"No kidding!" Skara whined a little as Boscha stepped up to take her turn. Disappointed with her showing, Skara looked over to the prizes to see what she could get with her point score, but her eyes were drawn to a soft glow in the shadows of the alley behind the stall. Looking closer, Skara saw some pretty looking flowers growing out of a crack in the ground and glowing a soft blue. The young Bard smiled; she hadn't seen flowers like that before! They looked pretty, so she decided to go and pluck one.
She wandered into the alley, still in full view of her companions and stooped to pick the flower, only to be suddenly yelled at by Boscha and Willow.
"STOP!" they both cried, abandoning the game and running over to her. Skara's hand was millimetres from the flower, and Boscha immediately grabbed her and pulled her away.
"Don't touch those!" the three-eyed girl ordered sternly.
"What? Why?" Skara asked, looking between Boscha and the innocent looking flowers as Luz and Raine came over to see what the fuss is about.
"Those are Nightshines! They're extremely poisonous!" Willow explained urgently.
Skara paled and edged away from the flowers; "Oh wow! Is just touching them enough to poison you?"
"Only when they're glowing." Willow said; "They're called Nightshines because they glow in the dark, as they produce a poisonous glowing powder when out of direct light. The poison will make you really sick if you absorb it through the skin, and if you manage to ingest the flower itself, even when it's not glowing, you'll be dead in minutes!"
Raine nodded grimly; "These things grow all over Cartilia. They're weeds, but they're pretty when they glow so the nobles refuse to allow the Plant Coven to clear them out. They also look like Cerulea Poppies when not glowing, so a lot of people grow them by mistake."
"Nobles keeping them around because they're pretty to look at is kinda messed up." Luz frowned.
"Yeah, almost everyone living below the Snow District gets Nightshine poisoning at least once in their lives; I know I did!" Raine shuddered at the memory. "And there's at least one death a year from someone drinking tea made from them, thinking they're Cerulea Poppies."
The girls all looked horrified; "That's terrible!" Willow cried.
"That's life for the poor in this city. Only the people stuck in the slums, AKA the Slush District are usually desperate enough to make Cerulea Tea, since it's healthy but tastes awful, so they're usually the only ones who die… the Nobles hate the Slush District for being an eyesore, so they don't care if someone dies." Raine scowled, turning towards the Grand Staircase and glaring up at the Diamond Dust District. They knew for a fact that no Nightshines grew up there! The nobles just saw pretty lights from on high and a way to get rid of the "eyesores"…
The girls were disgusted and glared up at the upper districts too. Luz and Willow even exchanged looks, both silently considering using their magic to grow some Nightshines up in the higher districts too! It would serve those stuck-up nobles right… but many probably had children who wouldn't know any better, and neither wanted to hurt someone who didn't deserve it, so they ultimately decided against it. Instead, Willow used a plant spell to wither the Nightshines and completely destroy them, ensuring no one else stumbled into them and got sick.
With the mood soured a bit, they all left the alley and tried to get back into the games and stalls, but the girls were still upset and Raine still felt the old bitterness that had followed them since their time living in Cartilia.
"It kinda bothers me that there's so much wrong with the Isles that I just didn't care about before." Boscha muttered as she and Skara walked together, hand in hand. "The whole reason I refused to join the CATTs at first was because I didn't care about the rebellion, but hearing stuff like this… nobles in this town let people get sick or die so they can have pretty flowers when it gets dark, and everyone else just has to suck it up? It's terrible. I'm almost thankful to Vitimir for opening my eyes!"
Skara squeezed her hand; "You're with us now, and that's what matters. But how did you know about the Nightshines? Willow makes sense since she's a plant nerd, and Raine obviously lived here, but I didn't take you for a plant person."
"The potions track teaches a lot about poisons." Boscha answered simply.
"It's a good thing too." Raine chimed in as they walked; "Just about everyone in Cartilia knows about those flowers, but most visitors just assume they're Cerulea Poppies. I swear that half the tourists who come here and wind up in Hospital do that because they see "glowing poppies" and try to pick them. The news should have spread, but the nobles don't want to decrease tourism."
"No offence to the Cadence or Alembic families, but nobles suck." Willow scowled.
The others all agreed with varying levels of enthusiasm, and Skara was already making plans to bring this up with her dad. Severin was a Coven Head now; if anyone had some authority to do something about this, it would be him! After that, it took a little while and some coaxing from Raine, but eventually the girls' good moods began to return and they got back into their contest at the game stalls. The facts they just learned lingered at the back of their minds, especially for Luz, but they were increasingly able to ignore it in favour of actually enjoying themselves again. However, that didn't last long either.
Just as the group were walking past the Grand Staircase to the northern half of town, they were suddenly stopped when someone shouted "HALT! DO NOT MOVE, LUZ NOCEDA!"
They (and many civilians wandering the streets) turned to see a squad of about six witches and demons marching towards them from the upper districts, each one wearing white leather armour, a dark blue hood, and a winter cloak. They all had the sigil of the Healing Coven on their chests and wore battle ready expressions as they marched towards Luz, quickly surrounding her and her friends.
Luz looked at them without much concern; "Healing Coven members? These guys have fighters too?"
"All of the Top Ten Covens do. Most magic can be used in battle if you're clever." Raine said, equally unconcerned.
The Captain of the Combat Healers scowled at the Bard, then ignored them and the girls in favour of focusing on Luz; "Luz Noceda, Head Witch Hettie Cutburn has ordered that you come to the Caduceus Grand Hospital immediately! You are to surrender and come with us at once! Do not attempt to resist; we have authorisation to bring you in "by any means necessary" from the Head Witch herself!"
Luz stared at them for a moment; the Captain was some kind of four eyed mouse demon, with two tails swishing behind him. He was also fairly tall and muscular, but that was hardly intimidating to the Arch-Angel. She turned away from the man to Raine and her friends and asked; "Are these guys serious?"
