Darksiders: The Seed of Knowledge

Chapter Twelve

The journey to the High Chancellor's castle had taken almost two days.  Faith had insisted they travel on foot out of deference to Fenrir, and the wolf had not yet recovered enough to teleport.  War had thought the walk was painstakingly slow, but then, he didn't have the same need for sleep and sustenance that Faith and Fenrir did.

When they'd finally arrived at the castle, they left Fenrir with the healers and allowed a contingent of guards to escort them to the throne room.  There, Faith had formally apologized to Ruah for abusing his hospitality.

"I meant no offence, Your Excellency," she'd said, "but I didn't know how your people would react to War's presence when he arrived.  And I didn't know when that would be, only that I didn't have time to ask for a medical kit, or the other supplies I needed.  I'm sorry for troubling you.  I was simply trying to avoid conflict."

The elven ruler had forgiven her without hesitation and ordered his servants to provide the girl with whatever she might need.  Within the hour, Faith's largest bag had been filled to the brim with provisions, her book bag with unused journals and pens.  When War asked her what the journals were for, Faith replied that they were for the calculations and equations she may need to solve.

Next, they'd gone to the hospital wing.  Faith was instantly greeted by Rava, the apprentice healer who'd aided her recovery after the surgery.  The elf sat the girl on an empty cot and treated almost all her ailments; the new wounds on her cheek were reduced to three thin lines.

Faith had then been given a mirror to study her now-faded scars.  They didn't mar her features, and she wouldn't have cared if they did.  Her face was naturally pretty, yes, but she'd never thought of herself as such; she'd never had the time to care about something so petty.  Still, she smiled at her reflection now; the new scars made her look like a badass, and she found that quite thrilling.

Towards the end of the healing, a second apprentice had come up to them and brought Faith and War to a private chamber in the hospital.

They found Galen waiting for them there, and Faith realized immediately that this was about her rune.  After explaining what had let to the discovery of the new parasite, Faith removed the armor around her torso, laid down on the table and lifted her shirt without any instruction.  War stood by the door as the healer examined the scar from the surgery he'd performed.

"When we removed the original parasite," Galen explained, "we branded you with this rune to purge all traces of it and prevent the preservation spell from creating a replacement.  That blow you took in your sparring match damaged the rune, or at least the power behind it."

Faith frowned.  "It's fractured?"  She turned her head and met the Horseman's gaze, finding him frowning in thought.

"Not visibly, but yes," the healer told them.  "The rune may hold a while longer, but it cannot stop the new parasite from seeping through its cracks."

"Sorry I ruined your hard work."

"It was inevitable, I suppose.  Normally, I would advise my patient to avoid any form of combat for the next few weeks, but I imagine that would be very unlikely in this case."

"Very," Faith and War agreed.

"Then I'd suggest, at the very least, that you tread carefully with this new power."

"That I can do," Faith said.

Later, after Galen allowed Faith to restock her medicine bag, they picked up Fenrir from the infirmary and secured Faith's bags to his back with a makeshift harness.  That done, they left elves' domain, riding their mounts to the door to Agramon's lair.  The beasts maintained a brisk pace for several miles, Fenrir just ahead of Ruin, since the Horseman didn't know where they were going.