Jin landed on the island. A hand found its way to his chest as he felt the whirling of the machine engine now where his heart used to be. For once he felt like a person scarred from his journeys. His hand reached down to the handrail of the boat that slowly pulled into the harbor. It was a strange sight to see the mix of machines and mankind here. But with his current state, he felt an eerie closeness to it. His first steps landed heavily off the boat and he knew what he was here to do. To battle off the disease that was plaguing this land and others.

The paladin had undergone a strange change recently. The watery powers that had surged through him from the water spirit had faded away. He was left filling empty again. But it was as if something else burned in his soul again. Something he tried to erase but still lurked.

150

The light mage jumped off the side and landed to see some of the guards and scientist approach. Immediately they began to fill him in on the situation around them. There were sick people on the island that needed to be taken care of but not nearly enough doctors. In fact, there were barely any doctors at all. They explained this was primarily a research facility. Jin rubbed his head, thinking about all the potential people in need. "So there isn't a normal staff stationed here? Do you have medical supplies," the paladin asked. The scientist exchanged a quick look and then answered, "Yes we have them all gathered and stored in a room. But have limited knowledge and what to use and how to do it."

Jin looked over their shoulders to see the room that a guard was now pointing toward that brandished the symbol of an apothecary. With Jin's experience as a potion maker, he could make do with this.

155

The paladin moved past the people that greeted him and made his way toward the building of supplies. It had a metal sign with etched words on it. The sign was adhered to the frame of the door. It was a step way up from the little shop that he was running back home.

He ran his hand over it and thought about all the people that he had helped heal from back home. Long before he was caught up in the chaos of Eternal Nightmare and all the calamity that was brought with it. The ideals of the group constantly thrown into question.

"Let's get to work," he said and rolled up his sleeves as he did back when he served. The doors opened wide with a push and he stepped through to see the many items available.

"I'll need a small team and people to run supplies. We have a lot of work to get done."

Wc 150

One of the scientists turned to summon some of the local guards. A few people began to show up and filter in beside the paladin. Jin divided the contents of the room among the people that were standing in waiting. Each one had a different task. As they gathered around Jin taught them some fundamentals of cleaning and dressing wounds. Long-term care came second, focused on keeping people comfortable and avoiding sores from long-term rest. They had to be ready for anything.

The training finished and Jin gestured for the group to follow him, once the scientist gave them the green light. The path was full of technology he hadn't seen before. The atmosphere lowered as the drew closer to the medical tent that housed the patients. A guard stood out front. behind him was a quarantine rope. Jin nodded and as the guard saw the entourage of scrounged-together health-working assistants, he lowered the rope.

Jin stepped into a room of sickness and disease.

Wc 160

People coughed and hacked phlegm onto the cold floor. Heaters were positioned in the corners to keep them warm. The paladin rose his hand to cover his mouth out of instinct and directed everyone to wear a mask just in case. He made his way to the first bed. As he approached he could see the legions formed on their body. He called over a group of attendees with bandages and supplies. He carefully walked them through what to do to treat the wound.

Warmth burned through the mage's body. It felt as if a sun was expanding in his chest. His head ached all at once. The light seemed to swell in the room around him. It was almost blinding. One of the guards placed a hand beneath Jin's shoulder to brace him. "Are you alright?"

Jin shook his head and cast away the foggy feeling. "Ye...yeah. Just got a little...its not important." He pointed at the other patients.

WC 155

The guard turned to face the other patients. Jin stumbled once more, but recovered in time to keep the others from seeing it. His head ached and for a moment he could see a golden flash of light. It was familiar and yet so different than before.

He spent the day working with the injured and treating them with the modern medicine that was available at the station. Along the way, he let some of the guards shadow him and learn how to treat wounds and heal others. This way once the mage left, they could continue to provide aid to the people.

