Research
Dark-robed shamans flitted about the underground sanctuary of the Sacred Stone like so many bats in a windstorm. They scurried to and fro, taking readings and measurements, running errands, and delivering reports of massive consequence.
Throughout all this flurry of movement Prince Lyon stood still - transfixed as he felt the peerless force of Grado's Sacred Stone as it bent to his will. It actually obeyed him! True, it was really only the energy radiating from the stone and not the stone itself (he was not allowed access to the Sacred Stone's true power - yet), but even this energy was so great it made his head spin. He felt giddy with the raw strength coursing through him. So this is how Ephraim feels when he holds a lance in his hand, Lyon thought. This is what it feels like to be strong.
With this new power there were endless possibilities before him. He could cure Father's illness, help the citizens of Grado, save lives - why, if he and his research team could recreate this ancient spell, they might even be able to read the future!
Lyon turned to one of the shamans. "Any progress, Knoll?" he asked.
"Nothing yet, sire," Knoll said as he consulted a report. "Much of the ritual has been lost to time, and the details we've managed to unearth are…disquieting, to say the least."
"Nevertheless, we must press on with our research," Lyon said firmly. "There has to be a way to harness the stones energy to -"
A commotion at the sanctuary's entrance drowned out Lyon's voice. "My prince, I must speak with you!" a shaman panted as she stumbled through her colleagues to Lyon and Knoll.
"Of course," said Lyon as the shaman caught her breath. "What is your name?"
"Ursula, milord. I bring word of a terrible fire in Serafew. Many citizens were injured, but the healers are treating their wounds and so far there have been no casualties. Except…"
"Yes, yes?" said Lyon.
"There is one child, sire. Her burns are terrible. Not even Heal staves can save her."
"How do you know this?" asked Knoll.
"I was there," Ursula explained. "I saw the houses consumed by fire, the…the screams…" She shuddered. "Fortunately General Glen was there to help put out the fire, and he agreed to take the child and me here to the capital. I thought that, if Serafew's healers couldn't save her, perhaps - if you'll forgive me sire - perhaps you could?"
"You brought the child here?" said Knoll.
Lyon's breath caught. A plethora of emotions surged beneath his wide eyes and parted lips. In his mind he could almost see the little girl, severely burned, the life rapidly leaving her. The excitement and anxiety were rising; he fought to calm himself as Father MacGregor had taught him, before he became flushed and faint. He would be of no use to his people in that condition. "Ursula, take me to the child, quickly," he said. "This is our chance, Knoll. If we can use the Sacred Stone's power, perhaps we can save a life!"
Ursula led Lyon and Knoll out of the sanctuary, up and up the long staircase to Grado Keep, and then into a room where Father MacGregor and four of Grado's best healers stood over the child in a worried cluster, their voices high and agitated. General Glen stood a little off to the side. The child herself lay unmoving on the bed.
"Sir Cormag has just arrived with the mother."
"Is the Mend staff ineffectual as well?"
"Move aside! His Highness Prince Lyon is here."
And then Lyon was at the child's bedside. The burns were worse than he'd imagined - but then again, he had never seen a very serious burn in person before. The charred black and red flesh extended from the right side of her face down her neck and over her chest to her abdomen. Some of her hair had been singed off. Her chest barely rose and fell with her faint, labored breathing. Lyon tentatively took her hand in his own.
The prince's voice quavered as he drew on the power the Sacred Stone had given him, begging for her to be well, to live, to live. The new strength coursed through him and into her. He heard gasps, but he could not take his eyes from the child's still form. She seemed to glow with an internal light; the blackness that marred her skin began to fade, her body to knit itself back together.
She now breathed deeply.
Then her eyes abruptly snapped open, and Lyon let go of her hand as she cried, "Mommy!" and launched herself into the waiting arms of a woman who must have arrived during the healing.
"Oh, my darling, I was so worried!" the mother cried, face alight with joy. She embraced the child tightly and sobbed into her hair, sobbed tears of happiness, such happiness, now that her daughter's life was restored.
Lyon beamed. Ursula, General Glen, and Sir Cormag (who had arrived with the mother) looked overjoyed, and even the ever-serious Knoll had a small smile on his face. But Father MacGregor was not pleased. As he met Lyon's eyes, his face set into grim, stern lines and his body went rigid with disapproval. He did not think it right to use the power of the Sacred Stone, not even to heal an innocent child.
Lyon closed his eyes briefly and turned away. Someday Father MacGregor would see how much Lyon's research benefited the people of Grado. Someday he would approve.
