Sage

So there we were, off to Teriu. I felt something strange as the outskirts of the little camp, and later the city, then the kingdom of Donthaar faded from view. I realized just how big this world is, and how small I am.

How insignificant I am, compared to the status and praise I was given as the "leader of the heroes".

I looked back and thought, goodbye, but it was barely sentimental. I thought I heard a small chuckle come from Kir, but either way, we were on horseback and making way for new lands.

It would take us some time, for sure.

We stopped very briefly and those stops were few and far between. Of course, when we did stop, Kir wasted not the smallest blink of time getting to start my training. She wanted to get me well-versed in basic hand-to-hand combat.

Our first fight went a little like her being the stoic mentor and demanding I attack her while she stood still. Then she sparred with me, and I held my own for a little bit. It was also plainly clear she herself was holding back by measures more than I could dream of, because as soon as she detected the smallest hint of confidence in me, I was on the ground with her fists primed to knock my face in within seconds.

All of her training was intense. And it wasn't in just fighting that she mentored me, either. I don't think there was anything she didn't. When we hunted for dinner, she taught me how to do that, she taught me how to gut and clean the animal (definitely not my favorite part), how to sleep more effectively, to build fires, to set up a quick camp and take it down just as quickly, and pretty much any other aspect of day-to-day life.

Carla gave me the biggest shock of all. She was actually pretty well up towards Kir's level, just much more timid and didn't use those skills, like an old race car kept under a cloth sitting beside someone's driveway.

Training was even harder with the winter weather setting in, and soon I was killing even scarcer food in the snow and we were making ourselves coats to keep warm. Carla had tailoring background to add to her set of strange and unique skills, so they didn't look bad at all.

Kir wasn't entirely unreasonable, though. I had breaks and we still had fun with each other when we weren't in training mode. I had a bit of a natural talent for fishing, and we got competitive there, and she stopped trying to teach me and instead talked about how I reminded her of an old friend she'd taught how to fish.

I got the impression, both from her title and demeanor, that any "old friends" she had were either dead or long moved on from her and her lifestyle. Not that she minded.

I also got the feeling I'd be getting that talk from her soon, about attachment and the like.

During one of my breaks, I broke off to get back in touch with the magic I hadn't had the chance to use in a while. I tried a few very basic casts, some light spells and perception spells, and felt this weird ease with my magic. Kind of like I'd had a cold and it finally cleared up and I can breathe again, only before it was like I had that cold and never realized it.

It wasn't necessarily stronger or more effective, just more accurate, like there was no interference between me and the energy in the air.

I chalked it up to being a side effect of my new body, but who am I to really know?

A bit later, I brought it up to Kir that I wanted magic to be included in my practices, since I knew she was pretty well-versed in that, too. Hell, what isn't she well-versed in?

Her reaction was both invigorating and terrifying, a deep and maniacal, yet playful and excited grin.

So she soon began to teach me magic her way, which held entirely different paradigms than what I'd learned from Fezege and the other instructors back at the castle. Hers was much more practical and efficient. Its effectiveness was far lesser, but by God was it so much simpler and down to the basics.

Kinda like I'd been taught how to drive a motorcycle before I ever learned to ride a bike, so now that I'm trying to ride a bike, I'm very confused by the pedals, but staying on and balanced already comes naturally.

She focused most on my healing and clairvoyance-type magics, since I was best-knowledged in them.

And by focused on them, I mean one day, after a painful, bloody, and exhausting physical training session, she then said she'd be cracking down on my healing magic, then drew a knife and stabbed herself in the thorax.

"What am I supposed to do with this?!" I panicked and held my hands around the wound, but kept freaking out and shifting them and trying to figure out what to do since it felt like anything I would try would only end up making things worse.

"Figure it out," she demanded with a voice that didn't betray in the slightest that there was a knife in her chest.

"Okay okay um," I panicked and began to chant out a healing spell, but my nerves were dizzying me, much less helping me concentrate on what I feel like is some of the hardest magic available.

"I'm gonna bleed out and go into shock soon," she warned.

"Whose fault is that!!" I shouted as the spell failed and I felt a twist inside because of it.

