Fatalina Castana wasn’t a human. Or at least, wasn’t fully human. It was difficult to tell, but after having lived around the Dark Elves for months on end and seeing the group of Wood Elves earlier in the day, Lee was confident that she wasn’t an elf—not fully. Her ear wasn’t long enough, for one.

As Lee inspected Fatalina, she was doing the same to him. Her fierce silver eyes flicked across his face and clothes as she leaned her elbows on the desk in front of her, careful not to touch and mess up the alignment of any of the objects allayed on top. His first impression was that of a tomboy, one that wouldn’t hesitate to beat the absolute shit out of anyone creating trouble.

Fatalina was lithe, but not abnormally so, like some elves he’d seen in the past. She was more akin to a very fit, slender human. She wore dark green form-fitted leather armor, adorned with small metallic bands affixed to notable weak points—Such as her elbows, knees, and shoulders. Her lightly braided hair was stark white and done up in a bun. The bangs slicked back to give her unimpeded sight lines.

All in all, these were the normal things he noticed. The abnormal things, or should he say identifying features, were the large scar scoring her skin from her forehead down across one of her eyes in a vertical strike, and the missing ear.

The scar was obviously a battle wound, one aimed to blind an opponent. The eye itself appeared undamaged, which was either a miracle or the result of healing—he couldn’t tell.

The missing ear… Lee found it hard to believe such a precise strike was from that of a battle. Where the left pointy ear of an elf should have been was a flat surface covered by her white tousled hair.

When Lee’s eyes wandered away from the very odd sight of a missing ear, he found Fatalina grinning at him with a feral smile. When she spoke, she was fairly quiet. Her vocal tones matched what he saw, but the volume was that of nearly a whisper. He could hear it clearly, thanks to the pervasive silence of the room, but it was a weird juxtaposition from her appearance.

“Usually I stab anyone who asks, but I suppose stabbing you wouldn’t be a great idea, considering our alliance…” Fatalina’s fierce silver eyes stared unflinchingly into Lee’s own mesmerizing rainbow spirals.

Matching her quiet voice, Lee spoke. “Your life is your own. I don’t think we are that well acquainted with one another—not yet. No need for me to pry.”

“Good answer. How’s Regina doing?” Fatalina asked as she leaned back into her chair and kicked her feet up onto the table. Once again, not moving anything out of place.

“She’s doing alright. Although, I’m sure you’ve been getting reports about everything happening. I will say that she kept a secret from me recently. I didn’t appreciate that.” Lee said casually.

“Heard you killed people for the first time. Fellow healers nonetheless. How are you doing?” She asked, eyes still uncomfortably staring straight at him.

Lee blinked, not expecting the sudden change of topics to one so heavy. “I feel weirdly okay about it. I thought I’d be a complete mess to be honest. How's the war?”

She shrugged and finally tore her gaze away from him. “Not great. Some healers would help.” She said leadingly.

“Luckily for you, you have quite a few of them in your military. You just need to get them over here to rejoin you—A few hundred by my estimates.” Lee felt the awkwardness of their unfamiliarity bearing down on him in the oppressive silence. He could feel his heart beating, the blood pulsing through his veins… This whole room was uncomfortable.

Fatalina didn’t respond. She stared at the surrounding bookshelves, leisurely scanning the titles on the spines as Lee swallowed nervously.

After a few seconds, she blew out air from her nostrils in a quiet huff and took her legs down from the table. “I want to make a deal. Teach some of my mages here on the front lines and I’ll deal with the Sanctum while you do.”

Lee sat a little straighter, now that the awkward small talk was over. “Deal, but I’ll only teach them until I figure out how to get back to Felispar. The portal was one way, but I highly doubt they didn’t make a way for me to return.”

“The gods are fickle. Why do you believe it isn’t a one way trip?” Fatalina asked casually, but Lee wasn’t that naive.

“I have my reasons. So, deal?” Lee stuck out a hand to shake.

Without any hesitation, Fatalina reached out and quickly shook his hand. “Deal.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

She grinned. “Just think about it. We’ve agreed to topple an organization that’s lasted for hundreds of years in two minutes. Sealed with a shake of the hand. A very curious gesture, that. Where is it from?”

“It’s from where I’m from.”

“And where is that again?” She asked, eyes locked onto him once more. Her hand not releasing his own from the shake.

Lee could feel his heart hammer in his chest, sounding like a pounding drum. “The United States of America. You sure you want to keep holding my hand? One little thought and you might regret it.” Lee said threateningly, wanting to be let go.

“Hmmm… It must be a pain to heal everything you touch. I was told you were sickly in the past. How could you be sick and have this ability?” Fatalina grinned as she held his hand with an iron grip.

