Under the Light of the World at War: Early chapter 47

“Of course we can help with that Alah’Dorah. You’ve given us a blessing after all!” Menial said, then looked like she’d told the funniest joke in the world.

Then I realized she actually meant it as a joke.

“Ugh.” I groaned, slapping my face.

Which made her laugh, her ears wiggling in delight.

“Okay nevermind. I’ll just.. Go.”

“Wait! It was a joke!” She whined at me, as I pretended to leave only to turn around.

“I know.” I said bluntly, and smiled back which had her chuckle. “So I can learn some of the spells?”

“Of course! I hope you didn’t think you needed to do anything to earn them? Our spells are open to any who wish to learn. Healing Magic is a finicky, difficult thing, so anyone willing to try is taught. After all, anything we can add to our knowledge from new students  is well worth it.”

“Which is why I need to understand the Light better.” I agreed. 

I’d been trying to take in what Zo’Talana had said. Synergize an energy with my combat, to get more out of it, but hadn’t made any headway.

I’d prayed about it, tried to grind through it, and honestly got nowhere. I simply wasn’t making any progress, so the only other option was to increase my knowledge of the Light. 

Plus new spells were always good.

“Come on, I’ll show you where the scrolls you can take are.” Meniel said, stepping out of her office and walking past me into the Healing Hall and I just stared at her back for a moment. 

The best Healer in Silvermoon, and she was just kinda like that. Meniel always did things at her own pace, and while she could put on a calm demeanor it was just that. An act. She was just like that. Always energetic and happy. 

She certainly wasn’t the most annoying elf, but her chipperness was sometimes a lot!

I followed after her, and watched as she nearly started skipping down the hall, but caught herself.

Seriously a lot!

I followed after, up to the second floor, and into the schooling area, where she took me to another room, one I hadn’t been in before. A small library of all things was in the room. A few shelves with a sparse number of tomes. I took it all in as she sauntered in and headed for a small set of drawers which she opened and pulled out a scroll, then she went to the next drawer and pulled another, and then a third.

“This should be what you need. Feel free to keep them! We make them for anyone that comes in. This is the Heal spell we use, which I noticed is a little different from the one you use!”

“Oh.” I whispered looking at the scroll, that was an interesting fact. I knew Healing spells came in a bunch of different types, so having something else wasn’t a bad idea.

“And here is Power Word: Fortitude. Very very useful when trying to save someone who is dying, or very sick.” She handed me another scroll, and that perked me right up.

Stamina! Stamina was health, and Stamina was life! I’d have to grind that one for sure.

“And this one is very important. Cure Disease.” She handed me the final of the three scrolls. 

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, just learn the spells and help out. Every healer is important sometimes.”

“Are these the only Light spells you have?”

“Not everyone shares their spells. A few spells exist that we know of, but we can’t force it. We just take what we can get, and mostly focus on healing here.”

“Right, that makes sense. Well, Blessing of Wisdom will help.”

“It will! It’s an amazing spell! Now I just have to learn it.” She whined and I couldn’t help but laugh. Menial had been trying to get the spell, but hadn’t managed despite some of the other students picking it up.

Guess she just wasn’t suited for wisdom!

I giggled and she pouted no doubt figuring out I was laughing at her.

“Hmph! Well, go on, things are quiet today even shortstaffed as we are now that most of our Healers are with the army. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thanks.” I said, because despite being an energetic woman, she had a sincerity to her words especially when she stopped and was calm and serious.

“So learn quickly!”

“I will.” Menial, jerked her head and I followed her into the classroom, which was made for spells to be cast in it. “Go ahead and try it out. Think you’ll need help?”

“Not sure.” I admitted.

Light spells were not Arcane, it was something I knew, but seeing the scrolls once more reminded me of that truth.

The spells laid out weren’t Arcane magic, with its exact numbers, and lines for the spell formula, the words and motions if needed.

These were more like… Emotions, or perspective?

It had a sort of spell structure, but I think that was more because High Elves just considered that to be how spells were done.

Instead most of the scroll was talking about the right mental thoughts, and how to feel into the Light.

The spell even had a poem that someone had added that mentioned it ‘helped’ get into the mind space.

I read the poem and didn’t feel very Power Word: Fortitude about it.

