I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the new chapters of the manga! I've been re-watching a lot of the anime and wanted to update this piece for a while now. Hope that you all will have fun with the new chapter :D

As a side note: While the Surgeon's story has come to an end, I assure you that I've still got plenty of plans regarding this fic, so, if there's an audience for more, I'd love to write more. Do let me know what your thoughts are about another arc or wrapping it up :D

Chapter 21: Love

My name was Viviana De Lancey. But, you probably know me by one of my other names. The Great Healer. The White Sage. The Red-headed Saint of Blood. The God of Death. The Surgeon of Death. I picked none of them for myself. They were all assigned to me. The only names I wanted were: Viviana, Viv, sister, lover, mother. Nothing more, nothing less.

Viviana means 'alive' or 'lively'. My mother was so worried that I would die, like her previous child, a brother we had, the only male in the family, who died a few months after birth. She was so desperate to have me live that she named me life itself. I lived according to that name, for as long as I could. I valued each and every breath of life the Mother Goddess blew into this world, from the smallest life of a beetle to the grandest life of untold beings more powerful that humans could ever dream to be. I learned to save life. But, even that came to an end.

Nova slipped off the cart, grabbing her backpack, the large shovel she'd bought on the way and the dirty wicker basket where the remains of the Surgeon lay, wrapped in a sheet. She walked to the front, offering the man who drove her the last stretch of the road a few coins.

"Thank you very much for the ride," she politely said, bowing. She knew that her payment for the ride was too much, but she could spare the money and she'd obviously made the man's day. He had been reluctant to take on a passenger who looked like a bat outta hell, dirty and carrying suspicious items. She really needed to wash her travelling cloak.

"Take care of yourself, lass," he waved, spurring his horses onwards. Nova turned away from the road, looking toward the goat's path which looked rarely used. It led further up the mountain. With a huff, she pulled the wicker basket onto her back, swung her own backpack onto one shoulder and then headed up. As she trudged up the narrow path, the overgrown bushes on each side caught her hair and clothes, pulling with thorns, like they wanted to tell her to stay away. But, Nova knew her destination. She was heading for the very top, right where the Amalie river began. It had been the birthplace of Viviana De Lancey, a small village called Tihan, long abandoned and forgotten by time.

I met Aristides Potestas when I was just eighteen. A greenhorn, you could say. He seemed grand at that time. He sent me official summons, with a proper carriage embellished in gold, manned by a footman. It felt like I was a princess, being driven out of my small village to the Capital, where tailors, cosmeticians and hairdressers waited on me hand and foot. But, I was young and naïve. Aristides simply wanted a pretty package for the useful set of skills he'd heard about. My wanting to save my sisters from their illnesses had painted a golden crown on my head. And a crown is nothing but a bull's eye. I learned that too late.

Aristides welcomed me into his court with full nobility in attendance. He talked about him hearing of my healing prowess far and wide, praising me with each breath. I was enamored. He was handsome, older and powerful. He had everything I needed to heal my family and he was willing to open the doors of his kingdom to me, for a small price – I had to work for him, heal for him. It seemed a trivial thing back then. Now, I know that the price was too steep.

Aristides loved birds. He kept a whole menagerie of them in a section of his quarters, all in cages. They seemed healthy enough, but they never sang. Colorful birds in golden and silver cages, embellished with diamonds and rubies. Aristides never let them out. He never let them fly. He even prided himself in clipping their wings, disabling them from ever leaving him. His own little collection of beautiful things. Before I knew it, I too, was one of his birds, wings clipped, doomed never to leave him. For Aristides feared being left alone most of all. And he never allowed anyone to commit that crime.

Nova caught sight of the first roof, the tallest one, after a few hours of walking uphill. She huffed and placed the basket and her pack down, resting. It had been her twentieth break from the road to the top. After a quick drink of water and wiping the sweat from her brow, Nova picked up her burden again and walked the last leg of the path to Tihan.

