While he wouldn't remember the moment later at that moment Ethan stirred upon feeling a warmth slip over, and throughout, his body and while he couldn't clearly see the person behind it he didn't feel any threat from the form leaning over him. Darkness once again overtook his senses and his gaze slowly closed, his breathing ever so slightly stronger than before. Even if the lack of resistance could be taken as a good sign, Rainelle was honest being honest enough with herself that it could also be a bad sign.
Looking back over her shoulder she noticed that the shallow pit with two opposing vents to allow the needed air to reach the flames was nearly complete. Soon she would have the sanitized water needed to help clean his wounds and they could also send the very important requirement of additional help. Even though she was considered highly capable and very powerful there was no way she herself could stabilize someone with such horrific wounds. Suddenly movement to her right caught her attention but her muscles instantly relaxed after realizing it was the scout returning. Krollin was his name if she remembered correctly, though she had just met him shortly before their earlier descent.
"There isn't anyone else."
He didn't whisper but his voice wasn't louder than needed either, having waited until he was able to lean toward her shoulder before speaking. She immediately turned to look at him with a sad expression.
"So they didn't make it?"
While it was understandable, after the wounds on the body before her, that there may have been those that didn't make it, the thought someone had passed on made her heart ache. She, like the others, had been told of the assumptions regarding this area, so she knew the numbers weren't on their side. Sadness was soon replaced by confusion though when Krollin responded with a shake of his head.
"No. There isn't anyone else. No bodies, no parts, no weapons... By all accounts he is the only one here."
After the full weight of his assessment fell upon her conscious, her upper body dropping just a bit as if all were actually physical both slowly returned their gaze to the boy lying on the ground beside them. While their thoughts weren't exactly the same, their astonishment was, and while she continued to infuse his body with her healing powers that stared at him in silent awe. It wasn't until they heard a small snap kindling followed by the subtle licking of flames that Krollin moved off toward the pit while pulling out two collapsible bright red cloth signal discs.
After making sure the fire had caught and was steadily burning, and while the other adventurer began preparing a small tripod to hang the pot of water over the open flame, Krollin stepped back away from the fire a bit and began to wave the signal discs above his head at specific intervals and patterns. While the code couldn't be used to send complex messages, certain patterns had been established to help describe a particular situation. In this case Krollin sent the following message, repeated three times, before hiding the signal discs behind his back and waiting for a response.
"Secure. Quiet. Survivor. Aid."
Of course given how far it was to the edge of the plateau above he was also using a looking glass to aid his sight, though it was still took a focused effort. Finally he noted the received signal and nodded to himself while collapsing the looking glass and also the discs. While returning them to his person he turned and began to make his way carefully back toward Rainelle and the boy. He stopped just long enough to whisper an update to her and then began to move back toward the battlefield.
"More aid is coming. They know there is a survivor and that although this place seems secure, to come in quietly. They should be here soon. I'm going to keep a look out."
She nodded before he left and then thanked the one who appeared next to her with a small bowl of simmering, but quickly cooling, water. Instructing them on how to dip the clean cloth into the water and then let it hang in the air to cool off a bit she then reached out with one hand and enveloped it with her Nel' Ina while gripping it carefully with her fingers. As carefully as she could she began to wipe away the dirt and dried blood from the skin that was currently exposed to try and get a better idea of how bad the wounds were. She whispered something to herself in frustration when the severity of nearly all his wounds became clear a few moments later.
"Help me move him near the fire."
A second adventurer came over and helped the first carefully lift Ethan ever so slightly off the ground while Rainelle remained at his side to provide her healing. If he was aware of being moved, or if he felt any pain from doing so, he didn't make any show or sound of it. After laying him back down so that he was between the fire and Rainelle she gave more instructions to each person.
"Setup a lean to behind me to help capture the heat around him. When more support gets here have them prepare a tent and to get a fire going inside immediately."
"I need you to cut away the rest of his clothes. If you come across an area where the fabric is stuck to dried blood use the boiled water to carefully moisten the area to get it to release more easily."
The pair immediately set to work after receiving their instructions and while doing so Rainelle began to look more closely at the boy's arm and leg, at least without moving too much from her location next to him. After noting that the leg wasn't actively bleeding, having an appearance similar to being cauterized, she turned to her biggest concern which was his arm.
She had never before seen or heard of an example like what she was looking at right now. It truly looked like a monster, or part of one, had literally fused with his arm, the two had melted, mixed, and then when cooled off were one piece. It was grotesque to say the very least but what really concerned her was whether its presence was adversely affecting his body. Her biggest fear was whether or not they would have to amputate his arm, especially after considering the fact he had already lost part of his leg.