"Looks like it." Skara said casually; "I guess someone finally reported you, so the Emperor's Lackeys took notice."
"But seriously, they only sent six? There are three wanted criminals here and they only sent two for each of us? I went toe to toe with Vitimir, and that's not even including what Luz and Raine have done! I'm kinda offended." Boscha mocked, intentionally not including Skara or Willow, since they technically weren't publicly known as rebels and thus shouldn't fight if they didn't need to.
The Captain of the Healers went red in the face, then yelled; "Silence brat! We don't care about you or Whispers, we're only here for the Angel! Stay out of our business if you don't want to be arrested! Now come along, Luz Noceda! We don't have all day!"
Luz frowned; "Noceda-Clawthorne. It's Luz Noceda-Clawthorne."
"O-Okay!?" The Captain stuttered, getting angry at the lack of reaction. He prided himself on being one of the top Combat Healers in the Coven, so it bothered him that he wasn't getting the respect he felt he deserved. He drew a blue spell circle and conjured a giant silver scalpel, which he wielded like a spear; "Now are you going to come with us peacefully, or do we do this the hard way?"
Luz answered by conjuring a light sword, while Raine and Boscha summoned their staves. Willow and Skara stepped back, knowing they wouldn't be needed for this fight. However Luz turned to Raine and Boscha when she saw they were getting involved and said; "Let me handle this on my own. I want to stretch my wings a little and try out some new combos."
Without arguing, the two turned their Palismen back into their animal forms and stepped back to let Luz handle this alone. The other five Combat Healers then summoned their own weapons; one wielded syringes like throwing knives, one had an IV stand as a Bo-staff, two had rolls of bandages as restraints, and the last one split a pair of giant scissors into duel-wielded blades.
Luz whistled; "You really do like the medical theme, huh?"
"Do not underestimate us! Even a powerful opponent cannot hope to stand up to six Combat Healers!" the Captain boasted.
The Arch-Angel chuckled and her clothes glowed before transforming into her Holy Raiment, her six wings shining brilliantly as she spread them wide behind her. Immediately, the fire glyph on her right hand began to glow and warm her body up, countering the effects of the cold on the light clothing, and the wind glyph on her right foot glowed too as she began gently hovering with a soft breeze-like aura around her.
"I'll be sure to remind you of that when you're on the ground in about… five minutes?" Luz teased, acting more like a child engaging a rival in a school yard game than warrior about to fight six assailants.
Angered, the Captain gave a battle cry and charged at Luz, his scalpel blade glowing blue as he tried to slice her. Luz parried with her light blade but frowned as she felt some of her magic being cut away and the blade shrinking slightly. It looked like the blue magic of the scalpel damaged her magic directly… that could be a problem for an Angel that needed magic to live, but Luz didn't intend to give the Captain a second swing.
In a flash, Luz's light blade turned red as she infused it with Fire's Aspect of Destruction and then before anyone knew what was happening, Luz was behind the Captain and his scalpel spear had hit the ground in two pieces, sliced in half with little effort. The man stared dumbly at the destroyed weapon… he'd barely seen Luz move to attack it! He tried to spin around, a spell circle in his fingers as he turned, but the instant he laid eyes on Luz again, she slashed him with her light sword, which had now turned blue as she switched out fire magic for ice magic. He barely had a chance to gasp before he was coated in ice, leaving him frozen beneath the neck.
"W-What!?" he chattered as he squad gaped.
Luz, still floating, lifted her right foot and wiggled her toes; "A little aura of wind to boost my speed! Let's me move pretty fast! Too bad my brain can't keep up with my body when going that fast, or I'd be unstoppable!" she grinned.
"D-Don't just stand there you idiots! C-Capture her!" The Captain yelled to his squad.
The duel-wielding Combat Healer let out a battle cry and dashed at Luz, extending the range of his scissor blades with blue magic until they were too long for Luz to reasonably dodge. She countered with an ice barrier instead, which stopped the blades but still allowed them to drain her magic a bit more.
Luz frowned; "That's annoying. Let's try Sleep Powder!"
With her barrier still up to stop the brunt of the Healer's attacks, Luz filled the inside of the ice dome with Sleeping Nettles using the plant glyph, then promptly burned them with the fire glyph to release smoke and powdery ash with the properties of the nettles. Her wind aura kept her from inhaling it herself, and she promptly dropped the barrier and used more wind magic to direct the Sleep Powder towards the Healers.
Instantly, the scissor wielding Combat Healer got a face full of the stuff and promptly passed out, but before the powder could reach the other three, they pressed something inside their hoods which covered their faces with enchanted cloth masks that functioned like gas masks. Luz was almost impressed as she used wind magic to disperse the powder so no one else was effected. The remaining three Healers then decided to jump in and attack her together; the bandage wielding ones directing the bandages to try and ensnare Luz while the syringe wielding one threw her weapons at the girl in an attempt to administer a sleeping drug and drain more of her magic with that blue aura.
Luz's casual wind aura wasn't strong enough to deflect those attacks on their own, so Luz instead flew straight up at high speed and watched as the bandages snaked through the air to chase her and the missed syringes magically returned to their owner's hand so she could throw them again.
"The bandages are fast, and I bet they'd drain my magic too. I'll cut 'em to ribbons!" Luz giggled, using the plant glyph to summon hundreds of fresh green leaves. She then coated them all with light magic to turn them into leaf-shaped light blades, then blasted them with wind magic. It took a huge amount of focus to control each leaf with a different wind current, but Luz found that by focusing on a specific target rather than the leaves, she was able to direct them all to slice through the air towards them. The leaves spun like little light buzz saws and shredded the bandages coming towards Luz while she lazily dodged the thrown syringes. The bandage wielding medics soon found their weapons expended and began to conjure more, but before they could, Luz suddenly flew directly above them, each of her six wings glowing with silver wind magic.
