My Little Warcraft - New Friends

by Shin Guyviroth

Chapter 30 - Lay On Hands

The air was thick with tension and laced with long strands of fear, if not into the hearts of the ponies that stood with Gai'vahros then definitely in their minds as they watched the two siblings confront one-another. The reveal of Liliandra's kinship with the blood knight still weighed heavily on the minds of those present despite Gai'vahros being completely complacent about it -- or so he appeared.

"Oh, now you decide to call me "sister"?" the death knight taunted him with a grin across her lips, causing the skin to stretch and split. "I didn't think you would have it in you, dear brother." Gai'vahros' brows narrowed and fixated upon the undead elf, but his expression only caused her to chuckle under her breath. "Oh, also, It's not "Dawnbreaker". It's "Deathstrike" -- Liliandra Deathstrike to you."

"So it's not enough for you to forsake your own people," sparred Gai'vahros against her words, "but you would piss on our family name, too? Do you plan on ransacking Quel'Thalas, too, like that scumbag Arthas before you?"

"I haven't made my mind up yet, but thank you for the tip -- it sounds much sweeter when it comes from your mouth." Gai'vahros scowled at her, almost bearing his gritted teeth. "And, they're not my people, "blood elf". My people were a proud race that fought valiantly with the powers of the light and the might of the arcane. My people didn't resort to using despicable demonic magics and siphoning the lives of others just to keep their own pathetic addiction in check."

"And, now, your people stand on the crumbling edge of hypocrisy, waging war against their kin alongside the Alliance because of a difference of ideals and nothing more."

Liliandra scoffed, brushing her long hair to one side. Her demeanour turned from one of snide to one of aggression. "I'm not here to discuss politics or factions, Gai'vahros. I'm here to discuss your death at my hands!"

The six ponies stood up and in front, forming a wall in front of Gai'vahros. "Like heck we're gonna let ya do that," exclaimed Applejack in defiance against the death knight. "You'll have to get through the lot of us first!"

"That can be arranged, beast," retorted Liliandra, swinging her huge weapon over her shoulder. "But, that time is not yet right. I'm only here to deliver you two things: a present, and a warning."

Gai'vahros raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "A present? I don't think anything that would come from you could be called a "present"."

"Oh? is that so?" The fingers of her gauntlet let out a loud, low ring as she snapped her fingers. Her skeletal mount lowered to the ground beside her. Reaching into one of the huge saddlebags strapped around its bare ribcage, she pulled out a long sword that was over half of her height in length. The hilt was forged of pure gold, curved and ornate with a blue jewel on both sides. The handle was wrapped tight in blue cloth with a gold pommel. The blade was long, wide and thin yet strong enough to carve through dragon scales and dark iron. Colours of pale pinks, royal blues and gentle aqua reflected from its pearlescent, prismatic surface as the light shone upon the blade. Elven runes were etched on both sides of the blade that seemed to glow a bright blue from time to time. "What about this? Would you call this a "present"?"

The blood elf's eyes widened as he stepped forwards past his companions. "Quel'Serrar! But… how did you get a hold of it? Where did you find it?"

"I found some mangy creature carrying it while I was trekking through the forests. Did you see my handiwork, by the way? I don't think I could have done much better with the place."

"So it was you who caused all that destruction. I thought the debris came from that damn blade of yours, Liliandra." It occurred to Gai'vahros that he was still standing among the wreckage of her most recent attack on the village, too caught up in their conversation to have noticed earlier. "What of the guards that were sent here? What did you do to them?"

"Oh, they're around. I'm not all that much of a monster, Gai'vahros, despite what you might have told your new friends here. Killing these pathetic animals wouldn't satisfy my blood thirst even if they sent their whole kingdom after me. They're no better than Quilboars. "

"Hey," cried Rainbow Dash, pressing forwards though held back by her tail, firmly gripped by Twilight's teeth. "We ain't as dumb as boars! We'll take you on any day of the week! Right, Gai?"

"Wrong!" yelled Liliandra as she flung the prismatic blade down towards them, causing the ponies to stagger backwards out of harm's way as it embedded itself in the dirt just a few feet in front of them. "You mongrels have no power over me -- even you, Gai'vahros! That is precisely why I am returning this to you. I have no wish to kill you while you are unarmed, weak and pathetic. Killing you in such a state would not satisfy me, much like how these ponies would not. I strongly urge you to get stronger, strong enough to face me in one-on-one combat. I will await you in the cold north, Gai'vahros." With great strength she leapt off the ground and onto the leather saddle of her mount. It reared back as she tugged on the reins roughly before taking off the ground. "Oh, and, that warning I mentioned: don't get too attached to that sword." With a hideous cackle she took off northwards towards the mountains.

