Another eight Celestials were murdered in the night. But this time, a single survivor made it out, either by sheer luck or thanks to the grace of Buldren. Rumors state that their condition was critical, several slashes across the chest, which may have been aimed for the neck, were bleeding profusely when they found him. Palador needed to know who was behind these attacks meaning this survivor’s well being was of the utmost concern. For that reason, Hiporus was brought in from the Court. Hiporus was a strong and heavy man, capable of carrying weights three times his size. In more peaceful times, he was present at many construction sites in case of an accident. Once the Seal broke, he was one of the first to try and prevent death, and even in his brief experience he had already discovered many effective treatments for otherwise fatal wounds. Since the Celestials began to remember, the kind image of Hiporus’s protective strength was there to keep them safe.
He arrived in the small village where the murders took place as the sun began to rise. Despite the aches of exhaustion, he had always found it difficult to actually fall asleep. There was always something more to do and his thoughts would stir him awake even when he found time to attempt to sleep. For that reason, he decided to combat his insomnia with study. Attempting to find cures to the new illnesses that cropped up from time to time, and hopefully he would be able to find a cure to his own affliction.
As he approached the village, he saw that they had erected a large wooden palisade wall. This village was towards the northeastern edge of the Court’s domain, far away from the oceans where raiders had begun to steal materials and food. Hiporus made his way to the gate and knocked three times firmly enough to ensure the guards could hear him, and just a little less than what was needed to shake the gate down. A small face peaked over the gate, no older than a child.
“Who goes there?” She shouted down in an attempt to sound authoritative.
“Hiporus of the Celestial Court.” He smiled and replied in a formal tone, as if he was speaking to Palador himself. “By his majesty the Sovereign, I request entrance into your domain, young ruler.”
“Ok. One second.” Her face disappeared back over the wall. A moment later there was the sound of a latch opening and the gate was dragged open.
Standing before him was Palador along with several of his attendants quickly gathering behind him. Acting on instinct, Hiporus immediately walked before him and knelt down. “My lord!”
Palador held out his arms and motioned for him to rise. “Welcome to the border of the Outlands doctor. We’ve eagerly awaited your arrival.”
“It is an honor to see you again,” He stood up and looked around the group. “Where is the victim?”
“Right this way,” He dismissed the gathering crowd. “Another doctor, one who was studying under you recently, was ensuring the victim survived while you made your way here. He’s also a friend of mine, a man named Selon.”
“Ah, Selon.” Hiporus nodded. “I remember him, a skilled herbalist, much more focused on illness rather than injury. How is the patient doing?”
Palador breathed a sigh before continuing. “She’s not doing well. Her wounds are severe and she is having difficulty in recovering. If it hadn’t been for Selon, she would have died to what Selon is calling an ‘infection.’ And beyond that, she’s a person of importance, she can’t be allowed to die.”
As the pair entered a small house, Hiporus added his own comment under his breath. “No one should die.”
The house was only two rooms large, a bedroom and a living space with a sad excuse of a kitchen. Laid across a small table, covered in numerous cuts and bandages, was an older woman. Standing above her was the familiar face of his former student. Selon looked up from his work and gave a quick bow. “Master Hiporus! It’s an honor to see you again.” He looked as if he had just awakened from last night’s sleep, something Hiporus envied.
“Well, there’s no need to be formal while someone’s injured.” Hiporus approached the table and began to investigate the wounds. They were kept remarkably clean, and had been sewn shut without errors. “Fine work Selon, you have kept improving your skills since we last met.”
“Thank you master.” Selon smiled to himself.
“Right then.” Palador made his way out of the house. “I’ll leave you to it, be sure to keep me updated on their condition.”
Hiporus didn’t pay him any mind, he continued to examine the wounds. He was correct in his assumptions, she had several slashes across her upper left hand chest that had grazed her neck. She was either lucky, or skilled enough when she defended herself. But now, her skin had become pale and she wasn’t responsive at all.
“Has she woken up since she was attacked?” Hiporus scratched his head.
“No, sir.”
“How long has it been since she was attacked?” He asked again.
“Two weeks now sir, it was around the time that the army first moved into this region.”
“Really?” He looked at her with newfound concern. “And her wounds have not progressed at all?”
“No sir, they have appeared to have stagnated.” Selon explained. “Even after I followed your instructions for wound care, she hasn’t improved or worsened since the attack.”
“One last question.” Hiporus continued as he looked at the stab wounds, he had seen the bodies of the other victims and he remembered how magic had felt wrong or damaged around them. “Is she primordial?”
“I- I don’t think so. She doesn’t appear to be?”
“No she doesn’t.” Hiporus agreed. “But that is only in her appearance, the shimmer that is present in primordials is absent, but I’ve begun to discover that the shimmer tends to vanish when one is near death. I’ve seen the same thing happen to other victims. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
Selon hesitated a bit before speaking. “I honestly don’t know, Palador instructed me to keep by her side and to only concern myself with her health. I haven’t left this house for several days now.”
“I see.” Hiporus noted. “Well, Palador was correct, it’s best to keep her alive. Now then, do you have a report on her condition when you first found her.”
