_____Tending the wounded, not exactly something Kaede would call herself good at, let alone very able to do for that matter as she blinked at the wounded without much emotion or signs of caring on her face. This group had fought simply to protect their home sure, but killing was never the answer as it only would lead to more. Waving her hand to her chest to avoid stopping a nurse from going to the aid of some warriors Kaede could only sigh. She herself did not take much of any damage, so she would not exactly get the chance to be tended to. _____Rolling her shoulder slowly before she began walking towards a group of female mages working on some of the heavy injured people. Sitting down and listening to their chants before mimicking them. It was one of the many perks of Astramancy, no spell was ever truly out of her reach and as long as she knew the chant she could replicate them. Doing what she could to aid was honestly the only thing keeping Kaede from going berserk again. She still had a very large bone to rip from Zelrius for what he had done. _____Shaking her head to dismiss the memory before she started to get angry and looked around noticing a very lovely young lady with some minor cuts and scarps waiting for someone, or rather looking around the area. Moving over and waving happily to the girl as she help up some bandages and a small orb of light to hint she could heal also before sitting beside the girl with a happy smile. There was always a brighter side to each moment, and Kaede was intent on staying in that side of the moment as often and as long as she could.
Alkaid watched with fascination as the patient's wounds closed before responding to the boy beside her, noting that he seemed to speak as if burdened a bit more than any young man should. "Ha. Well, I won't deny being careful goes a long way. Still, something tells me you shouldn't blame yourself too much. If something goes wrong, we can only do our best for the situation and try to make sure it doesn't happen again," she paused for a moment, then continued, a smile curling on her lips as she spoke both figuratively and literally, "Of course, given we're all a team here, we'll gladly help you if you fall." Another patient was brought in behind them, appearing to suffer from illness and lack of nutrition rather than trauma. Much to Alkaid's pleasure, this time her healing spell worked, the card sitting in the air while giving off a soothing light. "For me, however, I've got to figure out which beings I can rely on here to help power these spells. Denial one minute. Acceptance the next. But beggars can't be choosers, I guess." She stood watching as the new arrival's pallor turn back to normal, hoping a few seconds later that no one heard a quiet growl come from her stomach as soup was passed her way... @Bradwynne Hidden Sorry for the delay, work + finals coming up next week have made things a bit hectic. ><
As the girl who was thus identified as Claire spoke of her Hydromancy, Ilya definitely agreed that it fit with the theme of her character. Hair as white as snow, with eyes that represented icy water themselves. If Ilya were to stare into them for too long, she would start to hallucinate and feel as if she were in the middle of a vast cold ocean, with waves crashing against her body. If Claire represented water, Ilya would represent fire. Her own hair flamboyant in appearance, it flowed and flickered with the slight breeze in the air as if it were long threatening flames themselves. Her eyes matched her hair, with a gentle yet sharp expression in them. "You definitely have all the bases covered. Next to you, I definitely feel out of place. I myself chose Body Combat, Berserk and Hunter. I cover basically, maiming things. If I loose too much health then I become enraged, thus increasing the rate at which I maim things. Practically useless.." Ilya did feel as if her own masteries were of little significance. "I plan on investing in some more useful masteries when I unlock the other two slots though! So I will not be bad forever." @Claire Thalassa
Energy swirled. Manifesting and dispersing as a shrouded figure seemingly stepped through the shadowy portal. Cobbled stone softly rattled at Oikawa's touch. Hmm, it would seem the war didn't fare so well here... Wounded litter the streets and there doesn't seem to be enough aid to help those in need. Though given my abilities I don't add to the help... Sighing, Oikawa looked towards a group of mages. Most of them seemed to be of the opposite gender, and judging from their trance like chants, he imagined they were in the midst of healing spells. This notion didn't deter him however. Stepping towards them, he looked each one over. Neither of them seemed more approachable than the other, but one seemed to harbor an interesting set of facial expressions as he watched her. Nearing the group, he approached the lass just as she made her way to a younger girl with minor wounds. Stopping just short of them, Oikawa offered a slight bow before speaking. "Pardon me love, my name is Oikawa and I'm relatively new to Astorea. Judging by the looks, one can say things are not as prominent as they were once before and I was wondering if you could spare me the story of what transpired here?" Stepping back, he flashed the youngster a smile before awaiting a response from the healer. @Kaede Hoshi