It's fine. I’d worked on trying to get more Light Spells here and there, but hadn’t gotten far. Elune hadn’t decided to come down and illuminate me, so I was willing to take the revelations of others here. 

I needed understanding, and here it was.

This worked, the methods listed had worked to share this spell.

I walked over to the casting area of the classroom, and rather than standing there, I sat down, sitting cross legged as I relaxed and then read through the scroll again.

The Light flowed through me, as I converted Mana, and I breathed in. Believe.

“The Mountain stands

A river carves through

Rock buckles

The Mountain Stands.”

I whispered the little poem, and I understood. 

Fortitude, the Light flowed, strike me, and yet I would not falter.

I grasped the Light, that thought in my mind, and believed. It shifted in my hands, ready and quick, as if already knowing what to do, no more than that, it was like I’d given a familiar order to a dog, it heard and showed me. I took the Light and pushed it.

And the feeling of magic flowing around me solidified.

[Spell Learned: Power Word: Fortitude]

I exhaled, as I realized just a bit more about Light Magic. The knowledge of how to cast this new spell, filled in a few more gaps, increasing my understanding of it in an academic sense.

No wonder I hadn’t gotten anywhere when trying to synergize the Light with my combat spells. How could I use a power that I barely understood?

No, understanding had to come first.

I grinned as I held up the scroll. Here it was, maybe not on the paper itself, but the spell, the teaching methodology, all of it was a step, one step higher to understanding.

“It looks like it worked! Menial cheered and I nodded. The formation I’d gotten out of it was weak. Already I could feel the spell flowing away, but that first cast was all I needed.

I brought my hand forward, hand upraised and Light flowed. 

My throat shifted, I had spoken when I cast the spell before, and yet hadn’t really registered it, the Light had flowed just so, for it to come out, but now I understood.

The word came from my mouth once again, calm and controlled, it was gibberish to me, and yet I know it to mean Fortitude. To be endurance against that which would harm you.

The Light supported what existed enhancing it. That’s right… Light was next to Chaos, and Life in the magical circle of the setting. Of course it would have a bit of chaos, and a bit of life to it. 

It wasn’t natural growth, and nor was it unnatural change.

But an enhanced change. 

I was altering myself with this spell. Empowering and changing it if only temporarily.

“Excellent! Very good, very good! That was a solid cast!”

“Thank you. I think… I understand the Light a little better.”

“Well if you got that spell, the other two shouldn’t be nearly as hard. Cure Disease comes as easily as the Heal spell, and you already learned a heal spell. Shouldn’t take long at all! It took me a week to get Power Word: Fortitude down, so I’m a little annoyed you know!”

“Sorry.” I apologized just as fakely as her anger as I rose up. “But thank you.”

She stopped playing and nodded. “You are on a wonderful path Alah’Dorah, it is my honor to see you walk it. To see anyone walk it. Bring Light to the injured and sick, and do well by them.

“In Elune's name. I will.” I said, and Menial blinked a bit surprised at my words before shrugging.

“Good in anyone's name is good.”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

—--

“Mama!” I cheered as I slammed into her, hugging her tightly which she returned. 

“Look at how much you’ve grown.” She whispered into my hair as she held onto me, just as tightly. 

“Yea! I grew a lot.” I said, stepping back. I’d just gotten back from a visit to the Healing Hall, only to find Mama home!? Best day ever. 

I took a moment to look her over. She’d already taken off her armor, but I could see the signs of long marches. Her eyes were tired, and her hair was a bit frayed even after she’d obviously cleaned up.

“You look hungry.” I decided, and she laughed. 

“I’m fairly stuffed right now, but yes, food has been rough.”

“I’m glad you're back.”

“I’m glad to be back. Tell me how everything has been.” She demanded tugging me along over to a couch in the Drawing room. Papa was sitting there. I’d walked in on the two of them cuddling, and now that I realized Mama was freshly washed up, it made me suspect they had gotten intimate.

Gross.

We settled down, Mama leaning back against Papa who accepted her presence with an arm wrapped around her stomach holding her close as he continued to look over… What was that?

Nevermind, I’ll ask later. The weird object in Papa’s hand was definitely grabbing his attention.

And mine. So I looked at Mama instead.