A breeze of relief blew past the mares, relaxing their bodies and breathing sighs as the death knight faded into the distance. Twilight, however, could not help shake the feeling of omen as the last words of Liliandra echoed in her mind. "Gai'vahros," she spoke softly, "what did she mean by not getting too attached to your weapon?"

The elf looked down upon the sword's visage as it stood halfway into the earth. His eyes scanned the entirety of the body -- the blade, the guard and the handle all looked unchanged from what he remembered it looking like. Slowly he approached it despite the protests of his companions, laying a hand on the pummel. He didn't feel anything wrong with it. His hand slid down the handle, feeling the smooth leather wraps before curling his fingers tight around it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Swiftly he unsheathed it from the soil and into the air in front of him, pointing it outwards and turning the sword as he peered along the blade's surface. No form of corruption seemed to touch it, or, if it did, the trace was not noticeable by any stretch despite his acute sense to necromancy. "I'm not sure," he spoke finally. "I don't sense any dark magics within the blade. I wouldn't put it past her to say such things as a means to cloud my mind with doubt."

"I hope you're right." With one problem out of the way for the time being, Twilight focused on the next. Her head turned from one side to the other, seeing the aftermath of the destruction and violence around her. "We have to help get everything back to normal."

"We can help, too, Twilight," spoke Fluttershy, making her way to one of the knocked over plant pots and sitting it back up. She turned to Twilight and gave a big smile as though she had done something incredible to the cause. Twilight merely gave an awkward smile in return, but a legitimate smile nonetheless.

Gai'vahros let out a small smile at Fluttershy's commitment as well as everyone else's visible pledge to the cause. "We'll need everyone's help," he responded. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, could I trust you to comb the village for the injured and to take them to a nearby medical facility?"

"No probs, Gai," exclaimed Rainbow Dash as her and Fluttershy took off.

"Applejack, you think you'll be able to secure any building materials?"

"Sure can, Gai," she responded with enthusiasm. "We've got plenty of stuff back at the farm. Me an' Big Macintosh can get the stuff delivered in the time it takes a cow to chew the cud!" The pony galloped off towards the farm, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

"… What a nice thought," he muttered to himself as he recalled Applejack's comparison. "Twilight, Rarity, could you use your magic to help patch things up and assist with the rebuilding of the town?"

"Why, of course, darling," said Rarity as though such a task was simplistic. "Me and Twilight won't have any trouble giving people a hand! Just don't expect me to handle any mortar or soil."

"Right. Finally--"

"Ooh! Me!" cried Pinkie Pie as she pressed her face against Gai'vahros', hopping up and down with such energy and excitement. "What about me, Gai? I can help, right? You need tea? Cake? Belgium?"

"Oh, uh… Pinkie, you can… um…" Gai'vahros' eyes shifted from one side to the other, trying not to make eye contact with the hyped up pony as he tried to think of something to say. "You can… bring cake and laughter to the patients at the hospital…?"

"Yay! I can do that!" The pony hopped away with as much enthusiasm as glee as she normally managed, undeterred by what happened moments ago. "Oh! Wait! Sponge, fruit or carrot cake?"

"Carrot cake!" Gai'vahros cried out with almost the same dedication and enthusiasm that Pinkie did. Realising his utter deviation from his usual character, the elf cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah, carrot cake should be fine."

"Heehee! Okey-dokey, artichokey!"

A smile crept upon the lips of the elf. He began to understand more of Pinkie Pie. More so deeply than he could have conceived beforehand. He understood that she was the cheer in the despair. The joy in the sorrow. The hope in the hopelessness. It was her joyous nature and personality filled to the brim with humour and jubilation that made everything seem okay -- even what had happened just now. A chuckle escaped his lips as he watched her bounce away. "I guess that's everything sorted."

"Hey! Wait a minute, Gai," the small voice of Apple Bloom rung to his ears as the three young fillies approached him from behind. He had completely forgotten that they were still here. "Ain't there somethin' that we can do?"

The first thing he wanted to say was that they should get back inside or to go home and stay out of harm's way despite knowing that the threat was no longer present. However, he thought it would be better if he gave them a sense of duty. "Actually, there is something you can do for me," he spoke softly. "Can I count on you three to go around the houses and tell everyone that everything is okay now, and if they can help restore the village?"