I made very shallow efforts to take deep breaths, close my eyes, place my hands on the wound, and sense the extent of the damage. Through my frantic breathing and racing mind, I could sense that she'd barely missed all the really important stuff. It would cut into her windpipe soon if I wasn't careful or quick enough, which only added pressure to the situation.

I couldn't just heal her, either, since there was a knife there, but if I ripped it out I'd have to worry about a whole myriad of other problems. I get it. She wants me to multitask.

I'd have to hold a healing spell long enough to slowly remove the blade, while also keeping the cast precise enough to follow the exposed area as the knife left. So I began a chant, but kept it slow and concentrated, focusing on the exact area that I wanted it to go, sort of seeing an x-ray of her thorax in my mind.

That wasn't even to mention how unflinching she was about the immense pain she must be in. She could only sit there and tease and lead me on about how I was going to let her die, which is very much what will be happening if I mess this up.

The pressure kept me focused enough to safely remove the knife. Healing her up after that was a different story, and things went on after that as though nothing had happened. But from that point on I realized two things:

One, Kir is an extremely dedicated mentor.

Two, this training is something she's taking much more seriously than I had thought before, and it's time I start taking it just as seriously. Not that I wasn't before, but I need to kick it up to a whole new gear if I can hope to achieve the results I want.

I took a good hard look at myself in the river we stopped to wash up in. After Carla and Kir had left, I looked me in my own eyes and threw away even the smallest morsels of lingering regrets and doubts that I had before.

This is who I am now. The life and the appearance I have are set in stone and I accept that now.

~

By the time we reached Teriu, I had become at least somewhat competent in a handful of subjects, and Kir did stop and say that she was proud of me. I remembered once again that she was the goofy girl I sat on the tree with, and we were still good friends.

We rode our horses along the narrow streets of a smaller town at the edge of the kingdom, where some people seemed to recognize Kir. Some would clap for her or bow, while others seemed to look afraid or disgusted. Why that was, I couldn't say, but she definitely had a reputation.

To nobody's surprise, she paid it no mind, and kept the same cheery aura about her.

We stopped and sold the stuff we'd collected over the journey - hides and herbs and other valuables - so that we could get some food and a good night's sleep somewhere that wasn't the cold, hard floor.

I had the bed next to the window, and after Kir and Carla had soundly drifted off, I lay there staring at the moons, thinking about how badly I missed home. Not Donthaar, but Earth. I wanted to go back to my family. To the life I had there, and the future that was ahead of me.

I knew obviously that wasn't within my power, and that only made it hurt worse.

Sometimes I wished I had something to take my mind off of all the people I missed and the changes in my life, and then I realized why my dad drank on Friday nights. Kind of ironic.

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Kinda wish I would've drank that wine with Lydia. Then came another wave of the immense regret and shame that came with realizing you're responsible for the death of your best friend - really for the entirety of their miserable life.

It's not like that one embarrassing thing you did as a kid that nobody really remembers but you think about all the time anyways. It's a constant and burning hole in your gut that makes you think about just how shitty of a person you are.

I could only sigh and hold that guilt closely to me as I curled up in a ball. I've never felt this... sad. Lonely. Unable to tell anyone about it.

And that was how she felt. How he felt back then.

~

That morning was a quick supply restock and then we were off on the road to the capital city. We stopped to bathe in another river since the last time we did was a week or so ago, and I saw Kir's naked body. It, too, was littered in scars new and old.

After that, the few passerby started to fill me with a sonder I'd never had before. Kir, and all of these people had so much more to them than they showed. They're not just some random people from another world. This world is just as full of people with their own unique struggles and victories.

We reached the capitol, a mostly human-filled place where people and businesses seemed less... primitive. Things here seemed much more sophisticated than I was used to.

The guards doing their rounds on the main streets seemed to know Kir, greeting her by name and with a bit of respect, too.

Not so many of the passerby seemed to know her, or perhaps it was that she wasn't as noticed. She had a bit more of an upbeat attitude here, though. We took a stop at a bakery that I guess she frequented, because one of its employees took one look at her and without a word, put some bread and pastries in a bag and handed them to her with a big smile.

"What was that about?" I asked as we sat down.

"While lonely and grim, this line of work has some perks. Save families and be the hero, and people give back."

Whatever was in the bag seemed like items that she specifically gets. In other words, someone here owes her big time. I'd be lying if I said that didn't sound kinda nice.

