Under the Light of the World at War: Early Chapter 46

“Happy Birthday!” Papa called out as I walked into the drawing room to eat and I jolted. El’Tela was there, along with both of the shopkeepers, Sha’Narin was smiling as he held a cake and Nata’liore was there clapping but as usual her smile was a bit faked.

Fair enough.

“I didn’t even remember.” I admitted as I walked up and hugged Papa. 

“Oof!” He grunted as I squeezed him. “You’re getting stronger.” He said, patting me a bit awkwardly as I grinned.

I moved back to look up into his eyes, and honestly I was getting closer and closer to looking him in the eyes. 

It felt weird. 

It’d been what? Six or seven months since I’d arrived in Silvermoon. I was thirteen now. 

Mama was nowhere to be seen, but I hid that away. I wished she was here, but there were a lot of things going on.

So instead I laughed as I walked over to the table that we sat at to eat, and enjoyed the cut cake, and even a few presents. Delighting in Papa’s gift. A necklace I was going to have to enchant soon, and definitely something that had been picked out for him by Nata’liore. 

He’d probably forgotten too to be honest. 

El’Tela gave me a new spellbook.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” She waved me off, but I smiled at her regardless. It would have some new spells for me to look at!

We all ate, and Sha’Narin, and Nata’liore went back downstairs to watch the shop, leaving just us. 

“I’m sorry it was just us. I was going to try and find your friend Kimi’Thas, but…” Papa looked a bit awkward.

“It’s okay Papa. I’ll go see her later, Kimi is doing well, she’s made lots of friends with the other kids she lives around.”

“Oh that’s good.” He went quiet. “I’m sorry your mother isn’t here.”

“It’s okay.” I said, quietly, I took a breath and let it out.

If I had a birthday wish it wasn’t for Mama to be here, just for her to be safe. Zo’Talana too I guess.

But I shook that off. Today… I think today I’d spend most it with Papa and just have a family day. We hadn’t been spending much time around each other as I was so busy. I scooted over and leaned up against him, which earned me a half hug. 

That was nice.

—--

“Heeheehehehe!” I giggled as I fell from the top of the building. 

The spellbook El’Tela had given me had a couple of really useful spells including Feather Fall.

Of course the spell was annoying as it needed an active reagent, feathers. Luckily I could get them from Hawkstriders, but with Chocobo gone that meant I only had access to so many, so I couldn’t grind the spell out and see if I could remove the component. 

But it gave me an easy way out of the shop.

Climb up to the roof to check the enchanting reagents, then activate the spell, make sure it was working, and then leap off.

It was crazy, but exhilarating. I landed solidly, and carried on, walking down the street. No one even batted an eye. 

Elves, you know? Do something like that, even the most jaded human would look. 

I’d just finished another study session with El’Tela, and it was very much a study session. Sure she was showing me things, but most of it was giving me a book to read, or talking about history.

She was trying to get me to stop working at the Foundry, but that just wasn’t going to happen. She saw it as a waste of time, when I could be focusing on magic, but she didn’t understand I was practicing my magic and gaining a useful skill.

Besides, the Foundry was still challenging me. 

I’d been upgraded from working on arrows to actual armor work!

I mean, technically it was apprentice stuff, but it was giving me experience, which is all I cared about.

As I walked out of the Court of the Sun I took in the changes that had happened to Silvermoon.

For one, there were more Elves. 

The First Elf Gate hadn’t fallen… Yet.

But at this point I think the actual military minds, and the King understood it was happening.

Worse, it wasn’t entirely holding either. 

Raids had slipped through around the edges, and villages had been lost. 

I only knew this because Elves coming into tow were of course talking about it. Gossip was hot throughout the city, and just walking down the road would tell you all about random rumors as elves chattered to each other .

Yet, as I walked down the roads, it was different than normal.

I made it to the main thoroughfare, and understood.

I knew those faces, I had been among them before. 

Tired exhausted elves that had walked far further than they were comfortable with.

Carts and people walked along the road, and all of them looked tired and miserable. As I watched, there were already healers along the road. The glow of Light magic washed over them as they walked, and thankfully reinvigorated some of them enough to actually smile as they walked down the road deeper into the city.

