Professor Healer

Prologue: The Last Arcanian

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It was a moonless night, almost a century ago, when the air in the Arcanians' hidden sanctuary grew heavy with danger. The once-quiet forest that concealed their haven from the world outside now buzzed with an eerie stillness, as if the earth itself held its breath. Selene and Leandro Fortun, two of the last remaining Arcanians, stood in the center of their modest yet mystical home, eyes trained on the door. They could feel it—the presence of death lurking just beyond the treeline. The Bathalumans had found them.

"Leandro, they're here," Selene whispered, her voice barely audible as she stepped closer to her husband. She clutched the amulet around her neck—a relic passed down through generations of Arcanians, containing the key to their powers and their greatest secret: the Elixir of Healing. It was the source of life and strength for their people, granting the power to heal any wound, even bring people back from the brink of death. But in the wrong hands, it could become a weapon of unimaginable destruction.

"I know," Leandro replied, his voice steady despite the storm brewing in his chest. He placed a hand on Selene's shoulder, his touch firm but tender. "We're out of time. We must send it now."

Selene nodded, her heart heavy with the weight of what they were about to do. For years, they had kept the Elixir hidden, guarding it from those who sought to exploit its power. But the Bathalumans, an ancient and malevolent organization that thrived on harnessing mystical energies for their own evil purposes, had been hunting them for decades. Their leader, a twisted soul named Idris, believed that whoever controlled the Elixir could control the balance of life and death itself.

But they would not allow Idris to get his hands on it—not while they still breathed.

Leandro moved swiftly to the center of their home, where a small altar sat carved from ancient stone. Runes and symbols glowed faintly in the dim light, reacting to his presence as he began the ritual. The air crackled with energy as Selene joined him, standing at his side. Together, they would send the Elixir far beyond the Bathalumans' reach, through a portal of space and time, to a place where it could remain hidden until the last of their bloodline, their son Lucas, was ready to retrieve it.

Lucas.

Selene's heart clenched as she thought of their son, hidden deep within the sanctuary's underground chambers. He was only fifteen, too young to face the full wrath of the Bathalumans. Though they had trained him, honed his powers since birth, he was not yet strong enough to face the dangers that now bore down upon them. Not yet.

Leandro's voice broke her thoughts. "Selene, it's time."

With a deep breath, Selene raised her hands over the altar, her fingers trembling as they hovered above the glowing runes. She felt the pulse of the Elixir beneath her skin, a warmth that spread through her veins, almost as if the Elixir itself was resisting—knowing it was about to be cast away. She closed her eyes and focused, pouring all her energy into the spell as Leandro did the same.

A swirling vortex of light and energy began to form above the altar, twisting and churning like a tempest. The Elixir of Healing, encapsulated in a brilliant orb of light, rose from its resting place in Selene's hands, spinning slowly as it ascended into the vortex.

"Send it through," Leandro urged, his voice strained as the portal grew unstable. Time was running out.

With one last surge of power, Selene and Leandro thrust the Elixir into the portal. The light intensified, blinding them for a moment before the orb of healing vanished into the swirling maelstrom. The portal flickered, crackled, and then closed with a resounding clap of thunder, leaving the air thick with the remnants of its magic.