I watched Dirk pacing. Lloyd had gone to school this morning as usual. There had been a bright light that Dirk informed me was The Oracle, which was a symbol from the heavens that the chosen one was ready to go on the Journey of Regeneration.

Lloyd hadn't come home yet.

It was already late and he had promised to be home after school.I watched Dirk pace to Dirk he always comes home after school, if only to drop off his school bag and let him know he's okay and what he and his friends are going to do that day. I watched him make several more lengths of the room.

"Dirk, you are going to wear a whole in the floor. I am sure Lloyd is fine."

Dirk shook his head. "Ah know. I just can't help but worry."

I shook my head. "I will go and look for him. I will be able to sense his mana. I will be back soon." I left the house and followed the path down towards the village that Lloyd takes every day. As soon as I was out of sight of the house I broke into a fast gallop. My hooves thundered down the path that only a few days ago had taken so long to travel. I sensed a mana signature ahead of me, it was young.

I burst out of the bushes and brought myself to a stop in front of what I now see is a young half-elf. Looking him over I notice his striking similarity to what Lloyd described Genis Sage to look like.

The boy shrieked when I leapt over the bush and landed near him and fell over backwards. He scrambled backwards for a second, staring up at me in fear. I nickered quietly. "Calm down, little one. I mean you no harm. I do not harm foals." I knelt my front legs down so I was not as tall and looked down at him. "Calm down."

He whimpered and closed his eyes, covering his head with his arms. "Please don't hurt me..."

I gently stroked his hair. "I won't hurt you, little foal. You need not be afraid. What is your name, little one?"

He swallowed hard. "Genis... Genis Sage."

I tilted my head to one side. So he was Lloyd's friend. "You are a friend of Lloyd, are you not?" He nodded. "Do you know where he is? He has not yet returned home and I worry for his safety." Am I talking posh again? I am aren't I? Damn, I just got over that and was talking normally with Lloyd.

Genis swallowed again and looked me over nervously. "Are you- Are you Drake?"

I nodded. "Yes. I take it Lloyd has told you about me?"

Genis nodded. "Um. Yeah. A little. Um. Lloyd is this way. He jumped off the cliff."

I jerked backwards in shock. What?! "We must find him then." I scooped Genis up and put him on my back before standing and swiftly making my way down the path towards the bottom of the cliff. I silently cursed the terrain and batted another branch aside and barely avoided tripping on a root.

When we got a good distance from the ranch I slowed down. I looked and listened and eventually heard Lloyd swearing. I went closer and saw him sitting on the floor on the bottom of the cliff clutching his ankle and swearing enough to make a sailor blush.

"Lloyd!" Genis shouted. I lifted him down off my back and he ran up to Lloyd.

I walked over and inspected him. He seemed okay other than his leg, which he was holding and hissing under his breath. I knelt down and carefully undid the buckles on his boots and slowly slid them off.

Lloyd hissed and winced but otherwise didn't complain. Since I had done several first aid courses over my life I knew that it was fractured. It wasn't broken completely but it was fractured. "Fractured. I can use healing artes but I have never attempted a fractured bone before, let alone a humans. I worry that I would heal it wrong, especially with the differences between us. You mustn't put any weight on it or you could risk it breaking. I will carry you home." I turned to Genis. "Where is the nearest doctor?"

Genis looked over at me with teary eyes like he was about to cry. "My sister. I can go and get her."

I nodded. "Please do. I will take Lloyd home. Tell your sister that his right ankle is fractured and there is bruising and some swelling."

Genis nodded and ran off.

I carefully helped Lloyd onto my back and slowly stood up. "Wrap your arms under mine, across my chest." As soon as he was situated comfortably I took off steadily back up the path to his house, taking as much care as I could to not jostle his leg.

Lloyd twisted around behind me so he was lying across my back with his back against mine and his injured leg stretched out. He hissed but seemed to relax slightly so I didn't tell him to move back. As long as he stayed on I didn't care how he sat.

It made it a bit harder to avoid injuring his ankle further. It was particularly difficult going over a fallen tree and crossing over the makeshift bridges over the river. When I came to his house it was with a sigh of relief from both of us.

I opened the door and walked in. Lloyd grinned. "Hey dad."

Dirk was standing in the middle of the room. He must have been pacing the whole time. I settled Lloyd down on a chair at the table and took another look at his ankle. Lloyd looked a bit nervous. "Say, dad, is there any chance you could make me a Key Crest?"

