Page 39 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
The mage reached out with his aura to suffuse it to Jaega’s as he focused on mending the bones into setting properly. Satisfied that was done, he reconnected the tendons before healing the scars on the warrior’s hand from where a Divine weapon had gone clean through over a century ago.
Once he was satisfied the injury had been healed completely, he looked up at Jaega. “How does that feel?” Auslin asked as he released Jaega’s hand.
Jaega stared in shock at his unblemished hand. He watched in disbelief as he curled all five of his fingers for the first time in over one hundred years. His ring and pinky fingers now moved as if they had never been injured. He could form a fist without pain, which had been impossible only minutes ago.
“How?” Jaega questioned in awe.
Auslin shrugged. “I’m not really sure.”
Clasping Auslin’s smaller hand between both of his, Jaega’s eyes were warm with genuine emotions. “Vanra, you have my deepest gratitude. I am in your debt.”
“No, no, training me is more than enough.” It was always awkward when shifters swore him a debt of gratitude.
“You say your other ability is purifying?” Jaega asked.
“Yes, but I only do it as an absolute last resort.” He didn’t want Jaega to think he did it on a regular basis. “It’s not something I’m proud of, but I have been forced to do so for my safety.”
“Show me.” Jaega gestured off to the side, causing a wooden rabbit doll to float in midair, buoyed on an orange cloud.
Auslin wasn’t entirely sure what he was being asked to do. “You want me to purify that?” When he received a nod in confirmation, he extended his purifying abilities in its direction. It disappeared into a puff of dust that scattered to the floor.
“Remarkable,” Jaega praised the human. “Another!”
This time, two wooden rabbit dolls appeared. Auslin purified them both before another three replaced them. It continued until there was a row of seven of them staring Auslin down.
“Can you get rid of them all at once?” Jaega asked.
“All at once? You mean in one blow?”
Jaega nodded. “Precisely.”
Auslin had never tried to do such a thing before. He was also tiring from using so much of his powers, but it was too embarrassing to ask for a break.
When Auslin didn’t immediately act, Jaega changed topics. “Have you ever channeled your powers through a weapon before?”
“I can infuse them into an arrow that will purify at a distance, but that’s still taking them out only one at a time.”
Walking over to the wall covered in weapons, Jaega selected two metal swords. He gave one to Auslin. “Channel your power into your blade like this.” He demonstrated, causing the sword to glow on the edges with flickering orange dragon fire. “When you swing it, project your powers to the enemies in front of you to take them out in a single blow.”
Jaega then swung the sword in front of him, casting the orange fire in a wide arc. All seven of the wooden rabbit dolls bobbing in midair disintegrated. Seven more immediately appeared in their place for Auslin to try next.
Auslin concentrated on channeling his powers into the sword as instructed. It glowed around the edges with wisps of purple smoke emanating off it. He did his best to replicate what Jaega had done by slashingwhile trying to push his powers out through it toward the seven rabbit dolls.
To Auslin’s surprise, they all dissolved into dust. He staggered with the effort.
“Well done, Vanra.” Jaega clasped him on the shoulder with a squeeze. “Come, let us rest for a moment.”
“Thank you.” Auslin sat down on the floor as Jaega did the same. “I’m sure training a human isn’t something you were planning on doing, but I appreciate your guidance.”
Jaega studied him with curiosity. “I would not have expected a human to be in command of such powers. Who was your teacher?”
“I’ve never had one,” Auslin told him with a shrug. “I’ve never met anyone with powers like mine, so there was never anyone to train with before. Our temple is primarily scholar mages.”
The shifter general arched his eyebrows in surprise. “You are entirely self-trained?”
Auslin nodded. “Yeah, I mostly act on instinct. This is the first time I’ve ever had anything like a formal lesson.”
“Astounding.” Jaega shook his head in amazement. “You have these powers, you were raised in a temple, and yet you heal humans and shifters alike.”
