Strangely enough, Jarshan’s lips twitch into what could almost be called a smile as he turns towards the speaker.

“And on what grounds do you propose to train a disciple…Elina Healer?” He asks. The opossum masked figure ghosts into existence behind me, and slender black-gloved hands land on my shoulders. Protectively, they curl around me. “You are not an Elder. The right to train a disciple is not yours.” The other Elders nod. I realize that somehow, a few of them have put on their masks. There’s a thick tension in the air. The hands on my shoulders tremble ever so slightly, before stilling.

“I agreed never to take the name of Rainstopper…but I never said I wouldn’t take a disciple.” Elina’s voice behind her mask is determined. I can feel her shaking behind me, but she never shows a sign of it to the outside world. “The Secthead appointed me as Vice-Secthead. Maybe your brains aren’t working right…perhaps you need healing? I can’t imagine how you’ve all managed to forget so quickly. In Romy’s stead, I have the right to make any decisions for the Sect I deem fit. I’d say taking a disciple isn’t exactly…overstepping.”

“She’s just a cripple, why are you even listening to her! If she wasn’t-“ One of the female Elders speaks, but is abruptly cut off by Elder Heilan’s barking order-

“Not now, Seane.”

“Mmm…” Jarshan mutters to himself. The other Elders aren’t happy. Many of them turn to Janus’s master. However, he simply frowns darkly. His mask is still off, and gradually, those who put on their own masks remove them. Tapping his index finger to his chin, Jarshan looks at Elina and then Elder Heilan who shakes his head. Finally, the Overseer decides, “Very well then. The Vice Secthead is indeed allowed to make any and all decisions in the Secthead’s absence. The boy is yours, Elina.”

“Thank you.” My savior, who still hasn’t removed her mask, says without a hint of pleasure in her voice. Suddenly, a hand scoops me up. And then I’m flying away in the arms of another. In terms of speed, perhaps it isn’t the fastest, Elina is careful with me, seemingly unaware that I’ve been carried by one powerful person or another since birth. Oddly enough, I feel strangely comfortable with her arm around my chest although something still seems off. I can’t put my finger on it.

Within seconds, the plateau disappears along with the Elders and the other candidates. Instead, we end up at the hut where Natalia is staying. Not saying a thing, Elina releases me once it’s over and goes to open the wooden door. Beckoning to me, she goes inside. Despite her lack of words, I can tell that she is paying close attention to me. It’s the little things like how she waits until I’m inside before shutting the door that give it away. Inside the secluded hut, I’m once again bathed in shady darkness which is lit only by the light that manages to stream in from the hole in the ceiling. On the cot in the corner, Natalia is sound asleep, her small form barely moving under the blankets. As if sensing my question, Elina explains,

“She won’t wake up for a while more.” Going over to a stove, she rapidly strikes a piece of flint with superhuman speed, instantly sending sparks into the crude burner. “Young bones don’t really know what they want to be. Hers healed in the wrong way. After so long…even my healing will take time. You’re lucky…and Perideen…is an idiot for not bringing her himself. Taking a carriage with someone in her state…a few more days and even time reversal magic wouldn’t be enough.”

“Time…reversal?” My interest is piqued. “How exactly…does healing work?” Elina offers me a seat on one of two chairs at her tiny dining table which can barely fit two. Jesus, even Ikea is better than this.

“Oh? Changing your mind about becoming Secthead?” Though her mask is on, a note of surprise enters her voice. Also I daresay it kind of sounds like she’s smirking just a bit. Hard to say. She goes about heating a kettle slowly on the stove, and crushing up some herbs she gets from one of the various cupboards above us. The hut is filled with various nooks, crannies, and shelves. “The domain of the Secthead is rather the opposite direction of…healing.”

“I do need to become Secthead. But healing interests me. It’s proven useful…many times.” Remembering Mark’s ability to heal even terrible injuries with a simple wave of his hand, I rub my forehead. “Can you teach me a bit?”

