Elira led her sturdy mule, Ryn, along the narrow forest path. The wooden cart behind them rattled with the occasional bump, loaded with bundles of freshly gathered herbs. The young healer-in-training often ventured far from her village to find the rarest plants, but the serene morning was soon shattered by an unexpected sight.

At first, she thought it was a fallen tree branch caught in the current. But as she moved closer, her heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t debris—it was a man.

“Oh gods,” she murmured, dropping Ryn’s reins and rushing to the riverbank. Her boots splashed into the shallows as she struggled against the current to reach him.

When she finally managed to pull him to the shore, she froze. His body was unnaturally heavy, far more than any normal human should weigh. His clothes, strange and otherworldly, clung to his muscular frame. Blood soaked the fabric, but his wounds seemed... different.

“What in the...” she whispered, inspecting him closer. His body seemed to be fighting the injuries, as if something inside him was trying to knit him back together. But it wasn’t enough.

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Elira hesitated, pressing her hands gently over the worst of his wounds. Her fingers glowed faintly as she channeled her limited healing magic into him. The glow flickered, weak but steady, as she worked to close the gashes and stem the worst of the bleeding. Sweat formed on her brow as she muttered an incantation under her breath.

“This is only temporary,” she whispered, her voice strained. “Just hold on a little longer.”

The faint light faded as her magic reached its limits. His breathing grew less erratic, and the flow of blood slowed, but the wounds were far from healed. Elira sat back on her heels, exhausted but relieved.

“I can’t do this alone,” she muttered, glancing back at Ryn.

It took every ounce of strength she had, along with Ryn’s help, to hoist the man onto the cart. Even with the mule’s assistance, it was a struggle. His weight was nearly unnatural, as though he were made of something denser than flesh and bone.

“You better be worth all this trouble,” Elira said under her breath as she adjusted him on the cart. With a final tug on Ryn’s reins, she began the slow journey back to the village.