Complete Private Lyrwick The Final Hope

[Siondhe]

Kyra

She'd been at it all day. Or at least, it'd felt like all day. There were still so many. Droves of individuals streaming into the encampment, demanding help with their wounds. Refugees, mostly, from the looks of them. Where they all came from, Kyra had never bothered to ask. Never had time to, truly.

"Keep pressure on this. I'll be back, ten minutes. If I'm not, I'll send someone else to take a look at you. You're going to be fine."

It was a lie. The individual in question was bleeding so heavily that Kyra knew it was a deadly wound. She'd wasted so much magic already, and she knew that even if she could do anything - there was so much wrong with them, that they'd eventually die anyways. There were others...others who needed her help. Others who were more likely to survive.

"Shit!"

She'd had limited luck today. Sixteen dead, most unable to be helped from the moment she'd arrived. Whatever was occuring, it was driving her to a brink. Sure, she'd helped a few. A few, far less than any other day. She'd come here to help, and here she was...

"Coming! I'm coming!"

She answered the call, making her way across towards a patient who was spitting up blood at an alarming rate. They'd been moved towards the end of the beds, placing them just beside the roadway itself - as far from other patients as possible. Without looking up, she reached out a hand, calling out in annoyance as she did so.

"Give me a damned bandage, and six ounces of warm water with salt! And grab the damned crash cart, while you're at it!"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Even in the rain, the red threads that tied him to his past did not sag beneath of the water that dripped from their thin strands.

Yugam stood just outside the medical tent, his clothes soaked through by the heavy downpour that turned the ground beneath his feet to mud. Shouts, cries and screams cut through the air from within the tent. Had there been a battle somewhere nearby recently? Or maybe the refugees had been ambushed by someone or something. Bandits, looking for easy prey, however slim the picking may be, perhaps. Whatever the case, the result was the same. Blood.

Yu sighed heavily at the idea. He had a theory now. About the visions he'd been having during his waking hours. He'd yet to prove it, and that was not the point of today's venture to Lyrwick. Or at least he hadn't thought so. Now, he wasn't so sure.

The dark haired man entered the tent, pushing aside the hanging flaps, and immediately the scents of decay and death filled his nostrils. Rancid, vile. Infections, gaping wounds, missing limbs and missing loved ones. Yu would've lamented not being able use his hemomancy to help some of those in need, were they not just AIs. Objects programmed to follow a set of stage directions. Set pieces. And yet they bled all the same.

Yu made an effort to ignore the blood around him, to focus on the red strands tied around his wrist. Eyes glued to the bloody spider silk, the man walked further into the tent, eyes settling on a purple haired catgirl. Her image flickered in and out of his vision, replaced with a black haired woman. Her again. She'd cared for the refugees here?

The splitting headache slowly began to return, and Yu clutched at this head as the searing pain began to cloud his vision. "Fuck..."

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

She glanced up as the main entrance to the tent opened, letting in a dark haired individual. Kyra watched long enough to see the man glance around, seemingly taking in the grotesque scene before them. Kyra had become numb to it; the blood, the stench, everything. It was all common to her now. All there was, was to move between patients, to figure out who could be helped, and who couldn't. This one didn't appear to need help.

"Where's my freaking-"

Her question cut off as the individual beneath her hands passed. She sat back, letting the shock of it wash over, then away from her. Another one. The thought flowed almost as quickly through her mind, realising she'd been unable to save them.

Her eyes rose again at the whispered word, coming from the man who'd just entered the tent. Her brow furrowed as she saw them holding their head, and suddenly her frustration returned in earnest. Standing, she made her way across to them, speaking in a harsh tone.

"Are you hurt? Do you need medical help? Because if not, you're in the way of people who do need care."

She eyed the man for a moment, before the fury within her softened. Reaching out, she laid a hand on the man, letting a flow of the Spirit magic pass into him, the healing magic swamping over him.

"Here, does that feel a bit better, at all?"

