As Captain Silverclaw and Haidore looked at them closer they could see that although their equipment had been very good it had been modified and enchanted. Their swords maces and staffs now had gems matching the color they were bathed in. Their bows and cross bows had been etched with highlights and the fletching's on their arrows and bolts were matching the pommels of their swords. Their armor had been cleaned, polished, repaired, and modified to better suit the fighting stiles of it wearer.
When looking at their faces you could tell their bodies had been completely restored to their peak and on each of their foreheads was the symbol of the Kings Guard so faint that if you blinked you would miss it.
Chitairo took the staff off his back to inspect its integrity and appearance with the new black jewels embedded into it. Then he pulled his bow out and examined the engravings on it and tested its strength by drawing the bow then slowly released tension.
At the same time Jerrickow cast a spell through one of the rings he previously had on his right hand and found that the strength of the spell had increased. So he started practicing his staff fight moves and body movements using the staff not only to strike but as a fifth limb or an extension of his own limbs to strike at unexpected angles or pole-vault like he was taking a normal step.
Cora Underbough pulled her two daggers out of her belt and started doing some standard blade manipulation getting faster and more complex for about 30 seconds. While doing this her eyes started to get a red color and her skin would get paler till she stopped and her skin tone came back and eyes reverted to normal.
The scar on Starie's face had faded quite a bit and her physique was a little more slender but you could easily tell that she was stronger, faster, and more flexible than before making her all the more dangerous. She pulled the broad sword and shield from her back and noticed that her shield was slightly larger even though not heavier and shaped better for fighting with her broadsword that was slightly longer but with a two hand grip and a slightly larger pommel to better balance the sword.
Aeron's belly although wasn't completely gone was much smaller than before and his muscle tone was more defined. As he drew his scimitar he noticed that it was slightly lighter in his hand and much easier to control as he tested a few jabs perries and slices against an invisible enemy.
Rosefire's hair was now not only silver with gold streaks but also had platinum highlights. While she was inspecting her talisman that now had emeralds lashed to the frame and a large one right in the middle. She kept flexing her left hand and while she was doing that her fingers would get longer and broader while claws would replace her nails. Then when she relaxed her hand it would return to normal.
What they didn't know before hand was that when someone becomes a member of the Midnight Suns' Kings Guard their strength, speed, agility, weapons mastery, casting power, senses, battle field awareness and command capability are all enhanced and every small injury they have received throughout their life gets completely erased and the larger injuries get drastically reduced to what they were.
What they also were unaware of was that at the exact moment of the explosion in the chamber at 6 locations around the continent there were elemental pulses that were so small that only those that were extremely adept at the practice of magic, sorcery, or elemental perception could detect it, and only for a moment.
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In a farm house on the outskirts of the Braiditch Estate early in the morning a mother was wailing for the boy she had just given birth to 5 mins ago that still wasn't breathing.
The mid wife had been doing everything she knew how to do to make the baby cry, but nothing was working. With tears in her eyes she turned to Leafria and said, "I'm so sorry Lea. I did everything I could, but it wasn't enough." and started to console her for the loss of their child.
Wailing to the gods at the misery of losing her first born son before she could even hold him she cried, "WHHYYYY!?!? WHHYYY COULDN'T I HOLD HIM FIR-RST!?!? AAAHH AAHH AAAHHH AAAHHHH AAHHHHHHH!!!!! MY BABY BOO-OOY-YY!!!!" She continued to cry reaching for her world just to see how beautiful and small he was, hoping to see any sign that the mid wife was wrong.
Just outside the one room farm house on the porch with the men that worked the farm land was a man in his early twenties pacing back and forth waiting to hear anything. The past 5 mins have been silent inside the house and his nerves were at an all-time high. Nobody made a sound the only thing you could hear were the occasional barn owl in the distance and the creaking of the boards under his feet.
When all of the sudden a blood curdling scream could be heard that stopped him in his track and his face turned white as ash. "WHHYYYY!?!? WHHYYY COULDN'T I HOLD HIM FIR-RST!?!? AAAHH AAHH AAAHHH AAAHHHH AAHHHHHHH!!!!! MY BABY BOO-OOY-YY!!!!" and hearing that his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees with tears running down his face.
Just as she handed the still baby to its' mother the fire in the fireplace and all the candles in the house along with the torches and watch fires within a mile of the farm flickered black faster than anyone could see. Right after that happened the baby started crying.
