Healer (2 page)

CHAPTER
1

Wisdom had not expected
such a large gathering. Curious shop keepers from the nearby town of Trully
brought their families to witness his first public representation as Healer.
Among the townspeople were clansmen, their faces eagerly accepting change to
their once solitary existence.

Only a few weeks had
passed since Wisdom had taken over the abandoned Eastern Clan. Centrally
located in the Realm of Trully, he had successfully brought the surrounding
clans back together after years of distrust and segregation. As he knelt upon
the path and prepared to connect with Nature, he listened to the surrounding
clan leaders keeping the crowd at a comfortable distance. A smile spread across
his face. Before, the leaders had refused to speak to one another. Now they did
so with vigor.

He passed a pale hand
over the tangle of vines and interwoven, dry raffia stems. A small amount of
energy eased from his fingertips into the soil. The response from Nature was
equally as gentle, with a pulsating response that signaled acceptance. Magic then
coursed through his veins in a soothing flow of transforming visuals sent
mostly through thought. In his mind, he could
see
the path he knelt upon
widen and branch off into the nearby forest where the Western Clan lay hidden.
Around him tree trunks groaned, their roots sinking further into the earth.
Vines pulled aside loose stone while larger ones rose to the surface to create
a smooth walkway. Overhanging foliage slithered up into the canopy. Lastly, he
called forth a line of blooming flora to reside on either side of the new road.
The result created a positive reaction from onlookers.

Slowly, Wisdom stood,
giving time for the connection with Nature to end. Then he turned to the people
and took a bow with a few fingers combing through his pallid curls to set them
in place. Applause and whistles met his pointed ears. One flicked forward at
the approach of Alexander, leader of the Western Clan.

“It’s exactly as I
remember!” Alexander said.
“Like going back in time.”

 
In contrast to the albino prince, Alexander’s
chestnut hair and dusky skin complexion put him right at home within the wooded
area. A crossbow at his side was accompanied with a pouch containing bolts.
Well-suited as a tracker, Alexander rested a hand alongside his trusty bow,
pleased with the Healer’s performance.

“Nature has a way of
backtracking layers of history,” Wisdom said. “If I had asked her to pull back
even more, the road would no longer exist.” He tapped a boot on freshly laid
stone forming two lines down the road’s center.

“Well done!” Leader of
the Mystics, Nemmerel, approached with the doctor Nickademis at his side. The
two seemed inseparable since the Mystic leader had recovered from his illness,
both with matching grey beards. “The realm will be prosperous before long.”

“We’ll expect no less
of you, of course,” Nickademis threw in a hint of sarcasm. As residing doctor
with the Mystics, Nickademis had given the prince a hard time upon first
introductions. Having dealt with a mind-altering spell for the past several
years, it was not until recently that the doctor’s dour manner was finally
tamed.

Wisdom’s cheeks
flushed with pride. Praise from the doctor was welcome.

As do we,
came the public thought of Mididus, leader of the
Simpletons. The mind-reader stepped from his position as crowd director to join
the small band of leaders. His thoughts conversed in their minds instead of
speaking aloud, something that was new to everyone. Rumors had spread that the
Simpletons were mute. Instead, they conversed solely in thought, making them
the best mind-manipulators Wisdom had ever encountered.

And I thought
my
kind were mentally powerful,
the prince
thought.
Not anymore.

A petite figure drew
the prince’s attention. With slender frame and dark wavy hair, Glory seemed to
ensnare him in a net of charms every time he gazed upon her. He ignored the
nudging elbows from his fellow companions, as his growing love interest was too
obvious to hide.

“How’s
that
for
a gardening job?” Wisdom teased.

Glory gave a wide grin
of approval. “Now just keep your other promises, and you’ll be set.”

Promises – and there
were plenty: promises to the keep the clans in order; promises to get the town
up and running for business; promises to stop that growing storm coming from
the north. Already, it deterred travelers from using the main road. That left
the harbor as the safest route. Its source came not from Nature, but from a
dark unicorn residing within the neighboring Realm of Sapphire. Dubbed only as
horn,
its soul resided within another body at present. The storm was just a
reminder of its growing power and persistence to claim a new body –
his.

The prince’s attention
was drawn to the front yard after Glory suggested a messenger had arrived.

 
“One of Lord Gracie’s, I believe,” she said.

“From
the Grand Master himself?”
Alexander’s gaze flicked to Wisdom. “You have connections with Luxor?”

“Well, I did work
there once,” Wisdom said, partially true. He did not care to admit that he had
been a slave there at one point in his life. “Would you excuse me, please?”

At a nod, he made his
way toward the clan’s front with Glory by his side. As he passed by some of the
townspeople, he paused to thank them for their support. Most of the group had
dispersed, but a few stayed to mingle with various clan members. Wisdom watched
them with growing satisfaction that he had done the right thing. Exposing the
road leading to the other three clans – Western, Mystic and Simpleton – opened
up new possibilities. Accessibility invited new members, and filled a void in a
once disconnected realm.

Alexander had let
Nature overtake the road in order to hide the clan’s location. Mostly, it had
averted those sent from the Schevolsky family living on the other side of town.
Their history with the clans made owning the central clan a task, for it was
the Schevolsky family who had last owned it. With their misuse of money, the
clans fell to quarreling, and eventually refused to speak to one another. That,
to the prince’s relief, was now no longer an issue.

“I caught the last bit
before the vines cleared from the road,” Glory said as she walked alongside her
fiancé. A white dress swished around her ankles with each step. “You did well.”

