Michael healed people until he collapsed. Then when he awoke he healed people until he collapsed again. There were protestations from a few, but Ollie and Lance simply made sure he ate something and drank something when he could. They knew there was no convincing him to stop. As he was healing he explained what had happened when he was on the other side of the rifts.
“He’s royalty in exile,” said Michael as he placed a hand on a young man’s leg and began to mend the deep gouge that had nearly carved completely through it. “His people were conquered by the Horned Men, the monstrous insects, and the harpies.”
He nodded at the young man as he finished and moved to the next of them. At this point the injured were mostly centrally located in an apothecarium and clinic in the center of the city. Michael had healed more than a thousand people over the blur that had been the time since the fighting had ended. There were still a few lizardfolk being hunted through the city, but they hadn’t attacked anyone from what he’d heard. Mostly they’d focused on hiding or trying to escape.
“He’s given me no reason not to believe him, and I wouldn’t have made it back without him and those he’d gathered.” He stopped to take a breath and lean on a support beam. “Are they being treated well?” he asked.
“For now,” replied Captain Leon. “We have them quartered just outside the city. They’re being watched, but also fed and clothed. Once people learned that you brought them here they started to take them food, clothes, and tents before we had anything officially set up.
Michael smiled at that. “Good.”
“The Prince wants to formally petition the King for asylum, and he wants you with him.”
Michael moved on to another bed, healing a pregnant woman who was ill and feverish.
“I’d be happy to represent him, but I can’t leave. Not yet.”
Leon nodded. “I don’t want you to leave, but while many people are being welcoming to the lizards and their Prince there are already rumblings from others that want them gone. Besides that, the King has requested your presence at the capitol anyway.”
Michael nodded as he moved to the next bed. That had been one of his goals. To spread the divine and reach the King of Hume. He was certain that he was one of the people that he needed next to him to deal with the weakening of the barrier around the world.
“I can’t leave until-”
Leon held up a hand. “You have two weeks. It only takes one to reach the capital. I can keep a handle on things with the lizards for some time. I’ve also received reports that the rifts in the villages to the northeast have stayed manageable and actually gone down in frequency. I don’t like you burning yourself out over and over again here, but I understand you see it as your duty. Do try not to die.”
Michael nodded and moved on to the next bed.
…
Michael’s eyes opened. He wasn’t sure of when he’d passed out this time. Last he remembered he’d been helping restore a man’s lost hand. It was dark out, but with three moons he could see just fine in the dark. He pushed himself up, realizing he was in the infirmary on one of the beds himself. He started to walk toward one of the beds he’d thought was occupied, but found that it just had some supplies stacked on it. He walked around more and realized that the clinic was completely empty aside from him. Had he healed the last of them? He wasn’t sure. At that last bed his vision had already darkened significantly and his awareness wasn’t much beyond ‘reach the next bed’.
When he was satisfied it was empty aside from him, he walked back to his bed. There was a small package and a pitcher of water on a table next to it, as well as his pack. Ollie and Lance, he presumed. He opened the package to find a number of sandwiches that he immediately began to tear into. He hadn’t been eating enough, but he forced himself to eat slowly to keep from making himself sick. Unfortunately after the first of them he gave up on that and tore through all of them in just a few minutes before washing them all down with half a pitcher of water. He sat there, bone tired for the first time in months. He’d forgotten what it was like to be so exhausted. He even felt a little sore.
He stretched a bit to loosen up and then sat back down on the bed. He was going to go back to sleep when he decided to check on his Titles and Deeds first instead. He summoned a small orb of light, his magical channels feeling a bit strained from all the barriers he’d used during battle, and dug through his backpack. He took out his mirror and focused, causing the titles and deeds to manifest.
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Titles:
Michael Mann
The Restored
The Wound Man
Seer
Champion of the Gods
Knight of Hume
Wrath of Gold
Riftwalker
Deeds:
Bridge Holder
Revenge Denier
Run Conqueror
Resilient Competitor
Fort Healer
Righteous Defender
Castle Taker
Baron Breaker
Rift Sealer
Warrior Mender
Titan Slayer
Realm Firmer
Village Protector
Saviour of Lataxia
Blessings:
Absolute Healing
Mass Pain Transfer
Smite
Bless Many
Eyes of Love
Eyes of Judgement
There were a lot of new additions since the last time he’d looked. He started with his Champion of the Gods title to see if there were any changes.
