first; video

[respired]

[To be fair, computer-like devices exist on Azeroth. They're ancient consoles, remnants of a civilization that few people now living understand. Compared to this communicator, the old Titan archives are rudimentary -- enormous, clunky repositories of data that take up entire halls. Koltira has heard tales of them, but he's never accessed a Titan device in person.

Consequently, the slim electronic rectangle in his hands is a puzzle box. He presses buttons clumsily until the video starts recording, and even then, the feed is inconsistent. The whole enterprise simply illustrates his lack of technological skill.]

Were we brought here to fight a war, or to waste our time on meaningless tasks? I am not suited to the position forced on me. 'IT customer service' is a phrase I can barely parse.

[He sneers into the intermittent feed. His eyes are bright and cold, and his cracked skin has an unnatural, hypothermic cast to it.]

I will fight, as I must. I'm a soldier. But I'm not a puppet. Not anymore.

[He runs his fingers over his throat, and when he draws his hand away, it's clear that his palm is dark with blood. He's been bleeding slowly for a few days now.]

By the by. If you are skilled in the healing arts, I should like to make your acquaintance.

My name is Koltira Deathweaver.

Comments

[highhealplz]

[ There it is. His eyes go wide for a second before he remembers himself, but he still stands a little straighter and firmer. If this is going to be a fight then he's ready for it, but it doesn't really look like the start of any fight he's ever seen. ]

Yeah, good guess. [ He's looking him over again, critically and tensely. ] But it looks like... my world's version of undeath is a lot different from yours.

[ Which doesn't guarantee this guy isn't a bloodthirsty monster, just that he's better at playing civil than any undead creatures Ashraf has ever seen before. ]

[respired]

How so? [Koltira sets his breastplate aside; the tunic he wears beneath it is in tatters. Jagged lines of tattoos glow around the broken skin.]

[highhealplz]

Well, for one thing, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[ He smiles a little, but his eyes are on that ruined tunic and the wound under it. He can't help a surge of pity, even knowing who he's talking to. ]

The undead in my world, most of them have lost their minds. You'd just have attacked me, and I'd have killed, uh... [ He darts a glance up toward his face again. ] The hypothetical-you.

[respired]

You would have tried.

[Gee, thanks, Ashraf! Koltira notes Ashraf's robes. Given them, and their conversation so far ...]

A mage? A priest? Something else entirely.

[highhealplz]

[ no he would have FOUGHT AND BEEN GLORIOUSLY VICTORIOUS BECAUSE HE'S AWESOME, but this is not the time or place for that, so he just shrugs. ]

A high priest. [ Gentle emphasis on the 'high' there, accompanied by a wry smile. And, having reached a slow conclusion: ] I can try to heal you, but enough of my magic would kill an undead man from my world.

[respired]

Holy magic burns my kind, this is true. It still does the job, though.

[highhealplz]

[ He nods. ]

Alright. Let's see how cross-world magic works for us then, hmm?

[ He half-lifts one of his hands, ready for the okay. ]

[respired]

[Slight nod.]

Go on.

[highhealplz]

[ Moment of truth. He tamps down on his magic, and the wave of holy magic that blossoms up around Koltira is the lowest, weakest spell he can manage. He watches Koltira's face more than the injuries in question, half sure he'll spring to attack at the pain. ]

[respired]

[Koltira grits his teeth in pain. The light sears his skin, but the wounds knit together regardless -- slowly.]

More.

[highhealplz]

[ He winces in unanticipated sympathy, but obliges. This time the heal is stronger — still not full strength, but more, as requested. ]

[respired]

[Koltira grits his teeth; shuts his eyes. The pain tears at him, worse even than the constant, agonizing ache that attends his every waking moment. He clutches at the wound on his chest, groaning -- but the flesh regenerates. The tissues stitch together.]

Guh--good.

[highhealplz]

[ There's still more to heal, but he's starting to feel a little sick. Healing is supposed to be just that — healing. He's never caused pain with it before (except against monsters, that doesn't count), and he finds it a little horrifying. The glow around Koltira fades as his magic dies off. ]

Is that... enough? [ tell him it is, please. ]

[respired]

[Yeah, that's enough. Koltira exhales raggedly, his eyes fixed on the ground. Ashraf's magic packs a punch.]

... Yes. My thanks.