Skyfall - New Healing

Cleo had seen only a tiny portion of what Skyfall had done to Bellacoste, until not too long ago. She’d been lucky so far - Citremery, the place she’s lived most of her life, was not largely affected by the Corruption. Still, with an event of this magnitude, it is almost impossible to not come into contact with it, sooner or later. Whether it is a friend coming back a little weirder or whole pouflons disappearing - only to be heard from in the form of rumors that the agitated population eventually lets out - nobody is safe from having their lives caught up by the ugly whirlwind that Skyfall has brought to the world. So, when it came to her attention that the latest rumor was that the Rift had finally been stabilized, she was caught by surprise.

“But what do you mean, stabilized?” She asked the merchant one more time, as he impatiently moved his head and stomped his feet on the ground, tired of her multiple questions. 

“I mean that the Beast is dead, little girl!” The plucky salesman responds, waving his head condescendingly. “The Knights and Mages all around Bellacoste managed to end it, so things have calmed down a little.” 

“So is it safe now?” She insisted, her eyes wide and gleamy with hope. If that was the case - if it was finally over and Skyfall was done for, that could have an enormous potential for magical discovery, of course. But what did it mean for everylon that had been lost or hurt in the process? Had they been saved from the cruel grasp of the Corruption? 

“You should direct your questions to the mages, not to me, a simple merchant! I’m just telling you what I heard, now let me work!” The plucky stepped on the ground again, signaling with his head that he was done with all of her inquiries.

The short and fussy explanation of the merchant had left more questions than it answered. Cleo started to ask around the city for information on the current situation of Skyfall and, soon, she realized things were far from over. Pouflons kept telling her about all the corrupted that had still not been healed, and how the Corruption had left scars all around Bellacoste. It sure seemed like everylon still needed a lot of help. 

‘I need to do something’, she thought to herself while she asked those around her about the aftermath. “Maybe, with the help of my magic…” She mumbled. “But is it strong enough already? I’m not even a mage or a knight! Maybe I should leave it to the pros…” The self-doubt could wait, though. There were too many that hadn’t been as lucky as her, whether they had fought in the front lines against the beast or simply had been caught by surprise - the Corrupted were all suffering from the same malicious effects and some had even lost control of themselves, from what she’d heard. 

 The thing about Corruption is that it isn’t picky - anylon could have been affected by it, if they were caught in the wrong circumstances. It devoured and destroyed everything and everylon in its path, and the aftermath was the unnatural, ugly consequence that left the ones involved black, red and glitchy. 

Cleo was as scared as she was hesitant, as someone who would scarcely leave her home city. But it was a noble pursuit that called her away, so she decided to bid goodbye to her father and part for Chrysanthos - after promising at least a thousand times she would be okay, and that she’d be back soon (not that she actually knew that to be true for sure). 

Getting to the city wasn’t hard - what was actually difficult was seeing with her very eyes the destruction Skyfall had caused to Bellacoste, as opposed to only hearing about it. As she flew above the rotten fields, Cleo could already spot the ruins of the gate and quite a few pouflons trying to reconstruct it. The city was in shambles, even if it seemed to be on its way to be rebuilt, better than it had probably been immediately after the Beast attacked. 

Carefully walking around a Corruption pool, she entered through the gates with a few others, who conversed amongst themselves. 

“Are you also here to help the Corrupted?” She adamantly asked a pink and purple, friendly looking pouflon who didn’t seem to be accompanied. She nodded, gesturing with her head to a group of partially and fully corrupted poufs lying a few meters away, in what seemed to be a temporary infirmary for the sick pouflons. 

“The battle against the Entity is over, but the one against Skyfall itself is not yet finished.” She observed. Cleo agreed with a nod of her head, and followed the rest of the way besides this new pouflon. 

“Have you healed the Corrupted before?” Cleo inquired. Maybe she could get help from this pouf. “It’s my first time doing something like this, you see…” she said, meekly. 

“Why, I’ve worked against the Corruption here and there. Maybe I could assist you.” The pouflon smiled. “My name is Tulipa.” They quickly bowed their heads to one another before reaching the small infirmary. 

“That would be marvelous! Pleased to meet you, I’m Cleo, by the way. I came all the way from Citremery to help the infected, but I’m still a novice at best, you see. I’ve always wanted to further my magic...” She rambled, excited about meeting a Healer for the first time. 

All the talking was simply met with a gentle smile from the other pouflon and, together, Tulipa showed Cleo the intricacies of healing magic, and how to fend off the corruption from a pouflon’s body. The pouf was, of course, delighted by the new acquaintance, and enjoyed the opportunity to better use her magical abilities. After seeing Tulipa heal a fully corrupted pouflon, who breathed a sigh of relief when the last fraction of filth had been cleansed from his body, the ‘apprentice’ was ready (and eager) to try it herself. Cleo looked at the other pouf and she sent back an encouraging grin, so she approached a sick pouflon, with spots of corruption around their neck and chest.  

“Okay, your case seems simple enough to heal.” She commented with a smile. 

“Well, please go on with it, i̵t̵ ̶s̸t̸i̷l̶l̶ ̵h̷u̷r̵t̴s̸.̷” The static in their voice made her shiver - the effects Corruption could leave were always a tiny bit scary, to say the least, to see from up close - and she somberly, albeit determinedly, nodded at him. 

“Here goes nothing!” Cleo exclaimed, and closed her eyes, trying to summon forth a wave of healing magic. When she opened them again, the previously sick pouflon looked a lot more healthy, and the sickly red splotches had gone away from his body. 

“Thank you very much, miss!” He grinned, inspecting his own markings and wings to see if everything was in order. “I’m feeling a little more like myself again. You Healers should be commended for your work, that’s for sure!” The pouflon happily trotted away. 

“Did you see that?” Cleo turned to Tulipa, who was occupied tending to an injured bloom. She lifted her head.

“You’re surely a fast learner. Perhaps you’d make a good mage.” 

Maybe it had been a good idea to come to Chrysanthos, after all, and tending to the infected had surely sparked something inside the young pouflon. Perhaps she would, indeed…