2407 Tull 15, Jyda

Jona ran his hands down a grocon's fur, feeling its steady heartbeat and slow breathing against his skin. He was back in the Telsbury reserve once more, surrounded by the wilting plants and the animals who could barely keep their eyes open. His heart had twinged several times in the last hour. If not for Melthra inviting him to check on the grocon's enclosure, he would have whistled for Ixy to take him back to Acosa.

A whole week of making rounds among the other cities of Dwanzeig had passed and now, Jona was back to where he began to notice everything going wrong. His visits through the other cities yielded the same result—the plants in Komery suffered from bouts of various kinds of wilting, but wilting, nonetheless, the forests becoming paler and paler, and the animals getting weaker and weaker.

He could even feel it, himself. There were times it became hard to breathe and his magic refused to answer his call sometimes. Was he the only one experiencing this? The other nature fairies seemed fine. Everyone in the palace seemed fine.

His eyes shifted back to the grocon resting over his palm, basking in the heat of his skin. Its striped, furless tail was curled in itself, its large, beady eyes overlaid with a sheet of light brown lids. Small, furry ears rested on either side of its head—a sign of comfort and non-agression. Padded fingers, the ones they use to stick to trees when they hunt for food, peeked from its tucked position, giving him a view of how the slick suction-like pads worked.

Groconis were among the only animals in the island known to shed tears when subjected to agitation, intense struggles, and sometimes, out of anger or sadness. They could also be attuned to fairy emotions, making them great familiars. Their huge eyes were equipped with membranes to help them see in all kinds of light, making them excellent hunters in the night.

Because of these qualities, they were often victims of poachers seeking exotic products and were circulated around the island in black markets and underground transactions. Their tears, known for its several medicinal uses, were their most prized commodity. This made capturing live ones a priority.

Jona had never really known what goes on in those markets but the rescued individuals sent to the reserve often needed to be rehabilitated. The poor creatures have been subjected to extreme stress and induced emotions in exchange for their tears to such a great degree a number of them weren't able to socialize or even feel anything at all. Some of those animals were inside this very enclosure.

The grocon in his palms, a young cub named Felica, was one of the next generations born and raised in the reserve. Her parents were among the rescued individuals during a raid which involved the Natura capturing tons and tons of caged animals to be sent to the markets in Peltra and Cardina. It was considered a miracle for Felica's parents to be able to form a bond and expand their family with all the hardship they've been through.

That's why Jona couldn't stop what he's doing. He didn't want any more of Wikone's offspring to suffer at the hands of people who should have known better than to mistreat these precious beings. At least that's one thing Acosa was good at.

He sure wished the Palace acted on the other issue they were facing—one that could spell the end of all their efforts in preserving nature. Despite having been through numerous briefings and court meetings with the Dwanzeigian council, there wasn't any progress or any motion for investigation regarding it. In fact, everyone acted like what Jona had presented in his reports didn't exist at all.

The real question was: why? There's something about all this that didn't sit well with him.

A stringent cry erupted from the enclosure's metal gate, someone having pushed it open against the whine of its hinges. The grocon's eyes snapped open and, like lightning on a chance thunderstorm, bolted out of Jona's hands and into a clump of bushes separating its grated room and the cobbled floor. His thoughts joined the grocon's mad dash out of his head.

A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see Melthra followed by a bunch of other researchers living in and managing the reserve. All of them ducked their heads in respect after having earned Jona's attention. With a grunt, he braced his knee and straightened up. "Did you get what I asked for?" he asked in the kindest tone he could manage.

Melthra nodded to a woman behind him who produced a sheaf of parchment. Jona's fingers closed around its rim, feeling the thickness of the report with his hand. He glanced at it, his eyes skimming past the letters printed in the Keijula script on the topmost page. It was about the latest reports on everything that's going on the reserve, including the strange wilting phenomenon. Perhaps, Jona could make the council listen with this.

He bowed his head to return the respect given him and to, perhaps, thank the researchers for all their hard and passionate work. "Keep observing them every day until the next time I come back," he said. "I'll be stopping the rounds towards the end of the month so please continue sending these reports to Acosa, addressed to the Grand Royal."

He heard several acknowledgments as he strode past their group and tackled the path leading to the reserve's front gate. None of them tried stopping him when he ducked out of the reserve and walked a few distances down the sloping trail. Then, he put two fingers into his lips and blew a sharp whistle.

He didn't need to wait long before Ixy's triumphant caw rang in the air, the sound of her wings flapping loudly with the noise of rustling leaves and the small clicks and hisses stirred awake by her cry. After a few minutes, her familiar red and yellow chest tumbled into view, her talons propelling her from tree to tree until she got close to where Jona was.

"Back to Acosa, Ixy," Jona said as he climbed aboard and settled snugly against her back. "And fast."

