“As I already said, my name is Felicia Tiller,” Valar’s new ‘mind healer’ started. “I’m a bronze rank healer specializing in afflictions of the mind, and I work under a private infirmary called The Nymph’s Embrace. The infirmary in question lies in the merchant’s district, near the Rhondell bank. I’m a bronze rank graduate of the royal academy, and I graduated at the top of my class due to a research paper on mental health that was commended by the royal family.”

  Felicia’s aura shifted as she spoke, showing that she was extremely proud of the research she had done. “Although my bronze rank studies were completed at this academy, I did my iron rank studies at Thornton academy, only moving here after working in the northern city for a couple of years.”

  As the woman spoke, Valar found himself relaxing more and more. The shift was gradual, making it hard to notice, but as his mental state had been all but relaxed just prior, the difference was somewhat notable. How am I relaxing this easily? I’ve just gone through a traumatic event, but my breathing is stabilizing, and my mind is calming. Am I under a spell?

  Just before Valar started to spiral to panic once again, Felicia snapped her fingers softly. Her aura showcased her worry, and so did her following words. “It’s not a spell, Valar. You would sense my aura seeking supremacy over yours. Deep breaths… I’ll continue while you focus on breathing, okay?”

  Valar pulled in a lungful of air, breathed out and nodded. “Okay.”

  “Good,” Felicia smiled gently, the worry in her aura decreasing as Valar’s breathing slowed down. “As you might’ve guessed from my surname, I’m not a noblewoman. Quite far from it, actually. I’ve lived my whole life with my mother, who works as a baker in Thornton’s industrial district. My father died when I was only two, so my mother had to take care of both me and my two siblings alone.”

  The mention of parental death made Valar’s breathing hitch. Felicia noticed the reaction, and her smile became a bit less cheerful. “One or both?”

  “Both,” Valar’s voice broke a little and his eyes started to water. “When I was three.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Valar,” Felicia said.

  Normally, Valar would’ve ignored such platitudes. People were never truly sorry for others’ misfortune—not truly. Except…

  He could see Felicia’s aura as clear as day, and it told him enough. The young woman truly meant her words. She actually cares?

  “Do you want to talk about it now, or shall I continue my own life story? I can stop here, if you want,” Felicia suggested.

  “No… No, I want to hear more. Is that okay with you?”

  “That’s perfectly fine,” the healer’s gentle smile returned. “We can talk as much or as little about you as you like. This first meeting is mostly about building trust. Now, enough of that— back to my story.”

  The young woman got up as she talked, preparing a cup of tea for both him and herself. “As a kid, I went through the public schools with other kids of commoner families. I’m not sure how much you know about public schooling in this nation, but all I can say is that it’s not good… I felt restricted, unable to learn about the things I wanted to learn about. Instead, we were taught about Leorian history, farming, blacksmithing and similar things. We were never taught an ounce about magic; can you believe it?”

  “That would be reasonable, wouldn’t it?” Valar asked, surprisingly immersed in the healer’s story. “Less than a tenth of the students would ever get an affinity in the first place, without even mentioning the cost of admission to a magical academy.”

  “Yes, yes, I know all that,” Felicia grinned sheepishly. “But I was a child. I was sure I would become a great battlemage, raining down fire, ice or even lightning on Khateshi armies or northern barbarians. That’s why my affinity surprised everyone, myself included. It was a big shock to my teenage mind.”

  “But shouldn’t you have been happy to get the life affinity?” Valar asked in confusion. “It’s a rare affinity, and pretty much guarantees you a scholarship at one academy or another.”

  “With time, yes,” Felicia chuckled. “Initially, I was quite depressed about the whole idea. I wouldn’t become a war hero, smiting Khateshi soldiers on the battlefield. A young girl’s dream was shattered. Still, I got a scholarship at the Thornton academy, and started my studies there.”

  “What did you do when you got out of the academy? Did you start adventuring?”

  “Oh, gods no!” Felicia laughed heartily. She took a sip of her tea before continuing, letting out an appreciative hum. “Elaine really does have good tea in her drawers, doesn’t she. Let’s hope she doesn’t find out I stole some of her best stock for our drinks…”

  Valar took a sip himself, his eyes going wide with surprise. “This really is amazing!”

  Felicia put a finger on her lips. “I won’t tell her if you don’t.”

  The young woman proceeded to tell Valar about all sorts of things, even delving into specific details like her favourite restaurants in the capital. As she spoke, he found himself relaxing more and more, so when she asked her first question about himself, he wasn’t as thrown off as he would’ve expected to be.

  “What about you, Valar? Have you found any restaurants you like in the capital, or is it too early to tell?”

  “I… I do have a favourite,” he smiled. “The Iron Owl is a really nice restaurant in one of the noble district’s alleys. I’ve visited it many times already!”

  “Oh, I haven’t heard of that one? Is it a fancy one?”

  “No, it’s quite casual, actually. I’ve gone there with Viktor, my adventuring team and even alone, and the food has been great every time.”