The village was a ghost town. The tallest building, the first one to come into view, was the church which lay abandoned, like the rest of the settlement. It was made in dark wood and stone, hence the only one steadily standing, still. The houses were all wooden, in various states of decay. Most seemed charred and destroyed by the elements during the long years when they weren't used or maintained.

Nova took the main road, walking further up the mountain. From the memories in her head, so clearly not her own now, she knew that Viviana had lived at the very top of the village. She passed something akin to a village square, spotting a water pump. She stopped there briefly to refill her supply. Then, she trudged on. Her shoulders hurt, the ropes holding the wicker basket chafing them, despite her shirt being made of sturdy material. She'd taken off her cloak and tossed it over the remains in the basket after a bit of climbing due to the warm weather. But, despite the pain, Nova still kept going. She was almost there.

Aristides made every single dream of mine come to life. He offered me riches, power, status and love. He gave me everything. Still, he couldn't give me what I needed most – time. Soon enough, his love proved toxic. He didn't know how to love me for the free person, in touch with nature, that I was. He didn't love Viviana, a simple village girl who wanted to heal the world, he loved The Great Healer, a grand image of a saint which he'd created. Nothing I ever did was enough. His generosity had to be earned. His allowance of my indulgence with magical tools had to be earned. His love had to be earned. I realized too late that love was not something earned and paid. It was a magic of nature itself. It was something freely given. Freely and generously imparted on whomever one chose to impart it on.

He built a tower which he kept me in. My little golden cage. It was a grand tower, right next to the palace where he kept court. Not too close to be seen as inappropriate, yet just close enough so that I could never leave him. My gilded cage. The Healing Tower, as the people called it. I called it the Prison Tower. For none who entered it on Aristides' orders could ever leave. We were his other menagerie. We were another set of birds he kept, just close enough to see the glittering vivacious feathers. Nothing more, nothing less. We, too, never sang. We merely existed to be his possessions.

Nova stopped digging, raising her dirty hand to her forehead and wiping. A streak of dark soil was left in the wake of her fingers, but she didn't care much for it. She simply shrugged it off, returning to her task after a breather.

She'd found the small meadow from her memories, of more like the Surgeon's memories, recognizing the graves easily. It was the final resting place of the De Lancey family. A small graveyard, really. It had been forgotten by time for so long. There was a green meadow, right next to the worn down skeleton of a village, long abandoned. The houses were run down, in ruins, most of them having lost their roofs and upper floors. The church really was the only thing left in semi-good condition. But, the bell which she knew existed at the very top of it didn't ring anymore. There was no laughter in the village, no joyous screams of children playing games, no women singing as they worked and waited for their husbands to come home from the fields. The small place called Tihan had been silent for centuries. The home of Viviana De Lancey was dead, much like her. Nobody remembered it, and those who had heard of it, didn't mention it.

The graveyard was more of a small garden. The bodies, left to decompose in wooden coffins, had long become part of the nature around them. They had been the most fertile ground around for wildflowers and, oddly enough, fragrant roses. After hopping the metal fence which was broken in places, Nova had found the De Lancey family section of it. There, among her sisters, next to her husband and child, she was putting Viviana to rest. Finally, the woman would be able to be in peace.

In retrospect, she probably should've asked Julian to send someone with her. Not because of the danger of going alone into the deserted region, because there really was no living soul in her vicinity, but because of the manual labor. Digging a grave on her own was a hassle. Even with frequent breaks, during which she used her magic to move the shovel, Nova was beyond exhausted. The remains of Viviana De Lancey were just a measly few bones now. Still, they sat next to the sizeable hole, urging her to keep digging. Not to take those breaks, but to push herself and keep going.

If you're looking for a tale of romance, I can't give you that. My life was anything but romantic, though it might be a tale of love. Until Sana, it had been dull. After his death, it was simply agony. But, if you're looking for a journey of a young woman, from a girl into a wise old crone, that I can give.

