I paced back and forth in front of our wagon. The two stallions Mordere and Mitis stomped on the ground, neighing loudly as my emotions bled into them.
“I hate waiting!” I shouted, pulling on my hair.
“Just be patient,” My dad replied, “It will be our turn soon.”
My dad and Charly sat next to the wagon, playing with a deck of cards. Dad seemed perfectly calm and relaxed, but Charly kept getting distracted. He would stare off into the crowd of nearby soldiers putting up their camps for the night while shifting uncomfortably.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, we were finally approached by a man. He was much older than the average soldier, with a head full of white hair. He wore a sword, but not armor like the others, probably because no normal armor would fit him. The man was nearly as wide as he was tall. He had a big gut that stuck out in front of him making his walk seem more like a waddle. How anyone could be so large while we were on reduced rations was something I would never understand.
“Renald! It has been far too long since I last saw you, but then again, that is a good thing in my line of work.”
“Good to see you too,” my dad replied with an exaggerated smile as stood up and walked over to the pudgy man. “Kids, this is Volnus, the best field medic in the Novus Kingdom.”
“Bah! That is not a high bar these days,” Volnus spat, “All the best doctors have moved to the Free cities recently. They opened a new school there or something, paying outrageous prices for anyone able to teach. I’m half tempted to pack up and run there myself. It would be a better life than patching you fools up every time you stub your toe on something.”
My dad chuckled as he patted the man’s back. “You have been threatening to retire since I was a teenager. When exactly are you planning to do that again?”
“Like you children would last one day without me around to help,” Volnus said as he walked towards the wagon. “Is Tia in here? Let’s have a look at her. I have other patients I still have to see today.
As the pudgy man walked towards the wagon, I saw my dad wiping his hand on his shirt as he muttered under his breath. The big smile from before had completely disappeared while Volnus’s back was turned but quickly reappeared a moment later.
“That’s right,” my dad said, “She claims it is just a few broken ribs and an arm, with your talent it should not be too hard to fix.”
Charly did not seem to notice my dad’s unnatural behavior and practically bounced up as Volnus approached. “Volnus, I do not know if you remember me, but we met before. I have been reading a lot about medicine since then. I do not have a talent like yours, but I have been learning a lot. You have spent decades healing people, right? Can you give me a few pointers? Can you show me how your healing talent works?”
“If you want, you can stick around while I patch up your mom. I will explain a few things to you then,” Volnus said as he chuckled at Charly’s excited energy. “Renald, your children are already so big.” His gaze lingered on me for a moment before he continued. “Well, except for the girl. She is still so tiny, looks to be the same size as she was when I visited her a couple years ago. Do you not feed her? Though, I’m amazed to see she has recovered from her illness. I am sorry I could not do anything for her. My talent does not work well on illnesses, especially ones I do not understand.”
“We have met before?” I asked curiously.
Volnus nodded. “You were asleep the entire time so I am not surprised you do not remember. honestly, I am astonished you are still alive, let alone up and walking around. I thought your condition was untreatable. Did another doctor do the impossible?”
“Actually, I developed an innate talent that healed me,” I lied, quickly spouting my cover story.
Volnus took my arm, touching my veins with cold, clammy fingers. “I would love to give you a look over. I want to see if there are any remaining side effects.”
I pulled my arm free, stepping outside his reach. Bad memories of being poked and prodded resurfaced in my mind, as well as a distaste for doctors radiating from both personalities. “I am fine. I do not want a checkup,” I said coldly.
Volnus’s head tilted to the side as he shrugged. “Later then. For now, let’s have a look at your mom.”
I could see my dad glaring holes into Volnus’s back throughout the entire conversation. I could practically feel the violence radiating off him when Volnus had grabbed my arm. I thought a fight might break out at any second, but the moment Volnus turned around, my dad was back to all smiles as if there had never been a problem.
Oblivious, Volnus waddled over and opened the doors to the nearly empty wagon. Except for my mom, the rest of the injured had already been carried out for treatment earlier. My mom did not even try to hide her grimace when she opened her eyes to see Volnus standing at the door.
Volnus smiled brightly, ignoring my mom’s obvious distaste at seeing him. “Look at you Tia, all beat and tattered again. If I did not know better, I would think you wanted a visit from old Volnus.”
My mom did not reply. She simply closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. The pudgy man seemed indifferent to her reaction as he waddled into the wagon.
Volnus’s head tilted to the side as he spoke, “I am going to get started. If you want to watch, come in. Do not forget to close the door.”
My dad, Charly, and I entered the wagon. My dad shut the door behind us, and he even drew the curtains covering the one window at the front of the wagon.
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Volnus did not seem to notice as he approached my mom while talking to Charly. “Now kid, you wanted to know how healing talents work? I will explain it for you the best I can. To start with, there are actually two different categories of healing talents. One accelerates the body's natural healing process while the other undoes the damage in the body. Talents that accelerate healing are considered the weaker of the two categories. My talent unfortunately falls into this category.
“Why is it weaker?” Charly asked curiously.