Bradwynne softly smiled as he heard the words of the astramancer. As he moved to a nearby patient whose lower body was crushed and rendered immobile, he then said, "Thank you for the encouragement, it helps a lot." As he was hearing out on Alkaid's concern on how to power up her spells, he was chanting a Hebrew phrase while clasping his hands. While he placed his hands on the abdomen of the patient, he then said, "Maybe the spells could be strengthened by frequent use and proper training. That's how I increased mine to the point that I could heal major injuries. Memorization of the spell words that could be used in this world could also help." The crushed lower body was renewed to its original form, and after proper training, the person could walk again, and that was when he heard a faint growl coming from the direction of the astramancer. Bradwynne laughed and said, "Well healing spells could drain energy from our bodies, and that is why we could feel hunger easily. Which, by the way I remembered, that the type of healing spells I used relied on the regenerative power of the cells of the body that was to be healed, and so could put a strain on the mitochondria of the cells of the body to produce more energy. That way the person healed could experience extreme hunger. I am just wondering if the supplies in these tents were enough to adequately feed a lot of recovering people in here." @Alkaid Zexis
interesting. Claire shrugged in response to Ilya's self-deprecating comment. "Nothing wrong with focusing on something and playing to your strengths. There are things to be said for specialization, after all." With a wry smile, she continued, "And considering recent circumstances, I'd say that a focus on combat is anything but foolhardy." She had been dismissive of the "Berserk" mastery, thinking it to be nothing more than unguided rage. But its pain tolerance quality could turn out to be incredibly useful. Absently, Claire reached a hand up to her collarbone where she had been struck by a crossbow bolt during the ambush up at the mountain range. Back then, being unable to stand the pain had forced her out of the game, rendered her helpless to assist the others who were captured. "There's no reason you can't be useful now," she said at last. "But it's good to have something to strive for. I haven't decided on either of my future masteries, so at least you have a goal in mind." Pausing, she looked thoughtfully to Ilya. "What are you considering, by the way? If you don't mind me asking." @Ilya
Vina was a bit slow with arriving at the designated area where the healers and anyone willing to help would tend to the wounded soldiers. She wasn't sure why. Maybe she'd been spending more time feeling down about how many people had died than she'd thought. Either way, by the time she arrived people had already gotten started on helping out the wounded, which made it easier for Vina to get started as well since with everyone already busy the only thing she really needed to do was join the flow, which was easy if you were unafraid of mingling with people and were quick on the uptake. Of course the fact that so many healers were present and necessary in itself wasn't that good, since that was just another way of showing that this invasion had costed both sides a lot, even if it hadn't lasted that long. Like a wildfire it had flared up and furiously burned everything that touched it before burning itself out, leaving a lot of charred remains and ashes in its wake. The real world hadn't experienced a war like this in years, since even if there were still parts of Earth where armed violence occurred it had been nearly a century since the last time that anyone had bothered to just gather as big a group of soldiers as you could find and throw them at the enemy. The wars of the modern world were more subtle than this, which made seeing so many wounded a very disturbing sight. However Vina shook her head and sighed once, an attempt to get all the sadness and discomfort out of the way, before she promptly got to work, singing her chants as she began to heal the soldiers that needed it the most. There were people here who didn't have healing magic taking care of the minor wounds, so Vina could concentrate on making sure that every soldier still alive would continue to survive. Even if they had managed to survive the actual battle a serious wound could be just as fatal, especially in this world where infections were a much more realistic threat. Eventually they'd have to try and make sure every wound had been treated and taken care of so that threat was minimized, but for now Vina just searched for those whose wounds looked serious enough that if they didn't get someone with healing magic to lessen the damage there was a good chance they wouldn't survive the week, or perhaps even the night.