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

"Are you hurt? Do you need medical help? Because if not, you're in the way of people who do need care."

"N-no, I'm fine," Yu tried to say, shaking his head at the woman. Purple haired, red eyed. Her image flashed again, dark fair, faceless, a searing pain shooting up through the base of his skull once more. He winced from the pain, white hot.

A cool sensation began to pass over him. Slowly the pain receded. Not gone, but dulled. The world around him flickered in and out still, to a time before them. Faint, like looking through frosted glass. The present, still foggy, but very real. The hand on his shoulder grounded him in reality. "T-thank you," he said, blinking, once, twice, before looking around himself again. At least he could tell what were memories now. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked hoarsely. "I'm no doctor but, I can try to lend a hand..." It seemed like the least he could do. Not that the girl would understand the debt he was trying to repay.

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

She eyed the man up for a moment, questioning not only his sanity or his desire to assist, but also his current physical state. She could see no signs of wounds, nor anything else that would hinder him - at least not in the sense of the game itself. She figured there may be some sort of mental trauma, or something else going on...perhaps...

"Nor am I a doctor, officially...but I'm one of the Starcalled who has a focus in healing arts. What about yourself? Are you one of the Starcalled with healing capabilities?"

She narrowed her eyes at the man, trying to gauge his response. He seemed...aloof, almost. As if he wasn't entirely with everything going on around him. An odd one, to be sure - but weren't they all, in some way or form? Perhaps he was just caught up in thought, or pain. Either way - she appreciated the assistance to help.

"If not, it's not a big deal...I could definitely use some help with one of the ones over here...I can guide you on what to do, if you've no experience."

She moved towards a patient laying nearby, a younger girl - likely about thirteen, maybe fourteen - who'd had the ill luck to be partially trampled by some sort of beast. Her left leg broken, she'd been placed on what Kyra could only assume was meant to be an IV-drip with a pain medication until someone could attend to her properly. She glanced over at the man, before waving him over once more.

"All I need you to do...is hold her down. I need to set this, and then begin the healing process. It's...not going to be the most pleasant feeling in the world."

She kept herself from mentioning that it would be unpleasant for herself, as much as the girl beneath her. It wasn't something that the other needed to know about, not when she'd just met him. Half closing her eyes, she settled herself by the leg.

"As soon as you're ready..."

The moment the man was in position, Kyra snapped the bone back into place, feeling the crunch beneath her hands. She released the healing energy almost at the same time, bitting her lip hard enough to draw blood as she felt a portion of her own essence drawn out and into the other.

As soon as she was sure she'd set it enough, she released her hold on the magic, turning to the other with a slight smile.

"Thank..."

The darkness came rushing up as she collapsed to the ground, her consciousness falling away in her exhaustion.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

"Starcalled, yes. Healing, no, not really," the man answered through the fog of pain and blood-beckoned visions. Even still, Yu could see the girl narrow her eyes at him, as if trying to assess his condition. In fact, he was willing to be that was exactly what she was doing. Not that he cared. Nor did it seem to matter to her, as she guided the man over to a bed with a young girl in it, nonetheless.

'Ah.

Bonesetting...'

Unpleasant was an understatement. Maybe worse than having it broken in the first place. The man almost blinked in surprise when the woman didn't give the girl anything to bite down on. There was a good chance she'd bite her own tongue off, even with what ever pain medication she was on. Reactionary. That was okay though.

Reaching into his coat, Yu produced a knife, still in it's sheath, the buckle that had kept it attached to his harness undone. "Bite down on this," Yu said, as he presented the wooden hilt of the knife to the girl.

"Ready."

The sickening crunch of bones moving about, and a muffled scream as the girl wore toothmarks into his knife.

"Thank..."

Yu lunged forward, catching the woman's head before it struck the ground. "Hey, hey, hey," the man said, cradling her in his arms and gently slapping her face. "Hey, wake up."