"Dual Wingbeat!" she grinned, flapping her wings hard and blasting both of them with a powerful gale that was enough to smash them into the ground. They were still conscious, but the wind was blowing down on them too hard for them to stand, leaving them vulnerable to Luz suddenly adding ice magic to her wind, creating a mini blizzard that froze them both like their Captain.
That left only the syringe wielding healer, who looked pretty terrified. She desperately threw her syringes at Luz, but the girl countered with a cry of "Hurricane!" and conjured a thick wall of spiralling winds around herself that caught the syringes and kept them in flight, preventing the healer from summoning them back to her. They still drained Luz's magic a little, but she didn't actually need to infuse much into the wind to control it, so she could handle the loss. Finally, Luz created a fireball and infused it with wind magic, causing it to turn blue as the flames intensified in strength. Luz pointed the blue flames at the healer and smiled.
"Nighty night! Blue Flare!" she grinned, before blasting the flames towards the woman in a massive stream far too big to be dodged. The woman screamed and dove to the floor, where she passed out from sheer fright. Luz's flames spluttered out before they even reached her however, as Luz had never intended to hit her with the incinerating flames (that would be cruel). She'd intended to just make her dodge into a trap, as Luz had channelled some vines underground, ready to bind the woman when she dove to the ground… not much need for that now she was passed out, but oh well.
"And that's all of them!" Luz smiled, dismissing the hurricane after carefully directing the syringes into the ground around her, where she shot them with red light beams. She transformed her raiment back into her winter clothes and shrank her wings down once again. "Easy enough!"
She looked around at the stunned, frozen, and unconscious Combat Healers with satisfaction, then frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, weren't there six of these guys? What happened to the one with the staff?"
Boscha, who was torn between gaping at Luz's strength and laughing her butt off at the Healers' poor showing, just pointed over to the Grand Staircase, where the last Combat Healer and a small squad of Coven Scouts were trying to sneak away. They froze upon being noticed by the young Arch-Angel, then promptly screamed and ran up the stairs as fast as they could, retreating to the Azure Sky District.
"Wait, where did those scouts come from?" Luz frowned.
"They came to join the fight against you while you were in your barrier making Sleep Powder. After they saw you take out the scissor guy and then shoot that huge swarm of Razor Leaves, they gave up and ran away with the staff guy." Willow explained in a loud voice, ensuring the watching civilians could hear her every word.
The civilians began to mutter, some looking at Luz fearfully while others scowled at the retreating scouts. Seeing an opportunity, Luz walked to the frozen Healers and used some Sleeping Nettles to put them to sleep, then thawed them out and used vines to gently gather the five unconscious foes in the centre of the little square that had become their battlefield. She then knelt and cast some healing spells on them, prompting Skara to ask what she was doing.
"Just healing them up. I don't like hurting people, so the least I can do is make sure they're alright." Luz said.
"They tried to attack you." Boscha reminded her.
"They were ordered to. I doubt it was personal, so no need to make it personal on my side either." Luz smiled kindly.
The people began to mutter a bit more loudly, and a few citizens who were also in the Healing Coven moved forward to assist Luz, making sure the defeated Combat Healers were okay. That made Luz smile, as the fearful looks she was getting began to die down. She would have healed the idiots anyway, but she was glad she was also able to make the locals less afraid of her!
A few moments after finishing up with the Healers, there was a commotion over by the Grand Staircase and Luz and her friends looked over to see an unusual sight. The Combat Healer with the IV Stand/Bo-Staff was coming back down… being dragged along by the ear like an errant school boy by another Healer. This one was an elderly, dark-skinned woman with glasses, dressed in a white robe and blue headscarf, denoting her as one of more common Healers. Following behind her were twelve Emergency Healers wearing white tunics and pants, and blue nurses hats. Ten of the twelve were paired up and carrying stretchers ready to use, while the remaining two were just causally following the older woman, smirking at the Combat Healer's predicament.
Once they arrived in the Ice District, the woman gestured for the Emergency Healers to take the five unconscious Combat Healers and put them on the stretchers, then return them to the hospital. They gave them a quick once over, but upon seeing Luz had healed them, they nodded gratefully and left. The Elder Healer then marched over to Luz and bowed politely, while forcing the last Combat Healer to bow his head low.
"Good afternoon, Miss Noceda-Clawthorne. I am Healer Dorothea, senior member of the Healing Coven. I have come to correct a misunderstanding and ensure this fool properly apologises on behalf of his teammates." she said politely.
Luz bowed politely in return; "Nice to meet you, Healer Dorothea. You can just call me Luz. But what is this misunderstanding?"
Dorothea gave the man beside her a glare; "These fools were never meant to attack you or try to capture you. Head Witch Cutburn's orders were to invite you to the hospital and try to convince you by any means necessary. Violence was never meant to be a part of the equation, but that fool captain and his hot-headed team thought this was their chance for glory and advancement."
"I'm very sorry!" the Combat Healer cried fearfully.
Raine and Boscha moved to stand side by side with Luz, while Willow and Skara remained just behind them. Raine crossed their arms; "We appreciate the apology and explanation, Healer Dorothea. But you can understand why we'd refuse this invitation."
Dorothea nodded; "I do, Mx. Whispers. However it would be remise of me not to explain. Head Witch Cutburn asks for a peaceful meeting with you, and has offered to make an oath not to attempt to capture you or allow anyone under her command to attempt to capture you until sunrise tomorrow. I believe she wants to see you for purely medical reasons."
Luz looked intrigued, but Boscha quickly said; "Remember Vitimir? He made an oath too, and he worked around it! Cutburn could just plain attack you without trying to capture you, or be luring you into a trap so people not under her command can nab you! Don't trust these Coven guys!"
"You've got a good point. Sorry, but I don't know if I can trust Hettie enough to go along with this. I've got to say no." Luz decided.
"Please Miss Noceda-Clawthorne, I understand how this must look but I truly believe Head Witch Cutburn has no nefarious intentions towards you! I believe she just wishes to make use of your Angelic Healing for some of our problem patients, and perhaps examine you to better understand Angel physiology." Dorothea said earnestly.