Dirk frowned. "Why do ya need a Key Crest all of a sudden?"

Lloyd looked nervous again. He looked off to the side, not meeting his dad's eyes. "I met someone today who has an Exsphere equipped without a Key Crest. An Exsphere without a Key Crest is bad for you, right? Or, wait, don't tell me it's too late once you've attached an Exsphere without a Key Crest to your body?"

Dirk frowned. "Nah, not at all. But even removing an Exsphere that lacks a Key Crest is dangerous, so, the only thing to do is make an accessory out of inhibitor ore and carve the charm into that, making it the Key Crest instead."

Lloyd hummed and muttered under his breath. "And then it'll be okay, huh?" He looked up at Dirk and spoke louder. "Then could you make me a bracelet as soon as possible?"

"Just a minute. The Exsphere with no Key Crest that you're talking about. Who has it?"

Lloyd looked more nervous than ever. "Huh? Ah, uh, a traveller. A travelling mercenary."

Dirk scowled. "Baloney. Exspheres are basically only used by Desians. If he took one from a Desian it should already have a Key Crest on it."

Lloyd still looked evasive. "Uh well..."

"Dwarven vow number eleven: lying is the first step down the path to thievery. Tell me the truth. Why do you need a Key Crest?"

Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows and genuinely looked bad for having lied. I wish there were more people like that on earth. "I met someone at the ranch today who had an Exsphere equipped without a Key Crest."

Dirk recoiled back. "Ya went ta the ranch?!" He looked both terrified and furious.

Lloyd nodded. "I-I'm sorry. A bunch of stuff happened and..." He sighed and leaned back in the chair. He then explained to us about the oracle arriving and he, Raine and Genis going to the temple to see Colette and the Desians attacking, a man called Kratos turning up, Colette receiving to oracle, going back to the village and being told he couldn't go with Colette, him and Genis heading back here and stopping off at the ranch to see Genis' friend Marble and the incident with the Desians after.

Dirk sighed. "Ya didn't let the Desians see your Exsphere did ya?"

Lloyd stood back up and moved to stand in front of Dirk, who hadn't moved from in front of the porch. "No, don't worry. I made sure. But why is it so important that I hide this thing? The mercenary who came to the village today wore his right out in the open."

Dirk was silent for a few moments. He stared at the floor, as if making a hard decision. He looked up at Lloyd, all traces of anger gone. "You're Exsphere is special."

Lloyd tilted his head. "Special? Is it different from the ones the Desians have equipped?"

Dirk leant forward. "That Exsphere is yer mother's keepsake. The Desians killed your mother in order to take it from her."

Lloyd froze. "They did?" His voice came out smaller than I had heard it in the week since I had been here. He sounded like a frightened child. I stood and left the house. This sounded like a private conversation. I slid into Noishe's stall and started brushing his fur. He didn't question me. I was glad of that. I could faintly hear Lloyd and Dirk talking, occasionally they would both shout. I tried not to listen in but there wasn't much sound out here.

I walked around to Noishe's other side and began to brush this side of him. I looked up when I heard footsteps and voices coming from the forest. That must be Genis and his sister. What did Lloyd say her name was... Professor Raine. Professor Raine Sage. I looked over and saw them coming. They spotted me and Genis was about to say something when I heard a louder shout from inside. "You don't have to hit me!"

Lloyd burst out of the door, using one of his swords as a crutch.

I glared. "Lloyd Irving! You are not supposed to be standing on a fractured ankle!"

They all turned to look at me for a second before Genis' sister pounced on Lloyd and forced him to sit so she could tend to his leg. I opened the door to the pen and Noishe dashed out, tackling the man to the ground. I shook my head and walked over, picking the dog up by the waist and carrying him back to his pen. I came back over and knelt next to the elf, who had stopped what she was doing when Noishe ran passed her. I looked to the man. "My apologies. I did not intend to let him out. Are you alright?" He nodded silently and I turned back to the doctor. "How bad is it?"

She stared at me in shock for a moment before shaking her head. "Not bad, just a simple fracture. I can fix it easily enough." Watched carefully as she healed him and nodded. Right. My healing artes act the same way so I should be able to heal humans with no problem.

Raine, Lloyd and I all stood and I looked the group over. Aside from Genis and his sister, there was a tall man in purple with auburn hair and a young teenaged girl with golden blond hair dressed in white. The girl looked just like how Lloyd had described Colette and I think the man must be the mercenary, Kratos that Lloyd met at the temple.