The path of medicine isn't easy. In my time, healers were scarce. Healing wasn't something which was valued at court or among the military ranks. Those of us fortunate enough to be able to mend human flesh were looked at as the lowest of the low. We were categorized as borderline useless members of society. Mortality rates were high and human life was expendable. Families were large and no parent was attached to their children.

I was unconventional in every way possible. My sisters often told me that I loved too deeply. An instance I can still recall is the time my father brought home a pregnant mare. He had hoped to birth her and sell the calf. But, I'd grown attached to it the instance its little hooves came out of its mother. There was no parting me with it. I paid for it out of my own pocket, bought it, raised it. It died after three years from famine. My father scolded me, telling me I ought to learn my lesson. Money wasted was just that – money wasted. All living things died. A dead horse was no good. A dead human was no good. And we would all be no good in the end.

I didn't believe him. I never learned that lesson. Instead, I devoted myself to learning how to apply my magic to extending those expendable lives. And, I was lucky enough to live during a time when those skills became precious. The Wizard King at the time, Aristedes, sought to change the country. He established an order of healers, a school for them, an Academy within reach of the Capital. It was a mere meadow away, on a steep hill, a tower rising high into the sky. That was where I thought my home would be. But it turned out to be my prison.

Still, if I recall my time learning and exploring, innovating, I have no regrets. At the Healer's Tower rank, status, blood or relation had no bearing. It was a place of skill-based rewards and rank. I quickly rose to my first title – The Great Healer. In a time when battles were frequent, I had much opportunity to prove myself on the field. The dream Aristedes had imparted on us in that Tower quickly became reality. We became Saints.

I can't give you advice. People are highly troublesome creatures. Humans are inherently deceitful and fond of trickery. They are selfish and can be cruel. I can't give you advice. But, I can tell you that rarely, sometimes even never, you may find your way to a truly good person. Someone who will care for you as Sana cared for me. Someone who will seek not their own profit, but who will put you first. Those are the people you must never let go of. And, if they leave, you ought to chase after them. Don't be afraid. Keep asking. Keep dreaming. Keep chasing. Go where those hands take you and you will have lived a life worth living.

So, from Viviana De Lancey, the woman who has caused you much trouble, I implore you – go where the sound of love is.

On her way back to the Capital, Nova read through the pages which Viviana had written for her. The letter she hadn't expected. Nor had she expected the lovely words written inside. Viviana didn't seem like a woman of sentiment, at least not for someone like Nova, who had been mere means to her end, but she'd come to realize her own error in judgment. The Surgeon of Death was, in the end, a woman so deeply scarred by the society she had lived in that it broke Nova's heart. She was torn about her feelings, sitting there in the back of a merchant's cart, making her way towards the Capital. On one hand, she really was still miffed about being possessed. Or, merged. Whatever that had been. She really hadn't enjoyed the whole ordeal. On the other hand, she had too much empathy sometimes, and she really did feel for Viviana. The life the woman had led… was too much for one person to bear. From a healer's perspective, Nova could understand the mental break the woman had suffered and all of her subsequent actions were understandable. Not defendable, but understandable. In the end, Nova realized that she hadn't been mad at the Surgeon, directly, in any way. She had forgiven the woman before even suffering through her possession. Curse her and her empathy.

Standing at the top of the hill above Tihan after finishing her digging in the graveyard, Nova had taken a moment to look at her handiwork. The new grave next to the seven other mounds was clumsily made. It wasn't as perfect as the other ones. Still, in the waning sun, with the green meadow glittering with wildflowers, she didn't think that Viviana would mind her clumsy funeral. It had been an earnest attempt at giving the woman some peace. She truly hoped that, wherever one went after death, Viviana had managed to find her loved ones. That she'd finally managed to become happy and at peace, something she hadn't had in life.