Luz frowned; she kind of wanted to see the inside of the Hospital… it looked so cool and fantasy-style that it was making her curious! And she could potentially help people Hettie and her Coven couldn't! She had no problem risking herself to help others, but she doubted she'd convince Raine and her friends… and it was technically an unnecessary risk, even if it could build support for the CATTs.
"I'm sorry; it's tempting, but unless I can believe my friends and I will be safe, I can't risk it." Luz decided, getting approving nods from her allies.
Healer Dorothea bit her lip, then tried once more to implore Luz; "Could you at least come to outside the hospital? Then the Head Witch could come out and greet you, and negotiate an oath that would make you more comfortable. I'm willing to make an oath of my own that there is no trap and that I'll fight alongside you should one I'm not aware of be sprung! Please, I just know that this meeting will be for the good of our patients!"
Her pleas were really starting to get to Luz; under those circumstances, how could she refuse? If people needed her help, then it was her responsibility as the Arch-Angel of the Boiling Isles to try and help them! She turned to her friends, and the girls all wore exasperated expressions as they could see she'd been convinced. Oddly enough, Raine seemed convinced too.
"Hettie isn't one for trickery, and she's fiercely protective of her hospitals. She'd never let one be used as a place for a battle or trap. I think she might truly just want your help." Raine said.
Luz smiled; perhaps this was more like a Mason situation than a Vitimir one. Turning back to the Healers, Luz asked; "Do you have patients suffering from Nightshine poisoning?"
Dorothea seemed surprised, but then nodded; "Yes, actually. Quite a few, thanks to all the tourists in town for the Coven Day festivities."
"Then I will accept your invitation under the terms you just gave. The nobles that serve the Emperor may not care about the people of this city, but I do! I'll undo their mistakes and heal the people who got sick because of them!" Luz declared.
There was a murmur from the watching crowd, and Luz's friends grinned as they watched the support for the young Angel rise. Luz then turned to Boscha and said quietly; "I'll take Titi Raine up with me, but you, Willow, and Skara should stay down here. Remember, those two aren't known CATTs like we are, so it'd be dangerous to take them to this meeting."
Boscha scowled; "And what are we meant to do in the meantime?"
"Enjoy the festival without us. Or if you want to help the CATTs, maybe wipe out the Nightshines growing all over the place? Willow could probably find and wither them with her plant magic, right?" she looked to Willow.
"I can do it alright." she nodded.
Boscha looked ready to argue, but one look from Raine and Luz made it clear neither would budge. "Fine, but you better call if something goes wrong! I've saved your butt from one crazy Coven Head, and I'll do it again if I have to!" Boscha said, before turning on her heel and marching off, grabbing Skara by the hand and dragging her away too. Skara giggled and waved to Luz, while Willow rolled her eyes and gave Luz a smile before she headed off too, wishing Luz and Raine luck.
Once they were gone, Luz and Raine turned to Dorothea and gestured for the grateful healer to lead the way, which she did quite happily. She took them both all the way up to the Azure Sky District, accompanied by the still-frightened Combat Healer and the two Emergency Healers who'd been sent with the others and hadn't needed to take anyone back up. They were ribbing the Combat Healer, revealing that as soon as their Captain had headed out, Dorothea had arranged the Emergency Team to follow them alongside her since she knew they'd get their butts kicked by the Arch-Angel. Luz giggled at their banter, but gave the Combat Healer a pat on the back and a promise not to beat him up, so he'd calm down a little.
When they arrived outside Caduceus Grand Hospital, they found only two Healing Coven Guards posted outside and a few civilians roaming in and out of the building, with no signs of the Emperor's Coven or a trap. Luz and Raine stopped outside while Dorothea hurried in to get the Head Witch, while the Combat Healer and Emergency Healers left to take care of their own duties. It took almost five minutes before Hettie emerged from the hospital, bustling along with a pleased smile. Luz hadn't gotten a good look at her at the Castle or the Conformatorium, so she was shocked at just how tall and buff the woman was. Her voice was fairly deep too when she addressed the pair.
"Ah, Miss Noceda-Clawthorne; thank you for joining me. Dorothea has told me of your conditions, and I am happy to accept them; on my word as a Healer, there is no trap waiting for you and neither myself nor anyone under my command will attack you." Hettie said, before nodding to Raine; "And it's nice to see you again, Raine. Severin has done an admirable job as Head Witch of the Bard Coven, but it would have been nice to keep working with you."
Raine kept a neutral expression; "Sadly, the Emperor has made that impossible."
Hettie tilted her head, but didn't otherwise acknowledge what they said, instead turning back to Luz. "Shall we make this oath now?"
Luz nodded; "Yes, but this is the oath I want you to swear first."
The oath Luz requested was the same as Hettie's offered one, with a few addendums; Luz would allow her to examine her body so long as she truthfully explained everything she was doing first and destroyed any samples taken from her immediately, without using them for anything but testing. Hettie was also forbidden from attacking her or restraining her unless Luz became hostile to her first. Lastly, if someone out of her control was to attack Luz, Hettie was forbidden from attempting to impede her escape or fight in any way. All of this applied to Raine as well, who was to be allowed to witness anything and everything Hettie or her coven did to Luz, with no attempts to separate them beyond asking for their consent. It was a demanding oath, and Luz had almost asked for Hettie to swear to defend her if other forces attacked too, but had decided that was a step too far.
Despite this, Hettie didn't even hesitate and carefully swore the oath exactly as Luz recited. As a show of good faith, Luz had then sworn to heal any patients she could no matter who they were, with the sole exception of Belos. Raine had sworn only that they wouldn't attack anyone unless they attacked first, and wouldn't try to sabotage the Healing Coven, which they never would have dreamed of anyway.
Once the oaths were sworn, Hettie escorted Luz and Raine into the hospital and watched as Luz gaped, eyes sparkling as she took everything in.
