Traveler's Armor was, by a good margin, my best spell. I had worked many hours to polish it, and it was by this point next to unbreakable, at least against foes near my level. It could block hostile magic, physical weapons, enchanted blades, and even temperatures to a certain extent.

But the one thing it could not stop was physics.

The explosion had thrown me into the water, the sheer force enough to disorient me even through my magical protection. I flailed in the frigid, pitch-black waters, my surroundings illuminated only by the faint light of my magic. Mana still coursed through me, one part feeding into Traveler's Armor and the other in the familiar rhythms of Arcane Body. Likely, this was the only reason I still lived.

It took me almost a minute to find my bearings and swim upward. My head broke through the surface of the ocean, and I gasped, taking long, halting breaths as I hacked up what felt to be a half-gallon of saltwater. After about ten seconds, my coughing faded, and I could finally take stock of my surroundings.

A ship burned in the distance, bright as a bonfire in the cloudy night. I could hear the shouts and screams of dying men and women and knew that even the survivors were not long for the world. My magic had blocked the worst of it, but most were too injured to swim to safety. If their burns and broken bones did not kill them, the raiders would. Chances are, they already were hunting.

That thought jarred me from my stupor, and I turned away from the ship and towards the coastline hundreds of feet away. My wounds did not hurt by some miracle, but that was only temporary. I had to get to safety before they worsened and before the raiders thought to start looking for my body.

It took entirely too long to pull myself towards the shore. I had to move as smoothly as possible, both to avoid making too much noise and to keep the dagger still in my side from injuring me worse. That it remained in my flesh was as much a miracle as I could expect, and I likely would have bled to death within minutes if not for that.

I tried not to consider the possibility that something—or multiple somethings—had come to investigate the commotion and take their fill of fresh prey. We were close to the shore but not that close, and plenty of monsters dwelled within the shallows.

It seemed the Founders, if they existed, had decided to spare my life, though. I managed to reach the sandy coast without being pulled under, dragging myself onto the beach as I heaved, trying to catch my breath. Swimming on the plains had always been a skill of necessity rather than pleasure, and I resolved to practice a little more if I lived.

Slowly, I forced myself to my feet, one hand reaching down to touch the dagger's hilt while the other examined my surroundings. The beach was rough, a mix of rocks, sand, and a few sparse trees of some variety. I could not see any semblance of civilization, which meant I was well and truly exposed. I had to move inland and fast.

I started moving inland, walking as fast as possible without worsening my wounds. It was painfully slow, giving me ample chance to consider my losses.

My swordstaff was gone, thrown free in the explosion, as were any supplies not on my person. I had lost two notebooks filled with musings on magic, along with some coins I had managed to scrounge together and my remaining vials of Aether-infused water.

And Cat.

The beast had been on the ship, sleeping in my quarters when I last saw him. I had likely awoken him when I rushed into my room to grab my weapon and vambrace, but even if he had woken up...

An unexpected swell of grief rose, and I pushed it down in favor of focusing on my goal. I had to keep moving as far as possible.

All too soon, I felt it. The numbness faded, and my wounds made themselves known. Most were minor, a collection of bruises that had made their way through my magical protection, but the dagger in my side was anything but a scratch. It began to burn and throb, and with it came a chill that I knew was not thanks to the brisk evening or the water soaking my clothes.

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I diverted towards a sparse collection of trees, about as poor an excuse for cover as I could find. It cost me precious minutes to reach them, find a hollow facing away from the coast, and settle myself into the shelter. Then, I finally got a chance to examine my injuries.

The dagger was stuck most of the way up to the hilt into my side. It had punched through my magical protections as if they were not there but had thankfully missed anything vital. I could not say if it was down to a mistake on their part, skill on mine, or sheer dumb luck, but I would take it regardless.

Lysandra's lessons rose in my head, and I briefly wondered if the woman still lived before focusing on my wound.

The first thing to do was stem the bleeding, which the dagger was doing well enough. Blood loss was the primary concern with a stabbing wound, followed closely by shock and infection. My training as a healer had not reached the point where I could fight off illnesses or force the body to replenish lost blood, but what I could do well enough was seal a stab wound.

Or rather, I hoped I could.

First, I reached out with my mana and pushed it into the flesh around the dagger. It was a way of "seeing" within the body, getting an idea of the extent of an injury even if you could not see it. I had practiced the ability many times under Lysandra's watchful eye, and it was similar to a technique in Forging, albeit...squishier by comparison.