I turn back to Lloyd and twist his face so I can get a better look at the swelling bruise on his cheek. I snort quietly and cast a quick first aid. "Are you alright?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. It's not the first time he's hit me. I'm okay."

I huffed. "He should not do so at all. Still, your father and I were worried, Lloyd. You should have been home hours ago and I go out to find you sitting at the bottom of a cliff with a fractured ankle because you jumped? And then we find out you have face Desians not once, but twice today?" I shook my head. "Your father has a strange way of showing it, but he was really worried about you." I placed my hand on his shoulder. "You are all he has."

Lloyd sighed. "Way to make me feel better Drake..."

I nickered softly. "It is the truth. You cannot put your life in danger without it affecting those around you. Your friends would all miss you, as well as your father. And me, I have not known you for long but I admit I have grown rather fond of you. Besides, I would be a disgrace to my kind if I were to let you die."

Lloyd tilted his head at me. "Huh?"

I nickered. "A life debt, Lloyd. You saved my life so my life is yours until such a time as I have repaid my debt. It is one of the few things my kind takes extremely seriously, along with the proper treatment of foals and caring for the world around us."

Lloyd blinked. "What do you mean your life is mine?"

The mercenary spoke up. "I believe he means to say that he will hang around you until he feels he has re-paid his debt."

I nodded. "Almost, but not quite. I will not merely hang around with him. My life is his to do with as he wishes until I have re-paid my debt." I looked Lloyd straight in the eyes. "Anything you ask of me, I will do. A life debt is difficult to repay, just saving your life is not enough unless I was not involved in the situation that resulted in your life being endangered in the first place."

Lloyd tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

I hummed. "Say you and I were travelling and we were attacked. If I were to save you during that fight, I would not repay my debt since I was fighting for my own life as well."

Lloyd frowned. "Huh... then how do you repay it?"

I shrugged. "I will know when I have. Until then, I am yours." I noticed Genis shudder violently out of the corner of my eye as a cold breeze blew through the clearing. I breathed in deeply through my mouth, tasting the air. "It will rain soon. We should get inside."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. It's way too cold to be standing around outside." He cast a sideways glance at me. "Unless you have fur."

I snorted lightly and indicated to my side. "This is not fur, it is hair. Fir is fluffier. Like Noishe."

"I AM NOT FLUFFY!"

I turned around to look at the oversized dog who was now half out of his pen. "Deny it all you want, Noishe. You're fluffy." He growled at me but all I could do was laugh and head inside. I walked up to Dirk, who was working at the forge. "Among my kind," Dirk leapt a foot in the air and spun around. "Harming a foal is a crime punishable by death." Well, it should be, at least.

Dirk took a deep breath and eyed my hand which was resting on the pommel of my sword. I snorted angrily and turned, whipping him with my tail as I did so, "Be glad you are not a centaur." I then moved to settle down on my blankets.

Lloyd and his friends came in and sat around the table. He turned to Genis' sister. "Thanks for healing my ankle Professor Raine."

She nodded to him. "That's quite alright Lloyd." She looked at me. "You used first aid on his face but you wouldn't heal his ankle?"

I nodded and indicated to my lower-half. "My skeletal structure is very different than a human's and I have never healed a bone before, I have only just begun to learn healing spells. I was worried I would heal the bone wrong. I thought it best to let someone more experienced than me do it."

She nodded and stared at me intently for a moment.

Lloyd looked between me and the others before smiling and pointing to each person in turn. "Drake, these are my best friends, Colette Brunel and Genis Sage, Genis' sister, Professor Raine Sage, and hey... where did Kratos go?" He turned back to his friends, "Anyway, guys, this is Drake." He stood up. "I'm gonna go find Kratos." He walked out the house.

I shuffled uncomfortably. "Well met." I bowed slightly for my seated position, slightly easier to do when you half horse. I stared at Raine for a while. "You are curious."

Raine nodded. "What are you?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that any way to start a conversation?"

Raine blushed lightly. "Oh. Sorry. I'm Raine Sage." She held out her hand.

I smiled and took it. "I am Drake. To answer your question, I am a centaur." I stared at her hand. "Your hands are tiny."

Raine chuckled and we let go. She tilted her head to one side. "What is a centaur? If you don't mind me asking?"

