Practical medicine was not something widespread in Drakara. With alchemists able to create potions, elixirs and tonics that cure most any ailment, the need for surgery, amputation and stitching was all but non-existent.
Yet there were times were potions were not available. Where someone’s life was in immediate danger and the only option to save them was a knife, flame and needle. Carter Faust was a man who strove to make those barbaric tools a means to save lives when alchemic concoctions were not on hand. He cut into dead bodies and studied them, learning of the connections of muscles and tissues, the reactions of nerves to stimuli, and the most effective ways to stitch a body back together. He was blessed with a Spirit that created an air bubble around the room that kept all dirt dust and debris from coming near him and his patients, and he was able to save hundreds of lives through his work. Yet one life he had been unable to save was that of his wife.
She had been stabbed in the chest by a bandit one night when the scoundrel broke into his clinic, aiming to steal any supplies that looked important. Mary had gone down from her room to investigate the noise. Carter had been out of the clinic, checking on another patient in their village. He returned to find his wife on the floor, dead. In desperation to do something, the man had cut into her stomach to save the one lingering spark of their love.
That was how Elizabeth Faust was brought into this world.
The girl was so small and frail, many in the village believed that she would not survive her first month. Yet she fought. Her father bought every potion that he could from every merchant that passed through the village to have on hand should she ever start to fade. They were all unnecessary. Elizabeth fed from the mayors wife, who herself had given birth not long before the tragedy and was happy to help. The entire village of Blackwood came together to assist Carter in caring for his daughter as thanks for all the man had done for them over the years.
As Elizabeth grew, she spent as much time with her father as she could. She spent all of her waking hours with him, watching him work, bringing him tools and books to assist in his work. Once she was old enough to start understanding her father’s work, she began to learn from him. Learning of the connections of muscles and tissues, nerve reactions and arterial locations; the human body fascinated the girl. In her mind, the human body was like a village; every part working together for a common goal.
Carter had never thought anything wrong with his daughter learning and helping him at first. He knew his work would be important and the knowledge of it would be needed in the world. But one day when Elizabeth was ten, he had returned to the clinic to start study of a new cadaver that had been donated to find his daughter already hard at work; the body already cleanly sliced open, organs neatly removed, and his little girl elbow deep in entrails, blood covering her arms and face. That was all normal to Carter, but what had caused him to drop to the floor in terror had been her expression. His beautiful baby girl’s eyes were wide and her mouth curled up in an almost inhuman smile as she pinched at a muscle, watching the corpse’s leg twitch in response. When she turned her gaze to her father, her heart broke seeing the absolute terror on his face.
Since that day, Elizabeth had strived to stay away from any sharp objects. The moment she would pick up a knife or scissors, her mind would begin to race with thoughts of cutting; no, dissecting. No matter how hard she tried, Elizabeth could never stop thinking about the wonders that she had learned as a child; of the incredible ways the body worked. How everything connected to something else to accomplish a certain function. She wanted to know more. She wanted to cut more. She had to discover more.
But at this very moment in time, she only wanted to run.
Elizabeth’s feet pounded on the cobblestone street as she sprinted away from the wall of the village, her heart pounding in fear, Jack panting along beside her. Ahead of her, she saw the church. Willow and her crew turned to face her as she approached, looking surprised at her appearance.
“Lizzy!” Willow shouted as she drew closer. “What’s wrong? Why are you-?”
Elizabeth did not look at her nor answer. She just ran past her, tears running from her eyes as she grabbed the door handles of the church and pulled them open; slipping through the opening and shutting them behind her.
Willow and Sebastian stared at the doors in silence.
“Atha naraka?” Willow’s confusion came out in her native tongue. Sebastian shrugged, roughly grasping the context of Willow’s words.
“The young lass must have had quite a fright to be sent into such a desperate sprint.”
Willow frowned and looked in the direction she had come from.
“I hope you are alright, Arthy.”
~
Saphira pushed the corpse of the Afflicted off of her sword with her foot, drawing out a thin trail of blood between the flesh and steel. Sweat dripped from her brow as she looked up at Victoria. The young lady spun her spear around her, slashing its tip through the two Afflicted before her, throwing spurts of scarlet into the air as the two slowly backed down from her advance.
An arrow shot through the air and embedded into the left one’s face, causing it to recoil and howl. Victoria planted the tip of her spear into the ground and vaulted up into the air, flipping over the second Afflicted before descending down on top of it; piercing her spear through its skull. The beast collapsed to the ground without a sound, blood pooling out from under it.
The one with an arrow now sticking out of its face roared and turned to swipe at Victoria with its boney claw. A second arrow flew through the air and struck in its open mouth, causing it to pause and allowing Saphira to rush in and run it through with her rapier; driving it in to the hilt before pulling it out with a twirl, drawing several deep gashes across the side of its body as it dropped lifeless to the ground.
Victoria stood up and looked over to a nearby rooftop as she pulled her spear free from the corpse beneath her.
“Thanks Sam!” She shouted with a wave. Samuel stood up tall on the rooftop, smiling and waving back before pointing behind her.