"This place is incredible!" she gushed.
"Why thank you. The Healing Coven is one of the most forward thinking; we take any and all advancements no matter their origin, for the good of our patients. We're also the only Coven not truly invested in this civil war with the rebellion." Hettie explained as she showed Luz and Raine around the ground floor wards, where the most minor injuries and illnesses were treated. There were dozens of healers sitting on stools around the room, with carefully organised lines of patients waiting to see them. Each patient would be healed quickly, then sent happily on their way.
"I think this is my favourite coven by far." Luz said, both at the sight of the helpful healers and to Hettie's comment about their non-involvement in the war.
"I am glad to hear it! Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have four motives for inviting you here. The primary reason is a certain patient I am trying to help, who I believe you will be able to assist me with. You'll meet them once we get up to my office, but I thought we could take care of some other things along the way." Hettie explained.
Luz and Raine exchanged looks, with the latter saying; "And what are the other three motives?"
Hettie smiled and began counting them off on her fingers; "First, professional curiosity; I wish to do a full physical examination of a healthy Angel specimen so we might finally understand your biology and how it compares to other species of people. Second, the advancement of Healing Magic; I want to see your own healing spells in action to see if they can be learned by non-Angels, or if we can glean some insight that might improve our existing healing spells. Third and most important, the welfare of my patients; I have many patients and not enough healers, so I was hoping for your assistance in treating them. Things are busy whenever festivals and events bring an influx of tourists to town."
Luz nodded along, having expected the first and third reasons. The second one was a pleasant addition too, so she was happy to help.
"I'll do whatever I can. I also want to heal anyone with Nightshine poisoning." Luz said.
Hettie nodded; "Dorothea informed me. We have a specialist ward for that, since it's a common affliction. Sadly, our only treatment is a generic Anti-Toxin that reduces the effects of the poison, a potion of pain relief to help with the agony, and some fluids to help replenish what they've lost. After that, they just have to ride it out."
Raine frowned; "It's nasty stuff. The poison is like having an awful stomach virus…"
"How terrible! Can we go there first?" Luz requested.
"Of course. Follow me." Hettie said, leading them to the entrance of a Pneumo-Vein. Luz was amazed and delighted by the unusual transportation, and Hettie explained how it was used to transport patients safely, and how she herself had helped develop the gel-like substance that made up the protective capsules. As they were travelling up to the Nightshine ward, Luz also noticed a lot of medical items that looked like they'd come from the Human Realm.
"Some of this stuff looks like it belongs in a Human hospital." Luz commented, looking to Hettie.
"Some of it is, while others are reconstructions adapted to work with magic, with help from the Abominations and Construction Covens. Human medical books and supplies sometimes wash up on the shores, so we adapt them for our use. Humans have shockingly advanced medicine for a species without magic!" the Head Witch replied.
They soon arrived in the Nightshine ward, and Luz looked around sadly at the roughly fifteen filled beds, all with patients who were either unconscious or laying curled up in a ball, clutching their stomachs in agony. The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant, making Luz's nose burn a little. She shrugged this off quickly though and began looking around until she saw a little boy, no older than five or six, curled up and suffering as his worried parents sat on either side of his bed, stroking his back and trying to comfort him. Luz ran towards him, deciding this would be her first patient.
"Excuse me, but may I try to heal him? I promise I'll do no harm." Luz asked kindly, looking at the parents.
The boy's father seemed to recognise her, but he said nothing as his husband eagerly nodded; "Please do! If you can ease his suffering, we'd be very grateful."
"I'll do all I can." Luz promised, swapping places with the boy's daddy and immediately conjuring her Healing Lotus. Raine and Hettie had followed her and now watched as the green pollen-like light blended into the child's skin. It seemed to be working too, as the boy's face relaxed and he opened his eyes to look at the Angel helping him. He was still in too much pain to talk though, and just watched with tear-filled eyes.
Hettie cast a diagnostic spell as Luz worked, and hummed as she saw the results; "Miss Noceda-Clawthorne, you're spell seems to be directly healing the damage done by the poison, but the poison itself is still in his system. As soon as you stop your spell, the symptoms will return."
This was something the Healing Coven had already discovered; they could do the same with their own spells, but they didn't have enough healers to have them casting constant spells on the patients until the poison ran it's course.
Hearing this made the little boy whimper, and he managed to splutter out; "Please don't stop! I don't want it to hurt!"
Luz smiled kindly; "Don't worry, I won't stop until you're better." she assured him, before turning to Hettie; "The poison is plant-based, right?"
"Yes. A toxic pollen that is absorbed through the skin." she confirmed.
"Okay… I think I can do this. Just gotta channel Willow a little…" the Angel muttered to herself. She used her free hand to conjure another Healing Lotus, though this time it was a crystal lotus that appeared to be made of emerald. It released a deluge of healing light down on the boy which was a noticeably deeper green. The child sighed happily and began to feel even better, not even noticing as Luz dismissed her first lotus and focused entirely on the second one.
Hettie watched curiously, then gasped as her diagnostic spell gave her some more results.
"The poison is disappearing from his system! 80% gone… 87%… 94%… 99%… gone! The poison has been completely purged!" Hettie said, amazed.
Luz sighed and released her lotus, allowing the little boy to sit up, now feeling completely fine. The boy's dads both cheered and eagerly hugged their little boy. All three then looked to Luz; "Thank you!" cried the father, "Thank you so much!"
"I thought we might lose him after those rotten St. Epiderm kids knocked him into the Nightshines! Those brats are always pulling pranks down in the Slush District and they ran right into him while running away!" the boy's daddy added angrily. Luz finally noticed that all three of them looked fairly poor, with damaged clothes that had been roughly patched up. She felt even better about helping them now, though she was angry to hear how the child had gotten poisoned.
The little boy himself looked up at Luz with bright eyes; "Thank you nice lady! Are you really an Angel?" he asked, pointing at her wings.
