21 The Queen's Journey, pt. 3
Decena's POV
It had been two days since the last fight.
As the sun dipped behind a sheet of clouds on the horizon, and the air began to turn frosty, they made another stop, which gave Decena a chance to internalize the second disaster they'd experienced so far.
Those black-robed bastards. Heathens she thought had been dealt with, but no. Instead, they followed her and her allies this far away from Nova.
The redhead sighed, letting her bodyweight fall onto the tree trunk beneath her. Her eyes glazed over the small amount of enlisted remaining. That healer, who Decena learned was named Cara, Jess, Floren, Mariana, Ker'Tallen, Theresa, Jin and herself.
Right now, the group was segmented into various pairs. Though no one showed it too explicitely, there was a certain feel of anxiety in the air. She could see it most prominently on the child's face.
Speaking of which, she was sat down next to Jess, and although Decena could tell she wasn't outright ignoring her, she did take a few seconds every now and then to stare daggers at Jin across the camp.
"What's a girl gotta do to get one warm night, huh?" Jess said, but Mariana didn't respond. They remained in silence, until Jess' tone grew more sober. Decena leaned in a little to hear what she had to say.
"It's tough, it's always tough after a fight like that." These words seemed to catch Mariana's attention. "But just remember, we're all here for you. We won't let anything bad come your way, alright?"
Decena smiled slightly. The blonde certainly had a sisterly air to her, and that didn't seem to go away when dealing with the stoic girl beside her. '
Mariana responded with a nod, and Decena turned her eyes elsewhere. She found Jin and Theresa rehearsing some blade techniques.
The sight caused her to think back to just a few years ago, when she was doing the same in Nova's Fighting Pits, with a much stronger, much burlier man to guide her instead of a slender, elegant elven woman.
"People have a tendency to waste all their stamina at the start of a fight." She said, earning a nod of understanding from the younger boy. "If you see someone running straight for you, most of the time they'll go for some big, exaggerated swing. If it's a horizontal slash," Theresa took a few steps forward to demonstrate, "you either duck or bring your blade up, if it's vertical," she raised her sword above her head, "you side-step and counter with a lunge. Alright?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Alright, let's spar for a little while. Nothing's better than learning from an actual fight."
They clashed swords, and while he hadn't reached any sort of prodigal prowess, Decena could see that he was improving. She remembered a moment during the first fight, where she caught a glimpse of him, clumsily defending himself from eager enemies. She thought he was done for, but the guy actually made it out alive.
And right now, he was still pretty clumsy, but he wasn't awful.
Ker'Tallen had been healed back to full health by Theresa, who doubled as being a master healer and a prodigal warrior, only her fighting usually made it so she wouldn't be able to showcase her healing abilities. The elven woman took a step towards the Griffin and lightly pricked his shoulder with her sword.
"Now you."
"Aye, aye." The Griffin replied, raising his scaled body off the floor.
A hand suddenly emerged in front of Decena, holding a cup of water.
"Thirsty?" She looked up, and saw Floren pleasantly smiling at her.
"Sure."
"Relaxing, is it not?" Floren said, as he sat down next to her. His expression more tired than worried. But he couldn't quite hide the sublte shaking of his foot against the dirt. "The calm before the next storm. And the one after that, and the one after that." He shook his head. "Makes you wonder whether or not we made the right choice, eh?" Decena chuckled.
"You told me you came on this journey to avoid danger. That worked out great, didn't it?" Floren gave a small laugh, and hunched over, casting his eyes in front of him.
"Funny how life is. Sometimes, you just don't really get a chance do disagree with it." Floren leaned back, and put his hands behind his head.
"It's what we signed up for." Decena shrugged. For a moment, Floren stared at her.
"How do you do it?" He asked, suddenly.
"What?"
"Out of everyone here, you're the only one who I'd say is taking this in stride." He stated.
"What about Theresa? She doesn't seem too shaken." She replied.
"I'd beg to differ." He said, nodding towards her.
Decena raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at the woman who was currently dipping around Ker'Tallen's flailing attacks.
