After a long and restful sleep, Liam wakes up as sunlight shrines through his open window, warming his face. He gets out of bed with a groan, feet still tired from all the running he did the day before. Glancing out the window, Liam can see that he has woken up a good bit later today. The sharp shooting pains in his arm the night before having faded to a dull ache, and the bruising is starting to look much better now too.

Still wearing the previous days clothing, he stands does a few stretches, being careful with his injured arm. After dressing, he grabs the undelivered parcel from last night.

With a tired yawn Liam examines the changes in his status.

Mana

22/37

Condition

Moderate

Feeling a bit confused about the lack of detail regarding his injury, Liam visits the upstairs bathroom to do his morning routine. Most buildings in Eternia City have decent plumbing systems which is managed by a team who took care of everything, for a hefty tax according to Godrick. After years of having fresh running water, his wooden shack in Esterstone was a big downgrade, Liam is happy to have his childhood standards back.

In the bar downstairs Godrick has just finished serving some guest’s breakfast. He sees Liam walk down the stairs and greets him. “Morning, sleep well? How’s the arm?”

“Much better today, thank you. Whatever you did last night helped a lot.”

Godrick’s face breaks into a wide small upon hearing this. “Glad to hear it, but you are still going to need somebody more qualified to look at it.” The bartender replies, concern in his voice. “I know, I know. You told me last night. I just want to talk to Jonah first about what happened.” Liam replies.

Godrick lets out a sign when he sees Liam’s sling. “Come here lad, I need to adjust that before you go out.” The older man spends a moment fixing the knots before standing back up. “That should do it, lets just get you some breakfast and you can be on your way. Bacon sandwich OK?” he asks.

“Yeah, that sounds great, I’m starving. Can I get some juice too?” Liam requests.

Liam approaches an unattended counter inside of the courier shop. He rings a small brass bell to signal Jonah. Moments later a man with short black hair enters from a back room. “Ahh, finally back are you. I’ve been open for hours.” He says to Liam.

Upon seeing the parcel still clutched in the teen’s free arm he frowns. “What happened there? Big penalty for late deliveries, you know. Also, what happened to your arm?” He asks.

“Late delivery? It was bleeding setup. Some lunatic was trying to kill me. I barely escaped with my life.” Liam replies angrily.

“Well, you still should have attempted delivery” answers Jonah, clearly not comprehending the situation. “Delivery? What delivery? It’s fucking empty, you idiot!” Shouts Liam, throwing the package at Jonah.

He catches the small parcel and sets it down on the counter. The package is quickly opened with a letter opener. Jonah looks down at the empty box with a frown. “I see, well since that is the case, you will of course still be paid without a penalty. We have a backlog of orders today, can you get started on those?” asks the older man. He reaches into a drawer and takes out a small stack of coins, setting them down on the counter.

Liam points to his arm. “I have to go get this looked at. Anyway, I’m a freelancer right? I don’t have to work.” he states with confusion on his face.

“Couldn’t you just.. ah ok very well, I suppose that is OK. Just please try to be back soon. Lots of jobs to be done here!” replies Jonah.

Liam simply walks over and takes his money before leaving the building, blood pounding in his ears.

A while later, after walking as quickly as he could without causing pain, Liam stands before a huge temple. It looks the same as it did a few days ago when he first arrived at Eternia. Crowds of people of all ages worship various spirits, Liam walks past dozens of people and stands before the main entrance. A colossal archway with crisp art carved all around it, the entire Inn that Liam is staying in could fit within.

As he enters the temple, Liam feels a peaceful wave of energy pass over him. All of his worries, minor aches and pains seem to lessen.

The temple appears to be divided into sections. To his right, acolytes in crimson robes attend a fire, fussing over the placement of fuel. On the left side of the entrance there are a dozen or so druids meditating under a pristine tree which Liam does not recognise. Oak would know what type of tree that is. Liam thinks to himself, as he proceeds further into the temple.

Floor to ceiling stone pillars cover the entire cavernous temple. No two pillars seem to be identical, each showing various spirits or telling a story. Some are painted, depicting their picture more accurately. Liam traces his finger along one which has lightning striking a tree.