I chuckled. "My race came to this world with mana, as all other races did, but we tended to keep to ourselves. After a while, humans, elves and dwarves started to spread out, covering more of the world. They pushed all the other races into smaller and smaller land. Their numbers dropped due to smaller hunting and breeding grounds. As far as I am aware, my herd was the last of my kind. Now... It's just me..."

I closed my eyes and looked away for a moment before pulling myself together. "We are a unique species, though many think us a hybrid between humans and horses. That is untrue and insulting." I swished my tail against the floor.

Raine nodded. "I see. And how did you come to be the last of your kind?"

I stiffened and glared at her. "How would anyone come to be the last of their kind? Everyone I know and love is dead. My friends, my family, my entire herd!"

She flushed slightly. "Oh. I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me."

I sighed. "I apologise as well. I should not have snapped at you. It only happened recently so it is still very fresh in my mind." I picked at a bit of dirt in the hair of one of my knees.

Raine nodded. "That is understandable. I shouldn't have asked." There was an awkward silence for a moment. "So, how did you meet Lloyd?"

I smiled slightly. "He found me at the bottom of the cliff near the ranch. I was in a bad way, he offered to allow me to stay here while I recovered."

Raine nodded. "So, how did he save your life?"

I sighed quietly. "I was at the bottom of the cliff by the ranch. If he had not taken me away from there the Desians would have found me, which would have led to a fate worse than death. In addition to that he provided me with means of healing my wounds. I would have died had not found me when he did."

Lloyd grinned. "Dwarven vow number two; never abandon someone in need."

I looked over as Lloyd and Kratos came into the house and sat down at the table.

I nickered and shook my head. This boy. He was already eighteen, close to adulthood but he was so naive and kind. He was genuinely a good person. I have never met anyone quite like him before. "I wish more humans were like you, Lloyd."

Lloyd jerked backwards slightly in shock and I blushed slightly as I realised I had spoken aloud. "What do you mean Drake?"

I sighed. "Humans hate and destroy anything they do not understand. Just look at what they do to half-elves. Not all of them are like that, I'm sure, but most of them are. They hate an entire race without first getting to know a single one and if they meet one, they hate them before knowing anything about them."

Lloyd sighed. "Yeah. I see your point."

Genis looked down at the table and Raine looked off to the side slightly. Genis sighed. "I'm sorry, Lloyd, because of me you got hurt and you got in trouble."

Lloyd shook his head. "It's okay, it's not your fault."

Colette stood up. "Lloyd, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Lloyd nodded. "Sure. Let's go up to the terrace." The two of them left the room and headed upstairs. I looked at Kratos who was staring at me with a storm of different emotions barely hidden in his eyes. I was an empath so reading emotions was easier for me than most people. He was curious but also suspicious and wary. He was tense and ready for combat and seemed worried about something.

Dirk sighed at the awkward silence that descended on the room and stood up. "It's gettin late. Have any of ya eaten yet?" when the other three shook their heads he stood up. "Ah'll get some food ready then." Raine started to protest. "No, I insist. Ah won't have you all traipsing through that there forest this late with an empty stomach." He walked into the kitchen.

I looked over the other three again. Looking at their mana, Genis and Raine are half-elves. Kratos was close to human but there was something strange about it. I shook my head. "So, how did two half-elves come to be not only accepted into a human village but best friends with the chosen?"

Raine and Genis both froze. Genis started shaking. "Wh-What? N-no! Raine and I are elves! Not half-elves!"

I smiled gently. "Little one, I am more closely related to monsters than I am humans. I can sense mana. I know the two of you are half-elves."

Raine sighed and gripped Genis' shoulder. "Genis..." she turned to face me. "We got accepted into the village because when we arrived I told the mayor we were full blooded elves. It was the only way we could get into a village. Please, don't tell anyone. They don't need to know."

I nodded. "Of course. What difference does it make if you are full blooded or half blooded elves? Besides. I am hardly one to judge."I waved a hand over my horse half. "I will not tell anyone." The three of us looked at Kratos.

He sighed exasperatedly. "It is none of my business."

I smiled and turned to Genis. "So, how did you and Lloyd become friends?"

Genis laughed quietly. "Well, it was at school. He was having trouble with something and Raine asked me to help him. I was expecting him to dislike me on principle like everyone else. But he didn't. Actually, after he failed to understand what I was trying to teach him and we all went out for lunch he took me to sit with him under the tree in the school yard. After a few minutes he stood up and said, 'I'll be right back' and walked off. He came back with Colette and the three of us started talking and we just kind of clicked."