A woman coughed up blood form the side of her bed. It ran down the pillow and spilled onto the floor. Jin kneeled down next to her with a rag and slowly wiped the spill. Their eyes met. He could see the pain and sorrow in her soul, but also the thanks for the small gesture. In her eyes, he felt the years he spent doing the small things. Living as a peddler and then joining one war after another. He felt the losses that he suffered along the way. The ones that he couldn't help. The same look that had flashed across the face of so many people in the past.

Wc 200

He held her hand and placed it back against her chest and tucked the edges of her sheet in. "You' are going to be okay," he said with more hope than truth. He couldn't be sure about anything other than he would give it his best try. it seemed no matter what, he was always out helping other countries than the one that he moved to. But it was nice to be back in what could be called his homeland. He stood up from the woman and applied some healing ointment to a sickly man that was in the bed across from her. The guards were still doing what they could to serve.

Days went by. Each day Jin woke up to help those in need once more. The same routine as the day before. Supplies, treatment, progress checks. Life in Fiore seemed pretty far away as he settled in here. Something he seemed to have a tendency to do when he traveled.

Wc 155

Some days were better than others. Some passed away during the treatments. The woman's daughter eventually made her way into the tent as a patient. The two were put side by side. Their old man, the father, and husband, spat blood into the air that landed back on his own face. Jin cleaned it away and placed a hand on his shoulder. None of the treatments had worked on his advanced case. The mother turned the daughter's head away but the father reached out and took her hand. They held on, onto his arm fell limp as the disease took its final tole.

Jin couldn't say anything and walked away in silence. He fought back tears as he returned to the aid of others. The ones that were fighting through and lived to see another day. It was heart-wrenching to see those that couldn't make it. His gaze glanced back to the mother and daughter from time to time. Their mourning was never-ending, even after the body was moved. Blank stares fell on the empty bed.

Wc 170

The days became dreary. Two lives were saved and another was lost. each day the numbers increased but the pain still lingered. Jin wrapped the wounds of a young man. "Look slike you'll be just fine. Up and at-em in no time." Jin smiled. The young man gave a breathy chuckle considering himself a lucky one.

The guards thanked Jin for the knowledge of medicine that he brought. They had been able to start making some basic potions that eased the various sicknesses that had been brewing around the people. "Of course," the paladin said as he finished washing his hands and prepared to help them once more. He stood in the silence of the outdoors. A small wash basin beneath his hands. The sun beamed down from up above. "Jiiinnnnn," a ghostly echo called out, he spun around to see nothing. It felt..almost like she was speaking to his soul. His heart raced and his breathing shallower. He shook it off as the lights brightened around him once more.

165

The machine heart that was now in his chest felt like it was whirling and rumbling. He stepped away from the basin and pinched his eyes closed. The light began to dim against the inside red hue of his shut eyelids. Once it was dim enough he slowly opened them. No one was around him, thankfully, and he inched open the lap of the tent. Inside was the usual. The same people he saw every day. The mother and daughter help one another. Some of the few that the medicine was still not working on.

he passed by and nodded at them, changed the bandages and the little girl looked up at him. Her gaze asked if she was going to make it through small bouts of coughing. Jin smiled back with another nod. But the little girl's head looked away with her gaze set on the bed her father dies in next to her. Jin took a deep breath and squeezed her shoulder to reassure her.

WC 160

Jin had no direction but to get up and leave her to sit in peace for now. The paladin continued his work and eventually returned with a few bowls of soup. He sat on a small chair that was next to their bed. The mother rolled over and used her weak and thin arm to push herself upright. She tapped her daughter on the side and help pull her up.

"Yes," the mother asked, weakly. She had been improving but ever since her daughter stopped getting better...it was like she confined herself to death with her. "I brought you both some soup to eat. You'll need to keep your strength. I added the medince into the soup so it won't taste bad this time," Jin replied.

The little girl took the bowl of soup and shot a look at her mother. The mom gave a nod and the spoon was already clanking against the hard sides of the pewter bowl. The mother followed suit and sipped hers. Steam still rolled off the top. Jin dipped his own spoon into the mixture and took small bites. It reminded him of being back at the campfires between battles.

