Creeeeeeek
The large, wooden doors to the Temple were held in place by old, worn hinges. The creaking of the doors were just audible enough in the later hours of the night to attract the attention of a few priests who were praying or talking to some of the visitors.
They simply glanced at me momentarily and continued about their business.
I looked around the entry hall to see if this Ervyna was close by. I saw no priestesses. She must be further in the Temple, probably praying to the shrine of Almalexia as most healers would.
As I made my way past the few rows of wooden benches and torches hung upon the walls I asked a few priests where I could find Ervyna. They pointed me to the left of where we stood. I headed in that direction and came upon the section of the temple dedicated to Almalexia. It was a few yards from the entrance and directly to the right. This is where I found Ervyna, who was as I had predicted, praying to a shrine of Almalexia.
Ervyna was dressed in blue, flowing, temple priest robes with a black scarf with golden trim and decoration. Her hood was down revealing her short brown hair that she had swept back. From my perspective I could not tell she was a woman what with the flowing robe. The only give away was her voice. I was standing a few feet behind her when she spoke.
“Do you require the services of a healer, or are you here to pray?” She said without turning to see who had entered.
“How did you know anyone was behind you?” I said, not alluding to who I was.
“I could hear the clack of your chitin boots when you walked down the hall, which means you’re not a priest, and guards rarely enter the temple when wearing their armor,” She answered. “Tear doesn't get many adventureres these days, mostly mercenaries looking for fortune in this war..”
I detected a hint of resentment in her voice.
“I’m just here to fix my wounds and leave, Llyrin sent me,” I retorted, feeling a little uneasy at the remark.
“You know Llyrin?” Ervyna said as she rose from the ground and turned to face me. “Then let me see what I can do for you, after all, a friend of my father’s is a friend of mine.”
She was more beautiful than I had expected her to be. Most priestesses weren’t exactly the most fetching creatures to lay your eyes upon. Ervyna on the other hand was more than an eyeful, even if all you could see was her face. Lovely crimson eyes, hair that looked akin to brown silk, skin a light gay, and a face that was as youthful as ever. She could of been my age, or she could of been eighty years older. I stared at her for a few seconds before she spoke again.
“Well are you going to stand there all night or are you going to let me take a look at your wounds?” The Dunmer priestess said demandingly.
“I, uh, y-yes of course,” I stuttered. She had caught me off guard with her stern, yet calm voice.
“Then follow me over here and let me see what I can do,” Ervyna said as she directed me towards a small wooden table in the left corner of the torch lit room. I took a seat at the table and Ervyna asked me to show her the wounds.
“Let’s start with this one,” I said showing her the top of my right hand.
The slice on the top of my hand didn’t sting as much as the one across my chest, but it did look worse, even if it wasn’t bleeding...much.
Ervyna’s eyes widened slightly at the slight gash on my hand.
“How did you do that?” She asked.
“I’d rather not say,” I replied, slightly embarrassed, remembering how I foolishly tried to mimic Llyrin.
“Alright, well come here.”
She reached out taking my hand between both of hers and emitting a dim light. Her hands were warm and soft, a sensation I had never known.
“It should be fine now,” Ervyna said as she removed her hands from mine.
I looked down at my hand and the cut was healed up. No scar or trace of any injury. Perfectly healed.
“I have another wound that needs healing.”
“Oh? Well show me so I can take care of it.”
“It’s on my chest, a slash.”
“Let me see and we'll go from there, now remove your shirt.”
Hearing her ask me to remove my shirt made me feel a little embarrassed, but I wanted this stinging to go away as quickly as possible. I lifted the loose fitting brown shirt Llyrin had given me revealing my defined abs, hours training with Llyrin had their benefits, and then finally my chest.
I pulled the shirt off my head, ears snagging the opening then finally springing back into place. I swept my lengthy hair out of my eyes and put the shirt on the table and sat down.
I think I saw Ervyna slightly blush when I finally removed my shirt, but her face held no immediate emotion, making her difficult to read. She just stared at my chest for a few moments until I was the one to break the silence.
“You going to heal me or just stand there all night?” I teased.
“O-of course, t-that's what I’m here for.” She said nervously, blushing again. “How did this happen?”