With a small smile on her face, Nova separated the letter Viviana had left her from the notes about healing magic and other techniques which had been left behind, almost as a manifesto of sorts. She tucked the letter into the small bag where her grimoire resided and made certain that it wouldn't fall out when she used her magic next time. It was a precious thing, after all. A memento from the woman she'd idolized for so long. A reminder that she was meant for bigger things than healing broken legs and arms out in the boonies. A reminder that she had the greatness inside of her which her mother had predicted. Nova was, for the first time, filled with fire.

Nova arrived back to the Capital a few days later. While the journey to Tihan had seemed quick, the return trip appeared too long to her. Sure enough, she'd read through the majority of the Surgeon's legacy on the way back. However, not even that had helped quell the feeling of restlessness which had ignited inside of her. She wanted to get back instantaneously. To bury herself in Will's notes and finally be able to enter the section of the library dedicated to forbidden research – curses. She'd wondered about her specialty from time to time. Surgery had been appealing for so long. The detailed sketches of the human body, outlining all the major and minor organs and intricate nervous and blood systems, had been endlessly fascinating to her in her youth. She could still remember stealing into the structure reserved for the Master Librarian who kept grimoires and records safe for her village and the neighboring ones, reading until the odd hours of the night, or until she got caught. However, blood and guts failed in comparison to the mystery of curses. The runic background, the ties to the mysterious Devils, all of it was quite fascinating. Perhaps because it was a new unknown to her. The Surgeon's legacy did detail a number of techniques and counters, but it didn't provide a lot of answers. It served to give her even more questions instead.

So, when Nova entered the Tower after her weeklong trip, she didn't feel tired at all, despite the long journey and the soreness in her limbs. Instead, she felt eager to work. To delve deeper. To discover more. It was akin to that feeling one got, after a long night of work, when in the morning light they became revitalized for no reason whatsoever. Nova had been victim to that 'second wind' so many times in her life. But, she knew well enough that one crashed from those heights faster than they rose to them.

After opening the tall wooden doors, the inside of her home was silent. She smiled at that, happy that she wasn't returning to an emergency. She laid her broom on the rack next to Mary's and took off her travelling cloak. She frowned at it, deciding that it needed a good wash before the next trip. It had become rather ragged due to the last few times she'd worn it. Perhaps she would need to purchase a new one. And a couch. She'd decided that a couch in her room would do well for Magna and Luck who visited a lot. That way, she could remove the possibility of them having yet another row in the middle of the ICU or the records room, which she still hadn't forgiven them for.

She smiled to herself, thinking of the two. In the wake of her incident, she had felt that everyone around her had been walking on eggshells. Will was tentative whenever he spoke to her, looking at her in a way she could only describe as gentle or even remorseful. Mary kept hugging her. Even Elizabeth had asked her to do more things around the Tower. It was Magna and Luck who hadn't gone soft on her. They still treated her much the same. She adored them for it. She truly did. Even though Luck's mere presence sent her heart into what she could only describe as an overdrive, she relished in the time she spent with them. Which was a lot, because they always seemed to seek her out, much to Will's annoyance.

Nova took off her shoes and left them below her cloak, so she didn't track mud across the stairs. Mary would have a fit. In only her socks, she walked up the stairs towards her room groggily. She desperately wanted a bath before she got started on her work. She wanted to cross-check a lot of what the Surgeon had written in the papers with the new books and records available at the Tower. Surely, it would take all night and Will would be blue in the face from yelling at her in the morning. She was looking forward to it, rather masochistically.

"Nova!" The voice coupled with the hand on her shoulder shook her awake, finally. "I know you just got in, but we've got an emergency!" The girl blearily looked up from her uncomfortable sleeping position in the basement, lying half on top of the research she'd been deep into the previous night. Will didn't wait for her to fully wake up. He just motioned for her to follow. "We got a request for medical aid from the border with Spade, come on, kid!" And with those magic words, Nova was completely awake.

She went up into the common area, finding Elizabeth, Owen and Mary already there, poured over a map. When she and Will arrived, they didn't pause in their conversation, leaving the two to catch up on their own.