For a moment, Decena didn't really see what the big difference was, she just saw a teacher sternly training her eager student. However, she understood, therein lied the contrast.
Usually, Theresa was just a wise, if somewhat light-hearted woman, who happened to be able to destroy you in several ways.
Right now though, she looked stoic, serious. When Ker'Tallen, or Jin for that matter, made a mistake she would respond without a shred of humor or banter.
She had been hiding in plain sight it seemed, but now Decena could tell just how much she appeared to be a different person at the moment.
"You though, there's no difference whatsoever in you. How do you do it?"
Decena leaned back. She watched the clouds slowly move across an increasingly darkening sky. She tried to find the right words, and settled for a simple sentence.
"When you have nothing to lose, it's hard to feel worried." She said, following it up with a shrug. Floren sat in silence, before shaking his head and chuckling.
"I don't know whether to admire you, or feel sorry for you." Floren replied.
"Who says you can't do both?"
"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat in the distance.
Decena glanced over, seeing one of the Saviors standing next to a girl, not much younger than she was. It took just a few seconds before Decena recognized her as being the queen's daughter, causing the redhead's eyes to pop open.
"Princess Eliara Bravilion, daughter of his grace, king Nathaniel Bravilion and queen Cerena Bravilion, will be assisting us in these coming days, acting as another healer. The queen would appreciate it if you would try as hard as you could to ensure no harm comes onto her."
Decena noticed that the girl's eyes had yet to move past a particular member of the enlisted, but upon hearing the Savior conclude, she flashed a regal smile and took a step forward.
"Thank you all for your service. I will do my best to protect, and heal anyone I can." She stated.
There was a moment in which most of the enlisted simply marvelled at the girl. Near-glowing white silk covered her body, and those amethyst eyes were making Decena's cold heart turn the slightest bit warmer.
Eliara bowed and proceeded to walk towards Theresa, whose skin shined slightly as it was tinged with sweat.
"She will be in your care, Varys." The Savior spoke.
"My life will end far before hers does, Olyneces, I will make sure of it." Theresa replied with a bow.
"Her highness has yet to participate in open battle, I'd say, now would be a good time to show her the ropes."
As they continued their conversation, Decena struggled to keep her eyes open.
Eliara's POV
Olyneces bowed quickly, and began walking back to the cart. As soon as he was gone, Theresa smirked at Eliara.
"So, what have you done to the queen to make her let you come out here, to fight no less?" She asked.
"Nothing, I just convinced her." Eliara shrugged.
"I shudder to think of your persuasive abilities then. Well, if you're here, we may as well try to figure out a plan. Let's," Theresa continued, but Eliara cut her off.
"Truth be told," She looked away, "my mother is only allowing me to act as your healer. And the Saviors. She doesn't want me to bother with the enlisted."
Theresa nodded in understanding.
"It did sound too good to be true, but don't worry, I doubt her highness will be poking her head out of her cart mid-battle. Healing the others should be fine as long as you maintain your focus on the Saviors and me. But, can I ask you something?"
"Of course." Eliara replied immediately. She always had a lot of respect for Theresa, as she had seen up close what the elf could do.
"Why do you want to fight?" Theresa asked, her tone grew somber, and her smile faded. "Surely, you've seen the results of each battle up until now. The," she sighed, "corpses. Why would you want to take part in that?"
Eliara looked down, grabbing the edge of her shirt.
"Because I'm tired of being useless." She hissed. "I'm talented, everyone says so! You've said so! I know I can help, and now, more than ever, you all need me." She said, looking at Theresa as though challenging her to say the opposite.
The older woman simply chuckled, and shook her head.
"Alright, alright, just wanted to know. Well, before we get started, let me see something." She turned her head towards someone Eliara hadn't noticed was sitting on the ground just a few feet away. When she did notice, her breath caught in her throat for a second. "Jin."
"Yeah?" The boy answered nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off the sword he was sharpening. Oh Charlotte. Eliara thought. Did he hear me!? That's so embarrasing!
Her skin turned red briefly as Theresa continued.
"Lend me your ID card for a moment."
