NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81: Lesson in Healing
"First, you need to understand the main jobs," the brown-haired woman said, making a simple hand gesture that mimicked a flowing river. (I should remember her name as shw was genuinely happy to teach us, her eyes sparkling.) We gathered close to Astraya. I was an eager student once more.
"What makes a good healer?" she asked, immediately answering herself. "It's the ability to immediately understand the person in need's body and offer a solution as fast as possible. But," she paused, correcting herself, "that's not the case here with your sister... Where was I again? Ah, yes, Type 2 Mana! It gives you the initial knowledge a kind of scan on the body that needs healing. It helps with the surface, the outer parts of the body."
The pierced lady then cut in. "The inner parts take more skill, Astraga. That's what truly separates us. In healing school, you're taught that each element has its expertise. Water is rated highest, then Earth, then Fire, with Wind being last." She smirked. "It's just a hierarchy based on the most common needs, not a measure of power."
"True," the man agreed. "Wow, you usually don't care about stuff like this."
"I do. I just prefer not to talk about it," she replied coolly.
The pierced lady grew serious, holding our attention. "When you go deeper, you learn the confusing parts, like... Fire, Earth, Water, and Air are not what Mana is. They are simply what Mana manifests as when filtered through the material world."
She tapped her temple lightly. "The reason colors are best used to define Mana is this: Red Mana attracts properties that manifest mostly into fire, because only a few mages can truly ascend beyond those manifestations. Colors describe the foundation of Mana better than elements ever could."
So that's why Father continues to refer to the colors! I realized. Each color of Mana attracts and can manipulate certain concepts.
She raised one finger, drawing me out of my thoughts. "Red Mana draws in forces tied to emotion, instinct, passion things that ignite and move without permission. Fire is just one manifestation."
He quickly added, "Green Mana attracts properties of growth and nature not just plants, but the instinct of life to become more than it was."
"Ouch!" Pierced lady gently smacked his shoulder, reminding him we were just kids.
The brown-haired lady smiled and continued. "Blue Mana leans toward clarity and refinement. Purification. Flow."
And she concluded, "White Mana? Freedom and movement, the lifting of boundaries. Space itself and breathing." She lowered her hand. "So yes, you see fire, water, earth, and wind. But those are only the general manifestations. The true nature of Mana is… intent made."
Her eyes softened. "And once you grasp that, healing becomes easier—but by easier, I mean to understand than to actually practice."
This was good news for me! Everything they were saying made my insides scream out, 'Finally, I get some advantages!' But the main issue was how much of my own body I'd be able to heal, given that my mana core could only absorb 25 proportions of each mana type. What were the specific injuries each mana type could heal better? This would be very useful information.
But before I could ask, I felt a pull on my cloth. Astraya looked like she was about to pass out. Oh, crap, we totally forgot about her! I just had to speak out, interrupting their internal discussion.
I spoke up. "Um—excuse me, ma'am? When… are you going to heal my sister?" I asked, realizing she hadn't looked this bad until after they used the Type Two Mana. And also because, apparently, everyone just… forgot.
The three healers blinked at each other.
"Oh. Right." The brown-haired lady's cheeks actually flushed. "We got excited. Soo sorry, Astraya. Lord Zedd did say we talk a lot."
The pierced lady instantly retorted, "You mean you talk a lot, hmmm?" The man sighed dramatically.
"Astraga, now pay attention. Your sister will be fine," the man said, taking charge. "But listen closely. What she is majorly experiencing right now is what is most common at her age: Mana Exhaustion."
He explained, "Younger mages usually don't master output release and just blast all out. In her case, from the fight we saw her have with Lady Rose, she was over-exerting herself and just having a mana rush."
"Mana rush? What's that?" Astraya asked faintly.
"Don't worry, just watch how we heal your sister," the brown-haired woman replied. Both she and the pierced woman placed their hands on Astraya simultaneously.
The man replied, "You both feel that?" as he closed his eyes, sensing the flow. "Have you both gotten the best approach?"
They agreed. "Yes."
All I could do was just watch from the side. I had to learn as much as possible. Would they flow their mana into her body, causing the healing? Would they combine their mana? I had so many questions.
"We must name, declare, and agree on what embodies her wounds first," the man stated.
Huh? Embody what? Just heal! What did they mean? I watched, perplexed, as they began to think amongst themselves.
"I think I got it," the brown-haired lady said, focusing her eyes, scanning Astraya through the type two Mana's sensory lens.
She declared, "Her wounds are Fear consuming, body unleashing, mind developing."
The Earth specialist shook his head. "No, too broad at the later end. It's not going to heal perfectly."
The pierced lady replied, "Hmm, so what's the best embodiment? The core wound is physical exhaustion from resisting the force and impact from Rose's arrows."
The Earth specialist focused again, his hands glowing a pale, mossy green as he sensed the internal strain.
"Her wounds are Fear consuming, body unleashing, mind shattering, strength-breaking."
I watched, confused. What were all these names I was hearing? It seemed this was their method: healing by naming the wound. They now looked at each other, seeking agreement.
The pierced lady replied, "You're usually better in these than us," she chuckled. Astraya already looked a bit more stable, even just from the act of having the wound clearly declared.
The brown-haired lady now replied, "Now watch, Astraga."
Each of them began their counter-declaration, drawing on their specific elemental specialty. The brown-haired lady was first, her eyes glowing white as she focused her Wind Mana.
She declared: ""I am breath, fear-smoothing, rhythm-restoring."."
The pierced lady followed, her eyes glowing blue.
She declared: "I am river, mana-filling, flow-renewing.."
Finally, the man focused his Earth Mana.
He declared: "I am Clay, flesh-molding, form-restoring.."
Before my eyes, Astraya began to glow faintly. Her minor scratches vanished, her slow breathing regulated, and the color returned to her cheeks. She appeared to be completely healed and stable.
"Incredible!" I thought. I wondered about the reasoning behind this method of healing. My mother never used anything like this; she just flowed her mana directly into us. But then again, they did say every kingdom had its own form of healing. What were the advantages of this system?
Now that Astraya was stable, I had my chance to ask.