After many years of working with Phyler, always appreciating her sharp wit and strong intelligence, I sensed a restlessness in her. She no longer enjoyed searching for the earliest spring blooms in the meadow. She didn’t find the newborn animals to be cute and charming any more. She barely glanced at the kaleidoscope of colors in her rose garden. She was bored with her fairy group, and seemed aloof from the laughter and teasing and gossip. In fact, Phyler even lost her temper at some of the more vacant-headed and immature fairies.

  Worst of all, Phyler didn’t enjoy exchanging plant and animal knowledge with me. Our cheerful daily chats about everything that was new in the Round Woods gradually declined. Phyler just wasn’t herself, but I wasn’t sure what was wrong.

  Eventually Phyler admitted that she felt she was at a frustrating impasse in her life. She had lived many years in an uncomplicated fairy life and could not see a way forward. Phyler was ready for a bigger role in the cosmos. She wanted more excitement, new challenges and a more complex existence. Needless to say, none of that was available on garden planet Zelen.

  As Phyler told me, it’s hard to keep learning when you are smarter than, and know more than, most of the beings you associate with. I wanted to say that I could assist her, but we both knew that was not true. I had my own limitations and could not help her set lofty new goals or achieve them. Unfortunately, there was no one here in our tranquil woods to mentor her.

  When Phyler told me she was reaching the end, I had to ask her to clarify. The end of your time here in the woods? The end of living with your flutter of fairies? The end of your existence as a fairy? The answer was that she felt her time as a simple fairy was done and she needed to graduate to something more advanced.

  Phyler’s life as a fairy was based on being part of a group and being joined with a group soul. However, she had outgrown that comfortable existence. The time had come for her to expand her own individual soul.

  Soul growth and making a better version of yourself is required in our universes. It’s part of the goal of moving toward the divine light. So, sad as I was, congratulations were in order for Phyler’s achievement of growing into a new phase of her existence.

  Phyler left her Zelen duties to decide what to do next. There is no better way to make a decision than to take a sabbatical and use that time to consult with higher level beings.

  Phyler first spent days speaking with the old oak trees in the Grove of the Ancients. Listening to their slow stories about the universes is time-consuming, but always worth the effort. They not only have timeless wisdom, but also a thorough knowledge of the past, detailed information about the present, and shrewd guesses about the future.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Phyler next spoke with her friend Sintilla, the fairy queen dowager, to get her opinion. Sintilla invited Phyler to take a temporary assignment at her palace to review security measures and train her security team. It could be an interesting change of pace while she decided on a permanent career change.

  Queen Mystica offered Phyler a permanent position of ambassador and liaison between the mermaids and the fairies. The Queen felt the two groups had much in common, and Phyler’s diplomatic skills would help strengthen relationships between them.

  Phyler even met with Athena, the creator goddess of wisdom and warfare. The great thing about the pantheon of creator deities is that they know just about everything: that is, everything about every universe, and everything about you. Meeting with a creator god can be uncomfortable because you can’t hide anything about yourself when speaking to them. However, they do have great advice when they are not quietly trying to advance their own self-interest. The hard part is knowing whether it’s actual advice or subtle manipulation.

  Athena didn’t offer a job to Phyler, but sincerely advised her to become a warrior at the highest level. The cleverness and bravery shown by Phyler in her duties as chief security officer on Zelen qualified her for a variety of interesting security professions.

  Well. Phyler had much to think about.

  The quest for guidance and time spent pondering that advice proved to be a wise step. Phyler began to understand what she truly wanted for her life. Eventually Phyler chose an apprentice position which would lead to a permanent job working with the Dragon Defense.

  Dragon Defense is the name of a group of dragons that work as protectors throughout the galaxies. A few specially trained fairies work with these dragons, coordinating their fairy magic with dragon power.

  Working with shrewd and devious dragons requires much learning and preparation. Phyler had to take magic lessons to become more advanced in protection spells. There was also an entire category of important warfare spells that she had never learned at all. There were courses in interplanetary warfare, dragon military procedures and accepted etiquette across the universes. Dragons think in many different directions at once, enabling them to quickly understand an escalating conflict. Phyler had to learn that skill too.

  The elite members of Dragon Defense are the most influential protectors in the cosmos. They plan defenses for solar systems and entire galaxies. The combination of dragons and fairies is powerful, and the group is the main reason for peaceful relations throughout the universes. There is no more important or higher-level job for a fairy.

  Phyler has been working hard and making a great success of the new role she has chosen. I admire her fierceness and unwavering determination.

  Once in a while Phyler drops in to chat and catch up on the latest Round Woods gossip. Then it’s like she never left, except that her restlessness is gone. She has a new excitement about the future.

  That type of eventful life is not for a gnome. I stay in my beloved Round Woods, tending to the garden energies of this part of Zelen. I still get involved in local skirmishes and defensive actions as necessary, but it’s not nearly as much fun without Phyler directing everything.