[Hlaeth] Ch 36 - Hriegard Healing

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            “People of Hriegard, this is Aelryinth of Heaven, Magos. I am a Healer of some ability, and will be taking patients in the town square in approximately half an hour. If you would like to spread the word to any who live out of town, that will be fine, I will be here for some time.

            “In the meantime, I’m going to be touring your wonderful little town here with my friends, so no need to poke and push. In half an hour, I’ll be at the plaza to see to you all.”

            Magevoice, carries up to three miles. EVERYONE in the area heard me, and understood me.

            “Are you going to be charging them, Master Aelryinth?” Kord asked softly.

            “Do I need to do so for some odd reason?”

            “The local and traveling Healers might get rather irritated with you if you do not. They know their services are valuable, and handing out free magical Healing just makes it harder for them to charge for their services in the future.”

            I could only sigh. I knew very well the power and the value of Healing magic of all stripes and sizes. “That also encourages those who are Healers to keep their secrets tight to their chests, increasing the rarity of it and the value of it even further, which naturally constricts the supply of Healing magic over time, rarifying it and adding a mystical air to its benefits that encourages further price hiking.”

            The two native lads were a bit wide-eyed at my terse dismissal and description of the process. “Is it not so treated where you are from, Lord Magos?” the towering Hano asked.

            “Healing magic is a resource of the people. Where I am from, everyone and anyone who can learn some form of healing power is encouraged to do so. Full-time Healers are considered professionals and paid for their services like any other, but just about anyone with any magical ability is at least capable of Healing their own moderate injuries, because it is insanity not to be able to do so.

            “As a result, there is a plethora of Healing magic available for those in need. It is not devalued, but the cost of having it available is borne by all the people, not just by those in need.

            “Also, where I come from the gods are not distant, and they watch out for their followers, particularly the Gods of Heaven. There are many alternate methods of Healing, because everyone is educated on what the power of Faith and belief in higher powers allows. Divine Magic is hoarded against emergencies if at all possible, but there are many ways to Heal without it, although god-borne magic is by far the most effective.”

            They were really impressed by that, and I tapped Hano in the middle of his sternum with Mortus Dius. “You know that Fast Healing is one of the magicks you can trigger in yourself, right?”

            His all-white eyes threatened to pop out. “No, I did not know that, Lord Magos!”

            “Like all things, it requires karmic investment in yourself. You must improve yourself in the direction of your racial heritage. It is not hard, but you must know what you are doing.”

            “What, what other powers have I inherited that I know nothing about?” the tall and lanky ogryn asked me, astounded.

            “The classic powers are Fast Healing, Flight, the ability to Charm others (be careful of that one), and the ability to project a powerful Cone of Cold as an attack spell. Do you have experience with trolls?”

            They both nodded. “Mountain trolls are one of the creatures we have to be on guard against,” Kord informed me.

            “Your Fast Healing is not regeneration. It will not persist if you die. On the other hand, it isn’t neutralized by acid or fire. It’s also not as powerful as that of a troll. Yet it still will take you from nearly dead back to full health within a handful of minutes.”

            The big purple fellow’s knuckles popped as he clutched them excitedly. “I would really like to learn these things, Lord Magos!” he exclaimed eagerly.

            “Like Healing, should I be charging for this knowledge?” I asked him whimsically.

            He couldn’t hide the way his face fell. “I… yes,” he admitted grudgingly. “But I don’t think I have anything to pay you with but service...”

            “Service can be quite valuable, if used actively and to the right goals, don’t you think?” I asked them both.

            Neither could argue that. “I would be happy to take you both into my service. It seems I will have need of a lot of extra hands…” and that Prophecy I had been subjected to, which likely had been explicitly tailored for me, doubtless by going back in time to administer it, likewise informed me that I was going to need the help of the Children to do what I needed to do in the guise of making a prediction. Gods didn’t need to act on a linear scale, of course.

            Of course, that was assuming I was going to be successful and break this Veiling. Given that I was Beyond Law and Chaos and thus immune to stuff like Prophecies in normal times, I could only act as if it was foreordained… which didn’t mean that I didn’t need to try damned hard and do the job right.

            Indeed, the more I thought about it, the simple fact that the Prophecy said I needed help was a pretty stark indicator that I could not do it alone, which was damn ominous, as I knew how capable I was...

-------

            The people were gathering well before I got to the plaza, of course. A lot of them were soon following me around my tour of the town, marveling at the stone roads and curbs and gutters that rolled up out of the ground, running off down towards the harbor.

            I was going to have to put some form of purification into place or they’d wind up with a literally shitty harbor. Eh, I made the problem, I’d solve it. Throwing piss and shit into the street, alleys, or a convenient pit was definitely not the way to solve the problem in a magical world.

            That said, I also casually repaired the city walls while I was at it.