"Sure." The handsome boy answered. His muscles shifted and flexed as he stood and reached for his pocket. Theresa saw Eliara's expression, and laughed lightly. "What?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing, nothing." Theresa said.
When the boy gave the card over, Theresa aimed it at Eliara. It read:
Eliara, of house Bravilion. 249M
"Well, you have more magic than Jin, but this..." Theresa hesitated, "I'm not sure this is good enough for an active healer."
Eliara crunched her eyebrows in frustration.
"Let's practice, and then we'll see whether I'm good enough." She said.
"Sure, sure." Theresa conceded. "So, what spells do you know?"
"[Burst Heal], [Healing Stream], and [Assist]." Eliara replied.
"Okay, okay. So, you know the basics. That's good." Theresa sounded pleasantly surprised. Of course, Eliara knew the more fundamental Light Magic spells, such as the universal [Heal] spell, but she decided to simply mention the more complex abilities in her arsenal. "Describe each to me."
"[Burst Heal] is a spell that heals a lot of damage in a very short time, in exchange for more magic. [Healing Stream] is the opposite, requiring less magic for healing over time. [Assist] gives the object of the spell a boost in stamina.
"Let's give each of them a test run, see how much magic they take away. Jin," once again, Theresa addressed the boy, walking towards him.
"Yeah?" He asked before, without a word, Theresa nicked his shoulder with a small blade she'd been concealing. "E-Ey!? What's wrong with you?"
"Calm down, it's just a flesh wound."
"That hurt!"
"Anyway," Theresa said, ignoring the boy's protests. "Try [Burst Heal]."
Eliara took a nervous step forward. Her eyes locked with Jin's, and although he was much more focused on figuring out what the hell was happening, all she could hear was her heart beating a little faster.
She remembered what she'd been taught time and time again by Nova's court mage back at the palace.
"Visualize the spell taking place. Remember, all magic is thought-based." The court mage would instruct her.
Eliara knelt down beside Jin's shoulder, and held her hand out. She breathed in once, and in her mind, she uttered the spell's name.
A white glow emerged from her hand, a feeling of oneness with the boy flooded her body, and suddenly, Jin's wound closed.
"W-What the..." Jin was shocked. But Theresa was more focused on something else.
"201/249" Theresa read aloud. "So, I'd say this means you can use [Burst Heal] about five times in one battle before going into Magic Exhaustion. Okay, next up, is [Healing Stream]"
Theresa took a step towards Jin, and the boy immediately flinched, staggering back with a look of abject horror on his face.
"Sigh Fine, I'll do it this time." Theresa cut a small part of her left palm open, causing some blood to trickle out. Truthfully, it was a sight that made Eliara cringe. "Try it."
Again, Eliara closed her eyes. This time, she kept herself at a distance, as she had been told this spell was mainly used to heal targets from a safe location.
A yellow string emerged from her right hand, and tied itself to Theresa's wound, twisting and turning in the air.
The wound began closing in front of her, and Eliara herself could feel the relief in Theresa's body.
"Alright." The elf said. "Let's see... That was about ten seconds. You have 179M. So, about two or three M per second?" Theresa nodded to herself. "Remember, Eliara, you have to use up as little magic as possible, always assume a battle will go on for a lot longer than you expect it to. Alright, for [Assist], I have an idea."
She looked to her left, finding Ker'Tallen absent-mindedly watching them.
"Come over." She beckoned.
"Ah, yes? You need me?" The Griffin said.
Eliara had forgotten about him, and the sight of the snake nearly made her run back to her mother's cart. Though he'd so far proven to be firmly against the beastmen, she couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety whenever he drew near.
"I want you and Jin to spar for a moment."
Both boys looked at each other, and Jin asked.
"Why?"
"What is it, Jin?" The snake's voice suddenly took a much lighter tone. "Afraid I will humiliate you in front of these lovely women?"
Jin instantly arched an eyebrow.
"Not really. I just don't want to hurt you." Theresa, Ker'Tallen and Eliara all raised their eyebrows at the sudden boast, but Eliara could tell the brown-haired boy actually meant it, no harm intended.