I tilted my head. "Were he and Colette already friends then?"

Genis shook his head. "No. He spotted Colette sitting by herself and went to talk to her. He called her by name instead of calling her Chosen and told her he didn't care about that stuff. She had never had a real friend before, most people just hung around wither because she's the chosen."

I nodded. "I see. Lloyd is a strange one, not caring about what anyone thinks about him and others and forming such strong bonds."

There was a quiet moment but it wasn't uncomfortable before Raine spoke up. "So Drake, can you tell me about your kind?"

I nodded. "Of course, what do you wish to know?"

She hummed. "What kind of things do you eat?"

"We primarily eat fruits, vegetables, herb and some plants. We can eat fish and poultry if we really need to, such as in harsh winters. We never eat an animal with hooves though. It would be the same as you heating a human or dwarf. It is simply not done."

She nodded and pulled a notebook out of nowhere. "I see... how long do you live for?"

I tilted my head. I was thankful I was the only centaur in existence so none of this would be questioned. "It depends on our breeding but we tend to live for about a hundred years, circumstances allowing. I am just out of colthood, having seen twenty one summers."

Raine nodded. "So, what terms do you use for ages?"

I hummed and tipped my head to one side. "Well, foals are foals. Then as we get older we become yearlings, then colts and fillies. Then we have a ceremony to celebrate our passing into adulthood and become a mare or stallion. I, myself, am a stallion."

This carried on for a few more minutes, him asking me questions and me answering. What is the gender ration like? – about 50-50. How tall do we get? – it depends on breeding, like with all other races. I was actually one of the shortest of my age group. What kind of colours where there? – again, it depended on breeding. What kind of habitats did we live in? – mostly forests though some herds lived on open planes if there was no risk of being killed outright. How many of my kind were left? – only me. Did we have our own religion? – we acknowledged the existence of a demi-god but didn't worship any god in particular, let alone expect one to solve all our problems. How fast could we run? – it depended on breeding and personal training, much like that of a human, but we could generally run at the same speeds as a horse.

Eventually Lloyd and Colette came back downstairs and Lloyd stopped Raine from asking any more questions. Dirk then came out with food and we all ate before Kratos, Raine, Genis and Colette left, bidding goodbye to the three of us left.

I turned to Lloyd. "Lloyd, there are some things I haven't told you about the life debt. I did not wish to tell you in front of your friends."

Lloyd blinked and sat back at the table. "Okay."

I bit my lip slightly. "Since my life is yours you are able to ask anything of me and I will do it, within reason. If you were to ask me to kill myself I wouldn't. Unless you call upon the life debt. If you call upon the life debt I owe you, you can ask me to do anything and I will. If you ask me to kill myself I would, without hesitation. So long as it would repay the debt. You can't call upon the debt and ask me to do something like fetch you a glass of water or wash your shirt or something. It needs to be big enough to repay the debt in one action."

Lloyd looked wide eyed down at the table. "Oh. So... I ask you to do something and you'll do it if you can and if I call on the debt then you'll do anything? Even kill yourself?"

I nodded. "Yes. That is right. my life is in your hands, to do with as you wish."

Lloyd nodded. And sighed quietly, still trying to take it all in. "How do I call upon the debt?"

I smiled gently. "It is slightly more complicated than just asking me to do something so you won't have to worry about calling on it by accident. You have to say, 'I, Lloyd Irving, hereby call upon the life debt owed to me by Drake.' You would then say something along the lines of 'The payment is-' and say what you want the payment to be."

Lloyd nodded. "Right. Okay... but... how will you know when the debt is repaid?"

I tilted my head and smirked. "I don't know. I will know when it has been, but I am not sure about how I will know. I have never owed a life debt to anyone before." Lloyd nodded and sighed heavily. I sighed as well. "I am sorry, Lloyd. I do not wish to burden you but this is information that you need to know."

Lloyd nodded. "I know. Thank you for telling me." he stood up. "I'm gonna get to bed, I've got a long day tomorrow. I'm going with Colette on the journey of world regeneration. We're leaving at noon. You're coming too right?"

I nodded. "Where you go, I go." Lloyd smiled tiredly at me and headed upstairs.

Dirk turned down the fire in the forge and headed towards the stairs. "Ah'm gonna head up too. See ya in the mornin."

I nodded to him and lay down on my blankets.

So, we were going on a journey tomorrow? To regenerate the world. Sounds exiting. I hope my skills are up to it.