A Gentleman’s Guide to Hunting Fantastic Beasts: 13

A Gentleman’s Guide to Hunting Fantastic Beasts: 13

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Commissioned by Sivantic

Wordcount: 2500

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My father from my previous life’s words echoed within the back of my mind.

“Doing good for others means doing nothing for yourself. It means suffering for ungrateful masses who will use you until you are utterly spent.”

I chose to be a doctor to prove him wrong, to become both a healer of the sick and a prominent member of society, as he said I couldn’t.

In the end, in my previous life, I had failed.

But he was wrong.

It wasn’t the ungrateful masses who used me, but rather those who loomed over all peoples and sought to use them all for wealth and power. To the elites of society, to those who held a vice-grip on power and refused to see others stand beside them in fear of being bested, they relied upon the good will and charity of those willing to placate the masses… whilst ensuring that those poor people would have an endless appetite because of the society that they have molded.

The incumbents in power will only give when they are threatened and so they seek out to balance all things heavily in their favor. They keep their cadres of supporters well-fed and strong, but incapable of striking at them in fear of losing those privileges. The masses that provide bodies for factories and wars are held in check by professional thugs, liquor, base entertainments, and debts they have no choice but to take. Those who have the skills and talents to help them are encouraged to do so, rewarded by titles and popularity, which is a double-edged sword because when they realize that they are doing nothing but trying to fill an endless chasm of hunger and need, they are painted as upstarts who only did charity and gave aid for the sake of popularity.

They are branded as traitors by those in power, so that they could keep their seats, and ruin those who would try to make change.

I learned these lessons in my past life and I harbored hatred for those circumstances… but I never considered a coup.

Because, even as vile as those men in power were, they never left their people to die.

As black as their souls were, they still sought to save the people who toiled for them, who worked for them, and who gave them power against desperate odds.

But here it was different.

Although my abilities and power were being used just as it was in my past life, those in power did not just condemn towns to perish, but they also took everything they could from them. All the food that they could’ve used to journey to safer lands, the horses and wagons that could’ve carried their elderly, and their finest warriors were secreted away whilst those deemed unfit were condemned to die. They did all of this whilst telling them not of the danger that loomed ahead of them.

They blinded them, bound their hands and feet, and then left them to die as they sat behind high walls.

It wasn’t mere exploitation.

They decided to kill them outright.

That, by every metric, was something that I couldn’t condone.

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Gale struggled, groaned, and grit her teeth. The young woman tried to get up only to fail, while I rose and fetched a cloth to wipe the sweat from her back.

The As’Kari had several methods of healing that pertained to the usage of the energy native to this world. I had studied many of them in order to gain insight and gain the ability to encourage the rapid regeneration of wounds after they were cleansed and bound. The As’Kari’s healers typically only channeled their power into the individual in hopes of increasing their natural healing.

Many of the As’Kari texts regarding healing was about its dangers when not applied by those who knew the body. The earliest reported flesh growing and growing from wounds like massive tumors that rapidly consumed the blood and energy of the wounded individual who was to be healed. Others stated the sudden creation of sicknesses from wounds that become rotten, which needed to be burned the moment it was created, lest dozens and dozens perish and suffer from an arcane plague. The healing of bones was strictly forbidden, because in many cases the bone healed improperly before becoming an amalgam of mishappen things that with tinier pieces that ripped through the veins of the poor patient.

But even as they stalled in that field of study, they innovated and recorded what they found. They did so not to just repeat the same mistakes, but to learn all that they could from those mistakes. Thus, came the tradition of increasing the health and wellbeing of children by guiding their innermost energies by channeling miniscule amounts of one’s own into them, and so the As’Kari gained a preventative measure for disease and injury, through a stronger, more robust population.

An ounce of prevention instead of a pound of cure.

Though I mostly innovated and shared with them my knowledge of another world, so that they could visualize what they should and shouldn’t increase with their mystical abilities, I also learned and did what I could with the preventative measure that they created. The method that they used to embolden themselves against sickness and weakness was something that I took much interest in, especially since my knowledge in anatomy and physiology had allowed their knowledge of healing to improve to become useable with enough practice and training.

So, I worked with Gale to increase her strength, whilst I planned on what to do so that I could save those who remained after they were sentenced to death.

“Is it over?” Gale rose steadily and accepted the cloth I gave her. The clothes that she were soaked through and she barely managed to get up and reach the stump of wood nearby. Meanwhile, I turned my attention to seeing her cared for after her invigoration of energy. The increase in muscle mass and strength that came from select, knowledgeable infusions of the mystical power inherent in this world required nutrition. Kan’Is ate the powerful, large creatures that he hunted down and got injured by whilst I healed him, which accelerated his healing and most likely strengthened him as well. Gale had to make do with the legions of lesser monsters that constantly harassed the perimeter of the refugee camp. “Do I really need to eat right after?”

“Eat slowly. Soup first and chew well.” I answered her simply and steadily while giving her the food. A thick stock made from the bones and barrow stayed in one bowl while all the meat I could get from the monsters lay piled after simply being salted and cooked over a flame. I cut them as the As’Kari did with tougher meats. Slim and against the grain. The innards and organs of the beasts were palatable enough when stewed and chopped, but there was a lack of ingredients to make it better, even with more enterprising hunters being quick to forage for whatever boons of nature they could acquire. “You said you would do anything to become strong, did you not?”

Gale grimaced and looked at the results of her training.

