WOUNDED SITUATION
The return was a race against time—each moment stretched with agony and urgency. The scout party descended the trail with pounding hooves and ragged breaths, bleak dusk settling over them.
Vaelith carried Ismere in his arms, her body limp, a dark stain blooming across her midsection. Her face was pale, skin cold to the touch—breathing shallow. Vaelith's healing sigils glowed erratically under his skin, but his voice wavered.
> "Stay with me, Ismere. Don't—don't leave us…"
The heat in his cheeks churned with worry.
Tarric's armor clanged against rock as he urged the guards forward: "Faster! She's bleeding out fast!"
Zayan rode beside them, already examining the stolen glowing crystals in a pouch. They pulsated a soft blue rhythm, yet his stormy eyes stayed fixed on Ismere.
Vira, crouched close, murmured at the healer's pace: "Hold on, sister. You're stronger than this."
They burst through the ROYAL CAPITAL INFIRMARY GATE
Door slams open.
Guards: "Healer! We need aid—now!"
The infirmary erupted into urgent activity. Hypocrates
Healers waived them forward as Vaelith laid Ismere on a marble cot under torchlight. Pillars of gold and blue runes glowed overhead. The chamber filled with scents of antiseptic herbs and strained breath.
Hands swarmed with tinctures, surgical knives, poultices soaked in glowing healing elixir. Sous-leaders barked:
Head Healer: "Remove her coat! Clamp the artery! Vaelith, channel power into her wound—now!"
The healers worked like synchronized dancers—their words sharp:
> "Blood!"
"Clear her airway!"
"Hand me the crimson salve!"
Vaelith supplanted trembling lips with focused energy. Droplets of healing light floated from his palms—but the wound remained deep and ragged.
> "She's gone into shock," he gasped, sweat beading.
Outside the chamber, the rest filed out, trembling.
In the council halls, tapestries muted candlelight. King Farhan spoke gravely:
> "My daughter... no, my people risk much."
Tarric, Vaelith, Zayan, and Vira stood in front of King and Council
Vira :"We retrieved the crystals, Your Majesty—as evidence of unnatural sites. But our sister… we almost lost her."
He held the crystals up: ethereal, pulsating shards.
> Crystal music softly hummed in the air.
Echoed footsteps from waiting council knights.
King Farhan's gaze was grave. Julius leaned forward.
> "These must be analyzed—and if they power demons, no stone must remain untouched."
King asked about any injured ..
Tension built in the silent room:
Tarric, his voice metallic: "We encountered a terrifying creature. It killed Ismere in the cave. Vaelith saved her by the skin of her teeth."
Vira added quietly, "I fear... that threat is deeper than we imagined."
Zayan's eyes flicked to Vaelith: "These crystals shimmered—reacted to her wound."
In the hush, Zayan spoke:
> "Our sister lives because Vaelith refused to give up. We rode through danger to bring help."
> Nods around the room.
The courtiers looked worried. The threat was real—they understood.
King Farhan finally broke the silence:
"You all did your best ...Now take some rest...I know what to do...."
Back in the infirmary, Vaelith meticulously applied healing wards along Ismere's wound. She coughed—rattling and weak.
> Vaelith: "You're awake... Thank Meriah."
Ismere (barely a whisper): "Vaelith… I'm sorry. For…"
He smiled – tears leaked: "Shh. Rest. You were brave."
Healers called for sedative herbs; Vaelith assisted quietly, his grief restrained by responsibility.
They placed a warded crystal above her bed—a soft glow of protection.
A strategic victory had been earned: The crystals recovered, the threat confirmed, and Ismere still alive—by inches. But the costs weighed heavy:
Their sister lay wounded, reliant on every drop of Vaelith's power.
A creature loomed belowground—one they hadn't fully understood.
Pressure pressed at every leader's shoulders.
The final moments saw the assembled knights leave the infirmary in reverence—pledging to protect their wounded sister, and to prevent more sacrifices tomorrow.