“I don’t know where to start.” I said, just utterly relieved she was here. There hadn’t been a lot of communication about what was going on, but just a few weeks ago the King himself, unsheathing Felo’melorn had set off with a majority of the Royal Guards, and the troops that had gathered together as an army to go battle against the Trolls.

The only news we got back was how easily the King was slaughtering Trolls with his blade.

“Just tell me about your day today.” She reached up and cupped my cheek smiling at me. “I just want to hear you.”

“I… I started off my day like normal. I did lots of exercise and cast spells as I worked. Sha’Narin takes the Mana Gems I make up to the roof and powers up the Glyphs we made. We’ve added a lot of new Enchantment reagents into the shop.”

“Of course you did.” She said, rolling her eyes. 

I just grinned. “Papa has been teaching Sha’Narin a bit. He’s using the reagents we make to pay for the training, and Papa is just happy to talk about Enchanting… He’s still really bad at teaching though.”

“Oh I’m well aware.” Mama said laughing in delight. Papa looked up and pouted a bit.

“But Sha’Narin is happy, and I’m happy. I’ve started helping out around the shop.”

“Oh? Tell me.”

“Just enchanting. Mostly. I did introduce Alerrio to the shop, and he’s made a few interesting bits that have sold. So he’s doing good.’

“Alerrio-The Windhome Man?”

“That’s right. You remember.”

“We did walk across Quel’Thalas together. So I’d better. He’s working here?”

“He makes his little tinker toys, and then sells them here. They’re cute, and Papa worked out a thing where he enchants some of them. His music boxes are very nice. I considered trying to get one too, but I don’t have time for it.”

“If you want one, we can get you one.” Mama said, and even Papa looked up, but I shook my head. 

“Moving on. After my morning exercises, I clean up, cause El’Tela will grumble at me, if I’m sweaty.” I explained, and Mama fought off a smile as I told her that. “We work on spells and things. She got me a spellbook for my birthday and-”

“Oh, Dorah. I’m sorry. I wish I could have been here, but-”

“Mama. The only thing I wanted for my birthday was for you to come home safe. And you are home safe, and so I got the best present ever.”

Mama bit her lips, fighting off tears, and her ears were wiggling up and down as she reached out and grabbed me, her grip was stronger as she thrust me into her chest. 

“My daughter is the cutest.”

“Nah, my Mama is the cutest.” I denied her, muffled as my statement was. Mama just laughed, and I could feel her press her face into my hair.

She’d missed me. Obviously, but where I’d been busy having fun learning, she’d been to war.

I hugged her back just as hard.

“Your birthday was good?”

“Yeah, it was the best. Papa forgot!” I chirped laughing at Mama’s face as my happy comment struck her.

“He what!?” Mama yelled, turning to glare at Papa and he instantly looked very nervous. I just laughed, as I squeezed Mama tight, distracting her.

“But he got me a very nice necklace. So I forgive him.”

“Hmmm… We’ll see if I do.” Mama grumbled, and I just laughed. 

“You married him, you know he’s terrible with dates… I can’t blame him honestly. I forgot too.”

“Oh Dorah, not again! Honestly, of all the things to take after from your father, that!?”

“Hehe!”

“Don’t Heehee! Ugh.” Mama groaned and I just laughed brightly at her reaction. She loved it.

“Anyways.”

“Yes, anyway, tell me about your birthday.”

So it was nice, Grandma El’Tela got me a spellbook, and I’ve been going through it learning spells.”

“Show me?”

“Yeah I can do that… FeatherFall is only showy outside but what about…” I brought my hands up and started casting and then a moment later. 

Pop!

There were two of me.

Mirror Dorah grinned, and winked at Mama.

“Oh no. I can’t handle two of you.” Mama said utterly deadpan and I just broke into cackles.

“Mirror Image. I haven’t really gotten much practice with it yet.” I explained, that was why it was only one Mirror, instead of three.

[Mirror Image 5/10]

I’d rather have Feather Fall, and all the other spells I had on my list. But I would take a day and grind it out at some point for the bonus if nothing else, and it wasn’t like the spell wasn’t super useful.

“That’s amazing Dorah.” Mama said, praising me and I soaked in the attention.

“It’s okay.” I demurred, but she was looking at the image and reached out.