Yet as I watched, some of the healers stopped. Obviously running out of mana. They stepped back to drink and rest on benches alongside the road but more were still injured.

I shifted my path. I’d be late, but that was fine. 

“Excuse me.”

“Hmm? Yes child?”

“I just noticed what was happening, are you out of Mana?”

“Unfortunately I am. Healing is a powerful ability and takes much from its users.” He explained, sounding almost mysterious. 

“Yeah, I can do a little healing myself. I was wondering if you would accept a blessing? It’ll help with your Mana.”

“A Blessing?” He questioned, looking confused, as if he couldn’t quite understand what I was saying.

“Blessing of Wisdom? It’s a Light Spell. It helps restore Mana. May I?” I asked him, and he looked at me for a long while without saying anything before nodding. 

“I would like to see this.”

I nodded, and raised my hand, Light gathering and the blessing flowed over him. He jolted a little and then seemed to look at himself taking in the way Mana was flowing into him quickly. It should be. 

Thanks to months of constantly practicing the spell, and my conviction growing stronger as I kept practicing to keep that focus I had grinded the spell a lot. It was one of the spells I always had on, like Mage Armor, and Arcane Intellect. 

[Blessing of Wisdom Lv 21 35/210] [Mastery Benefit +10 Spirit]

And it had grown strong.

“What was that?”

“Blessing of Wisdom. A spell.” I explained again as if I hadn’t just said that. The man looked from himself to me, and then frowned. 

“I’ve never heard of such a spell, where did you learn it?”

“Honestly. I prayed to Elune and just kinda figured it out.” I shrugged. “It’s a long story. Do you think the rest of the healers would accept it? There are a lot of people to heal.”

“Yes, yes we will. Please come with me.” He waved me to follow as he stood up and I followed in his trail not towards the nearest healer like I expected, but across the road, navigating through the flood of people until we came up to another healer. This one I noticed had a few things to differentiate them from the others. 

“Master.”

“Hmm? What is it?” She asked, turning from healing a child that had blood on their feet. Obviously sores from walking so much.

“Master, this girl… She had a spell, a Light Spell, I’ve never seen.” He offered, and the woman looked up.

“Indeed?”

The child was looking upset, obviously he was in pain, and yet the healer had been distracted.

“Yes Master, she cast a spell on me, that-”

I ignored the conversation moving closer.

“Hi! I’m Dorah, what’s your name?” I asked the little boy and he pouted at me grumpily. Not really answering, but that was okay. I brought my Hands together. 

This child was hurt. 

My Mana burned into Light, and the light gathered in my hands. “Elune Adore.” I prayed, although it was a greeting, I’d started using them as a prayer.

It wasn’t too bad to say Elune be with you, after all.

And then the light released, washing over the child.

He jerked, and then wiggled his toes.

“Doesn’t hurt.” He muttered, and I grinned. 

“It might ache a little, but no you’re all healed up.” I assured him, and he nodded, reaching down and rubbing his feet.

“Impressive.” The woman healer said, obviously I’d distracted the two. “Where did you learn to heal?”

“A wandering healer came through my village years ago. I bothered him until he taught me a little, and I’ve been practicing it ever since.” I explained, and the woman slowly smiled. 

“That is a story I wish I heard far more often. Make’Nor says you know a spell that restores Mana?”

“Yeah. Blessing of Wisdom.” I said, and she looked very interested. 

“I’ve never heard of such a spell.” She sort of asked, definitely digging for info, but I just shrugged.

“Do you want me to cast it on you?”

“Please.”

I threw my hands up, and another prayer to Elune, and the spell washed over her, and she inspected herself just as she had before.

“Impressive indeed. I can feel my Mana restoring itself quickly.”

“Yeah. It really helps you keep going when you need to heal a lot of people.”

She tilted her head and looked at me.

“You speak from experience.”

“Well yeah.” I nodded towards the people walking by. “I was like them. We lived on the edges of Quel’Thalas, we barely escaped the Trolls.”

