Light and Shadows

Eternity (Part 1)

As it was, the Sin'Dorei was pulling several large books from a bag and laying them on the bedside table one at a time, while the other - a green-skinned creature not much taller than a dredger - hoisted itself onto the bed and sat comfortably on the edge. It had not stopped talking the entire way to the room, a fact the other healer endured with an expression of longsuffering as he squinted at the text of his book in the candlelight. Neither seemed in any rush to even look at their unnaturally still patient.

After minutes that felt longer than an eon, Renathal could contain himself no longer.

"I certainly do not mean to tell you how to do your work, but ... do you intend to heal her anytime soon?" He knew his tone was too sarcastic to be considered polite, so he added. "We do need her rather dreadfully."

The elf lifted his head from his book, shaking back hair as long and pale as Renathal's own. He looked from the Prince to the Maw Walker and back again, then raised a dramatic eyebrow.

"She is healed. Unless you see something we missed." When Renathal only stared, the elf added, "There's nothing physically wrong with her. We're really just here to take notes. Or... I am." He cast a disapproving glance at the other creature who grinned unrepentantly back.

Renathal had no idea what to make of any of this.

The green creature on the bed seemed to interpret his bewilderment for concern and added, "Hey, don't worry about it, she'll be fine! She always is. Didn't they tell ya? This champion's unkillable!"

This failed entirely to reassure Renathal, but it did ignite his curiousity. Since neither healer seemed about to tend to the Maw Walker themselves, Renathal stepped closer, cautiously approaching the side of the bed where she lay as if afraid the sound of his boots against the stone might wake her.

It was true she bore no obvious injuries. No cuts or bruises were visible on the generous portions of flesh the loosely tied robe revealed. But her skin had lost its dusky lavender luster, as though all her mortal blood - or the arcane magic that flowed through it - had been drained. Even the shimmery blue tint to her hair had faded. The only bit of life still left on her came from the swirling tattoos decorating her legs. They were glowing.

Renathal eyed the two healers. The small creature on the other side of the bed was busy chatting at the elf who was just as busy ignoring it, and Renathal managed to twitch a fold of white robe aside without alerting either. Normally pale, almost translucent, the Maw Walker's tattoos now pulsed with a slow, rhythmic light, like a lethargic heartbeat. There was a rainbow vibrancy to the circular patterns Renathal had never seen before, and he was intimately familiar with all the hidden parts of the Maw Walker by now. The physical ones, anyway.

This small evidence of remaining magic eased some of the tightness in Renathal's chest, though he remained critical of the healers' hands-off approach. He adjusted the white robe to afford the Maw Walker a bit more decency, then straightened.

"I am familiar with the Maw Walker's ... resilience," said Renathal to the two conscious mortals. "But in the past, she has recovered rapidly. It does seem as though this time her condition might be somewhat more dire?"

The green-skinned creature chuckled and swung its short legs onto the bed.

"Nah. She'll be fine. You can put money on that."

Renathal raised his eyebrows, but it was the Sin'Dorei who explained without looking up.

"She'll take a week or so to recover, but she's not dead." He turned another page, his bored voice at odds with his extraordinary words. "She never dies. Even when she should."