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

Warmth surrounded her, the touch against her comforting. She could hear a voice, speaking to her as if from a distance, as if trying to pull her back. She knew she'd overdone it again. This time costing her far more than she'd expected. She wasn't able to open her eyes yet, the weight of them keeping them closed. Her voice, spoken as if in whisper, slipped from her lips as she tried to assure the other.

"I'm...fine. Mostly...just a bit tired...it'll pass in a little bit, always does. Just...need to rest a bit, and then I'll be back on my feet...."

She was tempted to push herself up, to try and rise, but she knew that it would be folly. Her entire body felt exhausted, as if she'd ran a marathon and failed to sleep for the last week, all tied together. She wasn't even sure if she could stand up, even if she had wanted to do so.

"Just a...minor side effect. Of the healing...happens once in a while...although never this bad before."

She realised she'd said too much, and forced a slight grin on her face, her eyes still closed and unable to see the man's expression. She hoped he wasn't taking it the wrong way, or becoming worried.

"They do say that healing takes a lot out of you...guess it just takes a bit more from some, than others. How's the girl?"

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

The woman spoke. No more than a hoarse whisper, but she spoke. Good. Or at least, Yu thought that was good, he was no doctor. Still, despite being able to speak, the woman made no effort to sit up. Yu could only frown grimly. Not very different from his default setting, if one was to be honest, beyond the slightest furrowing of his brows.

When asked about the condition of their patient, Yu craned his neck to look over the edge of the bed at the girl. "Passed out," he reported. "From the pain, I think. Leg looks like it set fine, but you would know better."

The man shifted beneath the beast-folk, adjusting himself to get a better grip on her. "C'mon," he grunted as he lifted her up, carrying her to a nearby unoccupied cot. "Do you need anything?" he asked as he laid her down. "Water? Food?" The man had always been a bit abysmal at taking care of others. Even when his little sister had gotten sick, he'd never known what to do, except bringing her some chicken noodle soup and making sure she had something watch while resting. He'd never been a great caretaker, despite his best efforts.

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

She felt exhausted, as if she'd gone days without sleep, and then logically decided to run a marathon. Her entire body ached, a less than enjoyable side effect of the healing magic. She'd come to get used to it, but as she spied the other's face, she knew it was still outside the normal.

"I'm...alright. I'm just glad she's okay. That's...all that really matters."

She gave a shaky sigh, before trying to prop herself up slightly. She fought the dizziness that threatened to lay her again, managing to maintain her posture as her head finally settled. She suddenly realised that there was a question she'd never bothered to ask - too intent on the job before her. At least now she'd be forced to disconnect from it, for the moment.

"What brings you here, anyways? No offence, but you're not one of our regulars - patient, or healer. Your help was appreciated though, thank you."

He had followed direction extremely well, especially under such limited introduction. There was no reason for him to care about helping others, not that she knew at least. As far as she was aware, he could've simply refused and walked away - many did. He'd stayed, and was still here, and that had peaked Kyra's curiosity.

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

"You push yourself too hard," Yu stated. Objective, perhaps the slightest bit of concern. Or caution. Not even Yu was certain. The man turned and checked on the girl one last time, placing a finger beneath her nose to confirm that she was indeed still breathing. "She needs a splint, no?" Yu asked the Kyra as he began to rummage around a nearby medical tray for whatever he could use.

As he searched, the beastfolk asked him what should have been a simple question. A simple question with a simple answer. Or at least it should've been. "Searching," the black clad man responded. "For answers. Or maybe the questions, I don't really know," he answered cryptically. It wasn't a lie. But if he attempted to explain she wouldn't believe him. Or wouldn't be able to make sense of it. "How often do you work here?" He asked, diverting the question back to her. "Seems like an odd way to spend your time in a game."

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

She cocked her head at his answer. It was someting she'd heard before, a while ago. An individual at her work who had survived so much trauma, but had suffered a loss of memory - a blankness in their mind. Many had assumed that they were trying to find the answers to the things they had forgotten, but when Kyra had sat down and talked to them, they had stated their true intentions.

