Chapter 18: Bedtime Story

Dear Gods, it’s true, thought Mary. All nobles are born perverts. Who would have thought it started so young? Mary had almost dropped the jar of holy water when she entered Talo’s room.

Paquine lay unconscious in a disheveled heap on the floor, and the young marquis stood over her, naked, and fondling her neck.

“You there, Mary was it? Can you call a physician? Preferably Powaw if he is available.”

Oh Gods! He’s killed her. “Immediately, my lord.” Mary put down the jar of holy water and ran out of the room.

Talo already returned his focus to Paquine. Her heart rate and breathing are suppressed, but she’s alive. I can’t tell if she’s hurt her head or not. Maybe I can roll her into the left lateral recumbent position with help from magic...Normally I would want to do this with two people to maintain C-spine...Though this is probably from me draining her mana, and I don’t see any signs of injury along the head or neck.

Convinced, Talo conjured a small cushion of air under Paquine’s head. He then struggled to roll her on her left side, tilted her mouth so that it was open, and locked her limbs in place. There’s still a chance of injury along the spine or chest. I didn’t notice any signs of bleeding, or DCAP-BTLS for that matter, but I’ll need to cut her clothes off to examine her clearly. I really wish I had a pair of shears, or at least any kind of scissors.

Talo looked around the room but came up empty. I suppose I’ll have to use my dagger. Time could be of the essence. Talo tore the back of the handmaiden's uniform with his dagger, then began to palpate along Paquine’s spine.

“What was this about you sodomizing your handmaiden to death?”

Talo froze instantly at Powaw’s accusatory tone. “This isn’t what it probably looks like,” backpedaled Talo. Damn, I’m naked too. Talo quickly donned a robe.

Powaw just huffed and began his own investigation. Green light came off in waves as he passed his hands over Paquine’s figure. He chanted under his breath as he continued pushing mana into her body.

“This is among the worst cases of mana drain that I’ve ever seen. What exactly happened?” Powaw was actually a little impressed. Normally draining someone’s mana caused damage as the host tried to hold on to the mana. There would be evidence of torn flesh and localized necrosis at the exit point.

“Well…” Talo was having a hard time thinking about the best light to present the facts. “We just began a water treatment, and as you and Brother Caloner have pointed out, I need to work on my mana senses and manipulation. After Paquine began the treatment, I discovered that I could… pull..or tug on her mana? I’m not really sure what the right word is.”

“Let’s worry about language later.” Powaw stopped examining Paquine and turned to stare down Talo. “You mean to tell me you forcefully drained the entirety of her mana in an instant? Given her mana control, I have a hard time believing you had the strength to do so.”

“Right, right, I wasn’t finished. After that first tug, she abruptly cut off the mana. But then she proposed pouring her mana into me. Willingly. Completely her idea.”

“She proposed pouring mana into you? Not sharing, but pouring?” Powaw was quite familiar with Paquine. She had previously been one his students, but he rejected her as an apprentice. He judged her character as too giving, caring, and loving for the harsh requirements of a physician. He recommended that she pursue a career as a nurse or try to discover enough religion to be a faith healer.

“Uh… I honestly don’t remember her exact words. She might have said share. I’ve been too concerned with the unconscious body in front of us to remember semantics.”

“It’s not semantics, and if you’re ever going to make it as a high noble, you’re going to have to keep your wits about you. Especially when the shit really hits the fan. Do you know what the difference is between mana drain and mana exhaustion?”

“Semantics I—” *ZAP*

Powaw raised his hand and sent a small bolt of electricity into Talo’s body. “Insolent pups have to be punished or they will never learn to respect their elders or the truth.” Talo doubled over in pain and began groaning in the fetal position.

“Oh, do be quiet whelp. You’re not injured; it just hurts. Now open those clogged ears of yours, so you can learn from this mess. Mana exhaustion occurs when someone uses up most or all their mana reserves from their mana well. Symptoms vary, but generally include syncope or at least altered mental status. In addition, there often can be some sort of backlash or side effect from the spell or magic being attempted. It takes a great deal of expertise to actually finish what you were trying to do right before passing out, and even more to not pass out.”

