The Dragon Queen of Thelvadore

By the point we’ve reached her fourth spell variant, it became borderline impossible for me to grasp any integral parts of her magic. Oh, I saw the whole spell, yes, but the inner functionality of it was far too complex for me to properly make out. Void magic was already like watching a TV show through matted windows. The more complex the spell, the further the TV was from said window, which obviously made it far harder to properly make out anything.

That said, I was at least able to get a somewhat decent understanding of the fundamentals of her specific brand of void magic. And what a curious thing that was.

Generally speaking, Void magic was destructive to the caster. Most magicians specialising in the field were quite dangerous, but also didn’t live very long. Channeling the void through you was kind of similar to bathing in small amounts of acid every day. It might not kill you instantly, but it will wear you down in due time. Thus, most who were a bit more serious about its use, tried to avoid channeling it directly.

It was pretty clear that Cecily’s style followed that same mantra, just as she had alluded to during our conversations. Not even once had I felt so much as a speck of her magic inside of her body. Really, it would be more accurate to say that Cecily wasn’t casting void magic, so much as conjuring it.

It was exactly the difference between Calling and Shaping that I had expected to see, although given that so far I hadn’t seen much of her casting, it was still somewhat of a surprise to me. I could do something similar, but it was very apparent that her and my style of magic had some minute differences.

Likely thanks to the fact that her style of magic originally came from an entirely different magic system that I stole from another story, but I digress.

Details aside, I had a pretty solid idea of how she utilised the magic, and how it differed between traditional spellcasting. The important question was how it affected her way of perceiving said magic, and what I could do to try and explain it.

Just when I was about to start, footsteps drew my attention, and all of us turned. The merchant who had run off earlier to try and find a place for the wounded to rest was returning. With him were both the mayor, and a small group of people. From their muscular frames, they seemed to be laborers of some variety or another.

Between them, they carried makeshift stretchers. Or, at least that was what I thought the intended purpose was.

The group stopped a few steps away from us, and we quickly made room for the townsfolk to load the wounded onto the stretchers. Of course, I could’ve solved the entire situation with my magic, but I didn’t think that was wise.

“So?” While the others worked, the merchant and the mayor had stepped closer to the mage, Cecily, and me. The merchant was looking at us expectantly, although it was clear that he was trying his best to dampen his expectations.

In response, I gave him a small smile. “So far we haven’t yet made any progress on the actual removal of the taint. Explaining the void is a rather complicated endeavour, even among other grand magicks, so I had Cecily show me her own brand of it first, to get a better idea of what she needs to properly succeed in the task. That said,” I paused for a beat, a little bit of dramatic flare wouldn’t hurt. “I’m confident that she is up for the task. Her unique style is definitely different from traditional spellcasting, but in this case, that is to our advantage and should make it even easier than your ‘average’,” I made airquotes around the term, “void mage.”

He nodded, obviously pleased to hear that. I didn’t pause for long though, my smile growing a little more reserved.

“Still, I warn against getting overconfident. This is by no means a normal or well studied affliction. We will have to think of a treatment on the fly, which means experimenting, and that is never good, especially when done on living people. If possible, I would like to take my time with it. It is good to have a healer present,” I gave a quick glance at the mage standing to my side, “which should help alleviate smaller issues if instructed properly.”

Despite the man’s desperation, a small hint of uncertainty flashed on his face as he glanced at the woman I had indicated, similar to the glances she had received from the rest of the convoy so far. I frowned inwardly. Definitely something I should address sooner rather than later.

“Very well… I’ll leave it in your capable hands. Again, I have no way to properly thank you for this.”

“Thank us when we are done,” I interrupted him with a stern glance and a raised hand. “As things stand, a lot can still go wrong. And I also can’t say yet how long it’s going to take, either.”

At that, he gave a tired smile, his expression shifting to something more genuine and exhausted. “I’m aware. At this point, however, we’re already going to miss our deadline either way. A few days more won’t make a difference, if it allows us to get the treatment these people need. I can’t imagine it’s cheap, and it won’t be cheaper in a big city either.”

I was about to open my mouth to protest at the implication that we’d demand payment after the fact, but he was faster than me this time.

“I remember what you said. But I’m not naive enough to just accept free gifts. To a merchant, free is the most expensive. I insist I compensate you for your troubles in some way.”

His comment made me blink, then giggle. “Very well, then. Although you should discuss that with Cecily and…” I decided to take the opportunity to pry for the mage’s name, giving her a curious glance.

“Nyx Viridari,” the woman offered with a small nod.

I returned the nod, then turned back to the merchant. “I’m merely here to offer my wisdom. Truly, without Cecily and Lucy I wouldn’t even be present.”

The man watched me for a moment, then sighed, shaking his head. “Alright. I shall discuss it with them later.” He glanced over to the group of people who had just finished clearing out the wagon, slowly and carefully carrying the wounded off on their stretchers. “For now, let us see to their injuries.”