  Valar wasn’t dumb enough to not realize that the healer was slowly leading him towards more personal topics, but he still let himself be dragged into casual conversation. It felt comfortable, telling Felicia about small things in his life. She listened carefully too, asking clarifying questions where she felt necessary.

  “Your team?” the healer asked. “I thought that iron rankers usually only intern under teams, moving to a team of their own peers after ascending to bronze rank?”

  Valar twitched involuntarily when Felicia mentioned his ascension, but the healer didn’t question it. Even her aura remained the same as before. She let him gather himself before continuing, sipping her tea as she waited patiently.

  “Yeah, my team,” he nodded. “They already said that I could join back with them once I’m done with my studies. I really enjoyed adventuring with them…”

  “Do you want to talk about them?”

  Surprising even himself, Valar did want to talk about them. He told Felicia about each of his team members, talking about their travels together. He joked about Arthur’s antics, grumbled about Ciel and her quirks, described Rodrick’s encouragements and reminisced on the deeper discussions with Carla.

  “You seem to have good friends,” Felicia smiled.

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  Their discussion meandered around small things for a while. Valar talked about the more fun parts of his adventures and time at the academy, but never delved into the more unsavory parts of his life. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Felicia changed that.

  “What about your early life? You’ve talked about your recent adventures, but those are all from the recent months. What did your childhood look like?”

  Valar truly hesitated for the first time during their conversation. He didn’t want to break the positive atmosphere with such negativity, but…

  Felicia’s aura radiated openness and trust. She wasn’t going to judge him, that was for sure. It was enough to break the floodgates, and Valar’s emotion surged out.

  “I… I lived from three to thirteen years old in The Lyndale orphanage for unawakened children…” Valar began, tears already appearing at the edges of his eyes. “And I hated every single second of it.”

  Talking about his early life was hard, incredibly so. He felt vulnerable talking about the punishment he had gone through in his early years, but as he talked more, he found himself talking more openly. Felicia’s extended aura also helped in that regard, as Valar could be absolutely sure that she wasn’t judging him for his past. In fact, even an emotion like pity wasn't at the forefront. Sure, she felt some pity towards the boy, but it was by no means the dominant emotion. That spot was reserved for plain old sympathy.

  Valar told the woman about the bullying he had faced—both from the other kids and the matron herself. He told her about the punishments he had faced, showing her the marks on his back left by Ophelia’s makeshift whip. He talked about his living conditions, and even ranted about orphanage food.

  The boy cried openly when he talked about corn slop and sprouts. He cried about stolen bread, bad beds, the lessons on 'manners' and everything else. It felt ridiculous—airing his every small grievance to someone else—but Felicia didn’t judge him. Instead, she joined in.

  “Exactly! Sprouts, especially the bulbous big ones, are nasty!”

  “That they are,” Valar cried and laughed at the same time, venting out his frustrations to someone who would actually listen.

  When Valar got to his escape attempts, finally reaching the fateful day, he hesitated once more. “I really don’t know how to approach the subject… I was told to never talk about it, as there are a couple of secrets, and…”

  “Let me stop you right there,” Felicia lifted a hand and smiled gently. “I think I already mentioned that I worked under a strict rule of patient-healer confidentiality. Do you know what that means?”

  The boy shook his head. “Not really.”

  “Then let me explain: In order for me to do my job, my patients have to sometimes tell me their secrets. It isn’t mandatory by any means, as this whole thing is based on trust, but often the patients’ biggest issues require talking about those secrets. Do you understand?”

  When she got a small nod from Valar, Felicia continued. “Now, those secrets are secrets for a reason. I’ve talked to heads of noble houses, rich merchants and even some criminals in the past. If they couldn’t trust me to keep their secrets, they could never truly open up, could they? Considering I’m one of the first in the nation to practice mental healing, I decided to go for a pretty radical solution…”

  Felicia pulled out an official looking envelope out of her pocket, placing it next to Valar’s cup of tea. “Feel free to read through it as thoroughly as you want. I’ll wait.”

  What’s this? Valar picked it up and inspected it.

  The envelope itself was slightly larger than Valar’s hand. It was clearly made of quality materials—potentially even magical ones—as the thin paper seemed incredibly durable. More interesting was the seal that had been stamped on it: A golden eagle on a purple background.

  The very same eagle that was on the nation’s flag…

  After inspecting the seal, Valar opened the envelope. He was exceedingly careful with its contents, an unnecessary precaution as the slip inside was made of the same durable parchment. When he read the message, Valar’s eyes kept getting wider and wider.

  Royal decree of confidentiality

  I, Leon Aurelius, king of Leoria, am of sound mind and body as I’m writing this ruling. I stand behind its contents and shall be the one to administer the decreed punishment in case this decree shall be broken.

  By specific request by one Felicia Tiller, bronze rank life mage at the time of writing, I decree that any sensitive information revealed to her by her chosen clients shall remain confidential between the healer and patient only. This confidentiality can only be broken at the behest of the patient.