"Settle down, settle down. I just want Eliara to try some stuff out. Take it easy." Theresa said.
"Alright, where are our swords?" Ker'Tallen asked.
"No, just hand-to-hand is fine." Theresa said.
"Okay. Ready, Jin?" Ker'Tallen took a few steps towards a bit of space between the two women and the rest of the enlisted.
"I guess." Jin shrugged.
To Eliara's surprise, their roles seemed almost reversed. Ker'Tallen, the Griffin stood in a much more professional-looking posture than Jin's. Jin looked like he was planning on using non-existent claws more than his fists.
"Go." Theresa said, and they both began moving.
Jin pushed ahead, raising his right hand to go for a hook, one Ker'Tallen easily deflected. The Griffin responded by taking two swift steps forward, and landing a hit on Jin's abdomen.
"Agh!" Jin recoiled, seemingly surprised by the Griffin's strength. He grit his teeth and went back in.
"Okay," as they continued to trade blows, Theresa said to Eliara, "cast the spell on Jin." Theresa instructed.
This time, as Eliara began, a green stream emerged from her fingers and wrapped themselves around Jin's entire body.
The boy moved faster, catching Ker'Tallen off guard with a left hook that scraped his green skin.
"Heal that." Theresa told Eliara. "Jin, he's clearly stronger than you, you have to use your speed to counter. On the other hand, Ker'Tallen, you'll want to try over-powering Jin."
Eliara thought it was a little ridiculous that she was giving both of them advice while they fought, but she tried concentrating on her own task, healing the Griffin with a quick [Burst Heal].
The training session extended for about ten minutes, until Eliara could no longer boost either's stamina.
With her magic close to zero, Theresa halted both fighters.
Eliara watched as Theresa studied the pair, she could almost hear her thoughts, since they were probably the same as her own.
Ker'Tallen obviously had a strength advantage, but Jin was much quicker, and seemed to possess an almost scary offensive initiative. Between the both of them, at least in a hand-to-hand situation, there did not seem to be a clear victor.
She had to sit down on the floor, dirtying her white clothing to catch her breath.
"You're at 14M. Breath." Theresa laid a hand on Eliara's shoulder. While they rested, she heard Ker'Tallen speak.
"Why don't you come and play with us, eh?" He said, to someone in the distance.
Eliara looked across the camp, and saw the redheaded knight arch her brows.
"You're challenging me?" She replied, with no hint of emotion in her voice.
"No, no he's not. At least, not until the princess recovers." Theresa interrupted them.
"Why?" Ker'Tallen asked, almost sounding offended.
"That girl out of your league. To be honest, in straight up fight with no magic involved, I'm not sure I can take her." Theresa simply stated, with a slight smirk on her face. The redhead appeared to lose interest and went back to whatever it was she was doing before. "Haven't you noticed something? Out of all the enlisted, she's been the least injured so far. You can't see my injuries because I healed them, but I was pretty messed up in the last battle. All she took was a gash in her shoulder."
Eliara blinked. The girl looked tough in her armor, but she was still fairly thin. How could she be stronger than both of these men?
After their training session concluded, the enlisted rested for a few more hours before they got going again at the break of dawn.
The caravans rode across a barren terrain, looking for the next town where they could hopefully replenish some supplies.
As the days rolled on, the terrain once again began changing. It went from a stretch of dirt, to tall grass covering hills that wove between each other, until the carts started climbing a small mountain.
When they reached its peak, Eliara was stunned when her eyes fell on Azeria beneath her.
Far away, in the distance, a glowing bit of iron, she could see the object of their journey. Nova. Before that, was a shining field of silver colored vegetation called the Diamond Plains, and before that was the red and orange, ancient Midland Bridge that connected the north and south parts of Azeria.
Within another day, they arrived at the only town that still waited before reaching the bridge, which would mark the halfway point of their travels.
This time, Eliara was relieved when they heard a group of guards stop their cart before they approached the gate.
There were actually people here, not the remnants of death they'd encountered earlier.