"The outbreak started here," Mary pointed to the map, "- but the letter was sent a few days ago and it says that the disease had spread a within five days." Owen frowned.

"We're playing catch-up," he grumbled. "How many dead?"

"It says that the first to die were previously healthy men and women who work in the fields," Mary explained. "Ten severely sick and over fifteen dead."

"That's a lot for a village that size," Will commented, coming closer to the table. Nova spotted the letter, written messily and laid on the side. "They would have, what, maybe fifty workers in a settlement of that size?"

"We had about forty in my hometown," Nova supplied. "When you're looking only at fieldwork and those keeping livestock." Owen nodded.

"Then, we can count about half of the active workers severely affected by this," he concluded. "Symptoms?"

"Fever, chills, stomach pain, extreme weakness in limbs and joints," Mary listed off, looking at the letter. "The local doctor said that some even had a form of a rash which spread from their fingers and toes where skin began to peel and fall off, leaving open wounds." Owen clicked his tongue.

"Alright," he took a pencil and circled the village and its surrounding area on the map. "This is the epicenter of the disease. The surrounding areas which could be affected would be-" his pencil went to the closest settlements and circled them, as well, this time in a broken line. "There," he concluded. "If we consider trade and merchants, the possibility of the illness spreading even further is plausible. We need to stop it in this area, or it could take half of the population easily."

"From the symptoms, it could be an infection?" Nova suggested.

"Or an animal transmitted disease," Elizabeth added.

"Or a curse," Owen somberly said, making them all glance at Nova. "Hence, our game plan will be the following," the healer stated, putting his pencil down. "Nova and Will are taking the outbreak scene. You will be in charge of identifying the illness and its cause, along with administering the first line of defense. Save whoever you can by whatever means you can. Consider your hands untied and use whatever skills you have at your disposal."

"Yes, sir," the two chorused.

"Mary and Liz are to take the surrounding settlements," Owen continued with a nod. "Test everything, administer preemptive medicine and try to keep it at bay. You will need to make contact with the local healers and set up checkpoints for entry and exit. Nobody who is even under suspicion of infection will be allowed to leave the area. Get quarantines ready and set up there."

"Understood," Mary replied while Elizabeth nodded.

"I will take the Capital and the nobles, because they will surely be the most troublesome to deal with," Owen sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "I will handle all the personnel health checks personally." He turned to them, looking at them one by one. "Remember to wear protective gear at all times. We can't allow for either one of us to become infected. Submit a list of Knights who will be asked to help you complete your tasks. Remember to consider everything from being capable of holding down a quarantine to giving you a hand in healing, and also the possibility of the villagers looking to flee the settlements. Tonight, we need to set out, we've already lost too much precious time."

"Yes, sir," the four healers all rushed out, going towards their rooms to pack their belongings while they considered the best teams for their tasks.

That's all for now folks!

Reviews:

Kalithesavior:
Thank you very much for the lovely review!
I'm glad that you've been having fun with the fic! I feel like the Luck section of the fandom is severely lacking, so I'm doing my best to provide some amusing content :)
I hope that you will enjoy the update!

Kadienewberg:
Thank you so much for the review!
Magna and Luck are definitely possessive, now, whether their feelings are familial or not.. Is up for debate? xD However, I do enjoy writing this side of them and exploring their characters more than what we get in the original franchise :D
Best!

AmericanNidiot:
Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Viviana is definitely a knockout lol I can see why you would picture her as Madame Red! Gosh, I remember seeing that woman for the first time and I was in love with her I tell you hahahaha
Luck, as always, is a pesky little thing xD There is no telling who he will zap and who he won't! It's a constant danger zone hahaha (Part of why we love him, though…)
I thought about adding a part with her reaction to his zapping of her behind, but then I decided to go another way instead… A sacrifice I had to make, unfortunately xD She definitely found him rather annoying, though :P
Hope you'll enjoy the update!

KEZZ 1:
Thank you so much for the review!
I'm glad that you're still enjoying the story :D I hope you will like the update!