“Thank you.” He
flashed a broad grin. “I figured if people were coming and going from town, the
clans might as well look presentable.”

His sapphire eyes met
her maple-brown gaze in a growing bond of love. He could have stared at her
beauty all day. If not for their awaiting messenger, he would have done just
that.

“So
Lord Gracie spoke true!”
The
verbal interruption forced the two to break eye contact.
“A
Healer and a human.
Who would have thought?”

A White Wing, who at
the sight of them puffed up his neck and facial feathers in
greeting.
One wing opened to display a creamy underside, with matching color patterned
across the face and down the shoulders. A few black stripes mixed in to
resemble a raccoon’s appearance.

Talons tapped over
some loose pebbles when the harpy stepped forward. Although clothing was not a
necessity, this one wore a dark vest that complemented his pale feathering.

 
“Megas!”
Wisdom
instantly recognized Lord Gracie’s personal servant. “It’s good to see you
again. How’s the wing?”

The harpy grinned with
pride and spread both, easily stretching the width of the road. It was not so
long ago that the wings were damaged during a thunderstorm – that of the horn’s
doing. As they folded behind him they faded from view, an illusion that helped
in crowded areas where large wings could cause distraction.

“Never
better!”
Megas’ feathering
flattened, giving him an almost human appearance. He then held out a
brown-paper package. “Lord Gracie instructed me to give this to
a
Master
Wisdom
. So that’s you now, huh?”

“That is correct. Thank
you.” Wisdom took the package with care, rotating it slightly to examine its
irregular shape.

“Whatever happened to
Keith
?”
Megas asked, scanning over his friend’s new outfit. Accustomed to the layered
look of humans, Wisdom’s rich attire was something he had not expected.

“I don’t use the other
name anymore because of…er.” He paused and glanced at Glory, trying to find the
right words.

With understanding,
she placed a hand over his in reassurance. “It’s just a part of becoming clan
leader. He’s a prince now. Change is expected.”

Thank you,
Wisdom thought to her, not wanting to mention slavery
in front of the servant.

“Change indeed,” Megas
said without noticing anything amiss. “I’m glad things have settled down for
you, considering what you’ve been through.” He motioned to Glory. “My Lady, you
look simply stunning! Your father must be very proud of you.”

“He is! I’m awaiting
word from him. Hopefully, it’ll be soon.”

Megas tapped the
package with a talon. “There may be something inside. Lord Gracie informed me
to be extra careful with it, so I got here as soon as possible.
Right breezy out today.”

“A good day for
flight,” Wisdom said. “Will you give my gratitude to Lord Gracie?”

“Always!”
Megas turned to leave. “By the way, Nicolas says
hello!” He pulled himself into flight with the pump of his wings, leaving the
two below shielding their faces from a stir of dust and wind. Once everything
had settled, they watched the harpy sail through the sky with ease.

“And to think you can
do the same. It sickens me!” She laughed. “So who’s Nicolas?”

“The
doctor’s son.”

“Really?
And he works for Lord Gracie?”

Wisdom nodded as he
untied the string holding the brown wrapping paper together.
No’va’s
only floating structure, Luxor Castle, was home to many individuals: harpies,
Foreseers, even Healers. Thomas Gracie ran the place as Grand Master, keeping
laws and documentation of the different races throughout the land. Yet it was
up to the individual realms how they wanted to implement each individual law.

When Wisdom pulled the
paper aside, a deep blue fabric lay folded with a square-cut note overtop. A
hint of silver captured Glory’s attention, and she tenderly lifted a sleeve to
reveal silver designs on the cuff.

“This is beautiful,”
he heard her say while silently reading. “This is from Lord Gracie?”

“Actually,
my grandfather.”
He handed her the
note.

“It’s an invitation!”
She turned it over to find more writing. It was slightly lopsided, as though
the person had rushed to get it down before stuffing it in with the garment.
“But I can’t read this part.”

The prince chuckled.
“That would be my grandfather. In my language,
gui’ajen, ni-ser’ino!
Basically,
I’m prince now. I represent both humans and Healers, so he wants me to look the
part.”

“All
that is in those two words?”

Wisdom grinned. “The
short version:
you’re prince, now look it!”
He pulled out the garment. A
quick shake unfolded the material, and he held it out to receive awed approval
from Glory.

The outfit consisted
of two pieces, both of which contained silver designs over a midnight blue
fabric. He admired the long overcoat trimmed in silver down the front. The
sleeves were designed to partially cover the arm, then separated to drape
beneath the elbow. Two clasps fastened at the waist. The same were on the tunic,
only at the base of the collar. Silver adorned both cuffs and collar, with a
belt for the tunic.

Still holding the
note, Glory pulled out a remaining black pair of slacks.

“You’re grandfather
spared no expense, I see.” She held up a matching knee-high boot that laced
from ankle up, but Wisdom shook his head.

“The boots, maybe,” he
said. “But the rest isn’t your typical fabric. If you look closely, you can see
the interwoven threads of silk.”

Glory held the
material up close. “It doesn’t feel like silk. Who made this?”

“Not humans, I assure
you. Nature created this.” The two folded the clothing and neatly tucked it
back inside the paper. “And I intend to wear it when we go to Luxor.”

*****

Having lived directly
over the home of
Lo-ans’rel,
Chanté was always amazed by their daily
healing abilities and shape-shifting. It never got old. Now, as he watched his
friend’s magic clear a road into Western Clan territory, he thought about home.
Yet home was three realms away, within the heart of Crystal Valley. Its forests
contained some of the tallest trees in
No’va
– Redwoods, the safest
place a harpy could find.