Wallace was already asleep when I returned, or at least I assumed as much. I knocked on his door several times, but my traveling companion did not answer.

The only alternative was that he was out exploring Aranth, and I had precisely no interest trying to track him down in an unfamiliar city. Not when I had work to do.

So, I went to my room and got changed, collapsing onto my bed half-dressed and with Lysandra's book propped up on my lap. Cat had already claimed one-half of the mattress for himself, but I had plenty of room to sit and read for a few hours before bed.

I doubted I would need all of that time to finish the slim book, but it seemed best to be wholly prepared for my first day of training with the healer. And though I could not say precisely what she meant with this test, I had no intention of failing.

The following morning, I returned to the healer's shop, book in hand and a smile on my face. I had managed to read it within four hours, committing most of the pertinent details to memory. It was child's play compared to some of the tasks I had already done these past few years, and I was ready for almost any questions she might propose.

Lysandra looked up from her desk, smiling brightly, and said, "Good morning! Bright and early, I see. Fantastic. How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thank you, master," I replied, trying not to yawn. My reading had not taken me long, so I had decided to squeeze in a few hours of practice with my modified mana gathering technique.

If she caught my lingering exhaustion, she did not show it as she came around the desk, "Happy to hear it. And your reading? How far did you manage to get?"

"I finished it last night," I responded, holding out the book to her.

Lysandra's eyes and smile widened at the same time, "You did?! Wonderful! Hard to put down, isn't it? What was your favorite part?"

"The...ending?" I replied, not sure how to answer her question. I had expected something about the character's motivations or the events of the story itself, but my favorite part seemed too subjective a thing to make any firm statements.

"The ending?" Lysandra echoed, "I suppose it's not terrible, but I'm surprised. It's a bit anti-climactic. What about your favorite character?"

"The protagonist was interesting. I found his character growth the most consistent and realistic amongst the cast."

"...I see. And the magic? Did you enjoy it?"

"I found that it did not make much sense, truthfully," I responded, "I attempted to decipher how it worked, but it was inconsistent. At one point, the protagonist used it to transform into a wolf, but I cannot say how he managed that feat."

Lysanda stared at me for several seconds, then sighed, "Vayne, I wanted you to read and enjoy that, not study it. Take the book home and try again. And do not return it to me until you can give me better answers. Understand?"

I did not wholly understand, no. Still, I bowed my head and responded, "Yes. I apologize, master."

"No need. That's my mistake for forgetting what kind of lessons the Academy instills into their students," Lysandra sighed, then her smile returned just as brightly as before, "Oh well. You're already here, so we might as well get started. Follow me, please."

She led me through the curtain and into another, larger room in the rear of the building. More shelves lined one wall with more books, a bed was pressed up against the other, and I saw a small table with two chairs to my side. Finally, a door sat in the far corner, closed and presumably locked.

Lysandra gestured towards the table, and I took the invitation. She did not sit down with me, instead walking over to the shelves and plucking a few books off them as she spoke.

"What do you already know about healing?"

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Not much. I know mages can push mana into their bodies or the bodies of others, repairing damage at a faster rate than normal. I know more skilled healers can repair more damage, and I have heard stories that the very best can cure almost any disease, reattach severed limbs, and even stave off aging for some time."

"Good, good. Any limitations that you're aware of?"

"No, master. Nothing that I had ever read about, at least."

"Not as bad as I expected," Lysandra said, placing three books on the desk, each wide and thick compared to the small adventuring novel she had lent me, "Now, where to begin...?"

After a few seconds, Lysandra nodded, "I suppose we should start with necromancy. Have you heard that word before?"

"Only in passing," I replied, "It is the field of controlling life force, yes? Using mana?"

I had read about it a few times, back when I first came to the Academy. My early investigations into strengthening the human body had mentioned it, but all noted it was a magical dead-end, next to useless and a waste of time for any mages interested in becoming anything worth a damn.

Lysandra nodded, "Exactly right. Necromancy is one of the oldest and most esoteric magical fields, tracing its roots back to the Founders themselves. It is said that they created it with two goals. First, to raise their lost comrades from the dead. Second, to grant eternal life to those already living. Following me so far?"

I nodded, "Did they ever manage either feat?"

Raising the dead held little appeal to me, both because it felt a little too unnatural and also because it was not required for my survival. If I did my job right, no one would die. Eternal life, on the other hand? Now, that was a different story.