Carla's interest seemed piqued as she looked through the bag. I know she cooked once in a while back at the camp when she had the chance, but perhaps the bread in there looked like something she wants to make a meal out of?

I had to stop and remember that even these two people have stories that run probably much deeper than mine do. Though quiet and reserved, even Carla is quite the capable woman with some know-how behind her ears.

Speaking of ears, I guess mine were narrowed, as Carla and Kir both were looking at me questioningly.

"Is something wrong?" Carla asked. I was getting much better with my Elfish and could understand her fairly well now.

"Nothing," I smiled. "What's the plan here, Kir?"

I changed the topic, and she finished chewing her bite of what seemed like a sort of doughy and flimsy cookie, something I'd never seen before.

"Well I have some people I wanna check up on, some errands to run, rewards to cash in, and a certain pair of Scarred that need to get checked out for their Scar Sickness."

"What's that...?"

"Something you have. The doctor at the palace will explain it to you better than I ever could."

"Palace?"

"Yup yup, that would indeed be our next stop!" She cheered like she was a train conductor, then got up just as suddenly as she'd come here and taken her seat, then led us along to an impressive collection of magnificent buildings and structures. Parks, gates, fancily-cut hedges, special markets, there were many things here.

It seemed part castle and part very-mini-city, where some was guarded and restricted, and some was plainly open to the public.

And it's of course also worth it to mention that even for being the middle of the day in the capitol of a large kingdom, this place was especially busy. People could barely squeeze in to some buildings and markets, and there was frantic shouting and bartering and selling going on everywhere.

As we entered into the central part of the palace, where it felt more like a cross between a family mansion and a castle, I started thinking about this "Scar Sickness." I wondered if it had something to do with my transformation.

I looked at my thin fingers and the tail coming from behind me and thought about the hooded man again. How did that cut he gave me make me this way? Was it even because of that cut?

When we stopped at the medicinal court, a glorified (rightfully) greenhouse, with many layers and tiers and beautiful wooden waterways that fed a breathtaking array of plants and herbs, my attention was (again, rightfully) brought away from my thoughts. Surrounding the huge garden was a floor made of a rough and shiny mineral, where a corner with a big desk, many different rooms, some seeming like examination rooms, and plenty of shelves, tables, tools, and equipment all stood.

It was a full-out greenhouse, lab, and doctor's office all slammed together, and not a single thing felt out of place. Even in the chilly atmosphere, it was warm and bright in here and the plants seemed to be thriving.

While Kir went and greeted the lady at the desk, I was breathaken and explored around, trying to see if I could identify any of the plants. Not that I was any sort of herbologist. Much to my amazement, not a single plant showed semblance to Earth. They were all completely unique, entirely different from where I came from.

I stopped only when my name was called, to which I then walked over to meet a pretty tall woman, wearing glasses and a lab coat. She sure fit the part.

"This is June, a Chief Medical Expert here at Teriu... or just a Doctor if that mouthful is too much for you," Kir introduced, to which said doctor then bowed a little. "She is willing to examine you and answer any questions you may have."

I gave the mercenary a skeptic look that said, can I trust her?

I had to tell her about my origins. When your life becomes dependent on the help and expertise of someone else, it definitely goes a long way if they know why some of your shortcomings are... well... short.

Kir nodded firmly. "She is a very close friend of mine, and the only one certified to be concerned with national secrets, when medicine is concerned."

In other words, she can keep a secret. We like that around here.

The doctor winked. "Any friend of the Royal Doctor is always welcome, and I am happy to be of service."

I wasn't sure if she was calling Kir the Royal Doctor or what that was supposed to mean, but now wasn't the prying time.

Some voices came from down the other side of the greenhouse, and when she noticed them, Kir shouted, "I'll be with you in a sec!!" Old friends. "Well, you kids have fun now," she teased, then practically galloped along to where the voices came from."

"Shall we?" June asked.

"Sure. I'm Sage," I greeted with an extended hand, which the doctor shook lightly.

"If you'll follow me," she invited, bringing Carla and I to a comfy little office with (surprise surprise) plants and a nice, moody shade. "I don't think this kind of visit merits a full examination, at least not yet, so we can do this here in my office. Please, take a seat."