"It should warm your bones a little too. Don't we have another wave of medicine coming tomorrow" Jin added as he took another sip of his soup. Looking around the room, over the past couple of days, people had been slowly filtering out. getting healthier and returning to some semblance of life. Some faster than others. Jin wasn't sure what he would do if things continued to get worse for the two of them. They'd join the ranks of all those that didn't make it.

"You are doing the best you can," the mother said, and her eyes betrayed that she had already given up hope and just wanted a peaceful end.

"We will do anything we can. I will," he made sure she knew he was with them.

WC 315

Jin stood and left the tent. Looking back he could see the lost souls that lay on hopeless beds. The next morning's light may not shine upon them. Lost in the darkness of disease. He leaned his back against the tent post. Sadness crept into the forefront of his mind. He had caused death and now he could not even heal these people with his magic. He stared at his useless hands. Light and then to water...now nothingness. He gathered his resolve and slumped away to the small quarters they had prepared for him. The night was spent tossing and turning in grief. Feelings of weakness and powerlessness plagued his dreams.

He awoke in a cold sweat before the dawn was breaking. A knock followed swiftly on his door. Jin hopped out of bed, already almost fully clothed. He flung his tunic around his shoulders and opened the door. The rapid knocking was from a guard. His face hung heavy, "Sir it's the girl. We just don't know what to do."

Without a word, Jin rushed by the man and toward the tent. He knew exactly who he was talking about. Warmth burned in his soul. The lacrima lights brightened as he ran by them. His shadow shifted against the grown. He whipped the door open and saw he sitting at the edge of the bed wrapped in her mother's arms.

wc 228

Jin stalled in the door way. The girls' face was pale as snow. Her lips faded into a blue hue. Blood dribbled down her mouth as she was too tired and weary to cough. Her eyes didn't move from the bed her father had died on. Jin didn't even feel like he could move in that moment. But he had to. He could see the faces of all those he had watched die before. All those he was unable to save as their wounds were too dire.

"Why," he gritted through his teeth. "Why," he whispered again, angry that he was turning in circles. No matter how much power he amassed he was never able to heal as much as he needed to. To reach out to those that needed him in their darkest moments. now he had to watch a young girl die.

He pushed through to get to her side and knelt down. "Hey," he mustered from his core. The girl faintly looked over at him. The mother's eyes were shut. But he knew what they had to be thinking. That he made a promise to them. And now it was for nothing. They would die anyway.

He held the girl's hand just in time to feel her fingers slip away from his. Her arm dangled lifelessly toward the ground. The mother silently wept. Jin's heart crashed. He stood up with his head held low. Anger seething within.

"hail to the king of the sun," A voice burned through his mind. His hand shifted at his waist and felt light as a beam of sun rays. Light swelled around the mage and spiraled above his head. The guards stepped back. Jin rose his arms, perplexed by the turn of events. But it felt...right.

"Power....my power," he proclaimed in astonishment. The light returned to him. His mana swelled. His eyes gazed into the heavens above. "I understand," he said and rose his hands into the dark sky. The blazing sun burst to life and made it daytime. All the workers gazed around amazed. They came from their homes and rubbed the sleepiness from their eyes.

"Return to this life!" He yelled as he grabbed the disc of sun that floated above his head and heaved it into the sky. Light washed over the girl. Her hands twitched and she gasped for air, with renewed lungs. The mother gasped and held her tight.

Jin staggered backward. "Finally," he said and collapsed. The people rushed in confused and elated. Jin awoke hours later with a man by his bed.

"I don't know what happened...but thank you. To have mastery of life and death. A truly dangerous gift. I've never seen anything like it."


"me either" jin replied and as they exchanged pleasantries and intrigue, jin took the rest of the day to rest.

WC 450
Total 2500+