Holding the Book of Nyx in my hands, I approached the cleric standing near the pulpit.
“Is it okay if I bring this book with me when I talk to Sir Eadric?” I asked in the most innocent, unassuming voice I could muster.
The cleric, a balding man wearing a long black robe, reached down and patted me on the head as he said, “Of course. It’s never too early to begin your journey of faith.”
The cleric’s face betrayed a sense of pleased confusion. He had certainly never expected a Feldrast to step inside his church. The Church of Nyx was only able to operate within the Realm of Northwind because Armond was rather accepting of the Church as far as Feldrasts were concerned. Most other nobles of the Northern Realm had a burning hatred for the Church of Nyx, especially those with the [Hellfire] Talent.
“Thank you,” I said in a sing-song voice as I tucked the large book under my arm.
Sir Josiah and I walked past the main congregation space of the church and entered the sick room. I produced a handkerchief from my pocket and held it over my face. It wouldn’t be particularly effective at protecting me from airborne pathogens, but it was better than nothing.
The sick room held rows upon rows of simple wooden beds. The wooden roof was low, and the room was dimly lit by two Hellfire lamps. There must have been about three dozen beds in that room, but only five were presently occupied. One of the patients was coughing heavily, and I made sure to stay as far away from him as possible.
The patients were spread as far apart as possible. Even with their primitive understanding of medicine, they knew that sickness could spread from person to person. In fact, that was why the sick room existed in the first place. If those with respiratory illnesses were quarantined, fewer people would get sick. This was the extent of their medical knowledge, however. They still believed that most symptoms were merely an excess of certain humors in the blood.
Sir Josiah pulled up two chairs for us to sit next to Sir Eadric’s bed. I climbed up onto the chair and opened the Book of Nyx on my lap. With the Book used to hide my hands, I subtly pulled out a pen and a folded-up piece of parchment from my pocket.
My eyes frantically scanned page after page of the Book of Nyx. I accidentally dropped my handkerchief to the floor in my haste. I knew that my behavior would seem incredibly strange to the two knights, but I was willing to risk raising their suspicion of me. One of the most useful tools in Ferrum was at my fingertips.
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“Hey, little lord,” Eadric said with a smile.
“The young master wanted to come down to pray for you,” Josiah said. “I guess he’s looking for the right prayer.” Josiah chuckled.
Unlike other types of magic, the secrets to healing magic were all contained within the Book of Nyx. Healing magic was, without question, the easiest kind of magic to learn. Priests with sufficient faith and mercy would frequently unlock the power of healing magic with no outside tutelage. It was said that everything you needed to become a priest of Nyx was held within that book.
Most people could not become priests, however, for one simple reason. Every act of violence, direct or indirect, permanently reduced someone’s ability to utilize healing magic. Every person on Ferrum was born with 100 healing potential. Bruising someone reduced your healing potential by 10, maiming someone reduced it by 50, and killing someone reduced it by 100. There was no exception for self-defense, and there was no exception for childhood mistakes. Almost all children had squandered their healing potential before awakening to the System in their teenage years. Only saints and those raised in an incredibly secluded environment were able to maintain their healing potential for any significant amount of time.
One day, I would have to kill. I knew that. At that point in my life, however, I knew that my healing potential was still at 100. This was the rare example where being an infant put me at an advantage.
There were twelve forms of healing magic. On Ferrum, these were called the [Twelve Prayers]. Each [Prayer] did something different. For my purposes, I knew that I would only need the first three [Prayers].
The Book of Nyx was split into twelve parts, and each part began with one of the [Twelve Prayers]. While Josiah and Eadric talked, I frantically scribbled down the first three [Prayers]. Each [Prayer] was about a line long, and my clumsy hands were still not used to writing in Common, so it took me a while to write down the three Prayers.
Just as I was finishing writing down the [Third Prayer], Josiah stood up from his chair and said, “Well, Thale. I think it’s about time we head back. Your mother and sisters will start to get worried that I’m not there.”
I folded the paper back up and moved it back to my pocket using the Book of Nyx as cover. Hopefully, Nyx did not frown upon sleight of hand inside her places of worship.
I climbed down off the chair and hobbled over to Sir Eadric. I placed my hand on his body and chanted, “May Nyx heal your wound!”
This was, of course, not one of the [Prayers].
Eadric smiled genuinely and Josiah chuckled at my words.
“Thanks for caring,” Eadric said. “It means a lot to me.”
“I need to look after you!” I said, injecting my words with a child’s authenticity.
Sir Josiah brought me back to Feldrast Manor. Luckily for him, no one had noticed his absence.
“Let’s keep our trip between the two of us, okay?” Josiah said, putting a finger to his lips.
“Okay,” I said, smiling and happily nodding my head up and down. I had gotten a bit better at faking the behavior of a child over the years.
I was more than willing to keep Josiah’s secret in return for the useful information I had acquired during our trip.