“We are not done yet!” He shouted, and the two girls below turned to the hole in the wall behind them; six more Afflicted slowly making their way into the Village.
Saphira sighed heavily, sweeping her blade through the air; whipping the blood from it.
“They just don’t learn, do they?” She said, taking her stance as Victoria spun her spear around and took a low stance beside her.
“What’s wrong? Getting tired?” She asked with a wry smile.
Saphira gave her a playful smile.
“Nah. Just bored.”
“If you two are quite done,” Samuel called as he set an arrow to his string, “we still have work to do!”
He loosed the arrow between the two girls, and they charged in as it struck a Boar-ish Afflicted, their blades singing through the air as they resumed their night-time serenade.
~
The inside of the church was crowded, with all of the pews having been piled up around the doorway as a makeshift barricade. The villagers were all huddled around the interior of the building, families and friends staying close together as the mayor and cleric walked around and spoke to the groups, ensuring them that everything would be alright. No one seemed to pay any attention to the small girl who had rushed in, still wearing a steel breastplate and academy uniform, her Spirit sticking close to her heels, now curled up in a corner, hugging her knees and shivering.
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“What was I thinking?” She thought to herself as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. “I could never be a Knight. Everyone else is so brave and strong. They can rush in to protect those who are in need. But me… I-“
A dark, malicious smile rushed through her memory and her eyes snapped open wide as a shiver ran down her spine. Jack whimpered and nuzzled closer to her, and she pulled the jackal in, hugging the Spirit.
“Daddy…” she whispered as her mind thought back to a few months ago.
“You want me to become a Knight?”
Elizabeth looked at her father, Carter Faust; a middle aged man with short, well kept blonde hair and two week old stubble as he held her Spirit in his hands, examining its teeth.
“Yes, I think it would be good for you. Meet new people. Make some friends. Maybe even overcome your shyness.”
“I’m not shy!” She snapped at him, both hands gripping the book she was reading. “I just… don’t see the point in being around other people.”
Her father sighed and set the jackal down. “You used to be so out-going and playful before...” He trailed off, his eyes lingering on his daughter’s face before drifting down to stare at the book she held.
“Before you realized that I am a freak.” She replied gloomily, her eyes staring down at the book.
“Lizzy,” her father spoke, walking over to her and eating his hands on her shoulders, “I have never thought that you are a freak. How could you even say that?”
“But than why-“ She snapped again, looking up at her dad as tears brimmed her eyes. “Why…” her mind flashed to her hand holding a small knife, covered in blood. The smile on her face at the time as she cut into flesh. The look of terror on her father’s face as he looked at her. “Why did you…”
Carter did not say anything. He simply put his arms around Elizabeth and pulled her into a tight hug.
“I am so sorry Liz,” he whispered, trembling as he held her. “I never meant to hurt you like that.” He released the hug and held her shoulders, gazing into her eyes. “That day… I was scared. Not of you, but of what I had done to you. I should have known better than to have you assisting me in my work. And more than that…” His voice cracked, a tear sliding down his cheek. “When I saw you there… covered in blood, I was afraid I had lost you. I was reminded of the night I found your mother. You look so much like her. I-”
“Stop.” She cut in, shoulders shaking as she looked away. “Please. Just, stop.” She stood up and started towards the door. “I get it. You just want me gone.”
“Elizabeth!” Her father snapped at her, causing her to flinch. There was a long silence between them before he spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper. “I do not want you gone, but I want to stop being afraid of yourself. And I know that won’t happen if you’re around me. So… please-”
“Hey.”
Elizabeth looked up from her knees and saw two young boys, probably around nine or ten years old, staring at her, smiling curiously.
“You’re one of the Knights, aren’t you?” The one on the left asked, leaning in close to look at her clothes. “How come you’re hiding in here? Is it that scary outside?”
“I-” she tried to answer before the second boy, the bigger one, punched the other in the side of the head.
“Of course it is scary outside. That’s why we are all in here.” He snapped at his friend. The boy then smiled at her. “You don’t have to be scared miss. My mum says that I am here to keep everyone safe, because I am the oldest boy in the village. So if you’re too scared to fight, I will keep you safe too.”
The boys turned and walked away as Elizabeth stared at them, speechless.
“Why is she a Knight if she’s too scared to fight?”
Elizabeth felt her heart skip a beat as she heard a woman’s voice from the gathered villagers. She squeezed her eyes shut as more followed.
“Look at her, she’s shorter than I am. It only makes sense that she is scared.”
“Why would they allow someone like that into the Academy? It is cruel.”
The feeling of a warm, wet tongue licking her hand caused her eyes to open. She looked down at Jack, smiling weakly at her Spirit as it looked up at her.
“Some Knight I am, huh?” She said, “Having little kids try to cheer me up, hiding in a church while my friends are outside fighting. I really should give up, shouldn’t I?”
Jack gave her a small whimper before licking the tip of her nose.
The Cleric approached a couple of men on the far side of the church, all of whom were staring curiously at the wall.
“Is everything alright here?” The Cleric asked, and one of the men lifted a finger to his lips.
“Shhhh. Listen.”