“Ah! I remember now. The first caravan, those that fled to Silvermoon. There weren’t many, but I heard about it. I also heard many rumors about it.” She said, looking at me closely, and I shrugged.

“It wasn’t exactly fun, and I don’t really want to talk about it right now. Especially since we have people to help.” I reminded, and she smiled, brightly, like a sunflower opening. 

“Yes, we should focus on what is most important. You are a healer, will you join us?”

I hesitated, but then threw that hesitation away.

Would a Paladin refuse to help people because they wanted to go improve a skill? No. A Paladin would help.

“Yes. I’ll help, if you want I can Bless the other healers as well to speed things along, but I’ll heal as well.”

“Make’Nore, go gather everyone slowly to have the spell cast on them. We have people to help.”

“Yes Master.”

I popped one of the Mana gems in my pocket, restoring some of my Mana and started casting again. 

Holy Light flowed over one of the women walking past, and her step picked up throwing a thankful nod towards the Healer I was standing next to, as she hadn’t noticed who actually cast the spell.

But that was fine.

“You handle the Light with incredible skill.” The Healer spoke smiling brightly, and I noticed even her ears were twitching.

“I practice a lot.” I decided was the best thing to say, before gathering the Light again, and started casting another Holy Light.

The spell demolished my Mana reserves, and I breathed out. Switching to evocation, letting the mana flow back in.

Then I started casting Holy Light again.

Over and over. It took a bit to find the right level of Holy Light that I could cast while sustaining long enough to get Evocation going. But there were a lot of people traveling through the gates, many of them resting just inside, tired and hurt.

The Healer woman stayed close to me, seemingly happy to assist my own work, until finally it seemed like we had gotten through all the injured.

“Exceptional work everyone!” She called out as they had gathered, she walked among her students, as that is what they were, and congratulated them all. She was popular, because her words earned happy smiles and flushes from many of them.

I looked her over and couldn’t help but understand. She was very pretty, but it was her personality that made her beautiful, kind and happy. 

Perky.

Then she turned to me, as I drank some water. I was getting ready to leave. I was super late to the Foundry. 

“You should come with me.” She said, smiling. “You are made for the Healing Hall. I’ve never seen someone with such potential in Healing.”

“Ah… Maybe I’ll stop by, but I’m already super late.”

“Of course. Of course.” She said but she was pouting. “When you come, which should be soon!” She added waving a finger. “Just ask for Meniel. They will bring you to me.”

“I’ll do that… I’m Dorah, Alah’Dorah.”

“Meniel Bele’ana. Head of the Healing Hall. Please come soon.”

“I’ll… Come by tomorrow.’

“Yes please!” She chirped, looking happy, and soon she headed off waving at me as she walked among her students.

What a nice woman.

Right time to hurry.

I rushed off, running down the street, I was already super late, but I might as well try to save some time.

I made it to the foundry and walked past it, heading to the smaller forges behind it. Each was a small, more private forge connected to the Foundry, and here the more complicated work was done by real blacksmiths, instead of hired help.

“Sorry I’m late!”

“The hell? You aren’t just late! Where have you been?” Master Illianar was a Master Blacksmith. At least he said so.

He was skilled though. Normally he made commission parts, hinges, door knobs, things like that, but with everything going on, he was actually making armor, and he needed more hands to speed things along.

He’d picked me mostly because everyone else had refused, and I understood why fairly quickly.

He was a jerk!

But he was the kind of jerk I could work with.

“Sorry, refugees were pouring into the city. I stopped to help the Healers.”

“Refugees?” He grumbled, actually stopping his no doubt loud rant at me for being late.

“Yeah, I think they are evacuating everyone from behind the First Elf Gate.”

“Damn… Well no time to waste then. Take care of those!” He grumbled, and I nodded.

Right now Master Illianar was working on making armor, not the real fancy stuff, but more simple pieces. We were doing the fast and easy pieces for more advanced and skilled forges to speed things along.

He had a few plates already forged, but my job was simple.

I took the tools and refined them, polishing. Which was done through my Polishing spell, an absolute blessing in ensuring they were ready to be shipped out quickly.