  Any outside actor that tries to coerce confidential information from Felicia Tiller shall be summarily executed by my hand. If I, king Leon Aurelius, am unable to administer punishment, it shall be delivered by my eldest living progeny instead.

  If it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that Felicia Tiller has revealed confidential information without the patient’s consent, she shall be summarily executed as well.

  Leon Aurelius

  Valar read the decree over and over again. He scanned its contents, trying to find something, just something, that would’ve suggested that the decree was a forgery. He found nothing. This…

  “This is the real deal, isn’t it?” he muttered. “An actual royal decree?“

  “That it is,” Felicia nodded with a proud smile on her face. “I went and got it from the king myself a couple years back!”

  That seals it then… I can tell my secrets to Felicia without fear. If the decree was real, he wouldn’t have to fear his secrets leaking from the young healer. As long as the king drew breath, his secret would be safe.

  One question popped up in Valar’s head, however. “The king… Is he truly a diamond ranker?”

  The answer he got was plenty enough… After all, what was a better way to agree than a nod?

  The confirmation on if he could Felicia with his secrets brought Valar to a tough situation. Now, there was nothing to do but to actually tell them…

  “My… My idea was to escape through the sewers of the city,” he started, feeling a pit already forming at the bottom of his throat. “I had heard that one of the entrances had been breached by a group of guards that had passed by some days prior, you see.”

  It was funny, in a way. Valar had told the very same story to Viktor, Elaine and most recently Carla, but this time felt different. The memory of pain was still fresh in his mind, bringing him closer to that day, those experiences, than ever before. Even though he had first awakened months ago, it felt fresh…

  Valar bristled, soldiering on despite the feeling of wrongness the whole topic brought. Tears were already forming at the edges of his eyes, but he continued speaking nonetheless. “It worked, it truly did, until…”

  “Until?” Felicia asked, coaxing more of Valar’s story out with a gentle touch.

  “There was a rat…A big one, iron rank,” Valar muttered. “It attacked… It clawed me, bit me… I thought I was going to die, Felicia…”

  “You’re here now, aren’t you?” the healer said, a sympathetic smile colouring her face.

  “Mhm,” he nodded.

  Silence fell over the small office space. When it stretched on to an uncomfortable degree, Felicia’s aura shifted slightly towards worry. “We don’t have to continue with this today, Valar… Healing of the mind takes time, and we’ll have sessions at least once every couple of weeks for the foreseeable future…”

  “No, no…” Valar breathed out heavily, tears already starting to flow down his gaunt face. “It’s just that the next thing is my main… issue.”

  “Then by all means, continue,” Felicia said, her worry still clear from her outstretched aura.

  Valar pondered on how he should explain his fire to the healer, coming to a fast realization. This is hard…

  “You know the illness I talked about? The bouts of burning pain?”

  Valar cringed, instinctively moving his scarred hand towards his chest. “They originated from a particular wound, but that wound isn’t on my body; That’s why the healers never found anything. The wound… It’s a wound on the surface of my soul. That’s where the fire comes from.”

  He expected confusion, perhaps even ridicule, so when he faced genuine worry and sympathy, Valar was rocked to say the least.

  “That sounds absolutely horrifying!” Felicia exclaimed. “I’ve never heard of a soul wound, but just imagining it makes me shiver…”

  That was the final straw. The defences Valar had been unconsciously setting up for years broke in the face of the healer’s sympathy, and he burst into tears. The following explanation of the past months’ events was interrupted by sobs, and it was more rambling than anything comprehensible, but the kind woman listened nonetheless. In many ways, that was everything Valar needed. To tell his story—every secret and harrowing experience—and to have someone listen without a sliver of judgement in their heart.

  When all was said and done, Valar was left breathing heavily, tears flowing down his face like a waterfall. “Thank you…”

  “It’s my job,” Felicia smiled gently. “Often, the first step to healing the mind is achieved through telling someone about your experiences. It allows you to relive them through a different lens, perhaps even lessening the pain. To be frank, Valar, the scars of the mind are devilishly hard to heal. I’m quite sure you’ve realized this yourself, but the burns your fire leaves behind are not the only wounds you have to worry about…”

  “I know…” Valar nodded, wiping the tears away from his face. “But do I have a choice?”

  The young healer nodded firmly, “Of course you have a choice. You could stop using your fire here and now, never drawing out your flame again. It would save you from further scarring, but…”

  “It would slow me down,” he practically growled. “I don’t want to remain weak. Being weak has hurt me enough already...”

  “Then you’ll have to find a way to heal the scars of the mind as well. With your soul, I find myself at an impasse, but with your mind, I can help you,” Felicia extended her hand. “Do I have a new long-term patient?”

  Valar smiled, a small glint of relief entering his eyes as well. “That you do, Felicia Tiller. That you do…”

  As Valar pulled his hand away, he saw a small change in the woman’s aura. Oh no… “Wait, how much do your services even cost?”

  “Just about 15 silver per month.”

  “Abyss…”