The gleaming eyes of Ilya watched as Claire seemed to reach up to the back of her neck, I wonder what she is thinking... The mention of the potential masteries caused Ilya to be plunged into her own thoughts.. The world had been grey when selecting her own masteries.. It had left Ilya with more choices than she had originally thought. She had simply chosen 'body combat', 'berserk' and 'hunting' without really thinking about it. It only seemed natural. All of her life she had fought with her words. This let her lead a different path. Here, she could fight with her fists. Yet, as Ilya looked back she wished she could have told herself to think through the choices.. Her own thoughts were pushed into the back of her mind as she recalled what the girl had said, "There's no reason you can't be useful now," Ilya's unencouraged expression changed to one of pure delight. "I had to think on it for a bit, but I think I came to the conclusion of using masteries that will help build my own character in Terrasphere. I want to get Aeromancy as my fourth and Beast Taming as my fifth. Aeromancy will let me concentrate lightning into my gauntlets. They already take on an appearance of lightning, but I cannot actually use lightning with them. I want to be able to not only fight with fists but enhance them with lightning, as in I punch and not only do they get physical damage they also get hit with lightning. As for beast taming. I really like the thought of having an animal companion. Besides, if it is one of the Mystical once I master it, then I can use it to help! Y'know I bet I could maybe tame a unicorn. If one were to appear in one of the system's events." @Claire Thalassa
Those were interesting choices. Claire gave a smile as she nodded along. At the mention of a unicorn, though, she had to stifle an amused snort. "Sorry, sorry, I'm not- It would just be quite the sight, to see an actual unicorn. If only the game would be so kind. Thus far I haven't seen much other than giant flaming behemoths and..." She repressed a shiver, glaring down at the ground in disgust. She knew what lurked in the tunnels and caves beneath Astorea. "And vampiric worms." It had been a few months already, but she still recalled the feeling of being literally devoured, feeling all the vitality leaving her body... Eugh. Moving on from those unpleasant memories, she turned back to Ilya and gave the other woman a smile. "That said, if I do find a unicorn somewhere around, I'll send you a message. And with your masteries, you certainly sound like a competent partner. I'd be honored to fight alongside you in the future, if things come to that." @Ilya
They were actually making decent progress in taking care of the wounded, but there still was much to do, and it would be a long time before the healers would no longer feel the burden of being responsible for the lives of those who had yet to be claimed by death, but who were standing at the entrance from this world to the next. The good progress was counteracted by the sheer number of wounded that were present, unsurprising as it was since these were the results of a war in which thousands if not millions of people had partaken. The more serious a wound the longer it would take to treat it, especially if you didn't have healing magic to speed up the process. Even if you could save twenty lives a day there were still hundreds of wounded, so it would still take days and days. It was a good thing there were so many people helping out, NPCs and players alike, otherwise those who were working would most likely eventually have been rendered incapable of doing more by virtue of being overworked to the point of acute mental and physical exhaustion. As it was Vina still felt the weight of what they were doing, and the fact that she was quite the pacifistic person meant that seeing so many people hurt was in itself already tiring for her, as it wore on her and gnawed at her mind that such damage and suffering could be inflicted, even though all the records by now were claiming that the only reason this war even got started was because the king of Falderen had forced the people of Falderen to obey his desire to erase Astorea, regardless of whether the people themselves had agreed or felt obliged to obey. The tale of a mad king who sought to bring ruin, and had been willing to use his own loyal subjects as slaves in order to achieve his goals. Nevertheless it wasn't all dark. There were many deaths, which was saddening, but there were also many who remained alive, and the harder Vina worked the more people would remain alive, which was very good incentive for her to work hard and diligently. She didn't have limitless energy so eventually she'd have to take a break to recover, but until then she'd keep chanting and singing to heal the wounds and take care of anyone who was in a state where lack of treatment could lead to their demise. There were plenty of people who needed healing, but the healers had to prioritize and if a wound wasn't life threatening the unfortunate soul would have to wait until those whose lives were in danger were taken care of, no matter how painful or problematic the wound might be.
