The silhouette of a small woman stepped into the room and Kal felt his soul explode with anger. If his body had worked and he wasn’t bound in chains he would have lunged at her. Instead, he half growled half groaned as his eyes adjusted to the light and took in her appearance.
[Lelashian Lifetouched | Hand of Life 89 | Elf-Dryad]
Her skin was the lightest shade of green and her hair reminded him of strips of fresh bark bound behind her head in a tight knot. Her eyes shone an almost radiant emerald and for a moment Kal felt his dark thoughts dull slightly as she looked over him.
Almost by reflex his mana sight flared and cycled through his spectrum of known manas until it stopped on soul mana. Much clearer than that of demons a pale blue light flickered beneath her breast, orbited by motes of vibrant green. Unlike Dhinir’s and Uton’s touch Kal didn’t recognize it immediately but like his experience with the pillar of mana acuity, a sense of the mana’s affinity seeped into his mind.
Seeds sprouted, piercing the stone-like earth it had found itself within but life finds a way. Soon grass covered the plains of earth, then ferns, and plants, flowers, and trees. Animals began to roam and hunt but all for the greater purpose of growth and life. Between it all hung a tapestry of life mana, an ever-loving embrace of the Life Bringer.
“Earae?”
The feeling of calm vanished as two more figures stepped into the room behind her. One he didn’t recognize but the other was here early…or at least whenever had arrived.
[Hemdal Ireth | Sanguine Keeper 98 | Human]
Recognition of the corpse- person wasn’t the problem, however. The moment his soul-focused mana sight landed upon their pale flickering souls and he saw the golden touch of Dhinir and the sickly black-green touch of Uton his soul exploded.
By reflex, he tried to activate Eyes of the Slayer only for it to fail just like Slayer’s Intent. Blood sprayed from his nose to sizzle on the ground again but he did see all three of them physically step back as a wave of malevolent intent washed over them. Lelashian visibly paled but instead of fleeing as she should- as he expected she lowered her head.
“I am Lelashian, I am here to see to your wounds. Please-” The woman’s words were cut off by a snap from Hemdal.
“Don’t bother speaking to him, Girl. Do as you were asked and leave.”
By pure murderous reflex Kal formed a blade of will and hurled it at the traitorous god-touched. The arrays surrounding him flared to life into a blinding display of cascading colors stunning him slightly but even though he couldn’t see Kal felt his will blade shatter against the array wall and shook as the backlash slammed into his mind.
His vision faded and his head lulled woozily to one side as all three of his “visitors” flinched away from him.
Hemdal was shouting about something but Kal didn’t quite make it out through the pain in his skull and the writhing of flesh at the edge of his vision but when Lelashian turned back to the man he managed to refocus his thoughts.
“I know my duty, Prophet. But I cannot do so if your presence will make stabilizing him unsafe for both the captive or myself,” A green aura had begun to emanate from the woman’s body part way through her response. Kal doubted anyone else could detect it judging by their reactions but he felt a certain level of danger from the woman as she glared at the sickly-looking man.
“Fine! But you will not speak with the Freak and will retrieve my sample,” Hemdal spat, his voice dark and hateful before turning to leave the cell with the other man in tow.
Once the cell door closed behind them the cell was only lit by a single pale blue opal lamp. Lelashian stepped closer and Kal did everything he could to hold back the growl that was building in his throat. Apparently, she could sense the change in his aura because she paused and looked up into his eyes, “I sense pain in you Kalum Lesta more than just the physical.”
The immediate breaking of Hemdal’s rule took Kal aback for a moment and his head rocked back again as his concentration was broken and his mind was overwhelmed with the centuries…
Kal gasped and shook as a lightning bolt of heat shot through his entire body. It moved along his veins to surge across his organs and vital structures, reforming the flesh along with it. Only when it was over did Kal truly manage to open his eyes. Lelashian stood barely a foot away from him with her palm softly held against his chest. Her eyes were closed and her mouth tilted downward in focused concentration but a moment later she withdrew her hand and took a step back.
Kalum Lesta
Status
Class:
Slayer of Fate [Epic] [Anomalous]
Level:
77
Race:
Human?
Health:
2/4870
Stamina:
324/7440
Wrath:
0
Attributes
Strength:
448[-475] Scarring Containment
Agility:
-3[-462] Scarring Containment
Endurance:
319[-425] Scarring Containment
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Vitality:
-1[-487] Scarring Containment
Intellect:
242[-400] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Perception:
127[-380] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Will:
955[-410] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Wisdom:
224[-390] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Kalum Lesta
Status
Class:
Slayer of Fate [Epic] [Anomalous]
Level:
77
Race:
Human?