Over the course of a week since she healed, she has increased immensely in strength. Her bare fists went from leaving small imprints upon logs to punching straight through them. Whereas before it took her minutes to run a lap about the clearing, she dashed through lap after lap at the same time without being weighed down. She trained in the As’Kari way of spear-fighting with many targets sent swinging upon poles, which she had to strike with a spear, and where before she struggled to hit one before they all finished swinging she now could hit them all many times over. Her strength, agility, and speed were all rapidly increasing to that of a warrior of the As’Kari tribe.

She knew that she came far, therefore she was able to nod, silence her thoughts of dissent, and do as I asked of her.

I carefully watched and studied her as to make sure that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I used all my knowledge from my current life and my past life. Her physical changes weren’t as extreme as those I found amongst the As’Kari, but she was gaining height while her musculature grew more defined.  The rate with which her hair grew accelerated as well, going from short to reaching just behind her shoulders, in the just a few days. Her transformation should’ve come with growing pains, difficulties acclimating to her new height, and many other changes that she should’ve noticed… but she took it all in stride.

The more I looked upon the people of this world the more I was convinced that they weren’t human, but something else that was lessened and reaching a greater state that they once lost.

Gale’s next words brought forth from my thoughts.

“What’s next after this?” She spoke after grimacing after a bite of monster flesh. Her words returned me to current circumstances, away from miraculous discoveries and my desire to learn, and my excitement abated. The reality of current circumstance overwhelmed the knowledge that I wished to pursue. “I can tell that I’m growing stronger with all that we’re doing, but what will happen after this?”

My mind returned to the coup that I proposed in lieu of rebellion against the masters of these people. Every exchange of power within a nation always occurred the most swiftly with the aid of outside forces. If I helped the refugees take the city, and embolden all the others with the same plight, then a civil war will engulf the entire country and lead to great suffering amongst the populace. The coup that I considered hung completely on a singular individual’s people who would owe me much if I could return to life their ever-sleeping king.

And, if I could not contact that individual, nor save their king, then I would have to settle for simply taking the city before me and brokering peace after handing it to the refugees.

I decided against sharing those thoughts to Gale for now.

Her vengeance, I was sure, wouldn’t be sated unless she sowed the fires of revolt and civil war against those who killed her family.

“You will be training further, until you can train no more. I will fashion your weapon, armor, and try to teach you more skills.” I spoke to Gale and bought myself time. There was much to do before I sought out another nation’s favor. The refugees needed to be relocated after they gathered enough strength and material. They could not hope to survive where they currently lived, even as their protectors were gaining strength and power. These people needed a home. “Then, we will look for a defensible place to settle these refugees. A place where they can do more than just survive and hope that they’ll be given mercy.”

Gale, surprisingly, nodded at my words after finishing her latest bites.

“I think there’s a place a few days from here that’ll be better for us. A fishing village near a lake. A lot of the people here are from there, but they had to leave without anyone to protect them. With everyone here learning how to fight, and with all that we have…”

Gale trailed off and I nodded at her words.

“I’ll look at it with Cornelius later and cleanse it of enemies.” I spoke and set my mind to begin computing the necessities of the long journey. The roads still existed, but many of the wagons used to get here were long scrapped. I needed to start making tools from the monsters. Saws and axes for lumber could be fashioned from the hardy bones of these creatures. Hammers could easily be fashioned from stones. If needed, I could smooth the roads until sleds were suitable for transport.  “It should be a good enough place. You speak with the others in the camp and begin convincing them to move away from here.”

Gale nodded and her shoulders relaxed as she contently ate.

I busied myself with doing my utmost to save the refugees before me and planning for the future that lay ahead.

My thoughts always strayed back to the As’Kari.

The people here were weak, the fortress guarding the path between this kingdom and the tribes of the Great Desert had been destroyed, and the As’Kari would be unchallenged in these lands. Their mighty steeds could fly over the canopies of the trees over the walls of any fortress, whilst their warriors could easily bring low any of the armored soldiery arrayed against them. In these lands, the As’Kari would be able to prosper, find more secure lands to settle, and truly begin to expand and grow stronger.

But familial affection and knowledge of their current circumstances made me toss those thoughts aside.

The As’Kari were set to conquer the rest of the Great Desert and consolidate it, while also fighting in a world where there were more monsters and a great darkness befell the land. To ask of them to come here and conquer for the sake of land would be foolish and would most likely be rejected, regardless of how close I was to Kan’Is after all that I gave to his people and how much I had healed him. It would be a foolish endeavor that would only waste time and subject the refugees to more attacks.

Thus, I was left with the people who lived beneath the mountains.

“Physician, I’ve finished my meal.” Gale spoke and I turned to her. As she said, the meal I gave her was finished. She stood up and winced at the heaviness in her stomach. She took a deep breath as I approached her and pulled out yet another instrument to train her. This time, however, I was going to train her mind and not her body. “What am I to learn today?”

“Today, you will learn about the similarities between animals and monsters. The weaknesses of the animal are the same as the weaknesses of the monster.” This was also practice for the tongue that they used, so I benefitted from the training as well. Gale would correct me whenever I made an error in the foreign tongue used by the kingdom. Those corrections were now far and few in between, despite how recently I began to train her. I had suspected that my newfound, arcane power in this world increased my ability to learn. The speed with which I came to understand the language and master it confirmed it. “Heed my words well today and you will be able to overcome your foes. To know your enemy is to know victory.”

Gale settled down, all her attention turned to me, and as I began to teach her my cares faded away.

I dearly wished that I could simply spend my days aiding others, teaching, and researching the new world that I now inhabited.

But I could not, not only because of the eternal night and the monsters, but by the whims of those in power just as it was in my past life.

Some things never changed.