I liked that idea.
Once I had all the books I wanted, I brought them back to Derek’s manor. I went to give Sera the news, but she wasn’t there, so I checked with Derek.
“Patrick convinced her to go take a visit to the campus hospital.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I doubt it will help, but she seemed to want to do something, so I don’t blame them for trying.”
Derek was probably right. If Katashi couldn’t heal the problem outright, a random Mender at a hospital probably couldn’t either.
Then again, Katashi had thought Ferras had a better chance of fixing the problem. That implied that the visages had different skill sets.
Our legends said that the visages had the abilities of every attunement, but that didn’t mean they were equally powerful with each of them. And even if they were equally powerful, maybe Katashi just wasn’t as knowledgeable about every subject. This could be an issue of finesse and creativity, rather than raw magical ability.
Since Katashi represented concepts like justice, and if his skills matched, I expected he was probably better versed in attunements geared toward enforcing law and maintaining order. Ferras was the Visage of Creation, so it was logical for her to be more specialized in things like manufacture and repair. I figured healing fell into that latter category.
I took a seat nearby. “I agree that it’s unlikely a Mender would help. I did do some research on people who are working to treat mana scars locally, however.”
“Oh?” Derek raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, and I came upon a name I wanted to ask you about. Sheridan Theas?”
Derek recoiled as if struck.
That was not a good sign.
“Sheridan…Theas, you say.” His frown was deep enough that I could have used it to tunnel to the other side of the planet.
“I take it you know her? Or him?”
“Either or neither,” he waved dismissively. “Usually neither.” He shook his head. “Deni takes after their patron.”
I knew what that meant. “You’re saying that Sheridan is a follower of Wydd?”
“Follower would be too light a term. More like disciple.” He sighed, putting a hand to his head. “And yes, Deni would be a good candidate to talk to about mana scars, under normal circumstances.”
I took a few mental notes there.
First, apparently Sheridan had a nickname, “Deni”.
Second, if Sheridan was usually genderless, I’d have to try to remember to call them by neutral pronouns like “they” unless they asked me to use a gender. That was the polite thing to do.
Third, based on Derek’s last point, I had to brace myself for being told that Sheridan was working with Tristan and Elora. I asked for clarification anyway. “What’s the problem?”
“Deni and I have had a somewhat…sordid history.”
I folded my arms. “More sordid than your history with Elora? And I take it they’re related?”
He sighed. “Siblings. I’ve known them both since childhood and, well, things happen.”
I had to cover my eyes with my hand for a moment. Derek was just too ridiculous. “Okay. So, you’ve had some issues with both Theas siblings. Would that be a problem for getting Sheridan to talk to Sera?”
“No…” He sounded hesitant. “But you may want to worry for other reasons.”
“Oh?”
“Deni is like you in a sense. Attuned directly by one of the visages, with a restricted attunement.”
That sounded great, actually. It just gave me another reason to want to meet them. “Why would that be a problem?”
“They’re a Necromancer.”
I blinked. “You’re joking. Those are a myth.”
He shook his head. “Not a myth. Forbidden knowledge. And, with Wydd being the Visage of Forbidden Knowledge, they occasionally give chosen disciples access to it. Doesn’t work like you’re thinking, though. No raising skeletons to run around and butcher the innocent. It’s mostly interacting with spirits.”
I contemplated that. “Huh. That’s a little strange, I’ll admit, but it doesn’t sound like a problem.”
“It’s a serious problem. Necromancy is, more than likely, how Deni could help your sister. But what necromancy can do, and how it works, is forbidden knowledge.”
“Meaning that Sheridan wouldn’t be allowed to use it to help?”
“Meaning that, knowing Deni, they’d only offer to help under specific conditions. One would probably involve Sheridan taking Sera somewhere alone, depriving her of her senses, and trying to fix her under conditions Deni controls. You don’t want that.”
I considered that. “No, you’re right, but it’s not my decision. It’s Sera’s.”
“Wouldn’t be wise right now. Deni and Elora don’t always get along, but if Elora asked Deni to grab Sera and take her somewhere to make you cooperative…”
I nodded. “I was going to ask if you thought they were working together.”
“Deni was the first person I investigated. I doubt they’re directly involved. But I do think that if you put Sera in Deni’s hands, she’d be in potential danger.”
I scratched my chin. “Do you think Deni would agree to other terms? Maybe erasing our memories later?”
“Doubt it. Memory erasure is unreliable at best.”
“I could mention that I have Katashi’s favor?”
“Might help, but it probably wouldn’t be enough to convince them on its own. Too much risk for just a nebulous favor that might or might not be applicable.”
I considered that. “How much trouble would they get into if Wydd figures out Deni used Necromancy in front of us?”
“No idea, especially since you have a restricted attunement yourself.” He sighed. “I’ll make the arrangements for Deni to come visit, but it’s going to be up to you to figure out something of sufficient value to offer. And I’m not talking about gold. It’ll have to be something unique enough to be compelling.”
Unique, eh?
Something came to mind immediately, but it wasn’t an option I liked.
Was I willing to give up the Jaden Box — my best chance of being able to have a physical meeting with Tristan — for a chance to heal Sera?
“Give me a day or two to talk to Sera about it and we’ll come up with something.”
Derek grimaced. “All right. I’d better go write them a letter now, before I lose my nerve.”
“Thanks, Derek.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Least I can do. If you hadn’t gotten that ring off my hand…” Derek shook his head. “I still don’t like to think about what might have happened.”
“Appreciate the help regardless.”
He headed toward the stairs. “Don’t thank me yet. Deni is one of the most dangerous people I’ve ever met. There’s a good chance you’re going to regret this.”
When Patrick and Sera got back from the hospital, Derek and I filled them in on what I’d learned.
I considered not telling Patrick about the whole Necromancer thing. He didn’t really need to know. But I was tired of keeping secrets from my friends. Nothing good came of it.
When I told Sera about what Vellum had explained to me, she seemed interested. She wrote me a quick note in reply.
I don’t know how to release my contracts without using incantations, but I’ll read up on it. Maybe we can check with a Diviner to confirm Vellum’s hypothesis, too.
That sounded like a good plan. I asked her about what they’d learned at the hospital.
As we’d suspected, the Menders at the hospital couldn’t heal the damage. The doctors mentioned that Sera could seek out an Emerald-level healer of some kind and see if they had more knowledge, but they didn’t know of any.