I can't find the answers to the questions I don't know. So I have to start by figuring out what I need answered, don't I? It's not the answers, or lack of answers, that keep me up at night - it's the questions that I should be able to ask, but can't.

She watched the man for a moment, wondering. She shook her, putting the thoughts aside and trying to return herself to reality. She still felt the haze, the after affects of all the healing she'd been doing lately.

"She shouldn't need a splint, I reset the bone entirely. If there's no complications, she should actually be up and walking within the next hour or two."

She felt herself waver, the wash of nausea rushing over her as the weakness struck her again. She placed a hand on the bed underneath her, steadying herself.

"As to the other question...well, I spend most of my time here. When I'm in game, that is. The only exceptions is when my healing is needed elsewhere. But...yeah, a lot of my time is here, healing those in need."

She knew it was considered odd by many others, but she'd never had any sort of regrets - she enjoyed what she did, even if others looked upon it weirdly. She felt the wave again, and closed her eyes; partly to think, and partly to try and ride out the feeling.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

At the mention of the girl not needing a splint, Yu's brows furrowed, an involuntary shudder moving through his body as he struggled to get the image of the girl simply standing and her leg snapping in two out of his mind. Reminding himself that magic existed in the game, however, settled the man's stomach ever so slightly.

Giving the beastfolk a silent nod, the raven-haired man pulled out an empty crate from beneath one of the cots, overturning it to sit down next to her bed. "Strange way to spend your time," Yu repeated as he settled back down, his shoulders sagging, fatigue from his journey slowly settling in. "Why?" Perhaps a little too blunt in his exhaustion, but it was an honest question. Most people played the game to escape, or experience adventure, etc. not witness traumas everyday. The real world had that in spades. So why Terrasphere? It didn't quite make sense to Yu, but he wanted to know.

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

Kyra had heard the question times over, and again. Why? Why did you spend all your free time tending to the wounded? Why don't you play this game like everyone else does, and go out and hunt things, or explore, or fight things. Why just sit here and heal people? She'd answered the question time, and time again - yet she never found herself getting frustrated with it. She found that many simply didn't see the light in the same way she did, until she brought it into their focus.

She found herself smiling at her own thoughts, clearly somewhat still dazed from her efforts earlier. She collected her thoughts for another brief second, before answering the man's question in earnest.

"Well...I do something like this in the real world. Social work, actually. I see a lot of people in their worst moments. Drug users, people with mental health issues. The kind that most of society tries to avoid. When I first came to Terrasphere, I thought it would maybe be an escape. Get away from all the darkness, and the depression of the world outside..."

She'd thought. What she'd found had been entirely different. It had almost caused her to question her continued involvement with the game, if she was being honest with herself. But she'd continued, a weird pull keeping her in the virtual world, almost coming to see it as home - more than the real world.

"But then I realised that I could actually do something here. Sure, there's always injuries - always people being hurt. There's darkness here; look around at all the refugees. The horrors of the Starcalled who've become Landers. It's easy to lose yourself in here, to forget this isn't all real."

She was rambling again, and she paused for a brief second in order to collect her thoughts. She wanted to be concise, to be forward. There was no need for all the extra stories.

"In here I can actually help people. I can heal a broken leg, and watch them walk away. I can bring people back from momentary death, watch as the life returns to them. I can't save everyone - I know that. I've had many a patient die on me. I'm not illusioned into thinking that I'm some goddess who cannot fail. But...I've helped more people here, than I've ever helped in my career. And maybe it's weird, or crazy, but...it's soothing, to come here, to help those I can."

She stopped herself from saying anything further, feeling as though she'd gotten at least some of her point across. She wasn't sure if it would be enough to appease the other, but it was how she felt. It was why she did what she did, if only a condensed version of it.

"What makes you keep coming back to Terrasphere?"