I did not plan to die to the invaders, but that did not change the realities of my element. No Aether mage had made it to old age, and even if I did change my fate, I did not much want to die before I hit forty-five. There was far too much to learn and entirely too little time in an ordinary life.

Lysandra shook her head. "Not even close. Ironically, in the centuries since, necromancy has become a dead school. No serious mage studies the pure form, but plenty do pursue the one practical application to come from all of that effort."

"Healing?" I guessed.

"Precisely," Lysandra smiled, "Healing magic is the closest we've ever managed to come, and it's still just shy of a miracle. The first thing you need to understand about healing magic is that it will take years to master it, and you still may not understand most of it. I don't understand most of it. We understand what it does and can predict some aspects, but the why? The how? Not so much."

I did not like the picture being painted but decided I must have misunderstood.

"Surely you are exaggerating," I replied with a laugh, "We cannot possibly be using it without understanding it, can we? That feels dangerous."

Lysandra chucked, "You'd think so, wouldn't you? As I said, we understand parts of it, which we will focus on. For now, there are three things to remember. One, healing magic seems to 'prefer' certain elements. Water, wood, light, and fire mana work better, while wind, earth, metal, and darkness are worse, requiring more power for worse results. I don't think there's ever been an Aether healer, though, so this will be a new experience for both of us!"

She said with an optimism that reminded me of my Forging instructor, Master Laila. I had to admit I was far less confident and suspected my element would perform just as poorly with healing as it had with reinforcing materials, but vocalizing that felt like I was demanding sympathy.

Besides, that was not why I had sought out a healer. I wanted to learn more to enhance my body permanently and make a more efficient, streamlined strengthening spell, not actually repair wounds and injuries. If I could, that was a bonus, but it was a secondary goal at best.

Lysandra continued after a pause, "Two, we know healing magic works best with guidance and understanding. You need to know what you are healing and why you are healing it in a certain way. For example, understanding what bones are in the leg and what kind of break you're dealing with lets you target and repair the damage faster and with less effort, making the entire process more efficient."

I nodded and gestured to the first book on the desk, labeled 'Human Anatomy,' and replied, "So, studying?"

"Exactly! Like I said, healing isn't an easy thing to learn," Lysandra replied, "But it's as noble a school as it comes. If you study hard, you might save a life someday."

Several seconds passed before I cleared my throat and asked, "What was the third thing to keep in mind?"

"Hmm? Oh, right, thank you. Third, you need to understand that healing takes as much from the patient as it does from the healer. We provide mana and guide it into the body to repair damage, but there are costs to the patient as well. Sealing cuts or broken bones draw upon materials in their bodies, and more than one overzealous would-be healer did more harm than good rushing the process."

"We learned about a similar concept in some of my classes, though usually as a strategy against beasts with innate healing abilities. I once fought a drake with regenerative abilities, and it began starving by drawing upon them too much."

"Exactly. I have a recipe for a nutrient-dense herbal mixture to avoid that exact risk, though it's always a concern. Oh, and four-ish, you should be aware of the real risk of healing."

Lysandra waved one hand vaguely, "You see, every healing cuts a patient's lifespan shorter?"

I blinked, "Pardon?"

"Their lifespan," Lysandra repeated, "We don't understand the whole mechanics of it, but we know this much. There is a...well, we call it the 'wellspring of life,' but that is just a name. We've understood for centuries that there exists a limited life force within a person. It is limited and inborn, and healing draws from this wellspring. When it empties..."

"You die," I filled in with a grim look.

"Invariably," Lysandra confirmed.

"I see...does that mean—never mind. Apologies."

Lysandra must have seen the obvious connection and chuckled, "Yes, past researchers had that same thought. Find a way to refill that wellspring, and you extend your lifespan, yes? Truthfully, I'm not sure if it ever worked, but assume it failed and warn anyone you heal of the risks."

I wondered if this 'wellspring' and my Aether were connected somehow. It seemed an apparent intuitive leap, leading me to suspect they were similar rather than directly related. There was no world where no other Aether mage had made such a deduction and left it uninvestigated, but it was still worth digging into in the future.

Lysandra glanced towards the curtain, then turned back to me and smiled, "Why don't you get started reading? I'm sure I'll have some customers soon, and I want you up to speed as quickly as possible so we can get you sitting in on some treatments. Let me know if you have any questions."

I watched the healer slip back into the front room, then slid the topmost of the three books off the pile and flipped open to the first page. Lysandra seemed to think healing took years to master, but I did not have years to spare. Best to get started cutting that time down.