Lith looked at her, but he couldn't see anything wrong. She was 1.54 meters (5'1") high with long gold hair tied back in a braid. She was quite cute, especially since her diminutive stature emphasized her bosom.
Lith was wondering why he had no recollection of her, when Brina took off the long glove covering her right hand. Her arm had a long burn scar up to the elbow, while the hand was unnaturally thin. It had only the thumb and the index finger.
The scar tissue was bright red and swollen. Its jagged surface made it look like a sponge had grown under her skin.
"She had an accident with the oven when she was little. They had to amputate most of her fingers and even if Nana managed to save the hand, the scar causes her a lot of pain whenever it gets cold. We prepare an ointment for her, but it's not enough.
This year she will take part in the Spring festival…"
"I won't!" Brina angrily whispered cutting her short. "I'm damaged goods. I'm tired of people staring at me with pity just like…" The "your brother" part died in her mouth.
Lith was merely looking at the arm like it was a broken chair, assessing the damages with Invigoration.
Brina hadn't noticed his touch because the arm lacked any sensitivity.
"I can fix it. For a price, of course."
"The cold issue?" Tista asked full of hope.
"No, I mean the scar, the fingers. Everything." Seeing their disbelief, Lith placed his index finger on Brina's elbow, casting a short spell that restored an inch of skin.
"Nana can't perform tier four light spells, but I can." His voice was cold and professional.
"The procedure is expensive. If you are interested, talk to whoever manages the finances in your family and then let me know. I'll be available until spring."
Tista opened her mouth to say something, but remained silent. Everything had happened so fast that Brina wasn't able to move or speak. She stared for a while at the pale new skin, before leaving in a hurry after noticing the kids staring at her, pointing their fingers at her still exposed arm.
An hour later Nana finally returned and the queue was reduced to four people.
"Excellent work, kids." Nana said after checking the income.
"I can handle the rest. You go home and have a nice meal."
Lith could have opened a Warp Steps, but judging by how Tista was looking at him, she clearly had something to say. So, he kept the surprise for another time and they walked home instead.
"How can you think about money when you can help someone in need?" She finally said once they got out of the village.
"Do you have any idea what she went through all her life? She gets out of the house only during fall and winter, she never had a boyfriend, she…"
"Had it much easier than you." Lith's voice was indifferent.
"She has been well fed and dressed all of her life. Her parents have a nice house and can afford the treatment. End of the story."
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"Yes, but I got cured and she didn't. A healer's job…" She replied after a few seconds, only to get cut short once again.
"It's a job like any other. Light magic it's not some kind of holy power, it's just a mean to an end. Does the baker give bread and pastries away for free to those in need? No. Did anyone ever help us when we were starving? No.
When you were ill, did her father care for your condition? No. Then give me one good reason why I should work for free."
Tista remained silent for a few minutes until they arrived halfway towards home.
"So, what are your limits now?" She asked.
"Brother sister confidentiality?"
Tista nodded.
"As long there is a breath of life, I can save anyone. I can now regrow organs, limbs, anything. My only limitation is that I can't repair something that was missing from the start. I can give back the sight to someone that has lost an eye, but not to someone born blind."
Tista seemed incredibly happy at his words, making Lith worried.
"Are you unwell or there is someone else you want me to heal?" He sighed.
"No, everything is fine." She giggled.
"It's just that Lutia is a small village in the middle of nowhere. After hearing your stories and seeing you at work today, I'm wondering if I should try to get into an academy too."
Lith shuddered at the thought.
'I have always avoided mentioning the nastiest details of the academy, I can't see Tista not getting scarred for life by all those jerks. Not to mention that if she manages to graduate too, our family would be recognized as a new magical bloodline.
'It would cause us a lot of troubles. If she really wants to step up her skills, then I can't shield her from the truth anymore. The princess has to become a warrior, or the world will eat her alive.'
Before going back home, Lith went to Selia's house. According to Solus, she was supposed to have left together with Ryman, but he wanted to make sure the huntress didn't need help.
The door and the windows were locked. Lith used Life Vision, discovering that there was no one inside.
'One less person to worry about.' He shrugged. Nana was at the end of her rope and the huntress was gone, probably for good. Lith felt a sting in his heart, but he preferred to focus on those he had left.
His parents were really happy to have him home earlier and during lunch, they wanted to know everything about his last days of the academy. Lith didn't tell them about the vision, but for Tista's sake, he shared with them all the aggressions and sabotage attempts he endured.
"So much violence just for a grade?" Raaz couldn't believe his ears.
Lith explained to them how fierce was the everyday life at the White Griffon.
"Nobles take success for granted and don't like being overshadowed by commoners. They consider it as a personal insult. Commoners mostly work their ass*s off, but since the academy it's the only way out of poverty, they are ruthless too. It's easier to meet a dragon than to find an honest friend."
After many questions about the academy and as many reproaches for the things he had omitted in the past, Lith finally could tell them about the rankings. Elina and Tista cried with joy at his achievements, while Raaz simply hugged him.
"I'm so proud of you, son. I don't know what I did to deserve such a good kid."
Lith was happy too. Their joy was the first piece of good news in months.
"We should share the good news with Rena!" Elina stood up, walking toward the door.