Luz nodded; "You bet! I'm a nice Angel who helps everyone I can. I'm glad you're feeling better." she said, moving a wing to gently tickle the boy, making him giggle as his parents beamed.
"Good work, Luz." Raine praised.
"Good? That was extraordinary!" Hettie said, overjoyed; "How did you do it!? I must know!"
"Plant magic." Luz explained; "My healing spells mix raw light, plant, and ice magic together, so I just added more plant magic and focused on drawing out the plant-based toxin and then withering it into nothing."
"I see, like how Willow safely destroyed the Nightshines themselves." Raine commented.
Hettie eagerly conjured a clipboard and began taking notes; "Fascinating… a Coven witch couldn't do this conventionally since it blends healing and plant magic, but perhaps I could speak to the Potions Coven about a herbicide poultice… something that can kill plant matter and is absorbed through the skin. Thank you, Miss Noceda-Clawthorne; you're visit is already paying off!"
Luz was glad to hear it, but then noticed the other conscious patients were watching her eagerly. She had work to do!
With Raine and Hettie following her through the ward, Luz went from bed to bed, healing everyone she could. She focused on the conscious patients, starting with the ones who'd been sick the longest, then once all of them were cured, she turned to the unconscious ones. It took about ten minutes, but Luz had soon healed everyone in the Nightshine ward. The Healers helped the patients up and began to discharge them, and they all gave their heartfelt thanks to Luz as they left. A few tried to offer her money or trinkets, but she politely declines, and a few others whispered to her or Raine that they'd pay a visit to Bonesborough and see about helping "the cause". Neither commented on that beyond giving them a smile and telling them to follow their hearts on the matter, but Hettie always happened to be conspicuously looking away or talking to another Healer when these conversations happened.
With the success on the Nightshine ward, Hettie began taking Luz to several other wards too. They were all wards where conventional healing just wasn't enough, or where they were severely understaffed due to how hard it was to heal the afflictions suffered there. Luz quickly became very well-liked by the Healers and Patients alike, happily walking in and curing everything she could. Sadly she couldn't solve every problem; she could heal direct damage, purge plant-based poisons, and treat the symptoms of most diseases, but she couldn't do anything about curses, harmful enchantments, purely magical maladies, genetic conditions or particularly virulent diseases that were resistant to magic. Sadly the conditions resistant to Witch and Demon Magic seemed to also resist Angelic Magic, so the most Luz could do in those cases was ease their suffering by curing the damage done by the disease.
Luz spent a whole two hours healing patients, all while Raine watched and occasionally entertained the patients with songs. Their usual stage-fright didn't seem to extend to such an informal setting, and soon the hospital was filled with the melodious sound of a violin. Meanwhile, Hettie had been taking page after page of notes, watching as Luz's magic knitted flesh back together and cleansed bacteria.
As they moved onto the final floor of the open part of the hospital, Hettie giddily said; "I've found so many new potential treatments today that I can hardly contain myself! But who'd have thought so many useful healing methods were locked behind other types of magic? It makes me wonder, could things like Illusion and Oracle magic be used to treat mental illnesses? Could Potions and Plants be used to make vaccines against all kinds of diseases? Could Construction be used to build defences within the immune system itself!? So many possibilities!"
Luz smiled, glad to see someone as interested in helping people as she was. "I'm happy I was able to help! If you keep swearing not to attack me, I'd love to keep helping out around here!" she said. Healing people had really improved her mood, though Raine did give her a look of exasperation; today was supposed to be a day off from work after all, and here Luz was happily working…
Well at least she had a half-day!
"Thank you, Luz." Hettie replied, having been told to call her by her real name not long after Luz got started. "If only this rebellion wasn't in full swing, I'd recruit you in a heartbeat! With your help, my ultimate ambition might one day be achieved!"
"Your ambition?" Luz said, tilting her head curiously.
"Yes. The ultimate ambition of any truly devoted Healer; to one day be able to cure anything and everything but death itself!" Hettie said grandly, clenching her fist with a determined smile.
"Wow…" Luz breathed, completely enamoured with the idea, while Raine looked curious.
"I'm surprised you don't want to cure death too. I always heard that the previous Head Witch had that as their ultimate ambition." Raine said.
Hettie scowled; "That is heresy. Healers guard against death, but we don't cross beyond that line. Resurrection is the business of Titans and Gods; mortals have no right to meddle in that domain."
Luz and Raine were surprised by her sudden shift in mood, with Raine only able to awkwardly say; "That's very… devout of you?"
They continued to walk in silence for a few moments more, before Raine said; "If I offended you Hettie, then I apologise."
The Head Witch shook her head; "You did not. I apologise, but necromancy and the like is a sore spot for me. The previous Head Witch was also the first to lead the Healing Coven after its founding; he was a man named Caduceus, and is whom this hospital is dedicated to. He was a good man, but he became obsessed with immortality and resurrection. I was his apprentice, but I already had a hatred for necromancy and so I refused to take part in his experiments. One day he succeeded in raising a dead patient… only for them to be a soulless husk who immediately attempted to claim a soul of its own by killing Head Witch Caduceus. I was too late for him, but I did destroy the Husk. I became Head Witch not long after… though not without whispers that I engineered the event or let it happen so I could have the position."
"That's awful!" Luz scowled; "It must have been terrible to lose your mentor like that… I can't even imagine it."
Hettie nodded grimly; "It was rather upsetting, but we had drifted apart by that point. I mourned the man he was, not the one he became."
The young Angel felt sympathy for the witch, and for Caduceus before her… there was a time when she'd have done anything to raise the dead too. But Hettie was right; that was the domain of Higher Powers… In truth, Luz didn't like the idea of even Titans like Orion being able to revive those long dead. The recently dead was a different case; that could be argued to be resuscitation, but the long deceased shouldn't be disturbed…
As Luz was thinking on this, Raine noticed something about what Hettie had just said. "You mentioned already having a hatred for necromancy. It's a grim subject so I don't blame you, but what actually made you hate it so much?"