Health:
2/4870
Stamina:
324/7440
Wrath:
0
Attributes
Strength:
543[-380] Scarring Containment
Agility:
275[-185] Containment
Endurance:
574[-170] Containment
Vitality:
292[-195] Containment
Intellect:
242[-400] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Perception:
127[-380] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Will:
955[-410] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Wisdom:
224[-390] Mental Backlash, Mana Burn
Despite his health not increasing Kal felt worlds healthier than he had just moments again and checking his status confirmed it. Almost all of his scarring had been healed and his partially healed endurance made a significant difference when it came to dealing with the pain.
Looking closer at his old attributes he only just now realized that he had been in the negatives for both agility and vitality. It was no wonder that he could barely move before. His mind still quaked with the images of his memories but he did what he could to focus on Lelashian, “Thank you,” his came out as barely a croak but judging by her surprised expression she heard him.
Her face smoothed and she nodded, “Of course. I only wish I was capable of healing your deeper wounds but they are beyond me. I also would have preferred to heal your physical wounds properly but in this, I am restricted by the will of the Third and Fifth,” She flinched slightly as Kal’s anger flared again but she quickly recovered.
“I’m- I’m sorry,” Kal said, forcing his voice louder, “I… Nevermind. Can you tell me where I am?”
Lelashian looked nervous for a moment and glanced over her shoulder toward the cell door, “You are within The Third Tower in the city of Serpent’s Rest,” Kal was honestly surprised she had told him so freely and his face must have given him away, “Strange things are happening in our world Kalum Lesta. Our gods have fallen silent and the empire’s chains grow tight. My Lady has spoken of you and your anomalous nature.”
Kal grunted, “Let me guess. I need to be cleansed? I remember her power mixed with the pillar of destruction gathering to smite me.”
Lelashian did a double take on Kal and paled slightly, “No. Prophet Galadria said we were to leave you be. Though you are anomalous you are a living thing and should be left unmolested.”
“Yeah, right…” Kal muttered internally but didn’t refute her, “If that’s true why are you here? Why isn’t one of their healers here instead.”
“The Third and Fifth are convinced you draw power in a different mana than most and did not want to risk giving you direct access to pure mana in case you could use it for other means. I am solely attuned with nature mana and it was deemed unlikely to be manipulated by a person with a class like yours.”
That made enough sense to Kal’s unfocused mind but he felt he was missing something. Lelashian drew a syringe from her robes and brought it toward his arm, “I must take some of your blood to fulfill the Prophet’s request. This syringe has been crafted from incredibly rare materials for the task.”
For the first time, Kal brought his limited mental strength to his body and realized the nature of his bindings. Thick chains held his arms fully extended and another was wrapped around his head and shoulders holding him off the ground. A final chain hung loosely from his ankles not restricting his movement as much as the others but he understood the idea behind it quickly enough.
The chains were arranged in such a way that he would have trouble putting all of his strength together to break them. If he pulled at one arm's chain and not the other it would put significant strain on both his opposite arm and neck. If he tried pulling both the lack of footing to give him leverage meant he could only use the strength of his arms and not his entire body.
All that alongside the array dampening his strength, he doubted he would be able to break free without the help of Wrath Incarnate.
Kal frowned, “It’s not like I can stop you. Why does he want my blood?”
Lelashian shook her head, “I don’t know. The only person other than Hemdal privy to that is the paladin Kendrak.”
Giving blood to someone with Sanguine Keeper class didn’t sound particularly wise let alone one that worshipped Uton but Kal remembered vaguely that the man had already managed to get some while Kal was getting transported here. Kal wouldn’t have bothered resisting even if he could have. Instead, he watched Lelashian insert the needle. At first, it struggled to break his skin and she had to put her body weight behind it to push it deep enough to draw blood.
The blood that came out was darkened by the blue hue of the opal lamp but even so, Kal could see that it was surprisingly dark. Darker than it should be. Lelashian stared at it for a moment and looked nervously up at him, “I must go now. Good-bye, Kalum Lesta.”
Kal ground his teeth for a moment but in an attempt to stave off his memories he watched her go. As she reached the door it swung open and slammed into the wall. An irate-looking Hemdal stood there pointing an accusatory finger into Lelashian’s face, “You took long enough, Girl,” his eyes caught the full syringe in her hand and he snatched it from her, carefully inspecting it with a bloodshot eye, “Hmmm, it is nothing like his sibling’s. If I only I was given access to his father-” The man flinched as his eyes shot to Kal’s.
Kal’s mind raced. Sibling? Jayne, or Lillian… Kal roared and this time he didn’t care about his still present wounds and flexed his arms against the chains. The entire room groaned as the dark metal of the chain rubbed against each other and pulled at the bolts holding them against the wall. Furious anger infused his will and crushed all stray thoughts and memories from his mind. The writhing flesh receded and his gaze focused on the weasel of a man now starting to retreat as another reached in to close the door.
“If you have my sister you will all die!” Kal roared and the man closing the door flinched away from it, his face white with fear, “I will kill you all!”
The door closed and Kal roared his rage only growing higher with every moment he was still in chains and for every moment he had wasted stuck in his own thoughts. His sanity could wait. He needed to break free.