"We can totally do that!" exclaimed Scootaloo, striking the air with her foreleg. "Cutie Mark Crusaders go!" the three of them cried out in unison before sprinting off towards the north.

Twilight gave out a giggle as she watched the three of them rush off with great passion and sense of helpfulness. "They never cease to amaze me," she said. Her gaze turned back to Gai'vahros to see his equally joyful smile, and yet her mind began to sullen. "Gai'vahros… are you going to go after her?"

"In time I will," he responded. "but my duties lie with Ponyville first. There are still things that we need to do, things I can help with."

"So what will you do now?" asked Rarity.

"I'm going to head over to the hospital and do whatever I can to treat the patients there. I can put my healing skills to use there."

"You mean like with Princess Luna and the stallion?"

"That's right. I'll leave everything to you, Twilight." Like Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash before him, Gai'vahros made way to the hospital to the south. "We should all meet back here when we're done so we can discuss what our next move will be."

"Good idea. See you soon."

---

The hospital was a lot bigger than Gai'vahros had imagined it to be, thinking that it would be like the usual medical establishments back on Azeroth where it would be a small hut or bunker. The entire building was as big as a mansion and almost in the same architecture, too. The walls were made of pale yellow masonry with strips of timber strewn across for support and for appearance. Dark magenta slates lined the roof and across the upper gable windows of light lavender. A top of the front of the roof and on a large marble sigh outside the building was the symbol of a red circle and white cross, indicating it as a medical center.

The elf allowed himself entry as he pushed open the double doors. Contrasting to the exterior, the interior of the hospital was almost all pure white and sky blue. The floor consisted of pale white laminate while the walls were painted in a pale, calm blue with stripes of white a few feet apart from one-another. The front hall consisted of two desks handled by receptionists along with several rows of seats for those awaiting treatment -- and with the sudden influx of injured patients, that would be a lot.

Approaching one of the reception desks, Gai'vahros tried to appear friendly although the bewilderment of finding himself in such a huge medical center was still a marvel to him to the point that his expression gave him away as someone who was more lost than helpful. The receptionists were as much afraid of him as he was impressed of the hospital to the point of trying to find a way to avoid contact with him. But, being receptionists, they had no choice but to acknowledge him and to try and be as helpful as they can. "Uh… Good afternoon, uh, Sir," one of them spoke out nervously. "Can I help you with anything…?"

"Oh! Yes, sorry," apologized Gai'vahros, realising that he wasn't paying attention. "My name is Gai'vahros Dawnbreaker. I was wondering if I could assist you with the treatment of your injured patients?"

The receptionist was beginning to feel more uncomfortable being around the elf, if not for his presence then for his query. "Are you a doctor?" she asked, raising an eyebrow above her oval glasses.

"Uh… sort of. I have skills and experience in first aid and I have many healing spells to help treat the wounded."

The receptionist starting pressing a small button underneath her desk rapidly. "Oh.. I see… could you just wait right here one second?"

"Of course." Gai'vahros stood for a moment before deciding to take a seat so as to not make the place feel untidy. He looked around and only saw the painful faces of many ponies around him, all suffering from injuries related to the attack on Ponyville. It hurt him deeply to see so many wounded in one place.

A minute passed before Gai'vahros was approached by a stallion wearing a long, white doctor's coat with a stethoscope around his neck. "Can I help you, sir?" the doctor asked as he looked down at the elf.

"Yes, Sir," he responded. "I was hoping I could aid you with the treatment of your wounded."

"The wounded? How do you know about this? And what could you possibly do to help?"

"It's a long story. And I can help heal your wounded with my healing."

"Huh! I don't know who you are, but I won't let you practice your voodoo hocus pocus in my medical establishment! Can you kindly leave here now?"

"This is not voodoo or simple magic," retorted Gai'vahros with impatience. "I shall prove it to you." He stood up and looked over to a nearby mare sitting only a few seats to one side of him. The poor pony looked exhausted as her breathing was slow and hazy. A large bruise on her head showed its blue-purple colour under her fine turquoise fur and a large gash in her foreleg was visibly causing her a great deal of pain.

