Ranvir flinched as the doctor used a wooden spatula to spread a paste over his closed eyelids. At first, the cold sensation of the paste just sunk into his eyes, lending a refreshing feeling, then follow by a slight tingling and he smelled mint from the paste.

“Let me bind your eyes.” He said. Ranvir leaned his head up and the doctor quickly and efficiently wrapped bandages around his head. He didn’t fully wrap his head, just enough that Ranvir didn’t feel the urge to open his eyes. “A little more and you’re done for today.”

He spread more of the paste onto the rest of Ranvir’s face, which was feeling a lot better, then finished wrapping the bandages. “Any complaints from your ribs?”

Ranvir shook his head, feeling the linen brush against the bed he was lying in. “No more than usual.”

“Good. Remember, don’t be afraid to tell me if anything’s wrong or if the pain gets worse. Your ribs are bruised, but that’s not an excuse to let it get worse.” The doctor reprimanded as he helped him up.

“Any of your friends here to help you back today?”

Ranvir took in a deep breath, wincing as his side protested. “Grevor, I think.”

“Good, good. You have a good day, Ranvir. I’ll see you in a couple days.”

Ranvir blindly nodded, and the doctor led him out of the office. Holding his free hand against the wall, Ranvir guided himself along the hallway into the reception area. It bothered him he’d been coming into this building every other day for more than a week, and he still had no clue what it looked like.

There were no tapestries on the wall, nor carpets on the floor, but other than that, he didn’t know. He had to stop to catch his breath at what he determined to be halfway down the hall, his ribs protesting against the strain of limping along with the crutch.

I could just lay down here… Take a rest until I have to see the doctor again. Ranvir thought. I can’t do anything, anyway. I can’t go anywhere, or leave, or even enjoy my Goddess damned vacation!

Ranvir banged his hand against the wall, just to feel anything that wasn’t a dragging dark blue exhaustion, for that swift flicker of yellow pain flaring up his hand.

“Ranvir?” Grev’s voice echoed down the hallway.

Ranvir startled, though he’d learned better than to jump when surprised. Instead, he just froze where he was. “Yes.”

“I’m coming.” Grev said, his footsteps swift as he moved down the hallway. It was quiet, not a lot of other students visiting the doctor. The teachers had been pretty good about not doing too serious damage to any of their students, though there were a few notable injuries.

The silence and Grev’s footsteps somehow sounded ominous in Ranvir’s head, feeling like he was in a dark hallway and someone was approaching. For all he fucking knew, the hallway was brightly lit and painted pink.

“Here.” Grev said, as he stopped next to him. “Give me your hand.”

Ranvir hesitated. His knuckles still hurt from hitting the wall, but there really wasn’t anyway around it. He held the hand out and Grev grabbed his hand and placed it on his forearm. Ranvir didn’t know where he’d learned it, but Grev had always guided him like that. He was the only one Ranvir knew who did it like that.

Esmund would grab his wrist like he was a toy he was towing along. Needless to say, Es hadn’t gotten any better as a guide through the week or so of Ranvir’s blindness. Sansir was a little more gentle, but he had a death grip on Ranvir’s arm that made him feel like a disobedient child.

Grev’s approach felt easier to manage. Like he at least had some control. It was a reference, instead of a pulley. Ranvir struggled alongside Grev as they went through the reception and onto the campus.

“Where to?” Grev asked.

“The dorms.” Ranvir replied, leaning heavily against his crutch and trying to keep his panting to a minimum.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Then let’s not go to the dorms, so you can retire early. You’re not an old man, yet.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Ranvir groused, but followed as Grev led him away. Not that he’d had much choice.

After a few minutes, sweat was pebbling on Ranvir’s brows effortlessly, being gathered by the top of his bandages. The salty water armies disappearing into the walls of the absorbent enemy.

“I need a break.” He gasped out, pulling to a halt against Grev’s arm.