Champion of the Gods
Grants:
Major Strength
Major Durability
Major Protection
Middling Recovery
Middling Concentration
Middling Reaction
Middling Magicka
Middling Speed
Seras’s Favor- All spells related to barriers and shields use less Magicka
Veras’s Love- Those who love you and who you love can receive greater blessings
Middling to major strength, minor to middling reaction, magicka, and speed. Those were tremendous boons. It made sense though. Durand had favored him from the start, and clearly relished in all of the battles they’d been going through recently. The other increases were from Nykas and Estaid who he presumed appreciated his work with Aza on the other side of the rift. The gift from Veras was welcome as well. Aside from the fact that he’d been able to give more blessings recently, with that he should be able to improve the blessings he’d already had on his friends and allies. He presumed the Bless Many change in his blessings meant that he’d be able to give even more blessings. He wished that blessings had the same explanations as everything else, but where would the fun be if the gods couldn’t be a little esoteric and mysterious? When he ran into Ollie and Lance next he’d have to test out the increases to his blessing ability.
He moved on to the rest of the titles. Aur Ma had shifted to Wrath of Gold, and seemed to come with a few changes.
Wrath of Gold
Grants
Middling Concentration
Minor Strength
Smite is more powerful when used against those who fear the Wrath of Gold
Those bound beneath the banner of the Empire of Chitin feel the cold grip of fear around their hearts in your presence. Even the sight of golden flame in the distance is enough to make their blood run cold.
The part about their fear Michael presumed was based more on how they regarded him rather than anything the Titles and Deeds themselves were doing. As far as he knew they couldn’t directly affect people’s feelings. Then again they seemed to have been getting more elaborate. They’d all gone from just being minor, middling, and major increases to adding more varied benefits. Even his weapon, Rend and Ruin, was far stranger than what he’d seen when he’d first arrived. How much of that had to do with how little of the world he’d seen, though? Now he’d been through five or so countries and a whole other world.
He looked at his other new title.
Riftwalker
Can sense all rifts, their intensity, and where they are linked no matter the distance. Can seal rifts at greater distances than before and with less effort.
He blinked at that and looked away from the mirror for a moment. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses and his will. In moments he started to pick up on rifts. The nearest was a good distance to the south, but there were clusters of them in every direction. He could sense them for what he felt was the distance of nations away, some he estimated must’ve been in Stent, Svict, Swandia, and even in Cantalia. To the south, at what must’ve been the southern tip of the continent, he could feel the wound. The area where the first rift had opened. It wasn’t unsealed, but he could sense the power behind it, pulsing and pushing with tremendous force, like a terrible creature waiting to be born.
He drew himself back, panting. He wished he had a better idea of the geography of this world. Even with the exact knowledge his new title granted him he couldn’t tell exactly where each one would be, likely even if he had a map in front of him. Perhaps with some help… He’d ask in the morning. Luckily none of the active rifts felt significant. Perhaps because of how much energy had just been expended in the attempt to take Lataxia.
Thinking on that he looked at his new deed.
Saviour of Lataxia
When within Hume Grants
Minor Strength
Minor Magic
Minor Reaction
Minor Durability
These shift to Middling when in Lataxia or its immediate surroundings.
Well, he certainly wouldn’t complain about that.
The last thing he looked at was Absolute Healing, which he imagined was the improvement to his healing that allowed him to even restore lost limbs, and probably even more beyond that. An incredible blessing, and the one he would likely benefit the most from out of all the rest of them.
He yawned, his exhaustion creeping back in now that he’d finished going over all the changes to his Titles and Deeds. He dismissed the gold letters from his vision and looked at his face in the mirror. He was due for a shave and he seemed to have a good amount of dirt and ash still on his face. He wiped a patch of it away from his stubble and the ash didn’t come away. He blinked and brought the light orb closer to his face. There was a small patch of white hair on his chin.