“That depends.” Elina takes the mixture of crushed herbs and puts it inside the ceramic kettle. Soon a soothing fragrance envelopes the hut, reminiscent of blackberries and mulled wine. She sits across from me, oddly perched on her seat, a bit too forward, like a bird of prey sits on a branch. Ill at ease, I suppose. “You didn’t say you want to be the Secthead. You said you need to become the Secthead. If you really need to do that, then perhaps you should be asking me more about becoming stronger. Healing is useful, but the opposite of what you need. Don’t you want to learn the path of killing? There’s only a year until the 3rd Trial. It’s less time than you think, and no time for distractions.”

“I just want to know a bit.” Finding it hard to read Elina’s mood, and also sensing that she’s testing me, I can only speak truly because my head hurts. God I want to sleep. “There’s time for training tomorrow. Besides, Romy has already taught me a lot about the Rainstopper style. And I seldom meet another person who can use magic. You’re one of the first…in a long time.”

“If you say so.” Suddenly becoming ambivalent, Elina spreads her gloved hands while reaching for the kettle. Pouring out two clear yet dark cups of tea, she leans back and sits in the shadows, watching me through her opossum mask. I’m not gonna lie…that’s one ugly mask. “Healing is an entire branch of magic on its own. Separate and yet based on the same fundamentals as the very elemental magic you practice. You could learn…probably. But just as your magic is finnicky and tricky, healing is an entirely different practice. It would and will take time away from your other studies. And in the end…you might not even be able to heal a minor wound.”

“I know. I know! Yea yea, can’t reach the highest peak of magic if you split your time between multiple studies. I’ve heard it before, alright?” Elina sounds somewhat like Glacia at the moment and I smile at the memory of her admonishments when I worked on multiple elements at once. “It’s not really a problem for me. Can you tell me more about this…time reversal healing? I have an interest in it.”

“Time reversal…you have strange interests.” Regarding me with her sunken blue eyes behind the mask, I get the feeling that Elina is smirking at me again. “It’s a complicated subject. But since you insist, I can try to explain.”

“Please.”

“You’ve seen regular healing before, right?” She starts. Motioning at me to drink my tea, which I find to be pleasantly warm and not too hot anymore, Elina enunciates as I nod. This isn’t half bad. “Good. Then you’ll understand what I mean when I say that most healing essentially attempts to encourage new growth. If a bone is broken, or flesh is cut, even blood is lost, Healing Magic attempts to fix it by stimulating your body to repair itself. It’s a…extension of the natural healing process. Still with me?”

“Yup.” Internally, I find her explanation consistent with my own observations during Mark’s healing. Sounds almost like science.

“Uhuh.” Acting like she doesn’t quite believe me, Elina continues, “Well, that is what most Healing Magic up to the Intermediate Level revolves around. However…there is a fatal flaw. Namely, what do you do once a wound has already healed? How can you fix a wound so terrible that the body does not know how to repair it? There are several scenarios in traditional healing that are beyond most healers. Time Reversal Magic is a school of magic which seeks to address these issues.”

“How?”

“Well it’s simple. The body remembers it’s past state. Well…that’s not the right way to put it. Let’s say that fate, or perhaps your destiny remembers who you were. When you’re hurt, normally, you heal according to how your body wants. How it believes that you should be healed. For instance, when you get cut, your arm doesn’t regrow exactly the way it was, right? Instead you get a scar. It’s not the same! But what if you could draw out the past? Convince your body to return to the way it was, instead of the way it wants to be? That is Time Reversal Magic.”

“Then…it’s possible to return to the past?” I grow excited. This seems like it could be related to my Foresight. Maybe…finally, I can get some answers! “Go back in time? What about forwards?”

“No.” An abrupt stop. Suddenly, the mood becomes heavy. Elina’s whole demeanor shifts. She seems to grow a few centimeters shorter, withdrawing in on herself. “What’s possible to get back is only a figment of imagination. An image, or message, an idea of what was. And only a short while back. I use this image to tell the body what to do when it heals. I can’t call back a lost limb from the ether. As for reaching into the future? Hah…if I had a spell for that, I wouldn’t have been so shocked when you showed up.”

“You’d be surprised…”