AA3 43 - Duty

“Took you long enough to get here. I thought I was going to have to blow my way in,” Gwen said as Verdan and Kai met up with the Witches inside the gate.

The Storm Witch was clearly still angry about being refused entry; her hair was blowing slightly in a breeze that was localised around them. It was a familiar feeling, one that took Verdan right back to life before the war.

Seeing Gwen like this just underlined how much she’d changed. It was hard to look at her now and picture the uncertain woman that he had rescued from the Cyth.   

“Things are not easy for our kind in the Clans at the moment,” the woman with the crow said, reaching up to stroke the feathers of her familiar. “There have been a few who have lost control at bad times, and we are all blamed for their mistakes.”

Gwen grumbled but gave a stiff nod. “I will try and keep it in mind. I find I have less patience with people when it comes to my magic. I know that it is new for Witches to have control, but I dislike having to justify myself over and over again.”

“Understandable and likely part of your growth as a Witch,” Verdan said, thinking of his own annoyance when he was consistently mistaken for a Sorcerer. “Witches are shaped by their magic, and the stronger the Witch, the more the effect.”

“Sorcerers have something similar, but as our elements are reflections of ourselves, it isn’t surprising,” Kai said. “I’d not realised it would be the same for Witches.”

“I’d noticed that I’ve become a touch more short-tempered, but I’d put it down to everything that has happened” Gwen said, her expression turning thoughtful as she considered Verdan’s words.

“Knowing that it’s a possibility is a good step on the path to managing it effectively,” Verdan said, glancing at the nearby Kranjir before clearing his throat. “We can discuss this further another time, though. I’m glad you came to help defend the town.”

“It is a nice change that we may be able to do something,” the Witch with the crow said with a bitter smile. “I am Macha Bansach.”

Macha was a tall woman with a simple caelin that was marred by more violent scars. Her long dark hair was loose and wild, with what looked like crow feathers braided into it.

“Verdan Blacke, it's a pleasure to meet you.” Verdan nodded politely before looking over to the other two Witches with a raised brow.

The closest of the two spoke up at his unspoken question. “I’m Beska, and this is my sister Arlai.”

Both sisters were quite short and bore almost matching caelin. Their ferrets lay curled around their necks, and they both had their hair braided in a similar manner to Barb.

Verdan tried to guess what sort of Witches they were, but it was difficult to judge from appearance alone. Fortunately, Gwen took pity on him and spoke up. “Beska and Arlai are both Hex Witches, while Macha is a Bloodline Witch.”

“I can create and interact with copies of my familiar,” Macha said proudly, her familiar cawing and flaring its wings as she did.

“Interesting,” Verdan said, sharing a look with Kai as he considered how that might change things for their current plans. “Just how much can you interact with them?”

“I don’t know. I’ve not had much time to experiment,” Macha said with a slight shrug. “Right now, I’ve figured out how to get impressions of what Faethe can see, but it’s still quite vague. Gwen said you’d be able to help, though?” Macha finished questioningly, looking between Verdan and Gwen.

“I will do my best to help, yes,” Verdan said before clearing his throat. “Now, let’s get you all settled in. Did you have much trouble getting here?”

“Macha and Feathe got us past a few potential issues, but otherwise, it was reasonably uneventful,” Gwen said as they all started back into the town, ignoring the lingering stares from the Kranjir at the gates.

Verdan had considered taking them to see Sebastian, but he’d noticed that Padraig had vanished once the Witches were inside, so it was likely that the Keeper would be aware by the time they got back to their new housing.

“How was your trip to the village you heard of?” Kai asked before glancing over to the new Witches. “I can see it was at least somewhat successful.”

“Somewhat, but less than either of us had hoped,” Gwen said, exchanging a tired look with Hedda.

“We were the only ones willing to risk a fight without more time to learn about our powers,” Beska chimed in before giving Hedda a hopeful look. “Hedda’s demonstration was enough for us to want to know more.”

“So, how many Witches are living there?” Verdan asked.

“Around thirty, with another few hundred who are Bansach,” Hedda said, the other Witches nodding in agreement. “Most will conceal what they are so that they are to protect their children from such a fate. Not all succeed, though.”

“You introduced yourself with that earlier. Is it another Clan?” Verdan asked, looking over to Macha.

“Not as such,” Macha said, glancing at Gwen and Hedda before continuing. “Those who are Witches, or their children, are removed from their Clans and given the name Bansach instead.”

“I’m not sure I’m understanding that right,” Verdan said slowly, noticing as he did the angry look in Gwen’s eyes. “All Witches and their descendants are grouped into the same Clan, and any new Witches are moved over to it?”