Despite his patience, the response never came. Attempting to make an awkward moment less awkward, the brunette took a step back before waving to the younger gal and taking his leave. "I hope you feel better young one, maybe one day you'll be the one to save another." With that he took his leave; opting to find another source of information. Stretching out, Oikawa yawned. His demeanor changing as he finished. The caring smile he once held, now gone in a flicker. Displeasure displayed itself upon his features as he strolled through the cobbled alleyway. Wounded NPC's lined the path. Spying one, Oikawa walked to the victim and hosted him by his collar. Golden eyes piercing the man with murderous intent. "What do you know about the Elysid Court?" He questioned the wincing character. Making sure to stay aware of passerbys. Snapping his fingers, a black cage of bones surrounded them. To any onlooker, it would appear they weren't even standing there. But on the inside, the bystander was held by the throat. "I'll ask again, what do you know of the Gods?"
The wounded man sputtered. Words unable to form as he grasped at the noirette for air. Exhausted that his day had proven fruitless, Oikawa dropped the man; subsequently dropping the cage as well. "Very well. It seems my business her in Astorea is on hold." Exiting the alley, Oikawa began to make his way to Falderen. He had rumor of men who speak highly of devotion there. My time will be better spent away from this miserable populace. Tis a shame Astorea won, would've made for a far more interesting narrative if the self-proclaimed Player Kingdom had lost. No matter, their time will come soon enough. With that he made his way away from Astorea. Falderen being nothing more than a checkpoint in the distance.
Orion had no idea what he was actually doing. Apparently, he joined the game just as a war had finished. And the only reason he knew this was because some messenger was going around asking if anyone had the ability to provide medical, healing or cooking services. Orion had no idea to what extent they needed, but he did create his character to be a healer, so if this wasn’t his calling he didn’t know what was. He trekked to the War Relief camp near the wall. Even from a distance, he could tell things were in a dismal state. People were hobbling around; some bandaged some not. Most covered in blood, gashes, gouges, and bruises. Before entering the camp, Orion held up his hand to open the menu. He only had a couple of spells at his extremely low mastery, and those were not that effective. But he assumed they wouldn’t turn down any help at this point. As the huge 6’2”, the immensely muscular behemoth of a man, came walking to the edge of town a lady took one glance at him. “Injured soldiers head to that tent there. Please let them know of your injury and its severity. Also if any of your compatriots are still out on the field”. Orion left a finger up to interject that he was here to help. People always assumed he was some brute... He should be used to be. As he opened his mouth to interject her voice sharply retaliated. “The Tent! I’m far too busy”. Orion just smiled and shook his head. He made his way into the Camp and noticed a lot of work to be done. However, his attention was immediately drawn to a young teenager. He was covered in blood with a few scrapes and cuts on his face. Orion approached the boy. “You boy. Are you well?” The boy looked up and just starting sobbing. He explained he tried climbing the wall and fell, and they wouldn’t treat his scrapes because the supplies here had to be prioritized for real injuries. Orion knelt down so he could be closer to eye level with the boy, though he still wasn’t even close. “They are right young man. You were reckless and irresponsible.” Orion stated firmly with his deep voice. He put his large hand on the boys head, his palm larger than the top of his skull, and chuckled lightly. A flurry of different colored lights surrounded the boy, instantly mending his minor bruises and scrapes. “But you can make it up. Tend to the soldiers. Bring damp rags, buckets of water, and whatever anyone needs. Can you do this?” The boy smiled, feeling a lot better. He then ran off to the tent to volunteer his time. “Well if I can find some more bruises to cure, I’ll be a real asset” he joked to himself as he looked around for someone to help next.