It was time for some much needed replenishing.
It had been two days since the last fight.
As the sun dipped behind a sheet of clouds on the horizon, and the air began to turn frosty, they made another stop, which gave Decena a chance to internalize the second disaster they'd experienced so far.
Those black-robed bastards. Heathens she thought had been dealt with, but no. Instead, they followed her and her allies this far away from Nova.
The redhead sighed, letting her bodyweight fall onto the tree trunk beneath her. Her eyes glazed over the small amount of enlisted remaining. That healer, who Decena learned was named Cara, Jess, Floren, Mariana, Ker'Tallen, Theresa, Jin and herself.
Right now, the group was segmented into various pairs. Though no one showed it too explicitely, there was a certain feel of anxiety in the air. She could see it most prominently on the child's face.
Speaking of which, she was sat down next to Jess, and although Decena could tell she wasn't outright ignoring her, she did take a few seconds every now and then to stare daggers at Jin across the camp.
"What's a girl gotta do to get one warm night, huh?" Jess said, but Mariana didn't respond. They remained in silence, until Jess' tone grew more sober. Decena leaned in a little to hear what she had to say.
"It's tough, it's always tough after a fight like that." These words seemed to catch Mariana's attention. "But just remember, we're all here for you. We won't let anything bad come your way, alright?"
Decena smiled slightly. The blonde certainly had a sisterly air to her, and that didn't seem to go away when dealing with the stoic girl beside her. '
Mariana responded with a nod, and Decena turned her eyes elsewhere. She found Jin and Theresa rehearsing some blade techniques.
The sight caused her to think back to just a few years ago, when she was doing the same in Nova's Fighting Pits, with a much stronger, much burlier man to guide her instead of a slender, elegant elven woman.
"People have a tendency to waste all their stamina at the start of a fight." She said, earning a nod of understanding from the younger boy. "If you see someone running straight for you, most of the time they'll go for some big, exaggerated swing. If it's a horizontal slash," Theresa took a few steps forward to demonstrate, "you either duck or bring your blade up, if it's vertical," she raised her sword above her head, "you side-step and counter with a lunge. Alright?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Alright, let's spar for a little while. Nothing's better than learning from an actual fight."
They clashed swords, and while he hadn't reached any sort of prodigal prowess, Decena could see that he was improving. She remembered a moment during the first fight, where she caught a glimpse of him, clumsily defending himself from eager enemies. She thought he was done for, but the guy actually made it out alive.
And right now, he was still pretty clumsy, but he wasn't awful.
Ker'Tallen had been healed back to full health by Theresa, who doubled as being a master healer and a prodigal warrior, only her fighting usually made it so she wouldn't be able to showcase her healing abilities. The elven woman took a step towards the Griffin and lightly pricked his shoulder with her sword.
"Now you."
"Aye, aye." The Griffin replied, raising his scaled body off the floor.
A hand suddenly emerged in front of Decena, holding a cup of water.
"Thirsty?" She looked up, and saw Floren pleasantly smiling at her.
"Sure."
"Relaxing, is it not?" Floren said, as he sat down next to her. His expression more tired than worried. But he couldn't quite hide the sublte shaking of his foot against the dirt. "The calm before the next storm. And the one after that, and the one after that." He shook his head. "Makes you wonder whether or not we made the right choice, eh?" Decena chuckled.
"You told me you came on this journey to avoid danger. That worked out great, didn't it?" Floren gave a small laugh, and hunched over, casting his eyes in front of him.
"Funny how life is. Sometimes, you just don't really get a chance do disagree with it." Floren leaned back, and put his hands behind his head.
"It's what we signed up for." Decena shrugged. For a moment, Floren stared at her.
"How do you do it?" He asked, suddenly.
"What?"
"Out of everyone here, you're the only one who I'd say is taking this in stride." He stated.
"What about Theresa? She doesn't seem too shaken." She replied.
"I'd beg to differ." He said, nodding towards her.
Decena raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at the woman who was currently dipping around Ker'Tallen's flailing attacks.
