Chapter 1

The red and orange furred fox smiled in excitement as he went through town, making his way to the stunning castle which resided in the middle of town, the forefront of the entire city.

Bane had at last been hired to be one of the main healers in the castle, having the essential responsibility to handle all staff of the castle whenever they were injured, healing magic easily able to knit the skin back together.

He was overjoyed he had finally been able to acquire the job, spending hours on end reading the informational book on healing, reading the thick volume to learn all of the ways to heal someone who needed it, perfecting his skills so he could finally get the job he had always wished to, in an effort to at last bring enough money to his family, having always struggled to get by life, barely having enough food to go around at home, and house being so old and poorly made that the house would shudder violently from the cities constant sandstorms from the desert that resided right outside the cities borders.

But Bane knew all of that would finally change once he began work for the king, rumors having gone through the city that they payed more for their workers than anyone in the city.

As Bane approached the castle, the spires towering above all the other small buildings in the city, the exterior made of grey bricks made of the highest quality, in almost perfect condition from the consistent work done to keep the castle looking this way.

One of the palace guards stared at him from near the entrance to the castle, an expectant expression on his face. "You're Bane Sparks I assume?" The guard, a tall Coyote fur asked, ears shifting to face him, the guard giving Bane an awkward smile.

"Heh, that's me." Bane replied, trying to surprise his nerves that he was really at the castle where the king of the entire continent resided himself.

The guard nodded, gesturing into the castle. "Right this way. I will have to accompany you to make sure no harm comes to our king." The guard explained.

Banes ears perked up, his previous anxiety that had knotted his stomach almost doubling. "We're seeing the king... now?" He asked, failing to keep his nerves from being conveyed through his tone.

The guard nodded. "Yes, the king likes to see each of his healers personally. It's quite the responsibility for one to be one of the people tasked with the job of tending to the royal family." The guard said, cocking his head.

The guard led Bane across the castle. He barely kept up, slowing down from his awe of how much every hallway and room seemed to radiate wealth, with a gold statue of a wolf fur in the center of the main room we entered by, the flooring made with only the healthiest oaks, and tall stained glass windows that towered several feet each. It was such a contrast to Banes own life, only buying the cheapest items for that was all he was able to afford, the bright blue and gold tunic he wore bought with his entire life savings.

After a few minutes of wandering the expansive castle, the guard took a sharp right, looking back to make sure that Bane was still following as he pushed open a massive pair of double doors made out of a thick wood, carved with eloquent designs on the wood.

As the door opened, he could see an expansive study, the walls lined with bookshelves and a tall window in the center, sunlight spilling into the room where an older fox sat, his fur peppered with grey strands, his nose holding up a pair of glasses.

Even though the fox wore such simple clothing and overall would come across as a very average middle-aged man, Bane could immediately recognize him, remembering his school days and the picture of the king the teachers would always have somewhere in the room.

As Bane realized that it was the kings study the guard had brought him into, he immediately bowed down, the last thing he wished to do being to make the king angry as he bowed so low that his snout almost touched the floor.

But the king only laughed, gesturing for Bane to stand upright. "Oh, don't worry, there is no need for that!" He said, tone friendly and even a bit jovial.

Bane hesitantly rose from the floor, standing up, face bright red from embarrassment and heart pounding as he looked at the king.

"So, I hear that you are the new castle healer, right?" He asked.

Bane forced himself to smoothen his face, trying to sound calm and composed. "Yes, that's me, your majesty." The fox quickly responded, pleased with his lack of stuttering.

"Wonderful, I am pleased that you are here, there had been quite a lack of healers powerful enough for this job but I'm sure you will do just splendidly!" The king said happily. "Now come along, I shall bring you to your post." The king said, gesturing kindly to Bane as he opened the wooden doors, leading right into the halls.

Bane followed the king through the sprawling halls of the castle, nervous of what his first assignment of the day could be, having heard of how much more taxing being one of the kings healers would be, but whatever it was that he would have to face, he was almost certain that he'd be ready to face it.

The king eventually stopped at another room, this one having a door that wasn't quite as grand as the rest of the others, presumably where his new workspace would be.

As the king opened the door, Bane could see the long hallways of a plain brick color that was present in most areas of the castle, many doors leading into rooms in the many hallways leading from the intersection they had entered upon.

There was a small reception area in the center of the area, occupied with a young wolf with bright brown fur and wavy hair cascading down her shoulders.

"You shall receive your assignments each day from Alara, and heal each of the patients on your list." The king smiled. "And that's essentially your job, I expect you to take your time and not subject any to sloppy healing work, understand?" The king asked, expression forming to be viewed as a bit more serious.

"Of course, your majesty." Bane replied, putting on an energetic expression to his face to show the king that he would be committed to his new job here at the castle.

"Splendid! I'll leave you to it then." Th king said, giving Bane a kind smile before turning around, exiting the room while his tail swished behind him, footsteps echoing in the great expanse of the hallway.

Bane awkwardly turned around to face the young wolf at the reception, trying to give his most approachable smile.

She looked at him kindly, giving Bane the impression that practically everyone in this residence was quite a kind soul.

"Hello! I suppose you are the new healer here, Bane if I remember correctly?"

"Yeah! That's me." He responded.

She nodded, pulling out a clipboard, where I could see my name written on the top of the paper in a loopy cursive script.

"So what you will be doing is going to each room listed on this clipboard, each one of the patients has quite a severe injury which will require you to use your healing magic to heal all of them on the list." She sighed. "I know it can be quite a lot on the first day, especially with so many patients, but I promise you that it gets easier through repetition, strengthens your magic as well." She said, smiling back at me as she handed Bane the clipboard.

His heart sank as he saw what was written on the clipboard. Over a dozen names were written on the paper with corespondent door numbers, easily the most people he had ever been required to heal, having only practiced on maybe 7 at the most people back at the local healing center in the outskirts of town.

But he had prepared for it to be hard, all his life had been hard with the severe lack of money his family made, making him have to push himself far beyond his limits, causing more magical burnouts than he could recollect.

He nodded to the wolf, taking a deep breath and trying to think optimistically. It was time to begin.