Beneath the Dragoneye Moons - Epilogue 1 (Patreon)

AN: Sorry it's on the shorter end. I wish I could whip out huge 10k chapters for all of you

“Chieftan Hawgri! I need the healing rock!” Krullak yelled as she barged into the [Chieftan’s] tent, disrupting the meeting of the elders.

The wizened gnoll sprang to his feet, his paw reaching for his pouch.

“I will return shortly.” He told the other [Elders]. “Let us meditate on Brakkar’s issue while I am gone.”

Hawgri followed an impatient Krullak as she dashed back out of the tent. Instead of Brakkar’s issue, he was thinking more that a trusted member of the tribe should hold the healing rock. Perhaps it was worth using their sparse funds to purchase a second one.

The two gnolls hurried around the well-organized chaos of the tribe’s campgrounds, going around tents and darting through games. All the gnolls got out of the way of the [Chieftain] on the move, and they were soon at Krullak’s tent. She scooped her baby up - he was too young to have a name, not when sickness and disease caused the deaths of so many of their young - and awkwardly tried to present him to Hawgri while gripping him tightly.

Hawgri’s initial thoughts were to comfort Krullak. To explain the wasting illness had taken many of their babies, including one of Hawgri’s children and half a dozen of his grandchildren. The same sad tale had played out nearly a hundred times over Hawgri’s lifetime, a well-worn path of grief keeping them from naming their children until they had seen thirteen moons.

The speech died on his lips as his hand went to the stone in his pouch. He took it out and placed it on the baby's chest. The single ornate rune was carved deep into the rock, so deep that it would take generations to wear away into nothing.

“Place your paw on the stone and activate the rune.” Hawgri instructed. Krullak was a little healthier than Hawgri, and for all the good the healing stone did, it had some minor issues when handling very small children. Babies didn’t know enough to activate a stone, and their mana pool was pitiful besides that. Whoever was touching the stone when it activated was healed, both parent and child.

Krullak followed the instructions, and immediately life rushed back into her baby. Her cheeks went from pallid to a healthy tone, and fur started to sprout where bald patches had been.

[Chieftain] Hawgri patted Krullak on the back as she thanked him again and again for saving her child’s life, his thoughts on the tribe as always. 

Yes, a second healing stone was exactly what the tribe needed.

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The spear took Gaius in the side. Burning agony radiated from his body, overwriting any other thought he might have. He screamed in pain as the disciplined lines of the Legion stepped forward, folding him in their tender embrace. Keeping him alive long enough to reach a [Medic] - or a [Priest]. Two members of his line grabbed his arms and helped haul him back. Gaius had the presence of mind to hold onto his weapons.

“[Priest!]” One of his line mates screamed. “We need a [Medic] over here!”

The two roles had been blurred somewhat in recent years. A young [Priestess] skidded to a halt next to them, already fumbling a mango out of her bag. She knelt down on one knee next to Gaius, and offered the mango up, speaking rapidly.

“O radiant mother of mercy, she who cradles the weary and breathes warmth into broken flesh, Elaine, Goddess of Medicine, hear my plea. I come before you bearing sweet gold from the bough, a mango ripened under your divine gaze, the perfect ambrosia you have requested. Please accept my humble offering of fruit from my heart and hand, a sacrifice in your name and a sign of trust in your compassion. Let its sweetness rise to you like incense, carrying my plea for healing and grace. May your touch fall upon the one in pain, may your will restore what violence has undone, may you grant your blessings on this poor man. By juice, seed, and flesh, I call upon your name. Pour your light into their bones, knit their flesh whole, and chase out the shadows that linger. Amen.”

The mango vanished in a sparkle of shimmering lights, and Gaius was brought back to the peak of health. Even the crick in his back was gone!

“I love you.” Gaius promptly confessed to the pretty [Priestess]. He didn’t even know her name.

She slapped him on the helmet.

“If you’re well enough to talk nonsense, you’re well enough to fight. Get back in there!”

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“Why is this rune so fiddly?” Querelus complained. In his defense, the Jiwa rune had a dozen intricate swirls to it, far more complex than most of the other runes he had to learn.

The [Professor] was unamused, and left the room. Querelus continued to trace the pattern on paper, memorizing every swoop and swirl.

He knew why he was memorizing the rune. It paid, and paid well. 

The [Professor] came back and dropped 18 thick tomes onto the table. They landed with a heavy thump, causing Querelus’s supplies to jump and utterly ruining the line he was working on.

The [Professor] looked a little winded at carrying the books, but patted the top of the stack gamely.

“Because it’s a newer rune. All of the simpler designs were already taken.” He explained. “And because not only does it contain the entire knowledge of the Medical Manuscripts, it contains their application in every conceivable combination. The [Runesmith] who made it labored so lazy students like you would ‘only’ need to learn a drawing that can be memorized in a week, instead of spending a lifetime hitting the heavy books.”

Querelus shut up, grabbed a fresh sheet of paper, and started tracing a new pattern.