Slowly he walked to her with good intent, but her face scowled at him, distrusting of him. However, she had not the energy to move or to fight back. "Let me help you," the elf spoke softly into her ear as he sat next to her. Gently he placed his hand upon her head, causing her to flinch and whine a little in pain as he pressed his palm on the large bruise. A veil of glistening, comforting light wrapped around his hand and fingers, shining more as the seconds passed by. The mare didn't feel threatened or uncomfortable. Indeed, she felt the warmth of the sun upon her head. The shooting, stinging pain numbed before disappearing entirely . The only feeling she had left was the feeling of being held and comforted like a newborn. A smile spread across her face. "How do you feel?"

"I feel… amazing," she uttered softly, still breathless though she began to feel her energy return to her, revitalizing her. "You're some kind of miracle worker…?"

"I only work with the will of the Light, ma'am." His other hand reached over and gently wrapped around the cut foreleg of the pony. Again she let out a yelp of pain as it shot through her, but, like before, the pain eased and dulled as the light enveloped the wound. Slowly the cut began to close as though the skin was regenerating itself. Her smile turned to an open mouth as she saw the wound disappear as though it had never even existed. The lights dulled as Gai'vahros took his hands away, revealing a perfectly closed wound and completely recovery of the bruise. "Do you feel better?"

The mare was astounded. She held up her foreleg in front of her, turning it around from one side to the other, trying to find some sort of catch or magic trick. She then touched her head where the bruise was, pushing and prodding on the skin but could feel no pain. "You… I'm… I'm completely cured…!" She let out a cry of joy as she jumped from her seat, showing off her treated wounds. "Look! Nothing! No pain or anything!" With great joy the pony dashed around the seats and out the front doors, yelling, "It's a miracle! He's a miracle!"

Gai'vahros gave a big smile as he saw her leave in a state that was the complete opposite from what she had been earlier. The doctor, however, was completely stunned and bewildered as he watched with a jaw-dropped expression. "I… I can't believe it," he muttered to himself though the elf was still able to keep within earshot of his soft words. "Sir, please, you have to help us! We're such short staffed at the moment and, with all of our prior patients to this sudden influx of wounded, we can't give everyone treatment as soon as possible. You said, you'll help us, right?" Hastily the doctor took out a small book from his pocket and a pen from behind his ear, flipped it open and jotted down some numbers. "What can I pay you? Five hundred? A thousand? Two?"

The velvet hand of Gai'vahros touched upon the doctor's hooves gently. Taking the pen from his grip and closing the cheque book, he smiled as the doctor looked back up at him. "The only payment I need is knowing that I've done what I can to help you, Sir." He placed the pen back behind the pony's ear. "Tell me what I need to do."

---

Small shines of glistening golds and pale yellows dazzled and sparked at one side of the waiting room as Gai'vahros worked his magic on those who needed it. With only a small bedroll for the patience to lay down on and the doctor beside him holding the appointment schedule, the elf kept up on the treatment required for each individual pony. Despite his fatigue after the first four or five patients, he did not relent nor even so much as ask for a break -- his skills as a healer were very limited at best, so it took more out of him than it would for someone who specialised in it. Regardless, Gai'vahros kept the line moving as one patient thanked him after another. Even Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stopped to marvel his work after they were able to bring in the last of the wounded in Ponyville.

"Wow, Gai," exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she kept her eyes plastered on the dazzling showcase of twisting and twirling strands of gold, "you're doing awesome! You've already gotten through most of the patients in only half an hour!"

Fluttershy, however, was more worried than in awe with Gai'vahros' handiwork. She kept gazing at him, scanning him with her eyes, noticing his hands began to shake and beads of sweat rolling down his brow and cheek. "Gai'vahros, are you feeling okay?" she asked, concerned for the well-being of the elf as he strained himself.

"Yeah… I'm fine," he spoke with a heavy breath after letting out a heavy pant, trying to breath in deeply to get some oxygen into his system. "I can't let up now. I'm almost done, right?"

"Only several patients left now, Sir," the doctor responded as he trailed his pen down the list, counting each name that hadn't been checked off yet, "but you should take a break. You've been at this for an hour now with no break or anything."

"An hour?" questioned Rainbow Dash. "But we didn't even bring that many patients in, right? We only bought in thirty or so wounded, if that."

Gai'vahros gave an exhausted sigh as he tried to focus on the wounds of the stallion in front of him, slowly closing up a large cut across the side of him. "These aren't the patients you brought it, my Lady Rainbow Dash. All of these other patients are those who had been in the hospital for days or even weeks -- ponies who have been in here since before the attack."

