The sun was setting as the weary traveller neared Tragg Ains Dani! Normal Dani! 1 0 2001-06-20T07:17:00Z 2001-06-20T07:17:00Z 2 1032 5888 Gateway 49 11 7230 9.3821

The sun was setting as the weary traveller neared Tragg Ains. The small village of Gnomes was surely not going to welcome his kind with open arms, he knew. But no one would dare deny an officer of the Aurelian Order a place to stay for the night. He hated having to stay in places like this, but he still prefered it to the cloth sack he had slept on for the past few nights.

It was villages like this that the war still lived on in. The Gnomes here would detest any Elf stepping foot onto their lands, just as the Elves in small villages would detest any Gnome. The marriage of the King of the Gnomes and the Queen of the Elves had been a brilliant plan, supposedly ending the hatred of the two great races. Hector still had a lot of scars from his battle days and places like this only made it worse. He shook his head and stepped to the village gates. No village existed without gates anymore. The threat of Humans was always abound.

"And where do you think you are going?" one of the two Gnome guards called to Hector, chewing heavily on his gummy-grass.

Hector looked into the Gnome's eyes carefully before holding up his left hand, showing his palm. Even if he wasn't in uniform, Hector was certain the guard would recognize the Aurelian crest.

"Eh, so you've come to try to save her?" the second guard asked, starting to unlock the gates.

"Save her? Who?" Hector asked, shifting his pack.

"That Elf girl that wandered in here. She ain't got no mark like you do, but she got hurt trying to save the shoemaker's son. We let her in, but she's up there in the inn most likely dying. Ain't nothing our physician can do for her," he answered, opening the gate.

"Perfect." Hector thought. "You find a village to rest in and your duty calls." He sighed once again, then walked through the gates and down the main street of the village hunting the inn.

Mothers were hurrying their children inside before the sunset, probably fearing the demons that supposedly come out at night. Men were shutting down their stands within the marketplace and heading towards the tavern. On the small strip in the distance he saw a sign with "The Green Fish" written on it. Knowing only a Gnome inn could have such a peculiar name, he headed toward it with a bit more haste in his step.

Stepping inside, he found a small restaurant. It seemed bare, save for  few customers sitting in a corner eating their food and having rather loud conversations. All eyes turned to him when he entered. He sighed yet again running his fingers through his white-blonde hair. The hair color alone told the Gnomes he was Elfin. His bright green eyes along with his gently pointed ears agreed with his hair color. He frowned as he saw one Gnome actually baring his teeth in a feral snarl at him. He held up his palm and big brown Gnome-eyes widened.

"Forgive me," the teeth-barer said.

"No matter. I've heard word that there is an Elfin girl here, and that she lay dying," Hector said, shifting his pack.

"Aye, she's upstairs, poor lass," another one piped up.  "I'd pay her fee if you could help her, sir. She saved my best friend's son."

"Upstairs? Which room?" Hector looked to the rickety old staircase. A young lady stood there, motioning him forward.

"She's up here. We've been hoping for a Healer. Tell me you are one..," the girl said gently.

Hector nodded and followed the girl upstairs. In a room near the end of the hallway, Hector found the Elfin girl. It was well illuminated due to candles most likely burning in prayer to the Goddess Aurelia. The girl who led Hector into the room returned to the Elfin girl's side, dabbing at her monstrous wounds with a wet cloth.

All Hector could see was that the girl lay with her shirt off, exposing deep gashes and dark bruises around her torso. It was a miracle in itself that she had not bled to death. It was lucky for her that Elves did not bleed fast, and also that Aurelia surely smiled upon her. Hector did not waste much time as he dropped his pack and quickly rolled up his sleeves, already intoning prayers to Aurelia.

He felt Aurelia answer his call nearly immediately, filling his hands with a deep purple light that could heal the girl's wounds if he was careful. He moved to place his hands upon her wounds when he noticed her face.

He nearly let out a whimper as past promises lept into his mind. "Nyxalia..," he thought. He nearly lost his concentration when he heard his more stern side take control. "Well, she won't be Nyxalia long if you don't hurry up and heal her! Now concentrate!" his mind pushed. He then had the power to supress his own memories of the girl on the bed before him, and he placed his hands onto her stomach across three gashes.

The girl, Nyxalia, who had seemed unconscious beforehand, leapt to life under him. "Try to hold still, I know it hurts," Hector said through clenched teeth.

She looked up at him with clear green-blue eyes, and tears fell as she forced herself still. She was no stranger to this routine. She bit her lip as all the months of pain that would have befell her hit her as the Healer melded her flesh, muscles, and veins intricately back together. It hurt like the Blazes, but it was better than the fate she had thought would befall her.

Hector's mind raced with trying to still fight out his memories and recall definite muscle and vein patterns. One little cross-up could cost Nyx her life. He could not handle being the one to let her life slip through his fingers. Not after his promises. He hated having to put her through this kind of pain, too. He tried once again to push away his emotions and concentrate on the task at hand.

The gnome girl kept dabbing the sweat from Hector's brow and swabbing Nyx's face with cold water. She watched the two Elves as they worked hard through their pain to save the girl's life. That girl had saved the gnome who had asked for her hand in marraige.

Hector was reaching the capacity of his limits when he had one more gash to Heal. "I'm not sure I can get all the way through this one, Nyxalia. I'll Heal it to the best of my abilities, and then the rest will have to heal by nature," he whispered hoarsely.

The pain subsided for a few moments, leaving Nyx throbbing with relief. She opened her eyes once again and looked at the Healer. "How did you know my name?" she asked quietly.

Hector risked the moment to look up at her face. Had he really changed so much that she would not recognize him? He smiled gently as he saw her mouth form a tiny "o" of recognition.

"Dear Aurelia, is that you, Hector?"

Hector nodded and surged up the power Aurelia had given him once more into his hands. Purple light flowed out onto Nyx's bare torso once again just barely sealing the gash before dying out. He had wasted too much of his power using his emotions and trying to diminish any scars and bruises. He shook with fatigue as he pulled his now useless hands away from her mostly Healed body. He stood shakily looking for a chair.

"Hector?" he heard Nyx ask as his knees finally buckled and he fell to the floor. A bright haze welcomed him into a state of unconsciousness.