"Healers often boast of their prowess, of their ability to wrestle back the lives of those stricken by illness and injury. Yet for all the boasts they make, never has there been a healer who proved a worthy opponent to the passage of time itself." - Khaer Ul Tessarii, former First Emperor of the Third Elmaiya Empire, circa 160 VA.
Less than an hour later, Aideen found herself once again within the Imperial Palace in Sabaya. Lucea had brought her in from a secret entrance that was nonetheless guarded by several members of the imperial guard on the inside. None of those burly men and women questioned the Empress, naturally.
Their path led them towards a wing of the palace, that while less opulent than the main wing, was still well decorated and showed the importance of whoever resided there. Lucea led Aideen to a large bedchamber at the end of a corridor and opened the door for her.
Inside the chamber, was the former emperor, Khaer Ul Tessarii, laid atop a large bed that could easily accommodate three people. An old tortoise therian matron was seated by the bed, and Aideen felt the fluctuation of nature affinity magic from the old woman.
Aideen recognized the old therian as a healer employed by the imperial family, and the old woman also nodded upon seeing her. They gave each other respect as fellow healers, and she calmly moved aside from her position at the bedside.
"Whatever I did, doesn't work on what ails the former Emperor," admitted the old therian woman honestly as she shook her head. "All I could do is help his body fight whatever is ailing him better, but all that does is to maintain him in this current state."
"I've also tried all I can," said Lucea as Aideen seated herself by the bedside and reached for the former emperor's hand. Lucea herself was a very powerful life affinity healer, stronger than her grandfather at his prime, even. "Whatever I did, it seemed to react adversely with grandfather's affliction, just making things worse."
The Empress sounded despondent, the fact that she had so much power in her hands yet unable to do a thing for her respected grandfather clearly ate at her. Likely part of the reason she had gone and invited Aideen in person, even.
"Let me give it a look…" said Aideen as she cautiously channeled her mana through the unconscious Khaer Ul's body.
Almost immediately she was struck with a familiar feeling. The damage to his organs, the was his mana conduits were ravaged, all eerily reminded her of the damages the plague half a century ago had wrought upon those that suffered from it.
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On a gut feeling, Aideen tried to circulate her mana the same way she had done when she dealt with the plague back then. To her surprise, it worked, if not to the extent it had against the plague.
Her brows furrowed in concentration as she first tried to repair the damage done on Khaer Ul's vital organs first, a delicate task that took all her concentration. She remained busy at work as time flew by. Lucea and the old healer both remained silent, afraid that any noise they made might disturb her concentration.
After a long time, Aideen finally gave a deep sigh before she withdrew her hands. Lucea quickly approached to inspect her work, and was relieved to see that her grandfather's complexion seemed to have improved, if not by much.
"Lucea," said Aideen suddenly, with a heavy, grim tone in her voice. "Was Khaer Ul the only one who had this ailment, or were there others?"
"I had the same symptoms, but recovered within a couple days," replied Lucea, now with an equally grim expression on her features as she understood what Aideen implied. "A few of my kids also fell ill, but they recovered even faster. We had all thought we caught the illness from grandfather. Are you suggesting that… this is no illness?"
"Whatever this is, it is very similar to the plague created by Aegon Rowliss over sixty years ago," said Aideen bluntly. That was a hypothesis she was nearly certain of, considering that a slightly modified treatment used for the plague had worked on this one. "Except that it targeted Life instead of Death affinity, and was tailored for therians of the lizard breed, rather than elves."
"So this is almost certain to be a deliberate assassination attempt, then?" Lucea asked grimly as she put two and two together. The reminder of the plague and the fact that three of her children had caught it had infuriated the Empress.
"It's rather shoddy work, not as refined as Rowliss' handicraft," commented Aideen further. "You likely made it through on your own because you were far more powerful than what the illness could deal with. Your children are all derivative affinities, so they would naturally be affected less as well. Khaer Ul… is old, and his mana has been on a decline, which was why it hit him so much worse.'
"You said it's not Rowliss' work. Any clues you could offer us then?" Asked the Empress with fury in her eyes.
"Look for someone related to Rowliss, or the rangers, since they were the ones who worked with him when they developed the plague," replied Aideen in all seriousness. "This plague bears the most resemblance to the first plague that had struck the elves, rather than the later, deadlier plagues. That would suggest that whoever made this variant only had enough knowledge of that early version."
"Understood, thank you," said Lucea with a nod. The Empress snapped her fingers, and a figure clad who seemed to shimmer in the air appeared beside her. Aideen thought it might be another lizard-like therian, but could not be certain due to their constantly shimmering form.
"Investigate every lead that pertained to what lady Fiachna suggested. Do not fail me this time," Lucea commanded to the figure, who seemed to bow before they vanished. The grim tone of her words was plenty enough to betray the Empress' fury, though she softened her words when she addressed Aideen once more. "What about grandfather? Can you… help him?"
"It would take a while, at least a couple weeks, but yes, I can and will help him recover," replied Aideen with a nod. "Oh, and by the way, I go by deVreys now."
"Ah. In memory of the late sir deVreys? I understand. Pardon my mistake then," replied Lucea with a softer tone as she mentioned Artair. "And I thank you for your aid to grandfather. Anything you wish for, as long as it is within my power, shall be yours to repay this favor."