Soon, after an ear-piercing shriek from Ixy as she launched herself into the sky, the familiar landscape of Acosa swept into view. Past the multicolored canopies and the fog rolling over them, a network of rivers ran their miles through the forest floor. Jona used to think those river courses led to something precious, like a map or something, but upon growing older, he realized all they ever led to was the huge caldera in the middle of Acosa, where the Palace controlling all of Dwanzeig stood.

That's what greeted Jona as a familiar sight as Ixy punched through the sheet of white clouds and dived closer to a single building hewn out of rock. A huge and long bridge connected the Palace and the lip of the caldera and all around them, the water made a never-ending curtain as they fell into the churning depths below. Jona had once wondered where the waters below them led but after seeing how he never could see the bottom due to the steam rising from the dark void, he convinced himself it was nothing but a pointless endeavor.

Ixy landed on the back of the building, as always. A huge garden filled with noprary bushes and all kinds of plants bearing red flowers and fruits edged into view. Not far from this grove was Jona's room. Ivory talons scraped against the stone floor as Ixy landed with a slight thump. Jone slid off her back and bowed to her as a sign of thanks.

"I'll call you when I need you," he said, urging her to fly into the forest and get herself some treats. "Thank you for the ride."

Ixy chirped and drew her head up, exposing her neck to him. Jona laughed at the parvade's request and indulged her, running his hooked fingers deep into her feathers in scratching motions. The satisfied twitters rumbling from her throat was enough to bring a huge relief in Jona's senses. At least she was still unaffected by the wilting. Then again, none of them knew for how long.

As if struck with a spell, Jona straightened his spine and walked inside the palace through the grove, emerging into the corridor lined with tretta. He passed by several basins of water and watched one stalk reach out to dip its shoots into one, no doubt drinking to quench its thirst. He wouldn't be able to forget the horrified faces of their visitors whenever they watch the wall of thorny bushes resolve its own needs.

His heels clacked against the stone floor, his steps long and purposeful. The Grand Monarch's office drew nearer as soon as he turned one corner away from his rooms. More groves and gardens passed him by, the small buildings inside the Palace's complex whizzing through his periphery.

The doors to the Grand Monarch's office flew open the moment Jona stormed through it. His father raised his head from a mountain of parchment work, his reading spectacles riding down his nose. "Son, nice to see you here," the Grand Monarch said with a smile upon seeing Jona. He seemed oblivious about the roiling turmoil in Jona's gut. "We have pressing matters to talk about."

"I hope it concerns the wilting happening in pockets of the forests in Telsbury, Komery, and Ansevir," Jona said, waving the sheaf of reports he got from Melthra in the air beside his head. "Because no other thing is as pressing as this."

The Grand Monarch's eyebrows shot up as the sheaf made its way to his desk with a distinct thud. The half-consumed bottle of ink bounced against the wooden surface. "What is this?" he asked, looking down at the reports and then back to Jona. "Have you done the rounds again? I told you to stop and help around in the palace. We need you to start preparing for Jered Azerke."

Jona blew a breath. "Father, you don't understand. The forests are falling into some kind of unknown disease. The animals are barely moving and eating," he said. "I don't see why Jered Azerke was more important than this."

"Unlike the forest, the holiday didn't have anyone to mind it," the Grand Monarch said, his tone slowly forming a sharp edge. "Your duty is to first and foremost serve the people."

Jona narrowed his eyes. "Protecting nature is serving the people."

"So is planning the holiday," the Grand Monarch answered with a stern look. "Unlike the forest, Jered Azerke actually has a day for it to happen. You can worry about the forest some other time."

Jona opened his mouth to argue or reason some more but his thoughts were drowned by the sound of the door opening once more. He turned to find a fairy with khaki brown hair striding towards the Grand Monarch's desk. His robes, the insignia gleaming from his chest, and even the proud gait in which he walked told Jona he was from the espionage division, Dwanzeig's most prize unit in the entire structure of governance.

The espionage division has been given the most attention considering they were responsible with keeping information and knowledge fresh in the royal courts. If there was anyone who could advise the Grand Monarch to go to war or not, it's them.

Jona ran through his mind the list of people he knew to be part of the division. The newcomer's features matched one name in Jona's memory. It was none other than Eldan Rovalen.

"You are excused, Grand Royal," Jona's father said from behind his desk, waving a hand in the air with a quill still stuck in it. "Attend to your palatial duties in the meantime. We'll talk more once Eldan and I attend to more...private matters."

Jona frowned but ducked his head and turned to exit the room. Eldan didn't bother looking at him as he went, adding more salt to the burns prickling in Jona's skin. There was clearly something going on in the espionage division for Eldan to have direct access to the Grand Monarch like this. What were they hiding? Moreover, what could be so important that the Grand Monarch was able to forget the existence of Jered Azerke he had just been telling Jona to focus on?

It seemed like it wasn't just Eldan who stood in his way of getting heard. It was the entire division. The secrets, the hidden knowledge, the other territories' activities were more important to the Grand Monarch and, if that's so, Jona had no way of competing.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was on his own. Starting from now.