We all nodded our agreement, and together we made to follow the procession into the village.

The mayor led our group towards one of the larger buildings not far from the village entrance. Even from afar it was relatively obvious that it served as an Inn, likely the primary location for travellers to spend a night. It was also pretty clear that part of the construction was new, likely to do with the expansion the mayor had hinted at earlier. It made sense, if they were expecting more guests, having a good location to offer food and shelter would be a boon for their economy.

Outside of the building a small group already waited, the front door being held open for ease of access. Two of the people waiting stood out, a middle aged woman who, despite her diminutive size, figuratively towered over everyone else with her presence, and a man standing next to her. He was quite the tall and muscled fellow, but his body language made it more than clear that he deferred to her.

I guessed those to be the owners of the inn, especially given the name emblazoned above the main entrance. It simply read ‘Margret’s’ and was decorated with a stylized drawing of a woman who resembled the one waiting outside eerily well, holding a mug.

The moment we arrived, the mayor broke off, stepping up to the pair waiting close to the entrance. The rest of us were immediately ushered inside, led by a young man who, by his outfit, likely worked here. Our destination turned out to be a quite sizable room with a dozen mattresses placed on the ground. Tables and chairs were stacked up along the walls, making it clear that this would typically be one of the common rooms.

Between each mattress was placed a sort of privacy barrier made up of what looked to be wood. They reminded me of the screens often seen in movies set in past eras, something to stand behind while changing. Not a perfect way of giving some privacy, but I found it curious that they even thought of going that far.

The folk who had transported the wounded gently put each of them on a separate mattress. I was a bit surprised by how quickly and fluently it all went, especially given that the caravan had only arrived half an hour ago at best. Still, it spoke well of the people of this village. And likely the mayor had some say in it. I could definitely see him as trying to curry favour, especially with a merchant that might show up more than once, and could help carry a good word about Dussel on his travels.

I dismissed those thoughts, turning my attention to Cecily and Nyx. The mage was overlooking the activity with a critical eye, evidently paying close attention to the treatment of the patients.

With a quick thought I adjusted my presence to shield us from any curious ears. I wasn’t actually concerned about anyone overhearing us, this was more meant as a measure for the other patients. The topics we would discuss might upset or terrify some of them, given their esoteric nature, most of which they were unlikely to understand. Pair that with the fact that these were related quite intimately with the people who could overhear, I decided to be more cautious than not.

“Alright. Now that we have everyone settled, we can start the more complicated part of the treatment. To that end, let me explain what we can likely expect. Again, just to clarify, I’m not an expert, and most of what I’m going to tell you is based on the feel of magic alone, so I need you to keep a close eye on your senses and tell everyone if you notice something amiss. That is doubly true for you,” I added with a glance at Nyx. “You are our healer, and you likely have a better understanding about anatomy and the functions of humanoid bodies than anyone else here. I can already tell you that removing the void taint will leave parts where the body is unable to properly regenerate. If you don’t guide it properly, it might lead to complications. So if you notice anything amiss, and I do mean anything, let us know, okay?”

The woman in question nodded, her expression still neutral, although now carrying a hint of concentration.

Satisfied by that, I gave a nod of my own, before I turned my attention back to the conversation at large. “Let’s begin with what we’re actually dealing with. From what I can tell, this taint is a sort of… residue, left behind by void magic. It’s not a curse or deliberate attack or poison, it feels more like a simple consequence of what void magic actually is. Void is antithetical to magic, the polar opposite, if you will. It erases all that is magic, and given that all that is, is magic, it can be seen as the ultimate inversion of things. I’m not an expert on healing magic, but from what little I understand, it uses the soul as a template to heal the body, yes?”

I glanced over at Nyx, and she gave a short nod. “To be precise, healing magic itself simply vastly accelerates the natural recovery of the body, using the natural systems as a template to help the body along the road of recovery. It is those natural systems that use the soul as a template to return the body into its natural state. For that very reason, healing magic is detrimental when trying to heal poisons or other afflictions that disrupt the natural recovery.”

By this point, the first few patients were now settled onto their mattresses, and I moved over to the one closest to us. He was unconscious from what I could tell, although to my untrained eye, his bandages didn’t look too badly.

“How dire are his injuries?” I asked Nyx as we stopped next to the mattress.

“Relatively harmless, in the grand scheme of things. He seems to simply be exhausted.”

“Good. Can you point to his least threatening injury? I think it’s best to start small, so we don’t make dire things even worse.”

Again, she nodded and knelt down next to the mattress, checking the man over with senses both magical and mundane. After another small nod to herself–it appeared that she did like to make use of that gesture–she gently ran a finger along the bandages on his arm. “This should suffice. Even if something goes wrong, I should be able to prevent any major harm from being done.”

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