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Description

Call of Death

Dusk is falling and Levi should be on his way home when, from the road leading to the border of the town, a small child comes running at full speed. Her knees and face are badly scraped but that doesn't stop her for a second - breathless and in tears, she yells for help from someone, anyone. She and her older sister were attacked by a stray beast just outside the town and, though some nearby residents dragged the two back into the safety of the borders, her sister was near-fatally mauled. The child begs for someone to come heal her, save her - please, quickly, anyone.

It's unusual but not unheard of to be attacked so close to town. It is likely that the beast is either not deterred by the usual precautions, or there is a weakness in the protective charms surrounding the city. Either way, it may still be a threat to anyone near that border. This healing case is not very safe, nor is it simple - with this extent of injuries, the sister may die regardless.

But there is no time to think any further. Life and death hang in the balance, for Levi to tip either way.

This was it. All the time spent practicing with Rowan, all the conversations they had, all of them came down to this moment. I’ll help, he told himself as the girl begged for his help, horrified. This is what I was born to do. I am a healer. I will help.

Still, deep inside, he felt the old fear ache. He was allowing himself to care about the little girl and her sister, knowing that they could be taken from him. Loss was his biggest fear, he knew that, but he was prepared. He could handle it.

Or so he believed.

She wasn’t healing. Levi held his hands together, doing his best to keep the girl stable, but her wounds were much worse than he had imagined. She was panicking, bleeding out much faster than he could keep up. He wouldn’t lose her, no! He couldn’t! I am a healer. He was! He couldn’t just let her die, he had the power to save her! Why couldn’t he? Why wasn’t it working?

This is what I was born to do. And in the end, he couldn’t even do that.

He had failed. Failed this girl, failed her sister, failed all of those who dedicated themselves to teaching him. He had failed them like he had failed his father.

Grief and rage mixed together in his head. Right now, he didn’t care about the consequences, but he would kill that creature. He would prove to himself that at least this he could do. And yes, he could. Tracking it was easy enough, but anger made him impulsive and impulsiveness had its price. He was badly injured but refused to go down until he had erased that thing from existence.

Victory was his, but he wasn’t happy.

He was taken to a familiar clinic, where a familiar face attempted to help. He grabbed them by the collar, speaking through the pain.

“Don’t you dare heal me. Treat the wound without magic. Let it hurt for weeks and leave a scar behind.”

A reminder of the life he could not save.

He’d carry it forever.

HI I'M BAD AT WRITING BUT I TRIED!!!!!!!!!
but yes ya boy levi got a SPECIAL QUEST!!!!!!!!!! i was suuuuuuuuper excited for it bc i was hoping for a sidequest since forever and OH MAN, WHAT A GOOD ONE!!!

big tl;dr since my writing is messy and weird: he failed to save the girl, went after the thing that killed her and got a nasty slash across the chest BUT did manage to kill it. i was originally going to have him manage to save her, but remembered that levi used to have a scar exactly like that in his very first arts from 2013, but that i ended up abandoning since it didn't quite fit in with his redesign. this quest gave me the perfect opportunity to bring it back, so there it is! ^q^/

everything was drawn on my surface, hence the skethy lines. even so, i had fun and i hope you guys like it!

Rowan belongs to number11train !

2024
Arcana Badge: The Hanged Man
- Personal Development // Greatest weakness, fatal flaw -

An unloving family scarred more than just Levi's hands - it also scarred his heart. Taken in by a family of dark elves, he learned to trust again, but the scars were a constant reminder of how naïve he once was.
To love was to be hurt, so he would be careful not love again.

But his best efforts to built a barrier around his heart were in vain. Time and time again, Levi found himself worrying, stressing, rushing to protect, to give his all to people who didn't even know his name. Complete strangers, patients in the Birchbird Clinic, the people who fought by his side against Ursus and Velegor, the faceless inhabitants of the world he so desperately tried to protect. The more he tries to distance himself, the more his heart aches. When Blysen, the Faldrish God of Love, gives him a blessing that takes his pain away, the pieces click together. The thing that many consider a blessing, the theme of so many books and ballads, weights on him heavier than any curse or burden he could ever have.

He can't not care. He can't not worry. He can't not love.. but how long until this love hurts him?

How long until it’s used as a bait, luring him into situations he has no control over? As a means of coercion in moments where objectivity is key? How long until he ends up battered or dead in the place of another, his body and even life no more than mere tools to protect? As long as others are not hurt it’s alright, isn’t it? New scars are an acceptable price to pay for their safety... right?

It took Levi Heeren a lifetime to open himself to love, but without the self-preservation needed to balance his new feelings, he may not survive much longer.