While the dagger had missed anything too important, it had still shredded muscle and blood vessels. It would take months to repair non-magically and would no doubt leave a nasty scar. Beyond that, the chances of bleeding to death or dying of an infection seemed too high.

I had no choice but to risk it. There was every chance I might make a mistake, but the alternative was assured death. I would take the risk.

The first thing I did was reach down and tear a chunk of my shirt off before stuffing it into my mouth. Blood and saltwater soaked the cloth, and I had to try not to retch as the taste hit my tongue. Though it was unpleasant, the makeshift gag should muffle my screams.

Then, I took the dagger's hilt in my hand and pulled just a hair on it.

My vision turned white, and I bit down on the gag as a shout slipped out. The wound seared as if lit on fire, and I slammed my eyes shut, trying to take even breaths through my nose. Even as I did so, I forced mana from my core and into the damaged tissue.

I gathered the energy within the wound and, as I did so, focused on the image of the injuries sealing. I imagined flesh rejoining flesh, blood slowing, blood vessels resealing, and my body becoming whole once more.

Aether poured from my core as if it had sprung a leak. I felt it distantly, pushing it and the pain in my side out of my thoughts as I worked. There was no room for mistakes, no distractions could pull on my focus, and even the slightest drop in efficiency could prove catastrophic.

I moved into a pattern. The bleeding would slow, and the moment it did, I pulled on the dagger more. The world would vanish in a haze of agony, and I had to fight past it and repair the damage using nothing but untrained healing. After the third of these repetitions, I focused less on repairing the damage perfectly and more on stopping enough of it to survive. I did not have enough power to fix it all, even with my Aether's newest, strangest...inclination.

My mana seemed to want to heal me in a way. It was almost as if it was attuned in some way to the process, and the part of my mind eager for any hint of an edge seized upon it. The rest did not care, accepting this solely as a boon that might be the difference between survival and death.

I worked the dagger out of my flesh in fractions. It slid free of my side, and I felt the chill in my body worsen as blood soaked my clothes and turned the hollow beneath me uncomfortably moist. I felt weaker than I had in years, and my eyelids grew heavier by the minute.

Then, my healing stopped.

I did not realize it had happened at first. My mind had grown fuzzy, and the only thing that occurred to me was that my magic no longer worked. It took me precious seconds to realize my core had run dry, save the sealed drop orbiting within its center.

The dagger was still a quarter of its length within my body, which was a quarter too much, in my opinion. If I had proper healing elixirs and bandages, I might survive, but as it was? I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do—

A meow broke into my thoughts, loud in the silence of the moonless night.

I wondered if I was losing my mind and almost laughed. Then, the meow came again, louder this time, and I opened my eyes.

Cat sat all of fifteen feet away from me. His dark fur looked slick, and his tail swished in what I suspected was annoyance, but besides that, he was unharmed. I found myself simultaneously relieved and annoyed.

I decided to focus on the former and did my best to smile as I spat out the cloth between my teeth and said, "Glad you lived. At least one of us is going to make it."

Then, I tilted my head to one side as if peering behind the animal and continued, "Unless you happened to bring a healing potion with you?"

Cat's emerald eyes stared at me for a long time. I watched as they traced down my body, settling on the dagger still within my flesh, and the beast meowed again. This time, I caught a flicker of something within it.

Curiosity.

It struck me, not just thanks to his tone or his eyes, but something else. Something...deeper, maybe? It was as if the thought had come from me and somewhere else at the same time.

"I ran out of mana," I explained, wondering again if I had gone mad as I explained it to the feline, "My core is empty. Or rather, the only energy within it I cannot access. This is where my road ends."

Even as I spoke, I tore off a strip from my sleeve and pressed it against my wound. If I could slow the bleeding long enough to gather more mana, I might survive. It would be a race against time, but it was my only real chance.

Bond?

The word thrummed through my mind, and what remained of my blood chilled. I froze, and my eyes slowly returned from my wound to land on Cat.

The beast now stared at me with eyes entirely too intelligent for my liking. Something new rose there. Cunning well beyond what I expected from a creature such as him. I met his gaze and felt something rise up within my thoughts. Resolve foremost, and other things I could not place. I heard it resonate in my mind again and swore I saw the animal nod as it spoke again.

Bond.