Author, is it possible to restore a lost limb in this world?
And can you explain how Nel 'Ina works?
Thanks very much for the questions!
Regarding lost limbs, no. Minor restoration of lost bone and the such is doable but not complete regrowth. Even though most of his wounds can be healed some of the larger gashes will still leave scars. The smaller ones won't leave scars though. The lack of limb restoration will be a major focal point in the next arc/book actually.
To be truthful the definition of Nel' Ina is still a moving target for me. The easiest way to describe it, without giving away too much of future plot/reveal, would be to say it is one of many physical forms the supernatural powers of Nelumexa can take. Another way to think of it is Nel' Ina is mana, which connects to the source of what we would consider magic. At the same time, using the mana example, mana isn't the only option to connect to the source. Nel' Ina, as an existence, and concept, is relatively new in Nelumexa which is another reason it's definition is a moving target. I'm kind of letting its details come about naturally as I write the story while doing my best to maintain some level of logic and a consistent framework.
Hope that helps and you found the explanation somewhat interesting!
@twesloon I'm not a native speaker, sorry for the mistakes.
• he lost his leg in the last fight because he didn't have time to strengthen it, right?
• Does Nel 'Ina increase physical strength and stamina? strengthening occurs only at the request of the owner, or is there a passive strengthening? Does this strengthening have a negative effect on the user's body due to prolonged use or for some other reason?
• how miraculously this whirlwind was formed, which threw the monsters up?
Losing an arm is not so scary, but losing a leg is a big problem, a prosthesis is a huge load on a healthy leg and the prosthesis junction, it is a loss of mobility and it becomes difficult to maintain balance (especially under the influence and on an uneven surface) in general, while the prosthesis cannot become part of the body and join the nervous system - Ethan's combat effectiveness will be in doubt, as will the continuation of the adventurer's work ...
Nel 'Ina can help manage limb loss, but it is not fully understood how it works.
Using 2 shields ... I cannot find at least one plus in this choice ... when blocking, it is difficult to counterattack and just attack ... hitting with a shield is very ineffective: the hitting radius is low, the impact force is low, the second shield interferes, how to defend , and attack, because in order to hit with the second shield, you need to remove the first in most cases ... in defense, 2 shields are much less effective than 1 large ... in general, some minuses are everywhere ...
why not focus on one shield? It would be nice if Ethan could change the physical characteristics of the shield during the fight: its shape, size, weight, flexibility, spikes / blades on the surface (perhaps along the edges?), smoothness for smoother deflection of attacks, etc. If he can use both hands, in one of them he can take any weapon ... or an item that can become any weapon? or also a change in physical characteristics? (something like a sword that can change its length)
I do not want to take your time, so if possible, answer the first 3 points ...
Further, my thoughts do not need to be answered.
Just consider giving up the second shield ...
@himm No worries! :) Thank you for the questions! If it's ok to ask, what is your native language?
* He was strengthening his entire body, leg as well. He lost it for three reasons: 1) where his shields were located before the impact. 2) he didn't have time to adjust his form before the impact. 3) the attack was powerful enough to overcome his strengthening.
* Yes it does, and right now it isn't passive. When thinking about it last night it may be better to compare Nel' Ina to chi rather than a type of mana. Using Nel' Ina doesn't have a negative effect on one's body. However, eating too much, or too many, of the crystallized remains of a dead person/monster's Nel' Ina organ at one time can poison the eater. This happened to Ethan as well.
* At first I didn't consider it miraculous, just a product of his anger. However, thinking again, the fact that his Nel' Ina caused the whirlwind is a huge deal. I think I'm going to explore it as one of the first examples of a Nel' Ina user being able to manipulate the world around him, even if he doesn't know how he did it yet.
Limb Loss: Yes, very true. Thankfully I came up with an idea that I think will make some readers very happy, and will also provide a solution to the severity of his situation. Also, as you suggested, Nel' Ina will play a very important role in the solution.
2 Shields: All of your points are accurate :) I had considered him using his Nel' Ina to place spikes on the shield, or increasing the area that it covers, or making the edge sharper for slicing, etc. I also planned on him having larger shields later. My original point to the 2 shields was his future party role as an adventurer, a tank, or as I call them; a Fortress, where he would only need to worry about defense. Back then I hadn't considered the impact two shields would have on him fighting alone against a lot of enemies that could hurt him. I'm still personally attached to the 2 shields fighting style, however, the answer to his limb loss will give him more options until he joins/creates a party.
Thank you again for your wonderful questions and interest in the story! :)
@twesloon Thanks for the answers, in my country, the 2 official languages are Belarusian and Russian ...
@himm You're welcome, and very cool! Thank you again for your comments and ready my story!