“Yes, it is with Palador now.” He stood a little more straight and proud. “I was as detailed as I could be, just as you taught me.”
“Excellent, keep up the good work and do what you can to make her more comfortable.” Hiporus made his way out of the house. “After that, I have an important task for you.”
“Sir?”
“One of your fellow students has requested help with a project set forth by Buldren.” Hiporus said. “You may remember her, her name is Playus. She’s apparently working on some sort of contingency plan if this situation becomes too dire.”
A look of anxiety took over Selon’s face. “Will the situation become dire, sir?”
Hiporus looked to his patient before speaking. “I fear that things are far past that point.”
“I see, d-do you know what this plan is?” Selon asked, trying to distract his teacher.
“No, I wasn’t told.” Hiporus shook his head. “But if you need any help from me, you should speak with Dalmen or Ardae, those two will be coming out this way very soon.”
Selon frowned. “I’m not sure how much I trust those two with important matters. They’re a little too…”
“Disorganized?”
“Yes, that’s one way you could put it.”
Hiporus couldn’t help but laugh. “Selon, you are a remarkable student, no matter what happens I’m sure that you will be able to manage. You’ve done good work here doctor, may death itself recede in your presence.”
Selon’s anxiety gave way to a smile of his own. “I’m grateful for everything you have done for me sir, may your wisdom never falter.”
The two then left the house after checking to see if their patient could be left for a mere moment. They then said their farewells before Selon quickly made his way out of the village while Hiporus made his own way towards Palador’s location. There were still several questions on his mind, he had not only been treating these poor souls, but he had also taken an interest in solving the identity of the killer. After all, the best way to save a life is to prevent the very possibility of death.
As he made his way through the village, he felt a tug on his leg. When he looked down, he saw the same child who greeted him at the walls.
“Oh, hello young lady.” He looked around the area around him, “Is there something you need?”
“When will my mom feel better?” She looked up at him expectantly.
Hiporus’s eyes widened and he had to stop his jaw before it dropped. “I’m sorry miss, but I don’t know. I’m trying to figure that out now. Could you come along with me?”
“Ok.” She followed closely, holding onto the back of Hiporus’s cloak.
“What’s your name miss?” He asked.
“Nemra.” She replied.
“That’s a nice name, I am Hiporus.” This was a perfect opportunity to find at least a few answers to his deeper questions. “Could you answer something for me Nemra?”
“Ok?”
“How old is your mother?”
She thought for a second, “She said that she is very old. I was really young when she found me.”
Found her? Hiporus thought, that could mean several different things, was Nemra primordial, was she abandoned, or was there something more going on here? He looked down to Nemra and saw that there was a very slight shimmer to her. That didn’t make any sense, how could someone so young be a primordial Celestial? Not even Hiporus was old enough to be primordial, though if the conspiracies he’s heard held a crumb of merit that may not even matter. He purged the thought from his mind and returned to his questions.
“Do you have any other family here?”
“Just my older brother who left a while ago,” Her tone of disappointment quickly turned to excitement. “But he’ll be back very soon he said!”
“That’s nice.” Hiporus said, “Do you know where he’s at now?”
“He’s at the Court,” She smiled. “Have you been there?”
“I live there.” He couldn’t help but laugh to himself a bit. He spotted Palador standing on top of a recently constructed watchtower. “Excuse me, Nemra, but I have to speak to Lord Palador now.”
“Ok,” She ran off a bit but turned around for a second. “I’m going to watch for my brother at the gate!” Then she took off running again.
Hiporus smiled as he ascended the watchtower, but as he dwelt on his short conversation he quickly frowned in confusion with even a hint of frustration. Hopefully, Palador could shed some light on this.
Palador was looking out of the village towards the towering trees of the ancient woods which dominated the horizon. He was standing next to the railing with a note crumpled in his hands and he made no noise as if he was deep in thought.
“My lord?” Hiporus announced his presence as he approached.
“Yes, Hiporus?”
“I’ve spoken with Selon and examined the woman’s wounds. Though, I’m confused by her slow recovery and was hoping that I could see Selon’s notes on his treatment?”
“Of course.” Palador walked over to a bag filled with papers and retrieved five sheets and two before handing it all over. “Here you are. Selon said that he had found these samples around her wounds.”
“Thank you my lord.” Hiporus was about to leave but he couldn’t help his curiosity. “The patient’s daughter said that she has a brother in the court. Has he been notified about this attack?”
“No.” Palador answered with a hint of malice in his voice. “He was not told because he is partially responsible.”
“I’m sorry?” Hiporus was caught off guard by this response. “How-”
“Her brother is Morven, the man we swore to hunt down and capture. Which is exactly why she must survive.” Palador turned with a harsh look in his eyes.
Suddenly, many of his questions had been answered. “You hope to lure him here?”
“Or find answers to questions I still have about Morven’s experiments.” Palador turned his gaze back to the woods. “I know he’s near here. There’s no telling what he could be doing out there, we can’t rest until we’ve stopped him.