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Yu sat and listened to the girl as she explained just why it was that she played Terrasphere. "I see," he said as she finished. She felt as if she were making a difference. Regardless if it was an AI, an NPC, or another Player who was really at risk of getting UI-locked. She might never know, but she still felt as if the things she did in this world mattered. Yu could relate to that on some level. It wasn't like most of them were having any kind of real impact over there on the other side. In here, it was different.

And then she broached the same question to him. Why was he in Terrasphere. Why play at all. Not the easiest question to answer, not even on the best of days. Mostly because he hardly understood it himself. "Like I said before, questions. Answers." The man ran hand a through his still damp hair, pulling the dark strand back from his face. "Long story short, in the real world, I was in an...accident of sorts." Sure. An accident. "Nearly drowned, suffered brain damage and memory loss. I had a friend that a died a month or two before all that happened, and I can't really remember anything about them. I just remember them mentioning the game to me once upon a time." Yu instinctively reached for the pack of cigarettes in his coat, pausing only when he remembered that he was in a medical tent. Cigarette smoke probably wasn't welcome here. "So it started as just trying to reconnect, remember something. The more I learn, the harder it is to stop playing, I guess." The man's hand fell into his lap, nothing to hold. Nothing to put to his lips and slowly kill himself with.

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

Kyra listened, quietly as she always did. She was used to this, to listening to those who were hurt, listening to the stories they had to share. This was what she did, this was what she lived for - healing all the bodies, minds and souls that she possibly could.

"It must be hard...not remembering it all. Always searching for answers, to questions you can't be sure you're even aware of..."

She'd fallen into her real life habits, probing topics and allowing the other to fill in the answers to the unspoken questions. It was easy, really, in a way. She knew from experience that half the time the individual wouldn't even know they were being probed, and prodded in a certain direction.

"So, you come here to try and find anything that will reconnect you with them, right? Trying to find the memories of them here, hoping to...connect the strings of hisotry, so to speak? It must be difficult. I can't even imagine what it must be like."

She fell silent for a moment, considering the situation. She'd seen individuals who had lost memories - amnesia was more prevelant than many could even consider. She wondered if Terrasphere could somehow create a bliss, a way to pull out those memories, to return them...

No...that's an entirely different technology. Besides, we know that the mind completely erases the memories in most cases, they don't linger...

She gave Yu a soft smile, her eyes casting over him as she continued to listen to the other, wondering how it must feel. She could feel her heart go out to the poor man, wanting only to comfort him.

"So. What do you spend most of your time here doing?"

She'd unknowingly pushed herself upright, pulling her purple leather-bound notebook from her hip pouch and producing a pen at the same time, watching Yu as she waited for his answer, scribbling notes as she went.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

"Sometimes, yeah, I guess. It's hard to miss things you never knew your had. It's better to move on in those cases," Yu said. "The hard part was my sister remembering things we did, but I didn't. It's knowing only half the story the sucks the most." Birthdays, family trips, even the stupid arguments they'd had. It was like having just a handful of pieces to a massive puzzle. No way to solve it. No way to know what these pieces were, what whole they were a part of.

"Strings of history..." Odd choice of words. Yu glanced at his left wrist. Red threads still wrapped around it. The thread that lead him here had long since disappeared. Whether he was tied to the location, helping the girl with the broken leg, or this woman talking to him now, he couldn't know. One more mystery to solve. "I guess you could say that. I just don't want to forget the things that were important to me, once upon a time."

"So. What do you spend most of your time here doing?"

Yu looked up from his wrist as asked the question, noticing that she'd sat up and was holding a purple notebook in her lap. The man had a distinct sensation that that book wasn't like his own memory book though. Reaching over the man gently closed the book in her lap, eyes locked on hers. He wasn't looking for a therapist.

"Following leads. Retracing what few steps I can," he then answered, settling back on his crate. "Whatever that might entail."