“You don’t look too good. Are you sure you’re alright?” Grev’s voice had gathered that somber, deeper tone he only got when he was serious.

“I’m… I’m not. I’m a blind, I only have one leg, my side is killing me and… I’m so tired. It just doesn’t stop…”

Ranvir slid down his crutch until his side protested and he fell onto his ass the last way. Of course, that only made the complaints louder. He lay all the way back, feeling the grass poke at him, through his uniform and on his neck. It was hot. Bright too, he could see a bit of light penetrating through both eyelids and bandages.

It kinda felt good to get outside, breathe in some fresh air, and let the sun touch his body.

“It’s okay to feel like that. I think.” Grev replied. Ranvir couldn’t tell, but would bet money on the fact that he’d laid down too. “I don’t know what it’s like to be in your position. I can’t even imagine.”

Ranvir didn’t reply, just lay in silence, knowing Grev had more to say.

“When I was ten? Maybe nine, I got injured too. Not as bad as you, sure, but bad enough.” He chuckled to himself. “I’d just gotten a new practice sword and was training for ‘real’ combat. I’d been vanquishing all but an army of flesh-torn whilst climbing one of the trees in our estate. Then one leg slipped. Suddenly I wasn’t climbing trees, I was falling from them.”

He chuckled to himself. “Heh, I broke my right leg and arm in the fall. I screamed so loud the staff thought I was dying. Anyway, they got me back into the mansion and onto my bed, and a healer was called. Apparently, I’d broken my leg pretty bad, because he took one look at it and stepped out of the room.”

He paused for a long moment, and Ranvir could hear him scratching his chin. “This was maybe a year or so before… my dad left the army. So at this point, there wasn’t anybody home who could authorize that sort of expenditure. They sent a messenger to my dad immediately, of course. It still took two weeks before authorization of the payment came back. Another month before dad did.”

Ranvir heard him swallow and reached out with his hand, searching for Grev. He found his shoulder and squeezed it. “Thanks for telling me.”

“It’s nothing.” Grev’s voice was thick and hazy as he spoke. Barely controlled.

Ranvir didn’t reply, just squeezed his shoulder even tighter. Grev reached up and took his hand, squeezing it with all his strength. It hurt, but compared to Ranvir’s leg, his ribs, or his eyes, it was barely noticeable.

“Do you know why we have a big medical building?” Ranvir asked both to change the subject and because the question had really been bothering him. “I get that we’re a pretty big academy, but that’s a little overkill since we normally have plenty of healers, right?”

“Well, they’re not usually for normal use.” Grev replied, voice strained as he sat up. “The entire academy also functions as a main barracks for the army. The dorms are slightly bigger than they need to be and there are extra dorms that can all be transformed into barracks with a few quick switches. All the fields with grass can be grounds where they set up tents. The fields with sand can be staging grounds. Ever thought about how they lay near the gate?”

“The entire army can fit in the academy?” Ranvir asked, trying to get up without his ribs protesting. He failed.

“Not the entire army, no.” Grev replied. “But a sizable part of it. The Queen’s barracks and Lord’s barracks can hold the rest.”

“Lord’s barracks?” Ranvir asked. “They get their own barracks? What about the Master’s Council? Do they have their own barracks?”

“The Masters aren’t actually in charge of the war.” Grev replied. “They’re in charge of the tethered, who play a huge part in the war, but they don’t. They don’t supply soldiers, they don’t supply money, nor do they supply… uh supplies. Their only contribution is us, the tethered. There’s a reasonable argument that the Lord’s should be in charge of at least our training, since we’re preparing for their war.”

“Wouldn’t that be kinda bad, though?” Ranvir asked. “If the Master’s lost control of the academy?”

“That depends on whether you’re on their side or the Lords. For me, it’s a toss up. I could take either. For you, terrible.”

“So it would be terrible for Sansir, too?”

“Yes.” Grev’s voice was hard as he spoke.