Hiporus didn’t appreciate the thought of no rest, especially given his condition. He frowned as he knew he would regret his next words, “Take care in your pursuit. We can not simply focus on a single problem while others have begun to manifest.”
“What does that mean?” Palador never lost his temper, but in rare instances he let his underlying anger surface. “He is the greatest threat to the Sovereign’s peace!”
“I don’t doubt that.” Hiporus replied, “But there is something you need to know. I’ve been working with several other Eterna and we have discovered something troubling.”
“What is it? Tell me quickly then get back to work.”
“After further investigations, we found that this is the eigth incident of murder across the Source. Each involving nine victims, this is the first where one of the nine has survived.” He paused. “But the first four took place before Morven broke Buldren’s seal.”
“What?” Paldor turned away from the horizon. “How do you know this?”
“Because, there is something you need to know.” Hiporus stepped forward and lowered his voice. “The Seal was weak before this whole incident began, Morven simply injured what was already wounded. And there have always been dangers to Celestials that could kill them in the past, I simply was one of the earliest to start preventing them.”
“How is this possible?”
“What, did you think I learned all of my skills in the past few months alone?” Hiporus tried to joke but quickly dropped it. “We aren’t sure what allowed this, only that the Seal failed these people.”
“This must be the work of the Void.” Palador guessed.
Hiporus nodded and thought on it himself. “I agree, I can’t think of anything else that could do this.”
“Have you reported this to Buldren?” Palador asked.
“Yes, in fact he asked me to relay this information to you when we next met.” Hiporus saw the concern in Palador’s eyes, and he was relieved when Palador showed no doubt. Unfortunately, the Sovereign in his supposed wisdom asked Hiporus to keep this information to himself, but this information may save a life in some way and that was Hiporus’s true priority. “I must go and see to Selon’s notes. Good luck Palador, please come and find me if you need anything.”
Palador did not respond, he only turned back around and returned his stare to the great woods beyond. Hiporus felt that there was something that he should say or provide some sort of comfort, but nothing productive came to mind and he left Palador to his task.
Instead he quickly made his way back to the home with the patient. As always, he made sure she was alive and as comfortable as possible before taking on any new task. Her condition was the same, stable but stagnant. She would most certainly die if this persisted, the soul can only be tormented for so long. He made his way into the second room and opened up Selon’s notes. They were kept in perfect order and detailed most of what he had already known. The victim was the only survivor out of nine, they were found bleeding out inside of their home and despite the efforts of local healers they could not stop the bleeding. Selon had found a way to but he was unsure how exactly he did it. While the exact specifics of this operation were fascinating to Hiporus, there was something specific that he was looking for. Midway through the second page he found it:
The patient’s wounds are covered in blood and some other fluid. It is a white and silky substance that looks more like magic than matter. I fear that this was some property of the weapon used in the attack. Possibly a magical poison that’s preventing the wounds from healing. I’ve cleaned up the wounds and collected samples for study. It would be more helpful if I could see the blade in question. The vials feel like they hum and resonate in my hand. I had to get them out of my sight because of the feeling of apprehension that was ever present while they were near me. I hesitate to tell anyone about this, it feels wrong writing about it. The only person who would know anything about this could be Morven, but that is not possible for obvious reasons. I have always been a believer in Buldren’s sovereignty and I would never second guess his most primordial wisdom, but these vials are evidence of something that fundamentally contradicts this. I hear a voice when holding it, it’s distant like someone shouting from a high tower down towards me. I can’t make out any of the words or the precise origin of the call, but it’s always there.
Hiporus put the note down and sat back and looked at the two vials Selon provided. He then grabbed one and focused on it. There was a distinct hum to it that felt very similar to the way he experienced magic in the past, but there was no voice to it. Perhaps Selon was under too much stress and imagined it, or maybe Hiporus was too tired and couldn’t hear it? Or could it be something more? He opened one of the vials and attempted to channel the magic. It swirled within and fluttered up and out of the vial for a moment before it appeared to become heavy and sink back into the vial. But still, there was no voice to it. Selon’s account called for more questions, so much so that Hiporus wished he wasn’t urgently needed elsewhere. What could he have possibly heard while holding onto this vial?
Another possibility filled Hiporus’s mind. What if there was something inertly within Selon that let him do this? What if there were powers beyond his comprehension that could prove the existence of something beyond the Sovereign? And if this speculation was correct, then Hiporus had just sent that power straight to the Court where it would most certainly be monitored and if it proved dangerous, it would be removed.
Hiporus cursed his haste and this damned insomnia that clouded his judgement. He would not have an excuse to leave this patient for quite some time and his usual messengers would not be here for sometime, how many people were at risk now? Perhaps that older fool was correct, maybe there were some things that had been intentionally hidden from the likes of him. Palador hadn’t been given the full picture either, what else had been hidden away from him?
He stopped his treasonous thoughts then and there. While he may be frustrated, this would not be the time or the place to voice them. For now, there was one life in danger that he had the power to save, it would be inexcusable to let their condition falter because of a single inconvenience.
But in the back of his mind there would always be a small part of him that feared that he had hastily sent his pupil into danger. And with that in mind, he would never be able to sleep at night.
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