Hettie stopped in her tracks, and there was a pregnant pause as both Luz and Raine looked at her, fearing they'd said something very wrong. Eventually Hettie answered in a soft voice; "I am from Clavice." and then kept walking without another word.
Raine went pale and cursed, startling Luz to hear such language from them; "Where is Clavice?"
"Clavice used to be the most south eastern town in the Titan's Right Shoulder, nestled into a little forest valley." Raine answered.
The "used to be" made Luz gulp; "What happened to it?"
"Destroyed 30 years ago. A necromancer used the town graveyard to raise an army of zombies in a plot to overthrow the Emperor. No one knows for certain if the necromancer ordered the zombies to attack the town to get more corpses, or if he simply lost control, but either way his army slaughtered the entire town, including the necromancer. Belos and the Emperor's Coven scorched the entire valley, leaving nothing behind. It's an ashen wasteland now. I had no idea someone had survived…" Raine explained, looking at Hettie.
The woman walked a few paces a head of them, her face hidden from their view. She briefly looked over her shoulder to say; "I was lucky. My face was mutilated, but I knew enough healing magic to stem the bleeding and stave off infection. I tried to heal the other townspeople, but I wasn't strong enough. My patients all died, and as the healthiest person left of the survivors, the others sent me to get help. I was the one who told Belos what had happened, but by the time he and his army arrived, he told me there were no survivors."
Luz briefly wondered if that was true, or if Belos had scorched the survivors too, but decided to keep that thought to herself. Instead she said; "I'm very sorry for your loss"
"Thank you, Luz. I trust now you both understand my hatred for necromancy."
The two CATTs nodded, both feeling a little sick. Raine was shocked there was a survivor of that catastrophe, while Luz was horrified such a thing had ever happened. "Yeah… I think that's enough to make anyone hate zombies and necromancy." she said in a small voice.
"Ah…" Hettie said, making Luz look up at her; "I should correct a misconception. They weren't zombies; those are reanimated corpses. What the necromancer created was Grimwalkers."
Luz blinked, then looked to Raine for an explanation, only for them to shrug. "What's a Grimwalker?" Luz asked.
"Grimwalkers are essentially clones born from corpses and graves. Rather than revive the dead, the necromancer used their bodies to create living clones of who they were in life. It requires many esoteric ingredients, including Palistrom Wood and something called a "Bone of Ortet" which is basically a bone of the person they wish to replicate. They are supposed to be horribly difficult to make, but if done perfectly then they're indistinguishable from the original, including magical abilities and excluding memories and personality." Hettie explained. "However that monster screwed it up somehow. I don't know if he used the wrong ingredients or it was a result of him trying to implant some way of controlling them, but the end result was them basically being feral."
"Magical Death clones…!?" Luz gasped, blown away by the very idea. To think that the Demon Realm had such a thing! It was both amazing and horrifying! But she did have one question; "Hettie, I get why those feral ones were bad since they were basically just zombies with extra steps, but what if they were made properly? If a Grimwalker is basically just a clone with a different personality, doesn't that mean they're their own person?"
"No." Hettie scowled; "Grimwalkers are and always will be aberrations. I don't care how "perfectly" they are made; they are not natural born creatures but the result of necromancy. They are an affront to life and must be destroyed."
The Head Witch said those words fiercely enough that Luz and Raine both decided to end that conversation there, lest she get angry and things become more awkward. Still, Luz couldn't help but think that if a properly made Grimwalker was more of a clone than a zombie, then they should probably be considered a person and not a monster. Not that she was going to try and convince Hettie of that, especially if her family and village was destroyed by such beings.
Thankfully, they soon finished the walk to the final ward they were visiting (they'd opted against the Pneumo-Veins so Luz had longer to regenerate her magic). It was the Prosthetics ward, where people who'd lost body parts were given replacements. It looked like a hybrid of a doctor's office and a tool shop, with different mechanical and magical prosthetics hanging up on the walls like items on a store shelf. Most of the prosthetics looked like regular human ones with crystals installed in them to link them to the wearer's mind so they could be moved. Others looked to be brass and constructed from abomination goo (these bore the mark of the Abomination Coven), and some appeared to be constructed from plants of some kind for Plant Witches. There were also many different kinds of limbs available, from the usual arms and legs, to the rarer eyes and ears, to the non-standard tails, tentacles, horns, trunks, and non-Witch arms and legs in all different shapes and sizes.
"With current magical advancements, it isn't possible to regrow any lost body parts." Hettie began as they walked in; "We can grow each individual element of a limb using magic, but we cannot grow them together for some reason, and attempting to grow them separately, then surgically combine them always leads to the parts rejecting each other, and if we try to grow them directly onto the body of the patient, they go into shock. As it stands, if we can get our hands on the original part, we can regenerate it and the rest of the body enough to reattach it, but nothing more. That is where you come in."
Hettie turned to Luz with a wide smile returning to her face; "I witnessed you regrow your own hand during that debacle at the Emperor's Castle. I would like to know if you can do the same to others."
Luz nodded; "I think I can. I'm willing to try at least."
Hettie grinned and looked around; there were currently only four patients on the ward, so she decided to start with the youngest; a young girl who'd wandered too far out of town and lost a foot to a Slitherbeast. Not only did Hettie think she'd be the patient Luz would most want to help, but she was also the smallest and thus had the least to grow back. She led Luz and Raine over to the girl and her mother, and quietly explained the situation. The girl looked nervous, while her mother looked ecstatic, especially as Luz smiled and reassured them that she'd do her best.