For a moment, Decena didn't really see what the big difference was, she just saw a teacher sternly training her eager student. However, she understood, therein lied the contrast.
Usually, Theresa was just a wise, if somewhat light-hearted woman, who happened to be able to destroy you in several ways.
Right now though, she looked stoic, serious. When Ker'Tallen, or Jin for that matter, made a mistake she would respond without a shred of humor or banter.
She had been hiding in plain sight it seemed, but now Decena could tell just how much she appeared to be a different person at the moment.
"You though, there's no difference whatsoever in you. How do you do it?"
Decena leaned back. She watched the clouds slowly move across an increasingly darkening sky. She tried to find the right words, and settled for a simple sentence.
"When you have nothing to lose, it's hard to feel worried." She said, following it up with a shrug. Floren sat in silence, before shaking his head and chuckling.
"I don't know whether to admire you, or feel sorry for you." Floren replied.
"Who says you can't do both?"
"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat in the distance.
Decena glanced over, seeing one of the Saviors standing next to a girl, not much younger than she was. It took just a few seconds before Decena recognized her as being the queen's daughter, causing the redhead's eyes to pop open.
"Princess Eliara Bravilion, daughter of his grace, king Nathaniel Bravilion and queen Cerena Bravilion, will be assisting us in these coming days, acting as another healer. The queen would appreciate it if you would try as hard as you could to ensure no harm comes onto her."
Decena noticed that the girl's eyes had yet to move past a particular member of the enlisted, but upon hearing the Savior conclude, she flashed a regal smile and took a step forward.
"Thank you all for your service. I will do my best to protect, and heal anyone I can." She stated.
There was a moment in which most of the enlisted simply marvelled at the girl. Near-glowing white silk covered her body, and those amethyst eyes were making Decena's cold heart turn the slightest bit warmer.
Eliara bowed and proceeded to walk towards Theresa, whose skin shined slightly as it was tinged with sweat.
"She will be in your care, Varys." The Savior spoke.
"My life will end far before hers does, Olyneces, I will make sure of it." Theresa replied with a bow.
"Her highness has yet to participate in open battle, I'd say, now would be a good time to show her the ropes."
As they continued their conversation, Decena struggled to keep her eyes open.
Eliara's POV
Olyneces bowed quickly, and began walking back to the cart. As soon as he was gone, Theresa smirked at Eliara.
"So, what have you done to the queen to make her let you come out here, to fight no less?" She asked.
"Nothing, I just convinced her." Eliara shrugged.
"I shudder to think of your persuasive abilities then. Well, if you're here, we may as well try to figure out a plan. Let's," Theresa continued, but Eliara cut her off.
"Truth be told," She looked away, "my mother is only allowing me to act as your healer. And the Saviors. She doesn't want me to bother with the enlisted."
Theresa nodded in understanding.
"It did sound too good to be true, but don't worry, I doubt her highness will be poking her head out of her cart mid-battle. Healing the others should be fine as long as you maintain your focus on the Saviors and me. But, can I ask you something?"
"Of course." Eliara replied immediately. She always had a lot of respect for Theresa, as she had seen up close what the elf could do.
"Why do you want to fight?" Theresa asked, her tone grew somber, and her smile faded. "Surely, you've seen the results of each battle up until now. The," she sighed, "corpses. Why would you want to take part in that?"
Eliara looked down, grabbing the edge of her shirt.
"Because I'm tired of being useless." She hissed. "I'm talented, everyone says so! You've said so! I know I can help, and now, more than ever, you all need me." She said, looking at Theresa as though challenging her to say the opposite.
The older woman simply chuckled, and shook her head.
"Alright, alright, just wanted to know. Well, before we get started, let me see something." She turned her head towards someone Eliara hadn't noticed was sitting on the ground just a few feet away. When she did notice, her breath caught in her throat for a second. "Jin."
"Yeah?" The boy answered nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off the sword he was sharpening. Oh Charlotte. Eliara thought. Did he hear me!? That's so embarrasing!
Her skin turned red briefly as Theresa continued.
"Lend me your ID card for a moment."
