My world-tree system

Silence fell heavily on the clearing, broken only by the agonised cries of the last dying wolves. Foster remained kneeling, his hands still crisp on the hilt of his sword. All around him, the ground was a macabre mosaic of blood, torn chairs and upturned earth. The taste of iron in the air saturated his nostrils.

Lïanna leaned weakly against a tree, her face pale in the uncertain starlight. Her lips trembled slightly as she watched the corpses around her, but she showed no emotion. The blood stuck to her clothes and drew dark lines across her face, in stark contrast to her elven features.

- Foster,' she murmured, her voice weak. I won't last long like this.

Foster looked at her and saw the blood continuing to run down the fabric of his garment over Lïanna's body. He clenched his fist and forced himself to stand up, despite the pain that screamed in every fibre of his body. His muscles were stiff, his badly referred wounds were bleeding again, but he couldn't afford to stop. He scanned his surroundings, looking for an opening or a direction.

A rustle in the bushes made him stiffen, but instead of an enemy, a familiar figure appeared. Giovanni emerged from the shadows. His clothes were in a shambles, and he had a large gash on his left arm. However, his gaze was alert, and a gleam of relief crossed his eyes when he recognised them.

- Giovanni !!!!!!!

- Foster! Lianna! You're alive, I never thought I'd see you together even if the heavens fell on my head AHAHA he said as he approached. By all the gods, I thought I'd be the last.

- You almost were,' Foster replied hoarsely. We were attacked by an alpha. You were lucky not to cross his path. Others have paid the price.

Giovanni clenched his jaws, his eyes passing over the corpses around them.

- I'm not sure 'lucky' is the right word. I've seen other recruits slaughtered by... something, maybe it was that alpha. But this is no time to argue. You need shelter and you need it fast.

Giovanni led them through the trees to a cluster of rocks forming a small natural cave. The place wasn't perfect, but it was better than staying in the open in the hostile forest.

- I found this earlier. It should keep us safe until dawn,' he explained as he helped them inside. But first, we need to take care of your wounds.

Giovanni pulled a small bag from his belt, containing some makeshift bandages and herbs he had brought along. Foster watched in silence as Giovanni prepared a rudimentary mixture to disinfect their wounds.

- You know your stuff,' remarked Foster, breaking the heavy silence.

- My father was an herbalist,' replied Giovanni with a tired smile. It saved me more than once last night.

After preparing the herbs, he approached Liana and applied the mixture. Liana was now lying on the rough ground, her face pale as death, her pale eyes staring at Foster. Her breathing was becoming increasingly laboured, and a large red stain was spreading across her clothes around her wound. The cut on his side, inflicted by the alpha, was deep.

- It's no good,' Giovanni grunted through clenched teeth. She's bleeding too much. My herbs can disinfect and soothe the pain, but they can't stop it.

- Damn it, Lïanna, why didn't you say something?

- There were more important things,' she murmured.

Foster and Giovanni went away to have a chat.

- She won't last until dawn,' added Giovanni, lowering his voice. If we do nothing... she'll die.

These words hit Foster like a hammer. He clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails dug into his palms. Why couldn't he use healing magic? Why didn't he have enough power? He had concentrated on the knight's path, completely neglecting the mage's for the moment, and today he bitterly regretted it.

- We can... we can cauterise the wound with my fire magic,' he said suddenly.

Giovanni looked up, his eyes wide.

- Are you serious? Do you know what that means? She'll be in agony. And if it fails, she'll die even faster.

Foster didn't look away, staring at him with icy determination.

- If we do nothing, she dies. So hold her.

- Foster...' protested Giovanni, but he stopped when he saw his comrade's face, hard and implacable.

- Hold her,' repeated Foster sharply. I'll take care of it.

Giovanni, after a visible hesitation, knelt down next to Liana and grabbed her shoulders and arms firmly to prevent her from moving.

- LÏANNA, listen to me, we're going to cauterise your wound and it's going to hurt...

- Just do it. she said, her gaze still fixed on Foster.

Foster closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He held out his right hand, and a small orange glow rose from his fingers. His mastery of magic was limited, but he knew how to manipulate the basic elements. He concentrated his Ki and magical energy, visualising a concentrated flame, strong enough to cauterise but not strong enough to inflict irreversible damage.

The process was slow, sweat beading on his forehead. A ball of fire the size of his fist formed, floating slightly above his palm. The radiant heat lit up the cave, casting dancing shadows on the walls.

- Giovanni, hold on tight,' he murmured, his throat closing. Lïanna, hold on.

He leaned over her, slowly bringing the flame close to her wound. The contact was immediate and brutal.

Lïanna screamed, a wrenching cry that seemed to shake the entire cave. Her eyes opened wide, filled with pure pain, and her body struggled violently. Giovanni had to summon all his strength to hold her in place, his arms trembling from the effort. Foster gritted his teeth, tears streaming freely down his face as he pressed the fireball against the gaping wound.

The smell of burning chairs filled the air, suffocating, almost unbearable. Foster felt his own heart break with every passing second. Lianna flailed beneath him, her face contorted in pain, but he couldn't stop. Not until he was sure the wound was sealed.

- Why... why am I so weak?' he whispered through gritted teeth, his voice barely audible under Lïanna's screams. Why can't I save you any other way?

He finally finished, pulling out the flame with trembling hands. The wound was black and charred, but the bleeding had stopped. Lïanna had fainted, her body falling limply back into Giovanni's arms, breathing heavily.

Giovanni put a hand on her shoulder.

- You did what you had to do, Foster. She's alive because of you.

Giovanni puts a hand on his shoulder.

- You did what you had to do, Foster. She's alive because of you

Giovanni took out a small piece of dried meat and some berries he had picked along the way. It wasn't a feast, but it would be enough to give him a bit of energy.

- Eat,' he ordered gently. 

Foster took the food without protest, chewing slowly. 

Then the sun came out and shone down on the cave where the trio were.

Foster stared at the sun, his gaze deep in thought.

- That was my last mistake.