The child was getting an abomination prosthetic, which meant the wound had been left open so the nerves could be connected to the prosthetic, though the child's pain receptors had been deadened so she didn't suffer. This meant Luz was met with a grizzly sight when she removed the child's bandages, but also meant she had a clean shot at healing her. With a twirl of her finger, Luz summoned her Crystal Lotus and began to heal. The green magic fluttered down onto the open wound and bit by bit, the girl's leg began to regrow. It started with the bone, then the blood vessels and nerves, then the muscle, and then finally the skin, going from the lower shin, to the ankle, to the foot itself, and then the toes. Hettie, the child, and the child's mother watched with awe, but Raine noticed something; not only did Luz look like she was straining herself, but her spell also looked like it was producing a lot more of that green healing magic than when they'd seen her heal her own hand at the castle. It was almost triple the amount, despite the fact the girl's foot was smaller than Luz's hand.
It took ten minutes to complete the healing and Luz was tired by the time she was done, but the little girl's foot had been fully restored. With an excited cry of joy, the girl leapt to her feet… only to fall face first into Luz's chest as her nerves were still not working properly. Luz and the adults all chuckled as the young Angel helped pick the girl up and accept the hug she was offering her.
"Thank you! Thank you!" the little girl cried, absolutely beaming.
The girl's mother did the same thing, and hugged Luz too, while Hettie took copious notes. After the little family had calmed down, they were taken to be discharged by the other Healers, all while the little girl waved to Luz from her mother's shoulders. Luz waved back, then as soon as the girl was gone, she sighed and collapsed onto the bed the girl had occupied.
"That took way more out of me then doing it on myself!" she complained.
"It used more magic, that's for certain." Raine agreed, before telling Hettie what they'd witnessed at the castle and how it compared. Hettie noted everything down, then hummed.
"I wonder… it seems Angelic Healing Magic is capable of performing more complex tasks than Demonic Healing Magic, but healing someone else uses more magic than healing one's self… I wonder if this is because the magic has to adapt itself to another person's body, and thus loses strength in the transition? It heals Luz easily since it's already adapted to her system, but another person would need fresh adaption to avoid rejection. Curious…" Hettie muttered, once again taking notes.
That explanation sounded about right to Luz; an Angel's magic was like their lifeblood after all, so it made sense that it was more efficient at healing the Angel it belonged to. Still, there were still three more patients to go, so she got to work, starting with the one that would be the most tiring; a large lion-like Demon who was missing his arm. For the next half an hour, Luz trudged from patient to patient, regrowing their lost limbs, feeling her energy draining rapidly with each one. Their thanks and joy helped keep her spirits up, but by the time she'd helped the last one, she was already down to 1/3rd of her normal magic levels.
"I'm glad losing limbs isn't more common…" Luz mumbled as she took a moment to lie down and get some strength back.
"Are you alright, Luz? You can take back the blessing you gave me if it'll make you feel better." Raine offered, sitting beside her and stroking her hair to comfort her.
Luz leaned into their touch like a cat, trilling softly as she did so. "No thank you, Titi. I just need a moment to adjust to having less magic."
Hettie finally looked up from her notes with a smile; "Thank you for your assistance today, Luz. You've given me many insights and helped progress the field of healing by leaps and bounds. And no doubt helped gather support for the rebellion too."
Luz and Raine looked at her warily, but she just shrugged; "What? I'm not interested in the fight between you and the Emperor. You have legitimate grievances, and he has a noble cause; I simply want to minimise casualties as you both work it out."
"If that's what you feel, why not join the CATTs? You could do a lot of good for a lot of people, even without fighting." Luz said, sitting up again.
"I sympathise with your people, but I still believe in what Belos' ultimate goal would achieve." Hettie said firmly; "If anything, you've done more to convince me today than Belos has since the day I met him."
Luz's eyes widened with horror; "W-What!?"
"It's true. I'm sure you're aware by now what the Day of Unity is for, yes? It will unite the Demon and Divine Realms and turn all Witches and Demons into Angels, free of Wild Magic and corruption. With that, we will all have access to all the Healing Magic you used today, and my dream of one day being able to cure all but death itself will be that much closer to being realised." Hettie said, looking passionate about the subject.
The young Angel could only stare at her in shock. She couldn't argue with that! From Hettie's perspective, what Belos' wanted to do was good and righteous! Heck, when phrased the way Hettie had said it, even Luz found it almost convincing. But even if Belos' ultimate goal was that noble (and Luz wasn't convinced he was telling the truth, or such a thing was even possible), it didn't justify the cruelties he committed to achieve it!
"The ends don't justify the means." Raine said, eyes narrowed as they articulated what Luz was thinking; "I don't believe true happiness can be built with the suffering of innocents."
"And as a Healer, I believe that sometimes one must do more damage before the healing can begin. Sometimes one must lance a boil, or cut away infected flesh. Sometimes more pain must come before relief can be achieved." Hettie retorted.
She and Raine stared each other down for a moment, before the Head Witch said; "I respect your decisions, Raine. As I said, I believe you have legitimate grievances against Belos and his methods. But I must trust he has his reasons, and his goal is worth the suffering. Can you or Luz assure me the results I hope for without this plan?"
Luz sadly shook her head; "I can try. I can do everything I can to find a way… but I don't have a plan on how I'd do it."
Hettie smiled kindly; "I know you would try, and I thank you for your honesty. But for the sake of healing, I must continue to support the only plan that leads where I wish to go."
Raine sighed and looked away, knowing nothing they said would convince Hettie. She knew Belos was cruel, but the chance to gain Angelic Magic for healing was just too good to pass up. Seeing neither Raine nor Luz wanted to keep arguing, Hettie said; "But I didn't invite you here to make you join the Empire, just as I don't think you accepted my invitation so you could convince me to rebel; now that we're done with the patients, let's get to the primary reason I asked you here."
Luz nodded in agreement; Hettie wanted to give her a full examination and have her help with another important patient waiting up in the Head Witch's office. Feeling a little more energised, Luz hopped to her feet again, ready to go. However Hettie looked to Raine.
"I apologise Raine, but for the sake of the patient's privacy, I must ask you to remain behind. Only Luz and I may go up to my office."