"Sure." The handsome boy answered. His muscles shifted and flexed as he stood and reached for his pocket. Theresa saw Eliara's expression, and laughed lightly. "What?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing, nothing." Theresa said.
When the boy gave the card over, Theresa aimed it at Eliara. It read:
Eliara, of house Bravilion. 249M
"Well, you have more magic than Jin, but this..." Theresa hesitated, "I'm not sure this is good enough for an active healer."
Eliara crunched her eyebrows in frustration.
"Let's practice, and then we'll see whether I'm good enough." She said.
"Sure, sure." Theresa conceded. "So, what spells do you know?"
"[Burst Heal], [Healing Stream], and [Assist]." Eliara replied.
"Okay, okay. So, you know the basics. That's good." Theresa sounded pleasantly surprised. Of course, Eliara knew the more fundamental Light Magic spells, such as the universal [Heal] spell, but she decided to simply mention the more complex abilities in her arsenal. "Describe each to me."
"[Burst Heal] is a spell that heals a lot of damage in a very short time, in exchange for more magic. [Healing Stream] is the opposite, requiring less magic for healing over time. [Assist] gives the object of the spell a boost in stamina.
"Let's give each of them a test run, see how much magic they take away. Jin," once again, Theresa addressed the boy, walking towards him.
"Yeah?" He asked before, without a word, Theresa nicked his shoulder with a small blade she'd been concealing. "E-Ey!? What's wrong with you?"
"Calm down, it's just a flesh wound."
"That hurt!"
"Anyway," Theresa said, ignoring the boy's protests. "Try [Burst Heal]."
Eliara took a nervous step forward. Her eyes locked with Jin's, and although he was much more focused on figuring out what the hell was happening, all she could hear was her heart beating a little faster.
She remembered what she'd been taught time and time again by Nova's court mage back at the palace.
"Visualize the spell taking place. Remember, all magic is thought-based." The court mage would instruct her.
Eliara knelt down beside Jin's shoulder, and held her hand out. She breathed in once, and in her mind, she uttered the spell's name.
A white glow emerged from her hand, a feeling of oneness with the boy flooded her body, and suddenly, Jin's wound closed.
"W-What the..." Jin was shocked. But Theresa was more focused on something else.
"201/249" Theresa read aloud. "So, I'd say this means you can use [Burst Heal] about five times in one battle before going into Magic Exhaustion. Okay, next up, is [Healing Stream]"
Theresa took a step towards Jin, and the boy immediately flinched, staggering back with a look of abject horror on his face.
"Sigh Fine, I'll do it this time." Theresa cut a small part of her left palm open, causing some blood to trickle out. Truthfully, it was a sight that made Eliara cringe. "Try it."
Again, Eliara closed her eyes. This time, she kept herself at a distance, as she had been told this spell was mainly used to heal targets from a safe location.
A yellow string emerged from her right hand, and tied itself to Theresa's wound, twisting and turning in the air.
The wound began closing in front of her, and Eliara herself could feel the relief in Theresa's body.
"Alright." The elf said. "Let's see... That was about ten seconds. You have 179M. So, about two or three M per second?" Theresa nodded to herself. "Remember, Eliara, you have to use up as little magic as possible, always assume a battle will go on for a lot longer than you expect it to. Alright, for [Assist], I have an idea."
She looked to her left, finding Ker'Tallen absent-mindedly watching them.
"Come over." She beckoned.
"Ah, yes? You need me?" The Griffin said.
Eliara had forgotten about him, and the sight of the snake nearly made her run back to her mother's cart. Though he'd so far proven to be firmly against the beastmen, she couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety whenever he drew near.
"I want you and Jin to spar for a moment."
Both boys looked at each other, and Jin asked.
"Why?"
"What is it, Jin?" The snake's voice suddenly took a much lighter tone. "Afraid I will humiliate you in front of these lovely women?"
Jin instantly arched an eyebrow.
"Not really. I just don't want to hurt you." Theresa, Ker'Tallen and Eliara all raised their eyebrows at the sudden boast, but Eliara could tell the brown-haired boy actually meant it, no harm intended.
