The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) Cajiao, Jez (best selling autobiographies TXT) 📖

mine as she cast ‘Battlefield Triage’ over Amoth. The expanding rings of healing magic slowly flooded the elderly Mer’s body, scanning and finding the most damaged areas, gradually healing them, purging infection from her, and repairing and replacing cells that had begun to die in ever-increasing numbers.

When we were finally done, Amoth slumped to the floor, only to be caught by her mate. Oracle and I almost collapsed as well, the mana drain and resulting migraine of using our entire pool in one go leaving us shaken and weak. Oracle didn’t need to breathe, I knew this, but I also felt her drawing in mana as fast as she could, while I pulled in shuddering gasps of air. I felt a hand take my right one, my arm being pulled across shoulders that helped to steady me, and I grinned weakly at Barrett.

“Thanks, man,” I whispered, allowing myself a few seconds to recover before straightening and stepping away. He stepped back as well, but I saw the way that he, Cai, and Bane were all close by, ready to step in and help if I needed them. I also saw the way the other people on the floor had appeared as well; they stood in a loose ring around us, ready to help and step in if I needed them.

I looked over at Esse, holding Amoth in his arms. Amoth’s tendrils waved freely, if clearly in exhaustion. I saw the way the Mer all clustered around, helping each other to stand. They all reached out and stroked their companion, celebrating in her newfound health. Not one of them appeared jealous of the gift; all simply wished to share their happiness.

I looked from face to face, reading body language as best I could. Glancing from sentient being to sentient being, I could see no boundaries, no distrust between any of them.

My eyes traveled from Cai, a humanoid panther, to Flux, a Mer, a creature clearly adapted to live in the water, to the dwarves, humans, elves, and other species who stood around.

There was even the goddamn pacifist giant fucking ewok-looking dude, whose species I couldn’t even remember... They were all obvious in their pleasure, seeing one of their people being healed. Seeing more coming to join our community.

I looked about, and I saw our family growing.

Chapter Thirteen

I got Ame’s attention and drew her aside, asking Cai and Barrett to get the rest of the people settled. I emphasized that the Mer would all need unfettered access to water, and I made a mental note to ensure that their quarters were figured out as a matter of urgency. They’d need the water to rest, after all.

“That was a good thing done there, Lord Jax,” Ame said to me quietly. When she continued, there was no heat in her voice, even if she did rebuke me, “Despite you waiting until others could see it all…” I paused before answering her, knowing I was being judged on every word.

“I waited until my mana refilled, but then decided it was better to wait until everyone was here safely, and we could do this properly. I wanted your people to understand that they are part of this community. We will gather everyone together in a few minutes, once the ships have docked, and I’ll take the Oath from you all. Once that’s done, you, Cai, and I will be going to the Hall of Memories."

"I’ll grant you one Spellbook, and one Skillbook. One could be healing-based, but I’m going to give you the choice now, and some time to think about it. If you really want to learn healing, I’d be over the friggin’ moon to give you some healing texts and spells, but I also need a Runecrafter, Ame. Hell, I need everything. Flux explained some of what a Runecrafter can do, and I truly do need that. My people need that badly. I’ll give you access to a healing spell, and you can use that to learn, the same way I did, and I’ll give you a Skillbook for Runecrafting, one that can increase your level of ability hugely. Or…I’ll give you a single Memory Crystal, one from a Master Enchanter. I know that if you don’t have the skill, you can lose a lot of the knowledge, but from what I can see, Enchanting and Runecrafting are two sides of the same coin. I think your knowledge will fill in most of the gaps there, and you’d keep more than you’d lose. Take some time to think about it.”

There was a long pause as she considered my words.

“The spell you used on me, and my companions; you learned this from a Spellbook?” she asked me finally, and I shook my head.

“No, Oracle and I created the spell together, using knowledge of my past and Oracle’s memories of the ancient world, along with a basic healing spell. If you are to learn to help as a healer, you’ll have to experiment and teach yourself as much as you will have to teach others to discover Runecraft. I’ll need you to train others up as you promised, and you’ll need to explain your Runecrafting skill to me as well.”

Ame was silent for a long time, and just as I was about to leave her to her thoughts, she spoke again.

“I have decided, Lord Jax. I will take the spell and Skillbooks; I will seek ways to augment my own knowledge with the knowledge of healing magics. I will become the healer you and our people need. I will heal any that need me, but I will also teach others my skill. The two skills will complement each other, do not fear. Runecrafting is the art of making a spell into a solid form. A Runecrafter is rare; I know of no others in the land now, although my kind rarely have magical skills. A properly created Rune can be powered and repowered over and over. If you could teach me your healing spell,