Fluttershy couldn't help but eye him with astonishment. "But how many are there?" she asked.

"Two dozen," the doctor responded, "maybe more. Even those who weren't injured were treated by him. Even the poor and sickly ponies were treated by him -- he's almost completely freed up our entire lot of vacancies on his own!"

"That's… that's amazing…" Before Fluttershy could take in the imagination of Gai'vahros working his miracle cures like he was some sort of prophet, she began to notice him slowly slump forwards, his eyes drooping. Quickly she moved forwards to catch him before he could collapse on top of the now cured stallion. Rainbow Dash and the doctor quickly helped support him up, resting him back against wall. "Gai'vahros! Are you okay?"

Gai'vahros looked back at Fluttershy, his eyes glazed over and jittering from side to side. His head began running around in circles, bounding against the front and sides of his skull as he tried to get his breath back. "I'm… I'm okay," he responded in stubbornness. He raised his hand up as though trying to reach out to something. His wrist was getting limp, shaking up and down. "I have to… keep going…"

Rainbow Dash took a hold of his arm, trying to stop him from shaking but it only caused her forelegs to move up and down to the rhythm of his twitches. "You gotta take a break," she spoke, laying his arm down to his side. "You're too exhausted to work. Sit back and relax for a while. The patients can wait for you, right?" She was right, too. The patients began to look at him as though he was a lot worse off than they were. Not a single one of them spoke or even gave the impression of disappointment or complaint as they gazed at the struggling elf.

"You're… you're right," relented Gai'vahros, leaning his hot head against the cold surface of the hospital wall. "A few minutes, I think… then I should be fine." His gaze shifted to the doctor. "You got any milk and cake?"

"I'll send for some immediately."

The minutes rolled by as Gai'vahros began to get his energy back. The nourishment from the food and drink helped him to recover much quicker, although he wasn't able to finish it despite the rather small portions. What few patients he had left began to quickly move quickly as he easily cured them one after the other as he had when he first started. Within minutes, the lot of them were done with.

"That's the last of them," the doctor said, scratching off one more patient from the list. "But…" He hesitated for a moment as though he was concerned about something.

"What's wrong?" asked Gai'vahros, standing to his feet, leaning over to the clipboard. Despite the doctor's claims of helping the final patient, there was still one more name on the list. Although, it was not a name as much as it was a label. "What's this one? "Griffon"?"

"Yes," the doctor acknowledged, "we had a griffon come in some time ago with extensive injuries, but no matter what we did, we could not improve her recovery. Right now they're just laying in one of our respite rooms, monitoring her progress… but nothing."

"Maybe I can help?"

"You're very welcome to try. Follow me. You can bring your guests, too."

The doctor lead the three of them down one of the corridors, leading them to a small room marked "M04". Slowly and quietly, he opened the door and made his way inside, leaving the door open for them to follow. "Please close the door behind you," he asked. He turned to the griffon laying on the bed. "Here she is."

The state of her was painful to look at. Various lacerations were spread along her body and limbs, some small yet some were visibly deep and wide. Some of the cuts were partially healed but some remained raw as though freshly created despite the lack of blood loss. Patches of fur and feathers were missing as though burned away. Large bruises covered much of her torso and head, showing signs of blunt force trauma -- heavy strikes from something large and dense, like the hilt of an axe. The body was hooked up with various wires and an oxygen mask over her beak, kept in a constant state of life support.

Gai'vahros recognized the blackened necrosis along some of the wounds -- corruption caused by Liliandra. It was no doubt that it was her who attacked this poor creature. "I've not had many good encounters with griffons before," spoke Gai'vahros in a sombre tone as he gazed upon the motionless and battered body, "but even seeing this creature in such a state pains me…" Rainbow Dash began to slowly approach her as though she had recognized her. Her expression was daunting to the blood elf. "Lady Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" he asked.

The Pegasus didn't reply. Gently she placed a hoof on the head of the Griffon, touching the three feathers that fringed her brow. "G… Gilda…?"

Comments

[WeasselK]

I starting to wonder if Gai'vahros can teach ponies some light magic.
By the way, should they already have some unicorn healing magic?

[Shin Guyviroth]

2897284 I'm fairly sure that there's no canonical healing magic in MLP. And, Gai'vahros can't teach his magic because his derive from Azeroth's Sunwell. Being a Blood Knight is not something that can be passed down. =/

[Bazing]

The moment I saw the word Griffin, I knew it was Gilda....