Losing a leg had a surprising perk. It allowed to get so practice in for my brand-new Permanence Augntation. Or, at least, that was my plan.
When I woke up after losing consciousness in the Nether Vein, I found myself in a soft bed with tal bars and one of the cleanest rooms I had seen in all of Zairgon. There was an air of sterility about it, though not quite the familiar sll of disinfectants and antiseptics. Still, it was pretty obvious I was in a hospital.
I wanted to try and relax in my seemingly comfortable surroundings, but the terrible throb in my cut-off leg was already trying to draw out tears.
Thankfully, it only took a few minutes before a dishevelled but also rather clean woman appeared and held out her hands over my rather horrific injury. Warm green and yellow light washed over my bandage-bound stump, tiny threads sinking in and drawing the agony away.
“You’re safe now, Cultist Ross,” she said with a kind smile.
The familiarity with which she used my title confird that I was in the Ring Four hospital. I honestly felt relieved at that. Being back on my ho turf was a good thing. The atmosphere was familiar enough to be relaxing, even if I hadn’t ever been admitted to a hospital here before. The people here knew . Liked .
Much better than the coldness of other Rings that I would have had to deal with elsewhere, even if their dical service might technically have been better.
Although, not so much better that I’d have received a shiny new leg.
“You need your Aspect of Healing to be at least Jade-ranked to restore entire lost limbs,” the nurse inford with regret. “None of us here have anything even close. None of anybody in all of Zairgon, far as I know.”
She was looking at my missing leg so sadly, I almost felt worse about her feelings than about the fact that my limb was gone.
“It’s alright,” I said. “I’m sure sothing will co up.”
“Well, you take your ti and rest, Cultist Ross. Even heroes need recuperation.”
Hero, was it? I wondered how many people on Ring Four were aware of everything that had happened over the last few days.
As the woman talked, I learned that over a day had passed since the Blight Swarm battle had ended. Being knocked out for over twenty-four hours was highly concerning, but my feelings about it dwindled in the face of the pain in my leg clawing back after the nurse’s Aspect use ended. She was regretful about that too. Her Aspect could only provide temporary relief.
I got it under control with a bit of Sacrifice. My caretaker was highly concerned at biting my own hand hard enough to make it bleed, even after I explained I was using my Aspect.
[ Sacrifice
You have Sacrificed 1 [Minor] Experience of Pain. Windfall bonus activated.
Reward: Pain Sense Control: Modifiable threshold of pain sense by up to 4x for 4 hours. ]
Glad as I was that my Sacrifice reward helped, I was a little bit worried that I was growing overly reliant on it. So people got addicted to painkillers. I was huffing the fus of Pain Sense Control.
I resolved to not do so the next ti. The Sacrifice reward would be running out in a few hours, and I would not be reprising it. Not unless the pain was fatally distracting.
Everyone was busy with repairs and regaining so sense of normalcy after the last few days. There was so much that needed to be fixed. So much that required our attention. nding the infrastructure of Ring Four was only one part of our responsibilities. There was also the very human side of things, like dealing with casualties, helping people return to their hos, and so on.
None of which I could assist with just then while I was stuck on one leg and forced to rest. The hospital staff was having none of my “self-destructive” ideas of helping while injured.
Being stuck in the hospital was what granted the idea of trying Permanence. The problem with creating makeshift casts or prosthetics was that they were temporary. The pesky Natural Limit of Existence struck again.
So, this ti, as I used Granular Control to mould a chunk of my hospital-gifted crutch into a peg-leg, I tried focusing on my newest Augntation. I felt mana leave in droves. Threads of icy blue magical energy travelled down my body with electric power before encasing my creation, wrapping it with strand after glowing strand.
I could only blink as the peg-leg seed to transform sohow. The best way I could think of it was using a new graphics card. It was as if I was looking at it at a much higher definition, with more colour, details, and pure solidity beyond what normal reality offered.
So strange.
The weirdest thing, though, was the echo of Threaded Reinforcent that still remained where my real leg should have been. Despite my missing limb, the mana threads that had infused through it were still present, albeit only as ghosts.
And now, as I constructed a makeshift “leg” with Granular Control, I felt the threads turning solid. Corporeal. Sizzling with power.
The drain was significant, but that made sense. Permanence went two ways. Not only was I making my magical creation resistant to the natural decay it would normally suffer, I was also permanentizing the cost of mana.
This was going to need so experinting. My ideas of practical use for Permanence were going to take a hit if the costs really would remain like a continuous scar.
Now I understood why more mages weren’t rchants or businessn, using their magic to make wonders they could sell to the public. It was just impractically costly in terms of mana use.
That said, there was the silver lining that I was particularly well-placed to deal with this specific drawback. With my mana core gobbling down massive amounts of mana for to use, and with Threaded Reinforcent greatly increasing my ability to channel more and more mana, I’d be able to use my new Augntation economically to so benefit. Hopefully.
I practiced with Permanence for a while, though really, there wasn’t a whole lot to practice. Everything I could do with my Aspects, I could just do them in an unending fashion.