“I think that’s enough questions. Let go or die.” He was dead serious. The ‘I’ve figured out your secret and have thoughts of kidnapping you.’ vibes were not to his liking, and he would rather go out spells a blazing than be locked up and used as a healing station for the rest of time.

Fatalina let go of his hand as she sat back down in her chair, unbothered by the threat. “You know, I like puzzles. I like solving them and seeing the potential of the pieces. Every single puzzle piece has a spot it belongs, and no two are the same. So, imagine my surprise when an extra piece falls into my lap. I ask myself, where did this piece come from? What can it be used for? Is it friendly? Is it strong? Where does it go? Why is it impossible to gather information on?”

Fatalina stood and walked over to the ornate glass cups and pitcher to fill up a glass of water. “There are many abilities in this world we live in. Most are useless, but some are very niche and powerful. Some may be passive, some may be active, and some may be used only once. Some have cooldowns, some do not. Some are powerful and flashy, others are weak and noticeable. I look for people with abilities and use them as best as I can.”

Fatalina walked back to her seat, sat down, and then slid the filled glass of water across the table toward Lee. “So, when someone has the ability to see into someone's past, it’s something one doesn’t just let waste away in some hovel or farming village. Someone, or an organization, collects them and gives them a comfortable life. Now, what happens when their ability fails after looking only a few months back at this new puzzle piece? When this individual has seen the lives of people all the way back to where they were in the womb? Very surprising and intriguing.”

“Also, let’s not forget that they fell into a coma afterwards and had their mind scrambled. Punishment, I presume. Divine intervention, perhaps?” Fatalina bore a hole through Lee, asking a question.

Before Lee could speak, she cut him off. “Lee Barnes. A healer, with a legendary Miracle Worker class. A non-native of either Bardum, Thexis, the Shadowgrove, Farlin, Undertow… Resident of nowhere. Has the ability to heal others with a touch, speak and understand any and all languages without knowing so, can store an unknown amount of items into a personal storage dimension in which no mage can find… Three abilities, no known drawbacks or useless filler. Has a skill that can turn all healing into damage, can discover new elemental affinities like they were basics… God blessed—and now Anointed… Shall I go on?”

Lee thinned his lips. Fatalina took that as permission to continue. “Your heart is beating quickly, Mr. Barnes. I’m going to ask this once—Where did you come from?”

Lee opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off yet again. “For clarification, I did not ask where you are from. I’m asking where you came from. Where were you before you arrived in the Shadowgrove?”

While Lee wasn’t sure about how this whole meeting was going to end up, he did not expect to walk into an interrogation from someone who had obviously done their research. He knew he wasn’t the smartest person, and he had definitely not blended in well to keep his identity a secret. He supposed the general in charge of the entire kingdom wouldn’t just accept his half-assed ‘I came from elsewhere!’ jumbo he’d been spewing.

“Before I give you an answer… Why do you want to know? I feel like my intentions are pretty clean cut. Even you can see what I am doing is for the greater good. Was there a need to sour our relationship like this? Because if you weren’t aware—It has been soured.” Lee asked.

Seeing as Lee didn’t drink from the cup of offered water, she slid it back to her side and took a few deep gulps. “Curiosity. When you’ve lived as long as I have, you ask questions. I’m not some full-blooded elf, as you’re more than aware of, going by your inspection of my being. I do not have the ability to fall into a cycle and pretend time doesn’t flow like others do. I’m too human for that, and humans are curious.”

She placed the glass cup down and very carefully slid it into a position on the table where it was ‘perfect’. “I don’t discredit your goals. I even agree with them… but, I am not working under my own feelings. I am doing this for the kingdom.”

Lee sighed and tried to discern truth from lies by staring into her eyes, but she was infallible. He shrugged. “I’m from another world entirely. Never had a system, magic, skills, or anything before I appeared in the Shadowgrove. I appeared after dying from cancer. Is that good enough of an answer for you?”

The feral grin and hard smack on the desk caused Lee to jerk in wariness and shock. The echoing sound of the smack echoed around in the pervasive silence. “Perfect!” She yelled, causing Lee to wince. “Thanks for the verification. Truth be told, this was just a test. I already knew all of that from speaking with the Dark Elves. Now…” Fatalina reached into her breast pocket and whipped out a golden time-piece, checked the time, then stuffed it back into her pocket. “The raids on all known Healer Sanctum buildings and places of operations should be well underway. Let’s get you to some mages so you can help me turn the tide of war, shall we?”

Fatalina grabbed the glass of water and placed it in its original spot as Lee stood. “What?” He asked, shocked.

“I was going to ruin them with or without your teachings. You’re not the only person who hates them with a passion. Let’s be on our way.”

Fatalina gestured for Lee to exit the room, and he awkwardly followed along as his mind was reeling.