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra

As the man reaced over and gently closed the book on her lap, Kyra looked down in shock, suddenly realising what she had been doing. She felt a moment of conscious shame, before she nodded, answering in a what she hoped was a calming voice, but likely carried a hint of her own discomposure.

"Sorry...old habits. Yeah, I understand the whole not wanting to forget things, or leave things half-remembered..."

She shifted, suddenly uncomfortable as te silence stretched longer. She considered what else she could say, before realising there wasn't anything that the man likely hadn't already told himself. Instead, she leaned forward, placing a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him in an attempt to comfort him.

"What lead were you following that brought you here? Not that I'm in any way going to complain about your arrival - nor do I think she will."

Kyra nodded at the still sleeping girl, her chest rising and falling softly. Her eyes lingered for a moment as she considered all the chaos she'd seen here, wondering if it wouldn't be better to forget some things. Every experience is a new gain, even the bad ones.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

"Don't worry about it," Yu said in response to Kyra's apology. No reason to make any kind of fuss out of her attempts, intentional or not. Though at the mention of her understanding his position, the man was skeptical at best. This was perhaps one of those few things that could not be understood, only lived. Sympathy and empathy could only carry you so far. There were simply some stormy seas that could not be sailed.

Her question of what brought the man here resulted in him letting out another huff of resignation. "Oh boy. If I tell you, you're really gonna wanna break out that notebook there," the man said, half-joking. If it weren't for that entity that he and Askera had conjured up, Yu would have thought he was crazy himself. But then again, this was a game, and the peculiar was simply inspiration for content here. "Have you ever heard of the Red Threads of Fate?"

@Kyra Vashtana

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra Vashtana

220 / 220

She had to resist cracking open the book as the man questioned her. She glanced down at it, her fingers slipping in between the pages, itching to pull it open and begin that scratching with the pen again. Visibly resisting the urge, she forced the book to the side, before shoving her hands between her knees, putting pressure from either side to keep them there.

"Red Threads of Fate...? No, it doesn't seem familiar at all. Would it be related to that whole...Red Fever thing, that people keep talking about?"

She still wasn't entirely sure what that was either, although a fair number of individuals had mentioned it. It seemed to be an event from before her time in the game, although how long ago she couldn't quite say for certain. She only knew that it had some sort of global effect, and had left a number of players in a state that always seemed to have them on edge.

"I'm...fairly new to the game itself, so I'm still learning a fair bit that seems...err...common knowledge, to the more experienced players. Would be nice if there was some sort of compendium, or collection of basic facts that could be accessed. Would definitely alleviate some of the confusion for us newer folks, right?"

She flashed her smile even as she acknowledged to herself that it would never be possible. If there really was an organisation hunting down the players, well, anything on the outside world that would lead them back to Terrasphere, wouldn't be possible. As nice as it might be.

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Ha, no, Red Fever was it's own special kind of hell," Yugam chuckled, despite the memory not being happy in the slightest. The whole expedition from top to bottom had been a mess. People losing their minds, undead demons, giant insects, people dying. Red Fever had been the stuff of nightmares. And Yu had lost more than one night of sleep over it.

"There's actually a...library, or a museum or something over in Finweald," the man said. "The Fairway Athenaeum or something like that. Might not be as easy as a wiki page, but they have a lot of info over there if you ever need to do some research on something," he explained. Yu had visited the massive glass domed building on a few occasions, and each time he'd learned things he would've only by otherwise going out and experiencing them. And dying to some strange creature wasn't exactly high on Yu's to-do list.

"Anyways," Yu went on. "The red thread of fate is some Far East folklore. A red thread ties soulmates together," he explained. "In TerraSphere, however, its a little different. It ties you to...I dunno, I hesitate to say 'fated' people or places, but you get the gist. They're usually important to you for some reason." The man shifted in his seat momentarily, the wooden crate not making for the most comfortable seating. "I was following one of those."

@Kyra Vashtana