Gravity Orbs that remained by my side like Sprites I had created, packets of Flare ready to burst and stuck to their locations forever, glowing uses of Imbuent via Illumination that didn’t fade in the slightest.
All of that was cool. All of that was also expensive. Three further uses of my Aspects beyond the peg-leg with Gravity’s Granular Control had essentially turned my remaining leg rigid as if the whole thing was made of bone. The more I channelled mana through the infused threads, the stiffer they grew. Moving was going to be even more of a pain.
I considered experinting to see just how many casts of my Aspects I could make permanent before my body refused to use any more Threaded Reinforcent thresholds. There was also the fact that I needed to consider the strange but familiar energy my newly evolved Path had brought with it. The energy that signified that I would be able to learn a new Aspect. Maybe two again.
Lying back down, I checked my Status while thinking about it.
[ Ross Moreland
Profile
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Race: Human
Weave Access: Full
Universal Language Approximator [Paragon I]
Paths
Path of Starforged Firmant: Gold I
Path of the Apostle: Silver X
Core
Ignition Charge
General Attributes
Vitality: Gold III
Mana Heal
Power: Gold IV
Mana InjectionEmpowered Deflection
Agility: Gold II
Reflexive Mana
Path Attributes
Spirit: Gold II
Threaded ReinforcentManifestation
Thauma: Silver I
Permanence
Fervour: Gold II
Enshrined Growth
Aspects
Gravity: Gold III
InfusionSiphonField ManipulationGranular ControlMassless Interaction
Sacrifice: Gold II
WindfallEmulationExperientialityReturned OfferingEssence
Flare: Silver III
ConcentrationCapacity
Illumination: Silver II
ImbuentReflectionHighlight
Ritual: Silver II
StructureWindfallLiturgize
Compound Aspects
Starburst: [Flare, Illumination, Gravity]
Ignition Charges: 1 ]
It was always nice seeing evidence of my growth like that. Gold in so many spots, Silver everywhere else. New Augntations and Affixes to consider, either now or soonish.
But any further considerations were cut short when new guests arrived.
The nurse re-entered my room after a short knock, looking extrely nervous. She wasn’t alone. A smiling Se-Targa accompanied the woman. I recognized the man. He had been part of Se-Vigilance's little party that had co along with us into the Nether Vein.
I tentatively smiled at him too, but my attention was actually on the richly dressed Scalekin woman I vaguely recognized from sowhere. There was a sensation of power about her, though it was very tightly controlled, unlike the other auras I had experienced near Councillor Lassikhio or the Paragon.
“So, uh, guests from Ring...” The woman’s voice trembled. “From Ring One ca to see you, Cultist.”
I blinked. Ring One? Oh. Now I knew where I had seen the Scalekin before. She was another Councillor.
“Greetings, Ross Moreland,” the Scalekin Councillor said, stepping forward ahead of both the Se-Targa and the nurse. “Ideally, we would be announcing what I’m about to say with a bit more fanfare as your heroic efforts deserve, but since you’ve been suffering for a while now, I believe we can discard the formalities and get on with it.”
“I’m sorry, but get on with what?” I asked. “I’ve been out cold since the Nether Vein.”
“Ah, yes. My apologies. We should have sent prior notice.” She looked at the nurse. “We thought we did, but...”
The nurse ducked her head. “I-the hospital thought it was a prank!”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Of course it would be difficult for anyone on Ring Four to believe a Councillor was going to co all the way down here. It wasn’t unprecedented. But still closer to being absurd than real.
“Be that as it may,” the Councillor said, looking at seriously through glimring green slit pupils. “Ross Moreland. We rember you from the trial of House Kalnislaw. You are many things to many people, but right this mont, you are a man that I can help, and that is the least I can do. There is an issue, however.”
My earlier mirth was slowly disappearing. It was a little surreal to have a Councillor being this... humble in front of . I looked down at the bandages on my stump now soaked in blood again. “Were you going to fix my leg?”
“I was,” the Scalekin said. “But regrowing entire limbs, even with powerful Healing Aspects, isn’t a simple matter.”
“What’s the cost?”
“It’s a bit intensive. Perhaps we can sit and discuss?”
“Yes!” the nurse squeaked. “Give a minute. I’ll make arrangents!”
A few minutes later, I was reclining against the propped-up pillows on my bed. The Councillor was perched on the edge of the chair the nurse had brought.
“The issue is the Natural Limit of Existence,” the Councillor said. She had formally introduced herself as Ghistara. “You are aware of it, yes?”
I nodded. “It’s the fact that anything created using mana tends to fade over ti, usually.”
“Correct. Where this affects us is that Healing Aspects work best when boosting the body’s own ability to recover. In this way, the only thing that’s created using mana is the enhancent to the body’s natural recovery. A buff, basically. The Healing Aspect isn’t creating anything tangible out of thin air—or rather, out of mana.”
“Is that why, despite the presence of Healing Aspects, people still have scars?” I asked.
