Xandrian Stone Book 1: Beginning of a Legend Read Free Page A

roll over his leg. Fortunately the knives and such that the harvester used to harvest were attached to the front end, or it would have been messy.
    So, I was used to lots of pain. What caused me trouble was the mental state of the officer. That farmer had been matter-of-fact, he knew that stuff could happen and in his case did happen and now he'd have to deal with it. The officer was – not a farmer. His fear and despair were so bad that I actually had to find a way to deal with those first, so that I could concentrate on the eyes. I ended up mentally giving him the mother of all slaps and yelling at him to focus. That last bit was aloud, and cause of many rumors and stories. You'll likely have heard one or the other, if you are in the navy yourself.
    It did, however, work. He focused just a bit, but that was enough. From the outside it looked like (someone filmed it, so I saw it later) the splinters were pushed out of his eyes and they unfolded themselves, popping into their former forms. Then the lids regrew and closed and I crawled away from him, leaning my back to his desk and burying my face in my hands groaning.
    Whenever you heal, then and now, the pain does go away almost instantly for the patient, but not the healer. It always takes a couple of seconds for the perceived pain to dissipate, which all healers describe as the most difficult part. You can do nothing about it, you just have to wait and sit it out. That also means that a healer cannot heal indefinitely, they will require breaks. Rather long breaks after a large healing like busted eyes.
    I felt a hand on my arm. "Don't move, a colleague is getting a glass of water for the both of you. My brother is a healer, he told me." The water arrived a bit later, and I sipped it cautiously. It helped put my mind at ease. Also, the worst was over and I was becoming aware of what was going on around us. Apparently a couple of healers had arrived and taken care of the other two wounded, sitting together with glasses of water themselves. When they saw me looking around, they toasted to me and I toasted back. The painful disciplines of magic created a tight relationship between the wizards that nobody from outside of those disciplines could really understand – nor should they. If I was given the choice of replacing the pain with having to dance around half naked and making a total fool of myself, I'd take that choice in a heartbeat. And so would all the others.
    But things were – are, actually, as they are and I have always taken bucket loads of solace by the fact that I was actively helping people.
    "Let's go, you are not yet hired. And the others would like to continue with the testing, now that everything is all right again." She did smile at me, so I smiled back. "Aye, let's do this." "'Aye'? Read too many old navy stories?" I grinned. "Aye." She sighed and led me to the barracks. Inside, we entered a meeting room with a desk and a couple of chairs around it. "No interview?" She just held the Classification Rod up, which was glowing bright white. "Oh." She pointed to the desk, on which a piece of paper lay. "I'll be outside, you read that and sign it. Otherwise, I'll beat you with this:" she waved the rod, "until you do." She grinned and left.
    I felt no ill will or so, just playful messing around. I also felt that she would never hit me, that was just not in her character. How I knew that I did not know, but thinking about it made me wonder. No answer was forthcoming, so I shrugged, sat and read the contract.
    STANDARD NAVAL EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
    EMPLOYER: Swiss Federated Space Navy
    EMPLOYEE: Xandrian Stone, Omni Wizard, natural, balanced
    By signing this document, the EMPLOYEE dedicates no less than TWENTY-FIVE YEARS of his or her life to the service for the EMPLOYER in a willfully entered two-sided contract. The rank of the EMPLOYEE upon signing of this contract will be Cadet.
    The EMPLOYEE will carry out the orders he receives from the EMPLOYER in a timely and