Draconia Offline vol. 1

36.1. Hurt - Part 1

Numb.

I feel... numb.

Weak.

Sore all over.

My right wing is hurting as if thousands of needles are piercing into the wound and it's maddening. My mana is leaking through the injury, making me dizzy. I try stopping it but it's no use. I can't focus. I can hardly lift a finger.

According to the lore, our mana circuit is most complex in the spine and wings. Other races would probably guess it's our hands because most casters prefer to hold their palms stretched out and make a transfiguration symbol right in front. But that's totally unnecessary. It's not our hands, those are actually not important at all during spellcasting. It's our wings. Mana gets out of our body through them when we channel.

And right now that most important part of my body is injured. Not only it hurts like hell since Celestial wings are unbelievably sensitive, I can feel that it also disrupts mana energies in my whole body. If I tried to cast, I'd probably make it only worse. Not that I'd be able to cast anything in my current state.

I feel that some of my ribs are broken and it makes breathing difficult but they don't bother me that much really. All I can think about are my feathered limbs. Just how important are wings to Celestials? Are we really going to die instantly if the injury is too severe? It's not just a penalty like it was ingame. It's a literal game over here in real life. Even if our heart is still beating and all organs stay intact, we would just die. And considering how huge our wings are... they're a pretty easy target to hit.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER LET HIM GO THERE!"

Oh, it's Liana. How nice to hear her voice, even when she's raging. I focus on shallow breathing and snuggle under the blanket. It's heated, how nice. Let's just listen for now, I'm too tired for anything else anyway.

"Everything was happening too fast, Your Excellency," Vermiel isn't opposing, only feebly explaining. "It was pure chaos and then suddenly our Emperor is floating in the air. We were shocked, too. Nobody expected His Majesty would be able to fly so soon."

"I was shielding Aefener with my own body the whole time but nothing could prepare us for him trying to fly," Fefnir supports poor Vermiel.

"YOU-SHOULD-HAVE-NEVER-LET-HIM-GO-THERE-IN-THE-FIRST-PLACE!" Liana is dramatically pausing after every single word. "You were supposed to protect him, Vermiel, not let him lead a damn SWAT team! We can't lose our Emperor! He's irreplaceable, for fuck's sake!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Vermiel loses it. "But you weren't there, Viceroy! If it wasn't for His Majesty, we wouldn't even be here right now."

With Liana finally calming down, the room grows silent which means that everyone hears my quiet whine when I try to move.

"Is he awake?" Liana gets startled. "You told us he'll be sleeping for at least ten hours straight."

"Shouldn't be so soon," Julia is astonished. Of course, I must be in her infirmary, where else. "But that sedative is made for humans so it's apparently not as effective for Draconians."

Liana jumps to me and clutches my hand. I connect to her immediately. I'm too weak to resist right now. She was expecting it so she doesn't flinch and lets me in. Oh, what comfort. What familiarity. I love her Celestial mind. I love her. I'm glad I could save her. Save everyone.

"Aefener, you silly, why did you do such a dangerous thing?" she berates me but her mind is overflowing with kindness.

I want to reply something but Julia flashes an injection above my arm and the world goes dark again.