"Because whenever I get back home, the first thing you ask me for is toys. Because I want you guys to realize that violence isn't cool. Whenever I was called to fix a mess, a monster had made lots of people miserable.
"Even after I defeated the monster, its victims were still in need of help. Leria, Aran, this is life outside of our village. If one day you'll wield the same power I have, I want you to remember this place.
"Magic is but a tool. It doesn't make its owner better or more righteous than others, just luckier." Lith said to both Aran and Leria.
Then, he walked through the ward, needing only one touch to diagnose the problem and another to fix it. He left patients who had damaged organs or missing fingers to Nalrond, explaining to him how to use the information obtained via the diagnostic spells Lith had taught him to its fullest.
"Before I introduced the study of anatomy, even treating a comminuted fracture required tier four magic. By leaving to the patient's body the task of putting the bone fragments in place, they would usually do a lot of damage in the process.
"Now, however, a Healer can determine their position and decide the best course of action. If there is a clear path to the bone, the fragments can be guided, dealing minimal damage.
"Otherwise, it's better to break them down to their components and regenerate the bone by using the fragments as nutrients." Lith said.
Tista, instead, took care of those affected by congenital diseases, relieving them from the symptoms or curing the illness itself whenever she was capable of it.
"The difference between a professional Healer and a rejuvenator like me, is that, unless they alter its life force, the former can only help the body of their patient what it's supposed to do whereas I don't need tier five magic to cause changes.
"So, for example, when treating someone that suffers from the consequences of aging, only a rejuvenator can stimulate the body to fix itself according to how it was when it was younger.
"The information is still there, but it has been overwritten over time so that some conditions are now considered normal. What you have to do is to restore that information by spotting every single anomaly and making the body stop considering them as normal.
That way, the patient's metabolism doesn't just heal the damage, but returns the body to the state it was before being injured.
"Another example is a badly healed fracture that leaves a leg crippled. Tier three magic is useless at that point because the fracture has naturally healed. A professional healer will be forced to break the bone again and then fix it properly, but then the patient will still bear the consequences of both fractures.
"A rejuvenator, instead, will make the body remember how the limb was supposed to be. The bone will then reassemble itself as if it was never broken in the first place."
Many Healers and patients tried to understand what Lith was saying, but without Invigoration or the spells he had invented that simulated the effects of his breathing technique, none of his teachings made sense.
Together, the three Healers managed to clear a couple of wards before exhaustion became unbearable.
Lith had forbidden Tista to use Invigoration, so that her body would be forged by enduring the use of so many consecutive spells and her mind would get used to retaining its focus even when she was tired.
He knew from experience that using Invigoration wasn't always possible and he wanted Tista to be capable of healing herself in the case her throat was damaged. Lith had seen too many Awakened die at his hand because they relied too much on their breathing technique.
Lith and his family spent the rest of their vacation in Jambel peacefully. He used the time while the others took the afternoon nap to visit the local hospitals and teach his two apprentices as much as he could.
Baron Wyalon was moved by their dedication and Lith was glad to earn the respect of the man who would be in charge of supervising his mines while also finally having the opportunity to put Tista's skills to the test. Two birds with one stone.
A few days before they went back to Lutia, the Verhens were going to the bakers' district to buy a few sweets as souvenirs for their friends back home when screams and the sounds of galloping horses filled the air.
"There must have been an accident. Damn nobles and their carriages." Lith said.
Most people moved on foot, and the lack of traffic made them careless. That coupled with the rush of coachmen who just like their masters gave little value to human life was the recipe for a disaster.
Yet what Lith saw darting from around a corner wasn't a stagecoach nor a young dandy on top of his purebred. It was a column of raiders rushing uptown, toward the Baron's mansion.
"What the heck is a bunch of criminals doing here? There's nothing worth stealing in Jambel." Lith said, regretting to have kept his visit a secret.
No one in their right mind would assault a city with an Archmage.
Yet until his apprenticeship with Faluel started, his Awakened rivals could still exploit the resentment that old and new magical bloodlines had against Lith for their ends.
Lith didn't want to offend all those nobles whose offer for hospitality he had turned down, so he had asked the Baron to not divulge his whereabouts. That coupled with the still lingering winter and Jambel's remote location guaranteed that no one would learn about his vacation until it was too late.
"It must be for the Baroness' birthday." Raaz said. "The Baron told me that, this time of the year, all the local goldsmiths come here to give him the opportunity to pick the best present for his…"
Lith had used air and spirit magic to make sure that his family was safe on the sidewalk, but not everyone had the cold-blood to consider a mercenary group as a minor annoyance ad react accordingly.
Out of fear, a parent failed to grab his son and drag him out of the road before the young man was run over by one of the horses.
Even under normal circumstances, Lith had no care for the life of a stranger. Now that his family was on the line of fire, the whole Mogar could burn for what he cared.
Yet once he turned around after making sure that everyone was safe and sound behind him, Lith's eyes fell unconsciously on the fallen youth. He had brown hair, a cracked skull, and was bleeding from his mouth due to internal injuries.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe it was the cruel hand of fate, but between his wounds and the older brother holding the young man's broken body, the scene was exactly as Lith imagined it would have been if he had been there for Carl after the hit-and-run.
His pupils dilated and his breath became ragged as the last images of his late brother flashed in front of Lith's eyes. He started to turn his head from the youth to Aran non-stop, trying to calm down.
'That's not Carl, your brother is dead. You have only one little brother now and his name is Aran. He needs you now, so don't do anything stupid.' Lith thought while a cold sweat drenched his clothes.