Description

Call of Death

Dusk is falling and Levi should be on his way home when, from the road leading to the border of the town, a small child comes running at full speed. Her knees and face are badly scraped but that doesn't stop her for a second - breathless and in tears, she yells for help from someone, anyone. She and her older sister were attacked by a stray beast just outside the town and, though some nearby residents dragged the two back into the safety of the borders, her sister was near-fatally mauled. The child begs for someone to come heal her, save her - please, quickly, anyone.

It's unusual but not unheard of to be attacked so close to town. It is likely that the beast is either not deterred by the usual precautions, or there is a weakness in the protective charms surrounding the city. Either way, it may still be a threat to anyone near that border. This healing case is not very safe, nor is it simple - with this extent of injuries, the sister may die regardless.

But there is no time to think any further. Life and death hang in the balance, for Levi to tip either way.

This was it. All the time spent practicing with Rowan, all the conversations they had, all of them came down to this moment. I’ll help, he told himself as the girl begged for his help, horrified. This is what I was born to do. I am a healer. I will help.

Still, deep inside, he felt the old fear ache. He was allowing himself to care about the little girl and her sister, knowing that they could be taken from him. Loss was his biggest fear, he knew that, but he was prepared. He could handle it.

Or so he believed.

She wasn’t healing. Levi held his hands together, doing his best to keep the girl stable, but her wounds were much worse than he had imagined. She was panicking, bleeding out much faster than he could keep up. He wouldn’t lose her, no! He couldn’t! I am a healer. He was! He couldn’t just let her die, he had the power to save her! Why couldn’t he? Why wasn’t it working?

This is what I was born to do. And in the end, he couldn’t even do that.

He had failed. Failed this girl, failed her sister, failed all of those who dedicated themselves to teaching him. He had failed them like he had failed his father.

Grief and rage mixed together in his head. Right now, he didn’t care about the consequences, but he would kill that creature. He would prove to himself that at least this he could do. And yes, he could. Tracking it was easy enough, but anger made him impulsive and impulsiveness had its price. He was badly injured but refused to go down until he had erased that thing from existence.

Victory was his, but he wasn’t happy.

He was taken to a familiar clinic, where a familiar face attempted to help. He grabbed them by the collar, speaking through the pain.

“Don’t you dare heal me. Treat the wound without magic. Let it hurt for weeks and leave a scar behind.”

A reminder of the life he could not save.

He’d carry it forever.

HI I'M BAD AT WRITING BUT I TRIED!!!!!!!!!
but yes ya boy levi got a SPECIAL QUEST!!!!!!!!!! i was suuuuuuuuper excited for it bc i was hoping for a sidequest since forever and OH MAN, WHAT A GOOD ONE!!!

big tl;dr since my writing is messy and weird: he failed to save the girl, went after the thing that killed her and got a nasty slash across the chest BUT did manage to kill it. i was originally going to have him manage to save her, but remembered that levi used to have a scar exactly like that in his very first arts from 2013, but that i ended up abandoning since it didn't quite fit in with his redesign. this quest gave me the perfect opportunity to bring it back, so there it is! ^q^/

everything was drawn on my surface, hence the skethy lines. even so, i had fun and i hope you guys like it!

Rowan belongs to number11train !

2024
Arcana Badge: The Hanged Man
- Personal Development // Greatest weakness, fatal flaw -

An unloving family scarred more than just Levi's hands - it also scarred his heart. Taken in by a family of dark elves, he learned to trust again, but the scars were a constant reminder of how naïve he once was.
To love was to be hurt, so he would be careful not love again.

But his best efforts to built a barrier around his heart were in vain. Time and time again, Levi found himself worrying, stressing, rushing to protect, to give his all to people who didn't even know his name. Complete strangers, patients in the Birchbird Clinic, the people who fought by his side against Ursus and Velegor, the faceless inhabitants of the world he so desperately tried to protect. The more he tries to distance himself, the more his heart aches. When Blysen, the Faldrish God of Love, gives him a blessing that takes his pain away, the pieces click together. The thing that many consider a blessing, the theme of so many books and ballads, weights on him heavier than any curse or burden he could ever have.

He can't not care. He can't not worry. He can't not love.. but how long until this love hurts him?

How long until it’s used as a bait, luring him into situations he has no control over? As a means of coercion in moments where objectivity is key? How long until he ends up battered or dead in the place of another, his body and even life no more than mere tools to protect? As long as others are not hurt it’s alright, isn’t it? New scars are an acceptable price to pay for their safety... right?

It took Levi Heeren a lifetime to open himself to love, but without the self-preservation needed to balance his new feelings, he may not survive much longer.