“Mainly because talents that accelerate healing will still leave scars. They also draw a lot of energy from the patient. This leaves them weak and sickly for a few days. If I am healing a large injury like this one, it could be a week after my treatment before the patient actually starts feeling better. Meanwhile, a talent that undoes damage to the body has none of these side effects. However, a talent like that also requires much more energy from the healer. It is rare to find a healer in the second category that can treat more than a couple patients a day. This means healers like me are usually field medics since we can treat dozens of people a day, while the other type of healer usually gets jobs in high-class noble families because their talent does not leave scars.”
Volnus started grumbling under his breath and I heard him mutter a few curses before continuing. “Of course, any healer is better than no healer. In a few minutes, I can treat an injury that would normally take months to recover. I am strong enough to treat more than one hundred patients in a single day. I can snatch a man back from jaws of death and have him walking around a few hours later. So what if he is feeling a bit sick afterwards or if it leaves a scar!”
Volnus was practically shouting these last words as his face turned red, but he quickly got his emotions under control as he tilted his head to the side and resumed talking as if he had never lost his temper.
“Now, most healing talents can treat an injury by simply pouring them into the patient’s body, but this is a waste of energy. When there are hundreds in need of treatment after a battle, every speck of energy could be the difference between life and death. Naturally, the only way to resolve this is to understand what you are fixing and how it is being fixed so that you only use energy where it is needed. I may rely on my innate talent to treat my patients, but I spent decades learning how the body works so that I conserve as much energy as possible for each patient.”
A small luminescent white light glowed on Volnus’s fingertips, as his eyes glowed with a similar light. “Of course, I have an advantage in this field over others.”
Volnus placed his hand on my mom’s stomach. The small light on his fingertips started to flow into her. I saw my dad cover Charly’s eyes, and only had a moment to wonder why before my mom started to glow. I immediately blushed as I realized that the bright glow made her look completely naked as if the clothes she wore were completely see-through.
I heard my dad clear his throat as killing intent practically surged out of him like a storm. Volnus chuckled nervously as the light began to glow brighter. Soon, my mom’s skin also became transparent revealing her muscles and ligaments. Layer by layer, the light penetrated through my mom’s body until she looked like a ghost. Every bone and organ was visible. I could see her heartbeat and the blood that pumped through it. I could even see a small crackle of electricity flowing through her body with every heartbeat. My mom’s talent flowing through her body, even when she was not using it.”
“That is incredible!” Charly shouted when my dad uncovered his eyes. “It looks exactly like the diagrams in my book. With this talent diagnosing a patient would be a thousand times easier.”
“I am glad someone appreciates it.” Volnus said, laughing deeply, “Now, let’s have a look and see what you did this time Tia.”
I heard my mom huff as she still refused to look at the man. Volnus did not seem to mind as he peered closely, even pulling out a magnifying glass at one point so he could get a better look.
“Four good breaks on your left side, a few fractures as well. Radius and Ulna are both broken in your left arm as well. Honestly, you are lucky none of these ribs punctured an organ. You might not have lasted long enough for me to heal you. As things are now, I will be done in a few minutes, but you will feel like you are better off dead for a few days afterwards. Just, do not move.”
A brighter light glowed on Volnus’s hand and flowed like water into my mom’s body. I could see as the light wrapped around each individual injury, pulling the broken bones back together. My mom hissed in pain as she forced her body to remain still, but I could see her heart had started to beat faster. The electricity in her body tore apart the gentle light a few times. It attacked the intruding power instinctually, forcing Volnus to send more light into her body to replace it.
This process repeated itself for several minutes before the light finally started to fade. My mom’s body started to become normal again as Volnus let out a sigh. “People with talents are always so much harder to heal, but you should be fine now. All the major breaks and fractures have been stitched together. Just try to avoid any strenuous activities for a while. We do not want you rebreaking the newly healed bone.”
My mom nodded silently, still not looking at the pudgy man. Volnus tilted his head to the side again, and let out another sigh. He then turned towards Charly with a big smile. “Well, what did you think of my talent? Pretty impressive, right?”
Charly nodded; his eyes wide. “It is amazing! Why are you an army medic? Your talent would be perfect for teaching others.”
“I have wondered the same thing for years,” Volnus said with another sigh, “I like you kid. You have a good head on your shoulders. If you want, you can follow me around for the rest of the afternoon. I will even teach you a few tricks I learned that do not involve a talent.”
“I would love to!” Charly shouted as he rushed out of the wagon.
Volnus chuckled. “Good seeing you again Tia, Renald. I am going to borrow the boy for a while, but I will make sure he gets back before dark.”
My mom looked like she wanted to protest, but in the end, she stayed silent. Instead, it was my dad that spoke, for the first time he was not smiling when he talked to Volnus. “He wants to learn, and I do not mind if you want to teach him about field treatment, but only field treatment, understand? If I hear that you did any of your normal shenanigans while he is following you, I will not hesitate to test just how much your talent can really heal.”
Volnus raised his hands in protest. “I understand! No need to get violent. I will be a pure professional tonight, nothing else.”
Volnus hurried out of the wagon, looking back nervously a couple times. My dad shook his head as he turned to me.
“Wren, stay away from that man. Charly is not much of a problem, but you should never go near him, understand?”