“It depends on the Healing Aspect being used. For instance, a possible Affix for the Aspect of Rejuvenation allows the caster to use ti as a vector of healing, essentially reverting the body temporally to a previous state. That sort of healing wouldn’t leave any new scarring. But yes, Healing Aspects that are more commonly available do leave scars.”
The nurse hadn’t left the room. She had brought a piece of paper and a quill with ink along with the chair, and now she was furiously scribbling down everything the Councillor was saying. Ghistara didn’t seem to mind.
“In my case,” I said, wincing a little. “My body can’t recreate my missing leg. No matter how much its natural recovery is buffed up.”
“Correct. We will need to create your limb out of mana entirely. This is where the Natural Limit of Existence will unfortunately impact us.”
“Does it often pose problems for more advanced healing? Feels like a huge limitation.”
“There are bypasses, both in terms of learning certain Affixes or Augntations, and applicative bypasses that don’t need Weave-recognition, which are basically using the Aspect in a way that achieves the desired final effect despite the limitation.” She looked at my stump. “For extre cases such as limb-regeneration, we need a bit of both.”
“So... both an Augntation like Permanence and so trick of the Aspect itself?”
Ghistara’s eyes widened a little. “Ah, you’re aware. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, with how accomplished you are.”
Sheesh, the way the Councillor was talking up was starting to make feel like Aurier.
“The cost,” Ghistara went on. “Cos in the form of ti, energy, and pain. But you won’t need to participate actively in the process, so you can rest easy.”
“Um,” the nurse said, looking like she was about to start vibrating in her spot. “If you need anything, Honoured Councillor, please let us know. We’ll provide you with everything we can, for you and for Cultist Ross.”
“Thank you,” Ghistara said. “Se-Austerity, would you kindly work with the nurse and see what is available and what we can use?”
The Se-Targa, smiling and pleasant and the opposite of austere, went with the nurse.
“While they return, we will get started,” Councillor Ghistara said, getting up and coming over to my bedside. “Don’t be nervous. I am told you are no stranger to a little pain.”
I winced again. “I do have a certain, uh, safeguard against it, although I’m trying not to beco dependent on it.”
She cast a curious look at . “How does this safeguard work?”
I explained how I could Sacrifice things like pain with my Experientiality Affix. Talking about it like that again reminded what an awful mouthful it was.
“Very interesting!” Ghistara said. “But I will leave it to you to decide whether you’ll need it or not, especially since it sounds like sothing that shouldn’t interrupt the operation.”
Operation had swallowing a little again. I was lucky to have never needed a surgery before, and the Councillor’s admission of the need for pain wasn’t exactly relieving .
At least I was distracted by the sudden sensation of rapidly rising magical potency she was giving off. It felt like a warm, heavy blanket was being draped over everything, invisible threads slowly stuffing the room.
An Icon rose off the Councillor’s form. It resembled a green marionette controller, that strange cross people used to control puppets. tallic threads ca off the ends before forming into several different sharp implents. Tweezers, needles, syringes, knives, and so on. A healer’s toolbox.
Very sharp, very deadly, surgical implents. Oh boy.
“I’m not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth,” I said, which ended up confusing the Councillor because of course soone from this world wasn’t going to be familiar with an idiom from Earth. “But anyway, why are you helping ?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked back.
“Because I helped a Councillor in the Nether Vein?”
“Because you saved soone dear to . Soone I see as a beloved elder sister. Soone I would have given my leg to save too. My life if needed.” She smiled at . “So this—all this—is really the least I can do in return.”
I didn’t have an answer to that. It humbled a bit. When was the last ti I had felt that grateful towards soone? I could list people I was thankful to know or have known, like Gutran, Aurier, Kostis, and of course, Escinca. But when had I gone out of my way to express my gratitude to them?
Maybe the fact that I had gone out of my way to not only help the cult, but also Ring Four in general, sort of, counted. I wasn’t so sure. In the face of Ghistara’s actions, I felt a bit shallow. But not in a bad way.
The door to the room opened as the Councillor’s strange Icon hovered over . I turned, expecting to see the nurse and the Se-Targa return.
Instead, it was another Scalekin, a tall, pale one wrapped in a dark cloak.
“Excuse ,” she said. “Terribly sorry to bother at such a…” Her widening crimson eyes took in the Icon about to descend on my leg. “At such a critical ti, but I’ve got sothing very important to tell Cultist Ross Moreland.”
The Councillor, credit to her, remained totally unbothered. “Can it not wait until after the surgery is completed?”
“Apologies, Honoured Councillor, but I wouldn’t wait if I were you.”
“Who in the world are you?” I asked. “How’d you get in here?”
“Excellent questions,” Ghistara added.
The tall Scalekin woman pulled off her hood. There was sothing strange about her. I had seen white-scaled Scalekin before, like Kostis, but hers was a kind of pale that was almost deathly in a way. And her eyes were far, far too red.
“My reference is Hamsik Kalnislaw,” she said.
I gawked. “Hamsik?” Then the Scalekin’s appearance started clicking. “Oh-oh shit. No way…”
Ignoring my reaction, the woman stepped forward and closed the door behind her. “And I’m here to save your life, Cultist.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)