“No, the Bansach is not a Clan,” Macha said, the bitterness from earlier coming back in full force. “Witches can not become Chosen, so while we are permitted to live among the Clans, we are not part of them.”

Verdan stared at Macha in horror, unable to comprehend why the Clans would segregate their Witches like that. He knew that it had been difficult with Witches and their lack of control, but this felt more than that.

Kai looked shocked as well but quickly rallied to talk about their journey here, letting Verdan withdraw into his thoughts for the rest of the trip back.

-**-

Unsurprisingly, Sebastian arrived a short time after they returned, bringing with him confirmation that the Witches were welcome within Dunkirn. It wasn’t explicitly stated that this acceptance hinged on their taking part in the defence, but Verdan could hear it nonetheless.

Thankfully, the other news that the Keeper brought was more positive; he was ready to record the caelin of the Mhorgain thearns.

Sending Dirk to fetch Benlen and the others, Verdan prepared one of the rooms for the Keeper. They’d work one by one through the thearns, healing and recording their caelin. They would then reconvene in a few days and restore the caelin.

“Wizard, Keeper, I’ve come as requested,” Benlen said, entering the room with a somewhat apprehensive expression.

“Excellent, we’re ready to begin the healing process. I thought you would want to go first, so if you’re ready, take a seat.”

Benlen nodded jerkily but did as Verdan asked, sitting opposite the Keeper with Verdan on his right.

Sebastian had a quill and some paper to hand and began making notes that he could use to recreate Benlen’s caelin when the time came. “You have an impressive caelin, Benlen. You are a credit to your Clan.”

“Thank you, Keeper,” Benlen said stiffly, the tension growing in his posture as he eyed Verdan warily.

“Very well, I have it all. You may proceed with your healing, Wizard.”

“Grym iacha hast,” Verdan intoned as he touched a hand to Benlen’s shoulder and sent a wave of accelerated healing.

Back when Verdan had healed Barb, her caelin hadn’t been affected, but that had been down to his healing focusing on fresh wounds. This time, Verdan would be focusing on injuries long since healed, and to a spell, a scar was a scar.

Unfortunately, the Aether required to do this was a lot higher than normal healing, and while Verdan was getting better at his healing spells, this was a new one, which meant the efficiency was terrible. 

Benlen’s body went rigid, and he hissed in pain as the spell got to work, his hands gripping the arms of the chair tightly as he grit his teeth. Verdan had theorised it would hurt, but not this much.

This much pain might mean that multiple sessions were needed, which wasn’t ideal. Verdan rubbed at his temples, wishing that he could have reduced this down to a two-word spell somehow. As it was, he could only afford a single cast per person and still be combat-ready.

Thankfully, the pain seemed short-lived, and Benlen began to relax. Verdan gave him a few moments to collect himself before speaking up. “How are you feeling, Benlen?”

“You didn’t say how much it would hurt,” Benlen ground out, looking up at Verdan angrily. 

“Apologies, I didn’t realise that it would be that bad. Has the pain faded now?” Verdan eyed the old injury on Benlen’s face with interest. Where once the Kranjir had been mostly blind in his right eye with multiple scars, there was now a patch of pink skin, and the eye was a lot less milky.

“Aye, it’s more like a tingling sensation now,” Benlen said, rubbing at his eye before blinking rapidly and looking at Verdan with an astonished expression. “My eye, I can see again!”

“Good, good, how well can you see?”

“Not that well, just shapes, but it feels like it is getting better as we talk. It’s where most of the tingling is as well, that and my hand,” Benlen said as he looked down at his missing fingers.

“All being well, they’ll grow back, but it will take time,” Verdan said gently, reaching out to grip Benlen’s shoulder. “Eat heartily for the next few days. Your body will need the fuel.”

Benlen nodded absently, his eyes still wide and fixed on his hand as he got to his feet. Clearing his throat to gain the Kranjir’s attention, Verdan ushered Benlen from the room with orders to send the next person.

“Well, that went well,” Verdan said as he took his seat once more. “Very good progress for such a short amount of time.”

“You seemed surprised by that?” Sebastian asked, preparing a new sheet of paper as he cocked his head to one side curiously.

“Well, this was a new spell. One I developed just for this, actually,” Verdan said, quite pleased with himself. The weakness of his healing was how slow it was, and while this spell was quite Aether-intensive, it was definitely a lot faster.

This was the sort of spellcasting that Verdan wanted to do more of, the sort that he had been developing before the war.

Verdan was saved from his nostalgia by the next Mhorgain thearn coming into the room. Straightening in his chair, he waved for them to take a seat.

His Master would be proud to see him using their research for such a purpose.