It popped when her finger touched it.

“Yeah they do that.” I said and Mama laughed. 

“Okay so what else?”

“Well, after I worked with Grandma and my spells, today was a Healing day.” I said, flushing a bit as Mama looked at me intently.

“Healing?”

“Well I ran into the healers one day. There was a caravan coming in from the outskirts, like us… Well they were in better condition than we were, but they had lots of blisters and stuff. There were a bunch of healers along the road helping out.”

“And you got involved?”

“Well I wasn’t going to, but one of the healers ran out of Mana, and that’s just embarrassing.” I said sniffing haughtily just like El’Tela sometimes did, and Mama groaned. Which almost made me break character and start laughing, but I held it in. “So I walked over and talked with him, and they don’t have Blessing of Wisdom, and one thing went to another, and the next day I was teaching Blessing of Wisdom at the Healing Hall.”

“You taught them your spell?”

“Yep! Only a couple managed to get it, but it was a big thing. Light Spells are rare, and they only have a few. So something to increase the flow of their mana was huge.”

“Interesting.”

“Right? And now the Healers that know Blessing of Wisdom can cast it on mages and anyone that uses Mana a lot! So that’s great.”

“My daughter is too smart.” Mama said, reaching over and squeezing my cheek lightly. 

“So I helped out with some injured, and practiced some Light spells, and then I came home. But tomorrow I have Foundry day, and the day after I need to visit the Ranch.” I added and Mama’s face flattened. 

“How are you busier than I was!?” Mama laughed, once more pulling me into a hug and squeezing me tight. “Okay tell me all about it.”

“What about you? Were you safe?” I denied her, even if I hugged her back tightly.

“Oh Dorah, it’s war… I was careful, and Talanas is doing an amazing job leading us. We’re moving in units, no more solo patrols, and he’s got us maneuvered close so if something happens there is always help to retreat too.”

“And the Trolls?”

“They…” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I’ll talk about the Trolls only because I know you’ll worry anyways. They are gathering. In numbers no one has ever seen before. We expect the first Gate to fall in the next month or so.”

I exhaled, not in horror but in relief.

“So they’re taking it seriously? They actually have an evacuation plan, and-”

“Yes Dorah. Talanas is on the front lines, and he’s no fool. His messages to the King were truthful of the situation.”

“The king went to the front lines.”

“Yes, as a show of force, but also to see it for himself. He saw the Trolls gathering their numbers himself. He’s taking it very seriously.”

“Good.” I said finally relaxing a bit. “Then we’ll be okay.”

“That’s… An interesting response.”

“Understanding a threat is the first step to handling it. Downplaying, or arrogantly thinking there is no threat is the most dangerous. If the King is taking it seriously, then we’ll be okay. We have the Ban’dinoriel, and we aren’t weak. Just outnumbered.”

Mama nodded. “That’s right. Don’t be afraid, Mama is the strongest, and she’ll take care of it all.” She said flexing her arm and I scoffed. Then I brought up my arm and flexed it back.

Mama looked at my arm and my smug look and then fake cried.

“My little girl is turning into a mooooonster!”

“I’m not a monster! You take that back!” I whined as I jumped at her, because she was still fake crying and not taking it back!

Papa ended up squished under the two of us, but other than a bit of irritation he just seemed to take it as part of life.

We both giggled as we went from fighting each other to just squishing Papa into the couch until he finally grumbled and wiggled out from under us. 

Unfortunately his nerdy arms weren’t strong enough to carry around his Ranger wife and future Paladin daughter.

Mama and I grinned at his grumpiness, until she rose up and laid herself against him kissing his cheek.

“I missed you my love.”

He hesitated and then nodded. “I missed you as well… My love. It’s not the same without you.”

“Heeheehehehe! Oh! How long are you here? Forever? Double forever?” I asked before the two of them could fall into another intimate haze.

“Just a week to rest.” Mama admitted and I pouted, that wasn’t enough time.

“Dorah, why don’t you go play for a bit. Your Papa and I have something we need to do together.”

“We do?” He asked, looking behind him at Mama, and even I could tell she was giving him bedroom eyes.

I mean, it had been like six months or so, but wow Mama was- Nope!

I jumped up and ran out of the room not going to think about that.