“Training with Llyrin, he cut straight through my armor.”
“If it weren’t for your armor the cut would’ve been more worse.”
“How much more worse?” I asked, a little worried.
“If the cut was an inch deeper you might of had a scar at best, or a bad infection at worst had you not come to get healed.”
I let out a sigh of relief. For a second there I thought she was going to tell me I might of died. Carrying around a scar wouldn’t of been much, but an infection would off put me out of commission for a few weeks.
“Well heal me up, I’d like to get to bed as quickly as possible,” I said, letting out a slight yawn.
Ervyna seemed a little annoyed at my demand. I could tell by the slight frown she gave me. Never-the-less, she placed her hand on my chest and began the healing process once more.
As I sat there with her hand on my chest I simply looked at her. She would look at me, then at my wound, then back at me. I think I saw her blush again.
“Hey,” I said softly.
“Yeah?”
“Are you blushing?”
“What?” She asked puzzled.
“I saw your cheeks turn red when you touched my chest.”
“I’m just not used to healing people, I’m a novice.”
“A novice? My hand healed perfectly!” I said, astonished at her work.
“I can heal small and minor wounds like yours, but I need more practice.”
“Ervyna?”
“Yes?”
"You're a better healer than you think, so thanks for healing me.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
Don't thank me yet? What did that mean?
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You said you were training with Llyrin, and I can guess you’re not one of his soldiers, which means you are a mercenary.” She said in her calm voice.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You’re probably here because of the war, aren't you?” Ervyna asked with a bit of sorrow in her voice.
I sighed. “Yes, yes I am.”
“So my healing you would be for naught,” She said in her still sorrowful tone.
“You think I’ll meet my end in this war?”
“Sellswords like you are hired because they’re expendable,” She answered.
“While that is true, it is the only way I can make a decent living,” I declared.
“Decent?” Ervyna said in a quizzical tone. “Is it decent to die for those who do not care for you?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
As I finished speaking she removed her hand from my chest to reveal that damage Llyrin had done had been reversed.
She looked at me mournfully like I was an injured animal crying out in pain. She would’ve been only half-right.
“What is your name?” She asked.
“Teldryn, Teldryn Sero, blade for hire,” I said as I began to put the shirt I had laid on the table back on.
“Ervyna Dres,” She said in return. “You’ve already met my father Llyrin.”
“Yes, you mentioned that earlier. He is quite the swordsman. My previous wounds can attest to that.”
“Father can get carried away when training new recruits or giving lessons, but he means well,” Ervyna said perking up. “I’m not sure why he’d train a mercenary though.”
“He wanted to see my form before I was hired, wanted to see if I was worth paying,” I replied.
“Were you?” She asked.
“Barely. He insisted that I train with him so I can become a ‘more useful soldier’.”
“Well if you intend on getting cut up some more I can teach you a basic restoration spell,” Ervyna said with a somewhat soothing tone of voice.
“Don’t you need the practice?” I asked standing up from the chair and stretching my chest and previously injured hand.
“I get enough training from the priests here, but you won’t always be in Tear when in need of healing, especially when you go to war,” She said.
“Alright, I must warn you, I’ve never used magic before.”
“Anyone can learn given time, especially this simple spell.”
Within the hour Ervyna showed me how to channel my magick into a healing light. It took a fair few tries and a quick skim over one of her healing tomes, but eventually I figured out how to tap into my magicka reserves for the very first time and produce my first spell that Ervyna simply called Mend Wounds.
After our little lesson concluded I thanked her and asked how much her healing services would cost me. She said I didn't owe her a single drake and that I should just rest. I thanked her one last time before heading out of the Temple and back towards the barracks where the soldiers slept so I could, at last, catch some shut eye.
Replies
Critcism is very much welcome. Tell me what you'd like to see me answer in future chapters. This chapter addresses how Teldryn first learned to use magick.
Crusader, once again you’ve nailed this for me. From entering the Temple to the dialogue with Ervyna and how you/Sero ‘taps’ into his magic reserves for the first time. I’m rather eager to see the next chapters and what they entail
I'm glad you enjoyed, the next chapter will be out I'd say within at least a week. I'd like to do them once a week if I can.
Ayy, that’s more than fair.