Both of us sat in comfy chairs while the woman quickly felt our pulses and blood pressure with her fingers, as well as poked and squeezed in a few different places, including our ears and tails, which was... an interesting feeling.

It felt a little unorthodox, but I chalked it up to thinking that she was probably just giving us a barebones examination.

She asked me to leave while she asked Carla a few questions, and then it was my turn after about 10 or 15 minutes.

"Roughly how long ago was it that you became Scar Sick?"

"I'm not really sure what that is, to be honest. If you mean when I grew these ears and tail and my skin became this color, very recently."

"I see. When did you get your Scar?"

"About the same time. A few days before."

She nodded slowly, writing a few things down.

"Can you explain a little about what all of this means? What am I? How did this even happen to me?" I asked while I was waiting for her next questions.

"Hmm..." she thought while scribbling down a few more words.

"It's complicated to explain, and not something even I know all too much about, but you can think of it in essence as a curse. And one that will kill you." She became very grim out of nowhere. "It's progressive. Over time you'll get headaches, pains, visions, strange side effects with your magic, and the like."

The news of her saying I was going to die really didn't hit me as hard as it should have. "How long do you think I have?"

"I can't tell you. Some people live for decades, some only a year or two. I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you more. The Royal Doctor could have..." she trailed off.

"Do you really think people become Scarred when they commit a grave sin?"

"Did you commit one?" She asked honestly.

"Yes."

Doctor June thought for a bit. "I'm not sure on that, either. I do know that everyone with a Scar I've had the chance to know personally has done something morally objectionable in some way or other."

I nodded slowly.

"Who's this Royal Doctor?"

The doctor's face brightened. "I had the pleasure of knowing her by her first name, Scarlet Gruen. She was a wonderful and brilliant lady who did so many things for this country."

I couldn't help but hear the "was" in that, but seeing as I was all out of questions to ask about myself, and she seemed passionate about this Scarlet, I gave her the chance to talk more.

"How so?"

"I mean where do I start. She was an astounding herbalist and very capable doctor responsible for just about everything in this facility. Her innovations in these kinds of medicines and some of the practices she engineered have become regional, even global standards. I've never had the privilege of working with someone like her."

I smiled at her.

"Were you two close?"

She laughed there, a bittersweet tear resting at the corner of her eye. "'Were we close.' She taught me as much as I did her. I was the doctor appointed to help her and the Young Prince, and given that her line of work had her around me so often, we were kind of like sisters in a weird way."

"Her and the Young Prince."

"What do you mean by her and the prince? Was the Royal Doctor a member of the family?"

"She married into the family. Princess Scarlet Teriu married Prince Hystial Teriu, since the two were almost inseparable. The Crown Prince didn't sanction their marriage for the longest time, but that never stopped them."

Oh my God....

"She took on the name Lydia Teriu after her marriage. For a while there was talk of her and His Majesty bearing children, but that all changed after they passed away."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said as my own voice wavered, everything piecing together at once in my mind.

"It's quite alright, dear. Her memory lives through her work, which she passed on to many people, and the lives she saved and continues to save. None of us here remember her in sadness."

Princess Lydia Teriu... married Hystial Teriu.

I realized then the history she had as a person, remembering how she told me in the carriage how she had lived both as the herbalist Lydia and my classmate Vincent.

And they all think she's dead...

~

Elsewhere...

The lady put down her cup of tea as her brow furrowed, the door squeaking as it closed.

"It's been a long time, Marrine," she said a little too seriously.

"Oh come now, Ayn, that's no way to greet a fellow Plindivere," the latter woman replied, sitting in midair while she smoked from a long pipe.

"You know I ditched that moniker long ago. You of all people should know to respect that."

"We're family, though. That's how it works, remember? Besides, angels can't just change their names like that."

"We've been through this before. But that's not what's important. Why are you here?" The woman wasn't cold, but knew the presence of her fellow angel meant something serious. "Why have you shown up now after, what, 80 years it's been? More than that?"

"I think you know that answer, Fezege," Marrine corrected herself on her prior naming mistake. "The second demon king's awakening is upon us."

"Glad to have your voice singing the same song as the rest of us," she joked. "I have plans, Marrine. What I need is your knowledge, and for you to set a few stones in motion for me."

"Always happy to help you, my sister."