Unbound

A storm crackled overhead as their ships anchored against its terror. All nine Manaships were lashed together in the aftermath of the Twilit Apes' attack. The wounded were laid out on the decks, wrapped in bandages to staunch the worst of their injuries. Soldiers were busy doling out potions, but there were too many wounded to handle separately.

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Mercy of the Thorn!

He loosed his Skill, letting the power surge from his channels and into the world. Unlike Breath of the Wild, Mercy had a dual edge. By sacrificing a piece of his Health and Stamina, he could greatly increase the regeneration of all targets within range. Pit grunted as everything but Mana took a hit, reduced by another ten percent as luminous winds rippled through the reclining crowd. It was a lesser casting, but it eased the pains of many nearby.

The decks creaked, but they remained steady. Wind pressed all nine Manaships, but they did not so much as budge from their tight grouping, thanks to the strange powers of the adamant anchor they loosed. The thing was remarkable, allowing their ships to remain at a standstill in the middle of the sky through some strange connection between anchor and air. As far as Pit understood it, it relied on each ship's Authority to bind them fast to the connection between them and the sky itself, much like Felix's similarly named Skill.

Pit shook his head. He was starting to get woozy—his thoughts wandered when that happened. He needed another break. It had been several hours of constant regeneration boosting, flaring his Skill over and over in order to save the soldiers. The Ape and its spawn had done a number on everyone, inflicting lacerations that still wept a dark ichor. Each hit of his Skill had pushed them a bit closer to full Health. Bit by bit, they made progress.

The Chanters were helping, as were a few others with medicinal training or limited healing Skills, and of course, their potions were a huge benefit to the worst wounds. The true threat, however, were the Status Conditions that kept cropping up. Yin was helping, his Luminous Tide clearing the great majority of Conditions, but his Skill couldn’t get all of them. Nightfall's Air, Moonmad, and Bloodseize were the worst and most insidious of them, lingering well after the others.

Pit was exhausted. He could taste the soldiers' panic on the wind. Some were thrashing against their restraints, Moonmad adding confused rage to the panicked song of their hearts.

Be still. I'll take it from all of you. Pit called out, a harmonic trill that rippled through the storm winds. Mercy of the Thorn!