As he was explaining, Powaw picked up Paquine and laid her gently on the cot. He then turned to Talo, who was still on the floor, and unceremoniously chucked him onto his bed. “Mana drain, however, is caused by the removal of one’s mana by an outside force. The symptoms of mana drain actually tend to be much more uniform and linear in their progression. Mild cases involve minor burns and wounds at the point of loss. Having the drain occur across large portions of the body already moves you up the scale to moderate damage.”

Talo began to recover from his admonishment and was trying to crawl under the covers. Powaw didn’t seem to mind and just propped Talo up against the headboard.

“Now pay attention, because this is where things get tricky. Advanced cases usually involve deeper tissue damage. In systemic cases, most of the damage is seen around the lymphatic system. Remember how you asked, ‘where is the mana-well in the body?’ As I mentioned, it’s still a matter of debate, but this is one of the strongest bits of evidence that it’s linked to lymph nodes. In more focused cases, the tissue damage is localized around internal organs, most notably the heart, brain, and liver.”

“Look, it’s a little late for a medical lesson. Are you telling me she’s going to be fine or not?” Time, place, and occasion my man. This geezer knows none of it.

“I think she shall be fine, but it is a rather unusual case. One of my familiars is bringing a potion from my office as we speak. In serious cases, where someone has drained the entirety of the patent’s mana reserves, there is normally so much internal damage that death is a foregone conclusion. Again, this isn’t from the lack of mana itself, but the damage caused as it was ripped out… There are extreme cases, however, where the mana was so thoroughly drained that it causes a form of mummification. These are normally reserved to naturally occurring phenomenon that drain mana.”

At this point, Talo was starting to drift off to sleep. The adrenaline from Paquine passing out wore off, causing him to crash. The drunken/full feeling he normally encountered when taking in large amounts of mana, and an impromptu medical lecture, only added to his languor. Powaw eyed his pupil understandingly. He gently placed his hands on either side of Talo’s head and reached in as if to give him a goodnight kiss.

“WAKE UP,” he screeched from just 5cm away. Purple light exploded forth from Powaw’s mouth and crashed into Talo’s face. The light then started to bounce violently between Powaw’s hands—Talo cringing more with each volley.

“Stop, stop, stop, please stop,” pleaded Talo. “I’m up, I’m up you damned saddest.”

“Good. The last pupil of mine who fell asleep while I was teaching found himself bound to a charging golden rhino. Consider yourself lucky—I’m taking pity due to your age. Now, as I was saying, cases where the mana seems to be pulled out of the very cells of patients are quite rare. Which brings me back to why I’m puzzled. You didn’t just drain Paquine’s mana well, but you even drained her passive mana that normally resides in the cells.”

“And as I said, before you continually started assaulting me, she was trying to give me her mana. I could feel her pooling her mana in her hands. I just drank it hardily in. It was wonderful.” This caused Powaw to raise his eyebrow at Talo. “Well before the whole passing out part.”

“Indeed. Her skill in mana manipulation may have been the reason behind this peculiar situation. She was willing her mana into you at such a rate that she couldn’t cut it off before passing out?” Powaw paused and glanced around the room with glowing yellow eyes. “And so little of the mana leaked into the area...that means you were able to actually absorb mana at such a rate.”

Powaw paused to stroke his beard and reconsidered. “With proper training and skill, one can normally avoid the effects of your average necromancer. She was probably at this level. Not to the extent where she could avoid the pull of the Xaló crystals in the northern wastes, but a decent necromancer or vampire would have their work cut out for them. But the silly girl was attempting the reverse...hm?”

At that moment an orangutan in an odd suit came into the room. “Ah, Iskandar. Come, give me the vial.” The orangutan ambled to Powaw's side and handed over blue crystal bottle from his pocket. “There’s a good boy. You can head back to bed.” Powaw gave the ape a gentle pat on the head, but Iskandar stood fast and grunted at him.

“Fine, here you go.” Powaw reached into his robe and tossed his familiar a treat. Iskandar ate the caramel with glee and exited the room. Powaw returned his attention to Paquine, who was still unconscious on the cot.

“Time to care for you, my dear.” He tilted back her head slightly and poured a golden liquid into her mouth. Her body began to glow, and her breathing noticeably improved. A smile came across her face. “There, she can sleep peacefully for now. As for you my young marquis, I think...Oh dear. He fell asleep again. What shall I do this time?”