Chapter 707: Gates and Wings (1/2)
Chapter 707 Gates and Wings
Neireen couldn’t believe her luck. This woman had so many potential random sources directly or indirectly related to her research that she started to question everything. Who was she? Half the people she mentioned were supposedly already dead. She opened her eyes a little wider when Verena mentioned a Halas Bark. The same man quoted in one of the books she had found in a prominent library in Virilya. Dead on all accounts but Verena had known him. He’s been dead for like fifty years.
The fact that people beyond level two hundred didn’t exactly age much anymore wasn’t a secret within the Medic Sentinel Corps, mostly treated as an anecdote. Something most of them would reach sooner or later. An incredible fact to Neireen. And just another thing the people here somehow took for granted. Or they were simply too used to it. She was guilty of similar matters. Nowhere else would she have dismissed a high level healer like she had that woman before, but there were so many here, and no one really cared.
She still wasn’t sure if there was some kind of sinister plot at work here. A simple talk with Trian and an explanation of her goals had gotten her this room. Everywhere else she was ignored or yelled out, but here she got resources, despite her low level and little experience. Someone occasionally checked through her work but every teacher had expertise in their fields, providing her with feedback from their perspective.
The training was ridiculous of course but she would bathe in all the fire she had to if it provided her with these kinds of resources. The Class she got was powerful too. She would’ve never thought herself capable of fighting as well as she did, but it would come in handy, even just for finding rare ingredients in the wild.
“I’m pretty sure he just fiddled with this stuff for a few weeks or so. I remember him switching research and magical interests on the weekly. He died trying to seduce a Werewolf with the sound of a blood magic infused lute of all things,” Verena said.
“That… doesn’t seem like sound research,” Neireen replied. “I did not intend that pun, apologies.”
Verena breathed in deeply before she shrugged. “You would be wrong either way. I heard about his disappearance and investigated. The state I found him in… the signs of battle. Well… let’s leave it at that. I had his notes on the subject filed away in the darkest corner of Keywire’s library.”
“I… uh… see,” Neireen answered, fumbling with her notes before she got to some of her current problems.
“Other forms of healing?” Verena asked as she looked at the open page of the notebook.
“Yes. It would be helpful to see but they’re exceptionally rare. Blood healing might exist but other than a few unreliable sources claiming beasts in the wild had healed them, there’s not much to go on. Light magic can sometimes have healing properties but the potency is not particularly impressive and very few mages ever come across the option. Based on examples of other magic or even versatile warrior Classes, I believe that healing could be incorporated into most schools of magic. Poison is one of the go to examples but,” she said and trailed off.
“Why work out a way to heal with poison when you can just get a healing Class,” Verena finished.
“Exactly, and it’s frustrating to talk about. Sentinels at least take me seriously,” she said. But most don’t really care anyway. The Classes are good, we can both fight and heal. Why experiment with something so abstract. “But they don’t really get it either… even with Lilith supposedly able to use a special kind of healing.”
“Arcane I believe,” Verena said.
“You know about it? I guess with all the songs and stories… and you being friends with a high level Sentinel. It cures the mind somehow… makes pain resistance training much easier,” she said.
“Wish I had that,” Verena said with a sigh.
“Most of those above level one fifty have it in the second tier already. The rest was forbidden to train it specifically, and to wait for Lilith,” Neireen added. What did she mean by that?
“If you want to see some arcane healing, I can ask her to show you,” Verena said.
Neireen lit up. “You know Lilith?”
“I, do,” Verena said and looked towards the door for a moment.
The same Sentinel who had been with Verena appeared a second later. Ash flowed over her face to clear off blood. Not an uncommon sight during or after their regular training sessions.
“You needed me to punch something?” the woman asked.
Neireen looked at her for a long moment. Could it be? Her? But she’s so ordinary.
“She wants to see your arcane healing,” Verena said.
“In action?” the woman asked, glancing between them.
All Neireen could do was nod lightly. Her words were stuck in her throat. They are just messing with you. She thought and watched the woman dismember herself with two ashen limbs coming out of her back. Blood and flesh were enveloped by erupting white flames before they were turned to nothing. She watched as the woman’s arms regrew in seconds, as if flame summoned by a fire mage.
“Hmm… a bit fast probably,” the woman said. Lilith said.
“She just realized who you are,” Verena said with a slight smile. “One of the perks of being known. I do still prefer my obscurity.”
“How do you manage that anyway? You’re active in the Plains, aren’t you?” Lilith asked.
Verena shrugged. “I’ve been around for a while. People are less interested when you’re known and don’t get involved in their business as much as you do.”
Neireen felt a soothing energy flow into her mind, her eyes opening wide as she felt the same thing so many of her peers had described before. Arcane healing! In my head! She squealed a little.
Lilith laid her arm onto one of the work benches before she hacked it away. “Verena, some constant flame to keep the healing process visible?”
“This room would melt with the power I’d need to even try,” Verena answered.
“I’ll disable my resistance,” Lilith said.
“Too dangerous. She’s below level one hundred,” the woman said.
“She’ll be fine. I’ve done worse to the students… just a few minutes ago actually. It’s the power of arcane healing. Gets rid of all that trauma right away,” she said.
Neireen looked on when both of the women turned their attention to her. She had never felt this small in her life. “V… Verena… who… who are you?”
“It’s of no concern,” the woman said.
“She’s an Elder of the Shadow’s Hand,” Lilith said.
What.
“Why would you just share that? Do you know how hard I work to keep this from being general knowledge? I don’t want creepy bards writing songs about me,” Verena hissed, a growl going through the room at the end of it.
Neireen felt herself freeze up, her body trembling slightly. She might’ve peed a little.
“Who’s freaking out the student now?” Lilith asked. “Come on, she won’t tell anyone, right?”
Four eyes on her. Neireen wanted to pass out but that was literally impossible with the healing magic flowing into her mind and body. She felt healthier than she had ever been.
“Guess I’ll just keep hacking away,” Lilith said as ashen limbs flowed from her back.
Neireen gulped and tried to focus.
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Ilea finished burning up the last arms, Neireen still murmuring to herself, writing down more notes.
The woman continued with scratching her head before she went over to another workbench and started gathering ingredients.
“Guess that was helpful,” Ilea said.
Verena grunted in an affirming way.
“Good luck with your research,” she said and left the room. Ilea cracked her neck and stretched. “That training kind of made me want to fight something.”
“Hmm,” Verena mused.
The Meadow is really spoiling me. To be able to go all out like that, whenever I want to. Just lacks the catharsis of winning, she thought. “We could check those Taleen facilities Iana told me about. Care to join?”
“I wouldn’t mind,” Verena replied.
“Alright. Let’s go back north then,” Ilea said and moved them up and back into the city. They continued on towards the gate and out into the valley. The teleportation gate activated half a minute later, bringing them to the correspondent counterpart in the north.