"Settle down, settle down. I just want Eliara to try some stuff out. Take it easy." Theresa said.
"Alright, where are our swords?" Ker'Tallen asked.
"No, just hand-to-hand is fine." Theresa said.
"Okay. Ready, Jin?" Ker'Tallen took a few steps towards a bit of space between the two women and the rest of the enlisted.
"I guess." Jin shrugged.
To Eliara's surprise, their roles seemed almost reversed. Ker'Tallen, the Griffin stood in a much more professional-looking posture than Jin's. Jin looked like he was planning on using non-existent claws more than his fists.
"Go." Theresa said, and they both began moving.
Jin pushed ahead, raising his right hand to go for a hook, one Ker'Tallen easily deflected. The Griffin responded by taking two swift steps forward, and landing a hit on Jin's abdomen.
"Agh!" Jin recoiled, seemingly surprised by the Griffin's strength. He grit his teeth and went back in.
"Okay," as they continued to trade blows, Theresa said to Eliara, "cast the spell on Jin." Theresa instructed.
This time, as Eliara began, a green stream emerged from her fingers and wrapped themselves around Jin's entire body.
The boy moved faster, catching Ker'Tallen off guard with a left hook that scraped his green skin.
"Heal that." Theresa told Eliara. "Jin, he's clearly stronger than you, you have to use your speed to counter. On the other hand, Ker'Tallen, you'll want to try over-powering Jin."
Eliara thought it was a little ridiculous that she was giving both of them advice while they fought, but she tried concentrating on her own task, healing the Griffin with a quick [Burst Heal].
The training session extended for about ten minutes, until Eliara could no longer boost either's stamina.
With her magic close to zero, Theresa halted both fighters.
Eliara watched as Theresa studied the pair, she could almost hear her thoughts, since they were probably the same as her own.
Ker'Tallen obviously had a strength advantage, but Jin was much quicker, and seemed to possess an almost scary offensive initiative. Between the both of them, at least in a hand-to-hand situation, there did not seem to be a clear victor.
She had to sit down on the floor, dirtying her white clothing to catch her breath.
"You're at 14M. Breath." Theresa laid a hand on Eliara's shoulder. While they rested, she heard Ker'Tallen speak.
"Why don't you come and play with us, eh?" He said, to someone in the distance.
Eliara looked across the camp, and saw the redheaded knight arch her brows.
"You're challenging me?" She replied, with no hint of emotion in her voice.
"No, no he's not. At least, not until the princess recovers." Theresa interrupted them.
"Why?" Ker'Tallen asked, almost sounding offended.
"That girl out of your league. To be honest, in straight up fight with no magic involved, I'm not sure I can take her." Theresa simply stated, with a slight smirk on her face. The redhead appeared to lose interest and went back to whatever it was she was doing before. "Haven't you noticed something? Out of all the enlisted, she's been the least injured so far. You can't see my injuries because I healed them, but I was pretty messed up in the last battle. All she took was a gash in her shoulder."
Eliara blinked. The girl looked tough in her armor, but she was still fairly thin. How could she be stronger than both of these men?
After their training session concluded, the enlisted rested for a few more hours before they got going again at the break of dawn.
The caravans rode across a barren terrain, looking for the next town where they could hopefully replenish some supplies.
As the days rolled on, the terrain once again began changing. It went from a stretch of dirt, to tall grass covering hills that wove between each other, until the carts started climbing a small mountain.
When they reached its peak, Eliara was stunned when her eyes fell on Azeria beneath her.
Far away, in the distance, a glowing bit of iron, she could see the object of their journey. Nova. Before that, was a shining field of silver colored vegetation called the Diamond Plains, and before that was the red and orange, ancient Midland Bridge that connected the north and south parts of Azeria.
Within another day, they arrived at the only town that still waited before reaching the bridge, which would mark the halfway point of their travels.
This time, Eliara was relieved when they heard a group of guards stop their cart before they approached the gate.
There were actually people here, not the remnants of death they'd encountered earlier.
It was time for some much needed replenishing.
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