The healing was actually going pretty well, and Vina was becoming confident that they'd be able to keep everyone here alive. Well, maybe everyone was a bit too optimistic since even with so many medics and healers there were still a lot of soldiers who needed treatment, and even if they prioritized those who were seriously hurt there were still those who might just die through the night. It was a disturbing thought, and Vina hoped to be wrong, but one of the things that made war so horrible was that the after effects kept disturbing daily life for a while afterwards, and that surviving the war itself didn't guarantee your survival afterwards. Nevertheless it was better to just keep going. Energy management was one of the biggest issues here, so regretfully the druidess had to reserve her energy and only heal people so far as needed for them to survive, instead of healing them to full health as she would have liked. It wasn't pleasant to leave people wounded and in pain after she was done treating them, but there was nothing she could do about that. Even if she gave it her all if she poured too much of her limited energy into a single person it meant that there would be another she couldn't take care of. On the other hand if she and the other healers managed to stabilize everyone they could begin healing the non-fatal wounds, which meant that while it felt wrong being careful with how much healing she gave everyone was actually the better option. Vina's healing work was interrupted when suddenly two people disappeared, and then after a short while they reappeared with a wounded soldier on the ground and the other man stalking away. Vina opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but the man didn't show any inclination to slow down or explain himself. Left with little else to do Vina went over to help the soldier, checking him for any potentially lethal wounds and when that wasn't the case helping him up while also asking him about that strange occurrence. The idea of someone manhandling the soldiers was both worrisome and something which actually managed to anger Vina, which was a difficult task indeed since she usually took everything in stride. It wasn't very strong anger, but it was enough for her to frown and send a mild glare in the direction of the man before turning back to the soldier and directing him towards the medics who weren't busy with the critical patients. With that little incident taken care of Vina returned to her own work, the Felis taking a deep breath before she got to the next patient. She'd have to take a break at some point to regain some of her energy, and she hoped that it would be enough to last her throughout the rest of the day.
Orion didn’t even have time to look for someone else to help, because as soon as he hands began to rest on his hips a woman, almost half his size grabbed his wrist, mind you with both of her hands, and began to pull him towards the edge of town. She wasn’t wearing the same gowns as the healers at the tent or the one that sent him towards the tent, and she didn’t even bother to introduce herself. It was probably a comical sight to behold as the small statured woman was trying to pull on this oversized man. Orion gently yanked his own arm back, pulling the woman closer to himself. “How may I help you, miss” Orion looked down at the lady whose hair had been covering her face. She frantically explained to Orion that someone was crushed under some debris and she was here getting the first healer she could find. Which happened to be him. “You, uhh... You see... I don’t think” he tried to explain that he had barely started the game, and he didn’t know how much use he could actually be. She seemed to not even hear the words coming out of his mouth, as he eyes started to swell up with tears, begging him to attend to the man. With seemingly no other choice he allowed the woman to ‘drag’ him to the outskirts of the town. As soon as he was near enough to hear the gasps of pain, muffled by the gargling of only what he could assume to be blood Orion sprinted towards a pile of debris. It was mostly huge pieces of mason crafted stone, used to build the wall. He was completely surprised that this man was even alive still. How the large rocks didn’t instantly kill him he didn’t know, but he knew the man should be grateful. “Head back into town. Look for others to help. Now!” He raised his voice to the woman. Not out of frustration, but out of urgency. After a meek whelp, she nodded and ran back into town. “Alright, stay calm.” Orion’s eyes looked into the eyes of this other man. He knew then and there he wasn’t skilled enough with his healing magic to heal this man. But that wasn’t going to make Orion stop, or would he even consider it. He forgot his ‘person’ wasn’t even actually a PC, but rather an NPC. But the look in his eyes was real enough that the feeling of dread and terror were easily communicated. Orion didn’t know if he would be able to lift the large stones being such a new character, nor did he know if his stature even mattered when it came to physical strength, but he was going to try. He braced himself, squatting to lift with his legs and attempted to lift the rock as large as the woman from before, off of the man. It didn’t seem like it was moving, but then the rock lifted and Orion dropped it to the side. The man’s health bar went from speeding toward empty to now a slow steady trickle. All he could hope to do was heal at the same pace that his health was depleting until some help came….