Not knowing what had just happened the mother and mid wife started to rejoice thinking that the baby just needed to feel his mothers' touch. Hearing the loud noise of the joyful women the baby started to wave its' arms and legs around and cry even louder in protest to the sound.
A couple of seconds later the door goes flying open and in the doorway is a man with tears and confusion on his face and fresh dirt on his clothes and in his hair. Seeing the scene in front of him he started to cry again but this time in happiness for his wife was alive and his son was healthy. Rushing to the bedside he crouched down to get a look at the miracle in the hands of his wife.
"Look at him. He's so small and strong. Look how he grips my finger so tight, and how he's looking around." Darrigh exclaimed. He looked out the door and yelled, "Jayditch, slaughter a pig for tonight we feast in celebration for the birth of my first born son."
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In the small house of a corporal in the city watch, late at night, a man sits nervously with a couple of other watchmen waiting to hear from the bedroom upstairs. His wife has been yelling through gritted teeth for the past 6 hours trying to birth their first child. Women have been running up and down the stairs with clean and soiled rags hot and cold water since this afternoon.
There's a knock at the door and one of the other men gets it. "Baetor! It's about time you got back. What took you so long?" the man that answered the door complained.
"I had to run halfway to the next district to find a doctor that wasn't already, likewise engaged." Then he looked over his shoulder and whispered, "I had to practically hold a knife to his throat to get him to come here." he said irritably.
"I'm told there is a birth having issues here." said the doctor as he came to the door.
Leontris upon hearing that Beator had arrived and seeing the doctor he jumped off of the bed and ran to the door pushing the other men out of the way. "Yes doctor please come in." he said in a rush making room for the doctor to walk as he led him to the stairs. "She's been having labor pains since this afternoon. Please save them." he pleaded.
The doctor said, "I will do what I can." as he walked up the stairs and headed to the room with the weak moaning and occasional screaming.
The men in the living room down stairs felt relieved a doctor had arrived but that went away when half an hour later there still was no change as far as they knew.
Every second felt like a minute. Every minute an hour. As the time passed by the moaning slowly got quieter until half an hour later there was a scream louder than any before it.
Then silence. . .
Everyone stopped breathing as if to not miss a sound that an exhale might mask. . .
No one moved a muscle waiting for anything to happen. . .
The house became a statue fixed in time by a spell that only one thing could break. . .
Thump. . .
Their heart beats are getting louder in their ears drowning out the deafening silence surrounding them. . .
Thump. . .
No foot-steps could be heard from the room upstairs. . .
Thump. . .
"WAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" A baby's cry breaks the spell and everyone takes a deep breath, smiles, and starts congratulating Leontris for his family.
Ten minutes later the doctor comes back down and is met by a room full of excited faces but none more excited than the man at the foot of the stairs. "You have a beautiful healthy baby girl that should grow to become a treasure in your family." everyone cheers hearing this. He says a little quieter to Leontris, "Your wife had quite the ordeal this afternoon and is very tired but she should be fine. The midwife will stay to care for the mother and child for a couple days till your wife has recovered."
"Thank you so much. I'm so happy you could come." He eagerly shook the doctor's hand as he walked him to the door.
Closing the door he rushed upstairs into the bedroom to see his wife and daughter. The midwife placed a finger over her mouth indicating to keep quiet as Leontris headed over to his daughter to take a look.
After a few minutes with the biggest smile on his face he could have, he looked over at the Geatra the midwife and before he could say anything she smiled back and said, "Go celebrate. I've got this."
He said, "Thank you." then as he goes to give his wife a kiss on the forehead the candles in the room flare for just a second, and not noticing what happened Leontris headed down stairs and out the door with his city watch pals to the nearest tavern to celebrate.
After he returned home from the tavern from celebrating he noticed some was off. The atmosphere enveloping the house had turned violent as if a ravenous fire was within. Fearing the worst he sprinted upstairs and found the midwife sitting next to the bed holding the baby rocking back and forth with his wife being completely covered by a blanket.
Pure grief and horror gripped him as he tried to understand how. When Geatra looked up Leontris could see she had been crying. She quickly set the baby in the cradle and walked over to him. "I don't know what happened. She was ok. She was resting, then shortly after you left she was struck with fever and an hour later she took her last breath."