The teenager passes several sections of spiritualists going about their work and worship. After a few minutes he sees a large cerulean blue area. Wide grooves with tight right angles cut into the stone floor allow a stream of water to flow here. Several men and women in robes of varying shades of blue mill around the area.

In the corner there are a few lines leading into side rooms out of Liam’s view. He walks over and catches the eye of a young man wearing sky blue robes. “Hi there, I was wondering if it would be possible to have somebody take a look at my arm?” asks Liam.

The young man stops when Liam addresses him. “Lines for healing are over there. Our healing service costs 30 silver, you can pay the healer when it is your turn. You can pay, right?” he says in a bored voice, looking down at Liam.

“Not a problem” replies the teenager, tapping his coin purse and causing it to rattle. The man nods and continues walking.

Liam walks over to the lines, siting down at the end of one of them is a familiar face. The girl from the park! Despite her line not being the shortest, Liam quickly joins it.

Thirty minutes later it is finally his turn. To the right, a man in deep blue robes overlooks the entire area. Liam walks past him as he enters the woman’s section past some drapes. She looks at him in surprise as he enters. “Twice in one week, I’m almost impressed! At least you broke the other one this time.” She says sarcastically.

Liam winces at her tone. “Yeah, well this time wasn’t my fault!” Liam answers, he then starts to tell her what happened before she quickly cuts him off.

“Look, you seem like a nice kid. If I heal you here then I have to charge you, no exceptions.” Her eyes dart over to the man in deep blue robes. She leans in close before continuing. “But I have my meditation class in the Verdant Park after this. I’ll take a look at you then for free, Ok?”

Liam nods in understanding. “Thank a lot Miss.” He replies politely. “I’m sorry, but if you can’t afford the service you are going to have to leave.” The young woman says in a firm voice. Liam quickly stands up and walks away before causing a scene.

As Liam is exiting the water area, he sees the man from earlier scoff at him. “I knew you couldn’t afford it.” He says snidely, turning away from Liam.

After getting something to eat from a street vendor, Liam is relaxing near the entrance of the Park.

He lays down on the lush grass with his boots off, enjoying the feeling underfoot. He forces himself to stay awake, never fully giving into the gentle lull of sunshine. With his eyes half closed he can hear the sound of a group of children playing with their pets. A familiar group of druids sit in deep meditation under some trees. After a while he sees a familiar woman dressed in blue robes. He stands up and waves in her direction, she notices and wanders over.

“Thanks for coming to help me, Arienne, right?” Liam greets her.

“Yep, that’s me. But please, call me Ari. Arienne sounds so formal. Now then, let’s take a look at that arm, shall we? Come over here, I know a good spot. “She replies. Liam nods and they head off along a trail into the woods. A short while later they arrive at a peaceful clearing with a few flat-topped boulders. She motions with her hand for him to take a seat.

“I hope you weren’t trying to sprint directly into the ground again, were you?” She asks playfully. “No. I didn’t trip again. I actually got into a fight when making a delivery.” Liam quickly replies. “Really now? What kind of fight?” she asks, interest creeping into her voice.

“This huge beastborn set me up, he tossed me into a wall. That’s how this happened. Then he underestimated me and basically.. well I got lucky. He had captured some kids, so afterwards I went and rescued them!” Liam finishes his tale in a single breath.

“Wow, that’s some story. You’re a heroic little guy now aren’t you?” She replies. Liam could tell from her tone that she didn’t believe him.

“Hey don’t make fun of me, it’s true. I was out on a job over at bulburry street, really shitty place. I was given an empty package and told to deliver it after dark. The whole point was to get me there. I’m not making this up” Liam replies angrily.

She holds her hands up, surprise on her face. “Alright alright buddy. I thought you were just pulling my leg. But I can see from your face that you went through something last night. We can leave it there. I’m sorry for doubting you. Let us take a look at that arm, shall we?”

“First let’s get it unwrapped so I can take a proper look” she continues. He removes his arm from the sling and carefully rolls up the sleeves of his tunic. The young woman reaches over and takes his arm in her hand. Liam feels a tingle of something through is arm while she works. After half a minute she says “It’s a much worse break than the last one. That’s for sure. Some bad internal damage here too. I can see somebody already did some basic mending. But even still, you bad muscle tearing from bone shards and the arm is self is not healing correctly.”