They listened; a scratching sound was heard coming from the wall.
“What on earth is that?” One of the men asked. The wall then exploded, the small group being swallowed by the debris as everyone in the church screamed in shock. The dust settled as an Afflicted wolf slowly made its way into the building, its limbs had elongated out like a spider, the skin on its snout tight and rotting, its white eyes blankly staring around the room as drool slowly dripped from its exposed fangs. It approached the masses in the church slowly as the women screamed and the few men there tried to push everyone behind them. The beast paused and looked away from the large group as Jack began to bark at it, drawing its attention to it and Elizabeth. The Afflicted turned and approached the girl as Jack barked and growled, its hair standing on end and teeth bared as Elizabeth shivered in terror behind it. The Afflicted was only a few feet away now, and Jack lunged at it. The Beast shocked everyone as it swung its large skeletal paw with blinding speed, striking the Spirit out of the air and sending it crashing into the pews by the entrance.
“Jack!” Liz screamed before recoiling against the wall as the beast took another step closer, sniffing at her face. Its jaws slowly opened and it leaned in to bite her when the sound of thudding footsteps were heard.
“You get away from her!” The boy from earlier yelled, his hands gripping a broken plank of wood. He swung it into the Afflicted’s flank, breaking the wood upon impact. The beast pulled its jaws away from Liz and turned to stare at the boy, who then became paralyzed with fear as a woman broke away from the group, rushing to him.
“Simon!” She screamed, grabbing the boy and putting herself between him and the monster as it swiped at them with its paw, sending them both flying through the air, a thick stream of blood flowing from the woman’s back as they tumbled across the floor.
“Mom!” Simon cried as soon as he saw the injury on his mother. The beast smelled the blood and opened its jaws again, stalking towards the injured woman as several men grabbed pieces of debris and ran at it. The beast paid them little mind, swiping two of them away and biting the arm off of the third.
Elizabeth watched everything happen, her body shaking as the beast grew closer to Simon and his mother. In her mind, she heard her father’s words.
“I do not want you to be afraid of yourself.”
Elizabeth gritted her teeth and pushed off from the wall, running as fast as she could towards the Afflicted as it crouched back, preparing to lunge at Simon and his mother. From the barricade, Jack leapt out of the debris and ran towards its master, howling as it approached. Liz reached out towards her Spirit and called his name.
“JACK!”
The jackal vanished in a flash of silver light. As the Spirit entered into its master’s hand, Elizabeth flew forward, placing herself between the beast and the mother and child as a flurry of silver glinted around the Afflicted. The beast froze in place as it stared at the girl before it with curiosity. Liz slowly began to speak.
“Masseter. Zygomaticus. Buccanator. Orbicularis Oris. Caninus. Levator labii Maxillaris.”
Simon looked up at the girl standing between him and the beast, her back to him, her hands and body majestically holding onto the shaft of a beautiful silver scythe, its edge dripping with blood. Liz turned her head to look over her shoulder at the boy, her eyes wide and focused, her mouth splayed in a beautiful yet maniacal smile.
“Where shall I cut next?” She asked, and the beast’s head became a geyser of blood as the muscles all around its face and mouth severed; its lower jaw hanging lifelessly from its head. The beast took several hurried steps back, and Liz dashed in beside it, the edge of her scythe resting under the wolf’s neck. Without a word she spun the weapon once, cleanly beheading the monster. Its head crashed to the floor, followed by its body limply collapsing.
Liz turned to face everyone, one arm bent to hide her smile from them.
“I am sorry for being such a coward earlier.” She looked back to Simon. “Thank you for protecting me.”
At the moment the church’s front doors burst open. Willow, Sebastian and Klimt rushed in, weapons in hand and faces wrought with fear. Willow looked at the blood covering Elizabeth and rushed to her.
“Lizzy!” Willow yelled as she rushed to her friend, “What just happened? Are you all right”
Elizabeth remained silent, turning her face away from the strange girl. She was not ready to show her true face to her friends; not yet at least. From behind them came a cry of pain, and Willow glanced towards the gathered villagers, then back to Liz, then rushed to the crowd to try and assist with the wounded.
“So what happened?” Klimt asked, stepping in front of Liz, a heavy club on his shoulder. “Did the little common girl piss herself in the House of the Divine?”
Liz spun her scythe around, stopping it just short of cutting into the fat boy’s neck. Klimt fell silent.
“Shut your mouth, Piggy,” she said, bringing her gaze to him, her maniacal expression sending shivers through his spine, “the hunt has reached here as well.”
Klimt let out a terrified shriek and gripped his club tightly, looking around in terror as Sebastian’s eyes widened. He cast his gaze around the area and flipped his grimoire open, sparks arcing from its pages to his hand.
Elizabeth turned and walked out of the front doors of the Church, standing in the village center as several more creatures began to step out of the shadows, their ragged breathing filling the night air. The young woman spun the scythe again, holding the curved blade out to the side as she eyed up each of the Afflicted slowly lumbered towards her.
“I will not run from who I am anymore father,” she said, tightening her grip on the weapon’s shaft. “I will accept every part of me. Both the healer, and the cutter.”