucers when he saw who’d come. Vaelis had the same raven hair and distinguished features as his mother, but his eyes carried the same kindness as Uncle Valenther’s.

  “Felix! Menium! You’re back!”

  “Ah, hey Vaelis, it’s good to see you again. How’ve you been?”

  Without answering, Vaelis ran to give Felix a quick hug before he ran to Menium.

  “Menium! It’s so cool, you need to see the new boat dad got me, it floats! I think we can use it to steal fruits from Uncle Gaelin”

  Much to Felix’s chagrin, Vaelis paid him little attention before he dragged Menium off to his room to show him his toys. Menium, for his part, was more than happy to get away from the scary Aunt, and so didn’t spare Felix a single glance.

  That left Felix alone to face the pressure.

  “You’re back so soon?”

  “Ah, well. I ran into a dead end on my path. I figured I’d stop in to get my mail and ask Uncle for some advice.”

  She nodded.

  “Then why are you barging into my home instead of finding him at the guild hall?”

  “Sorry about that. Menium was a little too excited to see Vaelis. I didn’t think he’d barge right in. We’ve already been to the hall, Uncle invited us for dinner and… and to stay for a couple of days while we decide on a new destination and sort out our supplies. If that’s ok with you, of course.”

  “If my husband agreed, then I’m not about to chase you out. Amelia, take Felix to his room so he can freshen up before dinner. Make sure Gweyr sees to Vaelis and Menium.”

  Felix couldn’t help but smirk a little when he heard that. Gweyr was perhaps the only person he’d known apart from Aunty Eirlys that could keep those two in line.

  ‘Serves him right for leaving me alone to face the mess he made.’

  Without saying anything else, Aunty Eirlys disappeared, leaving him with the maid. He tried apologising again, but she just led him to a room and left as fast as she could. Felix shrugged. He’d apologised. There wasn’t much more he could do.

  Before he got himself cleaned up, he quickly started flipping through the stack of letters he’d gotten. There were several from Lara, Aster, Agrona and Henry. He even had a few from Instructor Grendel, Grandma, his parents and siblings.

  Flipping through the letters, he smiled until he noticed an oddity in the letters. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but something about them felt off. He quickly started opening a few, scanning through them using his memory garden to speed up the process.

  The letters were normal. Henry asked him for tips on his affinity. Agrona wrote to him about recipes she’d tried and asked him about ingredients from the Feywild, hoping to get insights into how the elves handle them.

  The girls were fine. After they’d joined the elite group and finished the training, they’d entered a military college. For knights, it was the easiest way to progress. Last he’d checked, they were about five years into their course and starting missions.

  Now the letters told him about their successful missions, their teams, and life in general at college.

  With a frown, he realised what was wrong with the letters. He hadn’t received one from either girl for almost three months. Not something to be concerned about if they were on a mission. With his worries soothed, he set down the letters and went to get cleaned up. He could read the rest of his letters after dinner.

  If you like the story, please support it by rating and following! o(*°▽°*)o

  You can read ahead on or support the story by checking out the e-book on