“So, you can just do your watery magic again and fix me right?” Liam askes in a concerned voice. “Give me a sec kid.” She replies, while letting go of his arm. Liam slides it back into the sling.

The young woman spends a minute or so thinking while muttering to herself, trying to recall past lessons. “Ok so we have three choices.” She holds up a finger when she starts speaking. “One. You go back to the temple and have somebody more senior than me take a look, that’s going to be expensive, more than the thirty silver I should be charging you.” She holds up a second finger. “Two. I use my ‘watery magic’ and basically force it to heal, this will be quick, but it may be slightly weaker and more prone to breaking in the future.” She holds up a third finger and smiles. “Three. I teach you how to heal it yourself. Will probably take a while depending on your aptitude, but it’s a great skill to have. Also, there is almost a zero chance that you will screw up your arm this way.”

“Sounds like there is a clear choice here. But why are you willing to teach me for free? Surely you have better things to be doing?” Liam asks.

“Who said I would be doing this for free?” she asks, the corners of her lips curl up slightly into a smile.

Upon seeing Liam reach down for his money she quickly stops him. “I’m joking, look, I kind of feel bad about not believing you, and I did say I would heal you. Besides, teaching is supposed to be a good way to learn. Let’s get started, shall we?”

“So you are an aeromancers, right? Some kind of air spirit speed freak?” she asks. Liam flinches at the word freak but pushes past the memories. “Light actually” he answers, conjuring a small sphere of light. It shines brightly, even under the noon sun.

“Hmm, strange. Never heard of that. Closest thing is a pyro I used to know, he could do some incredible things with sparks but had almost no control over fire. You sure you aren’t a pyromancer?” she questions.

“I’m positive.” Liam replies. “Alright then, well the theory should be the same either way, I was just being nosey. So, first things first. Watch how I sit, then copy me” says Ari. She adjusts herself into an awkward sitting position, legs tucked underneath her body. I think I saw a few people doing this outside the temple earlier.

After adjusting Liam’s leg and back slightly, Ari continues. “Next, you have to take some of your internal mana and cycle it through your body. Make sure you are using internal mana, nothing that you recently taking in from outside sources. Picture this shape in your mind when you do it.”

She removes the cap from her water flask and draws out a shape in the air using the water. “Close your eyes and think about the shape. Make sure it is pure mana and keep the image clear. “she instructs him.

To his untrained eyes it looks like the letter Y and M had a baby, he ignores the thought of letters fornicating and does his best to focus.

Minutes later he has calmed his breathing, remembering how the druid instructed him at the shrine. He pictures Ari manipulate water into the image. He is not sure exactly what she means by pure mana, but he does his best to only focus on his core, ignoring the sensation of sunlight on his skin. He spends a while focusing on this image, but something feels a bit off. Frustrated, Liam opens his eyes.

Ari looks at him expectantly as his eyes blink into focus. “I’m not sure, I think something felt a bit off.” She holds out her hand and reaches into his sling and holds onto him. “Hmm, no. That’s not quite it.” Ari says. He feels her cool fingers on his arm, it reminds him of a river where his father used to bring him fishing. “Wait no. There, try again but focus on that feeling.” She encourages him.

Liam closes his eyes again, juggling his thoughts between the memory of his father, his mana and the image she displayed. A while later and feeling frustration creep up on him again, Liam sighs to himself. This isn’t working. I can’t think of everything at the same time, it’s impossible to focus. I need to make this simpler. He pictures a pure black background and this time instead of seeing Ari and the strange shape drawn in moving water, he sees it in a pure white light. With this idea held in place he thinks about the sound that the river made when he was there as a child. Yes. That’s it. But it needs to be moving, right? Finally, something clicked in his mind, the white light in the image started to move, at a snail’s pace. But movement is movement.

Liam opens his eyes, and a huge smile breaks out across his face. Ari has her eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought. “Ari, I did it!” he interrupts her.

She blinks her eyes open, then reaches her hand out to his arm once more. After a moment surprise crosses her face. “Amazingly, you actually did. Shit, I’m the greatest, aren’t I?” she boasts.

“Yes, you’re the greatest” Liam says with a sigh. “So, I’m healed now?” he asks.

“What? No. If you can do that for another few hours it should be back to normal.” She says with a laugh.

Liam sighs and closes his eyes, getting back to work.