"You stay here. I'll go get her." Lith said while opening a Warp Steps.
Elina was about to argue when the dimensional rift opened in their dining room right outside of Rena's house in the village. The mouths of the members of Lith's family fell to the ground for the surprise.
When less than a minute later the Gate reopened, they were still awestruck and so was Rena. Lith had to princess carry her through the Warp Steps. They could hear many scared murmurs coming from the village.
"Ah! Suck it, you bastards!" The voice of Zekell, Rena's father-in-law roared.
"I'm the only one with a god in the family!"
"What a classy, humble man." Lith sneered as soon as the Gate closed behind him.
After much stuttering and many questions about Warp Steps, Lith finally brought Rena up to speed. She was overjoyed by so many good news and so was the rest of the family.
Again. Lith couldn't understand why they were so excited about something they already knew.
"It's incredible! Mom, this means you can visit me whenever you want, even during winter!" Rena's words left Lith speechless.
"Indeed. Now we can go to the village regardless of the weather. Oh, gods. Freshly baked bread during winter is a dream come true!"
Suddenly the conversation degenerated into how to better exploit Lith's new ability. More than once he wanted to point out that he wasn't a cab, but there was no such word on Mogar.
After everyone had decided what they wanted to use Lith's powers for during the winter, Tista pulled Elina aside. They whispered among them for a while and even with his enhanced hearing, Lith was unable to understand what they were saying.
Rena was bombarding him with questions about the places he had access to, how many people he could move at once.
When they returned, she wasn't done yet.
"Big sis, come here please." Tista pulled Rena aside, pushing the index finger against her own lips.
"Lith, dear, please have a seat."
Elina had a serious expression, making him inwardly fear to be about to get scolded again.
'I told them so little and I am already getting my a*s kicked. I was right working on a "need to know" basis with them.' He thought.
"Would you like to have another sibling?"
Her words made Lith's brain freeze. His hands clenched the armrests so hard that only the fear to reveal his strength too made him snap out of it when the wood started cracking ominously.
'Is this a trick question?' He thought. 'After Orpal and Trion, I don't feel safe rolling the dice again. Sadly, it's not something up for me to decide. Damn if I hate rhetorical questions.'
"Sure, mom." He actually replied while hoping that his face matched his happy tone.
"Are you pregnant already or is it something you are planning ahead?"
His words made the mood in the room turn heavy. Everyone was looking at the floor with a sad expression. Elina was squeezing her own hands, taking deep breaths to calm down.
"Have you ever wondered why we didn't have any more children?" Raaz said while hugging his wife from behind to comfort her.
"Yes. I thought that since we had so many problems with food and money already, you used some spell to prevent further…" Lith was about to say "issues", but managed to stop in time.
They were speaking about having another baby, so they didn't share his lack of love for small, smelly, noisy humans.
"…another pregnancy."
"Well, yes and no." Elina explained.
"Sure, after you were born, we couldn't afford to have more children, even though we love each other so much." She caressed Raaz hands, kissing his forearm.
"That's why we were actually happy when the Great Mother took the choice out of our hands."
"The Great Mother? Aren't you using a darkness magic spell?" During all his life on Mogar, Lith had yet to find a single church or temple. Religions were almost non existent, gods were relegated in the roles of swear words or synonyms for destiny.
"We know the spell, but it requires a magico level of power to be viable. Otherwise repeated uses can cause permanent sterility."
Raaz's words were like a punch in Lith's stomach.
"Do you mean that…"
"Yes." Elina nodded. "The labor was long and complicated. I don't know exactly what happened. Nana tried to explain it to me, but I couldn't and didn't want to understand.
"The only thing that mattered to me was that something inside of my body broke that night, making me unable to bear children anymore."
Everything made sense. Lith had wondered from time to time why even after Orpal had been disowned, after Tista had been healed, and the financial situation of the household had improved so much thanks to his jobs, his parents had stopped having children.
His mother was still young, yet nothing had happened. He had always shrugged it off, thinking they wanted to sit back and enjoy their new wealth. Yet now he couldn't help but feel guilty.
Guilty for having always ignored their distress simply because it suited him, but mostly because he was the real root of that situation. They were his parents, but Lith wasn't really their son.
'Calm down, you idiot. No need for guilt trips. I didn't choose Elina, I didn't kill the real Lith. He was already dead, so nothing that happened that night was my fault.' Lith was aware of how his birth was considered a miracle by his family.
"I pray the Great Mother every day to thank her for her gift." Elina took the word out of his mind.
"When Nana told me about my condition, I felt desperate, but as soon as I held you in my arms, it didn't matter anymore. I was already too scared after almost losing you. At that moment, you gave me a reason to live." Elina looked at him with deep affection.
Those words soothed Lith's uneasiness, but his stomach was still tied in a knot.
"Tista says that you can cure everything. Is it true?" Her eyes were full of expectancy.
"Yes."
"Do you think you can help me?"
"Absolutely." Lith lied with confidence.
The reproductive apparatus was one of his weakest spots since he never experimented with pregnant women. There was nothing in the textbooks to help him understand the difference between a functioning yet defective organ and a mint one.
He remembered how during the treatments he had found lots of impurities in Elina's womb, but even removing them and bringing her to full health for years didn't seem to have worked out.