Tranquil Clan: 2

Pyrri approached them with a light laugh as she said, “Would you like to learn something else?”

The three empyrians nodded eagerly. 

“Please, this was getting boring,” Oeric exclaimed, and Aule quickly swatted at his shoulder. Oeric added, “I mean no offense.” 

Aule glared at his friend, but Griffith only ignored them as he watched Pyrri. Pyrri smiled at the group and shook her head, indicating there was nothing to worry about. She gestured for the trio to follow her. 

The group walked through another section of the Tranquil clan. The three empyrians noticed how this clan built their structures with woven tapestries, and it only added to the calm atmosphere. Like the other areas they had seen, this new space was colourful and inspired the trio to step softly. 

“I’ll be teaching how to heal with power in the crystals,” Pyrri spoke over her shoulder as they continued to walk. 

Griffith, Oeric, and Aule nodded along. It wasn’t much further before the group was in a small space surrounding an injured haedian. Pyrri moved to stand next to the injured and next to her was a small cluster of crystals. She gestured for the three friends to get comfortable. 

“I’ll demonstrate,” Pyrri explained. 

She closed her eyes and placed one of her hands on the crystal cluster. She then spun her hand as if she were pulling the magic out of the crystal. The magic gathered in her hand as a glowing ball, next she placed the ball over the hurt area of the Haedian. The ball of magic floated briefly before it slowly sank into the haedian. In the next moment, the trio witnessed the cuts mend themselves. 

“Wow,” Aule murmured, Oeric’s eyes were wide. If he hadn’t seen it, there was no way he would have believed it. Griffith’s expression was subtle, but he was also excited to try this method of healing. 

Griffith, Oeric, and Aule started to push each other to get closer as they argued who would go first. 

Pyrri laughed, “You won’t be healing right away.”

The three stopped fighting and looked at the leader with a disappointed expression. 

“I’ll start by teaching you how to harness the power of the crystals,” She explained. Pyrri went further to explain why she gave a full demonstration and promised if they understood everything she would let them try to heal someone. 

The three friends readjusted themselves, each sitting by their own cluster of crystals. 

Pyrri put her hand near her assortment of crystals and explained to the three empyrians what she thought about when she needed to use the crystals. It was more of a silent thought asking for help and asking the crystal for permission to use its magic. And like before Pyrri began to twirl her wrist to pull and gather the magic strands. 

Griffith was the first to look away to try for himself. He looked at his pile of blue crystals and put both of his clawed hands near. He closed his eyes and began whispering to himself. After a few moments of this, he peeked through one of his eyes but saw nothing moving from the crystals. He sighed and looked to one of his friends to see how they were doing. 

Oeric, having a fiery personality and no patience, was growling at his crystals. It felt like he was threatening them to work, rather than asking as Pyrri had demonstrated. He tapped one of his yellow crystals impatiently and then huffed. He met Griffith’s stare to find that neither of them had gotten it to work. Next, they both looked at Aule.

Aule was easily the gentlest of the three friends and the calmest. He closed his eyes as he bent his head near his cluster of pink crystals. There was a light smile on his face as he thought about all the healing he wanted to do with the crystals' help. He felt a tug and slowly used his claws to weave the magic between his fingers. He carefully opened his eyes, afraid if he moved too quickly the magic would disperse. 

“Nicely done,” Pyrri commented as she watched them all. Aule returned her comment with a proud smile. 

Aule noticed neither of his friends had managed to gather magic and offered them some words of encouragement. Oeric huffed and turned back to his crystals. 

“Don’t force it, Oeric,” Aule added. 

Oeric growled in response but took many calming breaths before he tried again. Griffith didn’t need much help and after a few more attempts he was able to gather a small amount of magic. It wasn’t as much as Aule and Pyrri, but it was more than nothing. He smiled at his improvement. 

Pyrri smiled, acknowledging Griffith’s success without interrupting Oeric. Pyrri, Aule, and Griffith all quietly watch Oeric try again. 

Oeric felt hot, he was getting very frustrated. After many unsuccessful attempts, Pyrri came to his side, placed a hand on his, and helped him through the gathering. Oeric felt the magic tangle through his fingers and his frustration released. A baby step, but it helped break Oeric out of his cycle of frustration. He thanked her.

Pyrri nodded and stepped back, “Try once on your own, now that you know what it feels like.”

Oeric nodded. He closed his eyes and thought about the feelings when Pyrri was helping him. This time he felt the thin strands of magic reaching out to meet him. Griffith saw the small smile that appeared on his face and he knew his friend had succeeded. 

“Excellent,” Pyrri clapped, bringing everyone’s attention to her. 

“We can try on an injured Haedian now.” Pyrri waved and a couple of haedians entered the space. Their injuries were minor and really didn’t need to be healed, but that made them excellent practice. 

Each haedian sat in front of one of the empyrians. Aule confidently repeated the same process and quickly healed the harmed haedian. They thanked him, but both tyrians sat as they watched the others go about their task. 

Griffith was the next to succeed. It took him a little longer to gather enough magic, but eventually, he was able to heal the haedian. His instincts were to exclaim, but he tried to be quiet for Oeric’s concentration. The group turned their attention to Oeric. 

Oeric could feel the pricks of everyone’s eyes on him but did his best to ignore them. The haedian in front of him also gave him some pointers. They explained that it wasn’t easy for everyone. Oeric grumbled and returned to his concentration. After a few moments, the feeling of magic came to him. When he had succeeded in healing the haedian, Pyrri thanked them all for the help. 

[1122]