Asclepius

- Battle Healer - Lore by IcyCrystal -

Healers are powerful, yet often underappreciated. They keep their party alive, and were arguably the most important member of a group, but because healers tend not to be fighters themselves, they are often scoffed at.

He was getting tired of never so much as getting a "thank you" from his group when out fighting monsters. So he decided that he was going to show them what he could really do.

He acted as per normal and waited until his group invited him to go out adventuring. "In case we die and stuff." As the leader put it.

Not today. There were no free revives from him, not anymore. They would know his power.

Besides, healing magic required knowledge of anatomy...who ever said that always had to be used for helping rather than harming?

They ventured out to a frozen tundra and were intercepted by an owl, a rather large one at that. It was also tougher than it looked, as his teammates struggled to attack it. Not only was it able to endure hits, it was also able to dodge with ease.

His group was getting irritated and he could tell they were heavily injured.

"Heal us already, healer!" The leader snapped. "We're about to die!"

They never called him by his name either, not that he even had one. It was always "healer". It irked him, why was he unworthy of so much as having a name?

Instead of healing them, he muttered a few words he never actually thought he would use. Normally, his magic was a vivid green to symbolize healing, but now, it was a dark crimson red. The color of blood.

The color of harm.

He cast his spell on the owl, watching as it spasmed and struggled to move. His teammates looked at him in both shock and horror, clearly not used to this show of power.

Ignoring their expressions, he focused his magic until the bird let out a huge screech, falling to the ground limp and lifeless.

He had just saved their lives, so he felt owed to a bit of gratitude. Of course, that's not what he got.

"You...you murdered that owl with your black magic!" The leader's lackey shouted, frightened. "You're a monster!"

The leader was struck speechless before saying, "You must be some sort of demon dragon, I've never seen such ruthlessness..."

This was about the response he expected. Glaring at the two, he began his rebuttal. "First of all, you kill monsters all the time, that's nothing new. Secondly, you're plenty ruthless when you're out hunting and adventuring, that's how battle works. I got tired of your ungratefulness so I decided to show off some of my offense capabilities. Know that I am far from useless." He hissed the last part.

They also weren't used to the meek healer sticking up for themselves, so they were silent for what seemed like an eternity. But, finally, one of them whispered, "Get out. Leave. We don't want you here."

He glowered. "I didn't want to be here anyway. Have fun dying when there's no healer to rescue you." He said resentfully, before flying away.

__________________________________________________
A few days had passed since then, and while he felt a bit guilty about what he did, he can't say he regretted it. Being alone was better than being with false company, he quickly learned. He needed food however, so he went bug hunting. He didn't find bugs though.

Instead, he found an injured Guardian groaning in pain.

Springing into action, he cast a healing spell on the wounded dragon, which quickly and effectively closed and repaired the wound, stopping the blood loss. The Guardian seemed confused, before their - no, he corrected himself, her eyes.

"I know for a fact that wounds don't close on their own like that, and I don't know an ounce of healing magic. Thank you, stranger. I owe you my life." The Guardian bowed.

He felt a foreign feeling in his body. Was this gratitude?

He played it off. "It was no problem at all, madame."

She smiled. "Thank you again, kind stranger. Say, you look famished. Would you like to join my family and I for lunch?"

For the first time in a long time, he returned the smile. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you."

What he didn't expect was to never leave that lair. She was an adventurer herself looking for a skilled healer, and now that he was out on his own, he needed shelter to protect from the elements as well as monsters.

He never felt happier. Finally, he was home.