            It seemed the locals didn’t have a lot of respect for their own defenses, because they’d been stealing stones from the wall to help make the foundations for their own homes and yards, both in and outside the town. Given who was taking the stones, I assumed they had the wealth or family connections to tell others to suck it up and replace them if they liked, and simply no sense of civic duty, at least once they had walls for their own places.

            Turning the walls to hexagonal stacked columns would obviate at least some of that, as well as fusing them together, fixing the leaning, getting rid of cracks, and so forth and so on.

            Yeah, I had a pretty big crowd by the time I made it to the plaza, and there were even people streaming in from the surrounding farms, hoping to gain the services of a Healer.

            The tumult of voices there faded away as I glanced over everyone, and they felt the weight of my gaze despite my not having eyes. Also, the Aura of Valor about me was very easy to feel, the Neutrals squirming as they felt the scorn of Heaven, and the Evil folks going white as they felt the contempt of Heaven.

            “Those of you who profit off the misery of others may leave.” I flexed my Aura once, and at least two dozen people gasped and fell to their knees as the pressure of my presence bore down on them. “Misery given is the reward you’ve taken already. Enjoy it, and BEGONE.”

            Their protests, and they definitely had some, died on their lips. I just Looked at them all at once, and they felt like they were looking at some towering figure up on a mountain, and if they took a single step forward, it would be their last.

            They very wisely slunk away, and everyone watched them go, the intelligent ones marking exactly who they were and how they’d been judged. The words were going to haunt them for years, I had no doubts.

            “Those of you not working towards Heaven, I grant Mercy today, and will treat you as I do the deserving.” The pressure of my Aura altered, and the majority of those who were left gasped, some of them falling down in relief. “That being said, you go last.”

            I gestured, and row upon row of benches flowed up from the stones that had appeared under their feet, their plaza now a raised concentric circle of stone tiles in a colorful mosaic, because that was what I could do without much effort, so I did so.

            “Be seated to the rear,” I informed them, just a pulse of my Aura enough to indicate who I was speaking to. Quite cowed, the Neutrals shuffled to the ready benches, the older and crippled among them remarking in relief that they wouldn’t have to stand around, and this was totally acceptable.

            “The rest of you, Kord and Hano here will be managing the queue. Be patient, I will get to everyone.

            “Those of you who have lost limbs, you will be addressed collectively when the other matters are taken care of.” Heads straightened alertly at those words, the dark souls in the distance even whirling around in shock that I could do such a thing. I was sure there were others that would be spreading the news that I was even capable of such a miracle.

            Load rose out of my Masspack and lotused out into a chair for me, while I released Mortus Dius to stand an inch above the ground by himself. I waited patiently while the two Children arranged the lines, and they escorted an old human woman up to me, bent over by age, arthritis, and a hard life. One of her eyes was covered with glaucoma, her knuckles were the size of golf balls, and how she made it to me on those twisted feet had to be with the help of neighbors, because she had only a crooked cane to grasp to totter along.

            “Grandmother,” I greeted her calmly, earning a somewhat desperate smile with many missing teeth from her. She started to speak, and I just waved her to silence with a gentle hand upon her own. “Just sit there quietly.”

            Sieging Healing Magic was nigh-impossible, as that was what Healing Reserve was for. However, that self-same Reserve could be improved with further investments, and effectively slaved to other Healing effects to draw additional power to take care of effects.

            It just required a lot of Planar Lore, Healing skill, Faith, Concentration, Meditation, and pure Character Levels in a Divine Casting Class.

            I had all of them, and so my quite-boosted Healing Reserve began to go to work.

            Cure Disease/Blindness etc, the removal of permanent Health conditions, was a Valence III. Temporary ailments, like direct Ability Damage or Drain, which Lesser Restoration usually handled, was a II.

            My Healing Reserve was operating off VIII, because I Slotted a Mass Heal for exactly this purpose. 16 points of potential Healing per round coupled with an infusion of positive energy directed by the Heal skill and actually having the capability to Siege both spells meant I could direct this power into her, and start addressing her problems.

            She gave a little cry as the energies began to flow through her. It all started on the inside, clearing up the gunk in her veins from a lifetime of fatty foods, removing her gum disease, melting away her arthritis, getting rid of calcium build-up while fortifying her bones, exciting her scalp back to life, rebalancing minerals and hormones as it cleaned up her liver and digestive system from front to end, while repairing kidney damage and faltering nerve damage, too.

            The mist in her eyes faded away, and she blinked at me in shock as she could suddenly see clearly out of her bad eye. Then she shuddered as her ears almost popped, and she could hear clearly as well!

            A slight onset of dementia went away, a dozen scars from injuries, three cracked or broken bones in the past were cleaned up, circulation problems, excess skin folds hanging around, the scars of venereal disease in the past and some plumbing damage from a traumatic birth were all gently eased away.

            Her gritty, stringy gray hair, only a round muff of it left, was straight and strong, and there were little patterns of new growth replacing the scant wisps on her head, while the many liver spots, varicose veins, and lingering bruises all quietly flowed away.

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