Awakening of the Shadows [COMPLETE]

Revan's Mark

Antares

With a loud hissing, shrieking noise, a bolt of aetherstream struck the ex-Lieutenant Vance in the center of his chest. He let out an agonized howl, his strangely now-black and once-emerald eyes bulging and rapidly blinking. He collapsed to the ground, his whole body seized by violent spasms. I slumped back against the wall, literally every part of my face feeling as if it was on fire. I managed to pull myself into a sitting position, but that was really about all I could manage. As I did so, my concentration finally broke and the light spell that I'd had going crumbled.

Rynn took a step back, blinking at the rapidly-shaking Trianguli before her, then looked over at where the aetherstream blast had come from - me. Her eyes widened, and she rushed over to me, muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

She knelt by my side. "Antares, are-" she stopped, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. "No, of course not," she mumbled. After an instant of silence that felt like an eternity (My face was still really painful), she seemed to collect her thoughts and spoke again: "Seven Hells, your entire face is covered in blood."

So that wasn't something I particularly wanted to hear, but I'd guessed as much anyway. "Um," I said, spitting a small glob of cyan blood onto the cold stone floor beside me.

With a quick look back at the spasming form of our former colleague, Rynn opened a satchel that hung at her waist and pulled out a vial containing a tattered piece of paper. Etched onto the cork was a symbol in Eldest that glowed with a faint, red chroma:

I recognized that symbol. Almost everyone knew at least one or two symbols in Eldest, and some were commonplace, used in everyday interactions. This particular symbol was one of those commonplace symbols - it was a spell glyph, a Hemokinetic (The official name for the hybrid of Biomantic and Necromantic magic, this particular subtype deals with blood) spell most people referred to as heal (Although its actual name in Eldest was Hevator). It did... well, exactly what it sounds like. It healed surface injuries, quells bleeding, and reduces pain (Although it can't heal things like psychological trauma (That kind of healing magic can only be done by Neuromancers (The official name for the hybrid of Telemantic and Biomantic magic, this particular subtype deals with the mind)), nor can it heal broken bones (Trying to use magic to heal broken bones usually doesn't work, the only ones who can do that kind of spell are Hemomancers who study that particular line of casting for decades)). Unlike most spells, a number of Hemokinetic castings can be used in scrolls, as in they can be written out and read aloud for their effect to take action without the need for a Hemomancer to cast it. I silently thanked Rynn's obsessive compulsion to always bring at least two or three heal spells with her.

Uncorking the vial, Rynn pulled out the scrap of paper within and read aloud the glyph written upon it (The glyph appeared to be written in blood of some sort. Hemomancers particularly enjoy that kind of writing. I've actually read one or two papers written by a Hemomancer who was my neighbor back on Scipio, both of which were written in Xevakh* blood).