It was giving me Blacksmithing XP, and that was the only thing I cared about. 

—---

The Healing Hall. Just as I’d promised the next day after working on spells with El’Tela. I headed out, this time heading west. The Healing hall was in a different part of the city, and it was only by talking to the City Guards to get directions that I found it.

The large building was down one of the main roads, obviously the fact it was basically the main hospital in Silvermoon meant it had prime real estate. 

The area all around the Hall had large gardens and access to people living in Silvermoon, but the front door butted nearly right up against the street. 

I walked up, noticing the slight incline, but lack of steps as I reached the door. There two healers were… Guarding? On duty?

Either way they noticed my approach, and greeted me.

“Welcome to the Healing Hall, are you injured, or are you here for another?”

“Umm. Neither, I was asked to come by umm. Meniel?” The healers looked me over before nodding. 

“Please come with me. I’ll take you to her office.” I was led inside, and right away the place was meant for healing. Beds lined the walls, each with their own little privacy section and healers wandered around. It was mostly empty, only a few people were getting healed, but thankfully nothing serious. 

I followed along, until we reached a set of more administrative offices. There I was led to one near the back and the healer knocked.

“Enter!” 

The same chipper voice from yesterday Meniel was behind a desk looking over some papers when we entered, and she perked up.

“Alah’Dorah! Just the one I was hoping to see today!” She called rising up and hurrying over. She practically dragged me out of the room. “Welcome to the Healing Hall! It is the greatest bastion of health in the world!” She declared waving over it, and I couldn’t help but nod. 

I mean, having instant healing on top from dozens of people was hard to argue with. 

“I did a bit of looking into that spell of yours you know? Nothing. Not a single mention of it in our records. A truly unique spell!”

“I can probably teach you, if you want.” I offered, cutting through her gushing, and she spun.

“The Healing Hall would appreciate that greatly! It might even earn you and your family Royal Acclaim! Improving the health of our people is more than important, it is a crux upon which our civilization is built!”

Ookay?

“But come! I wanted to show you around. After all, if you want to join our work here… Well you’d work here!” She said laughing. And I just nodded slowly. I wasn’t really looking for a job, but I could probably come and help out sometimes?

“Maybe sometimes?”

“Sometimes is enough! Of course I hope it is more than sometimes. You know I looked into you! I’d heard the rumors of your caravan, the first to arrive from the outskirts fleeing the Trolls, a lot of negative comments from people. They were rude, thinking fleeing from Trolls was a joke, or some trick. Those are all gone now though, so don’t worry about that. Everyone understands how serious the situation is.”

“That’s good?”

“Yes it is!” She continued walking along, and instead of down the halls she led me up the stairs to the second floor, which had more healing beds, but the atmosphere is different. “This is the Academy. We bring in Healers that want to learn, and this is a place where they can stretch their abilities without fear of mistakes. We struggle to find young mages interested in learning though. The appeal of the Arcane drags many of them away. But not you!”

“Actually I learned both. My Grandmother is a Magistrix, and teaches me.”

She looked put out for a moment, before shaking her head.

“That’s fine! But you like Healing, and this is where you can learn more… Or teach!” She offered and I smiled a bit as she threw open some doors. A classroom of sorts. Everyone inside was older than me of course, but Meniel walked in like she owned the place.

“We have a new Healer joining us today! Everyone please welcome Alah’Dorah! She has a unique Light spell!”

“Hello.” I greeted.

The room chorused back greetings as well, everyone seemed friendly which was nice.

“Now! Let’s get to learning! Dorah has offered to teach her spell, and we are going to try to learn it today! It’ll be fun!”

I blinked at how quickly things were going… She wants me to teach now?

The teacher of the class walked away from the front of the classroom and took a seat, and Meniel did so as well, looking quite eager to learn…

Yeah okay.

“So Blessing of Wisdom, is a spell that was granted to me by Elune actually. It’s a Light based spell, and I can actually show you the Arcane spell structure to start, but the internals of the spell are all Light-”

Half the class seemed interested, the other half had no idea what I was saying. Well let’s try to teach a bunch of random people a Blessing.