Chapter Text
Lor’themar collapsed in a heap as a sword brutally came down across his face. A mess of red surrounded his eye when he looked up and immediately realised he couldn’t. A look of panic spread across his face until a familiar voice reassured him. Arms around him, she spoke, “I’ve got you. I am getting you to safety now.”
“But the undead-” Before he could finish his sentence he felt a wave of warm familiar magic surround him. Though he could not see, there were specks of lightness and he recognised the sudden pull of a teleportation spell well enough to know what was happening. When his feet hit the ground of wherever Thalyssra had teleported him to, he turned to where he imagined her to be. “Why would you do that? We had almost-” He felt a pair of hands delicately spin him around, presumably to actually face her. “-succeeded. You are needed in the fight.”
“How is your eyesight, Lor’themar?” Thalyssra asked, carefully wiping away the blood with her sleeve.
“I have had one bad eye for long enough, Thalyssra. I can manage just fine.”
“I would imagine two bad eyes to be twice the trouble of one bad eye,” Thalyssra mused. “Me removing you from the fight just means we can get faster healing and potentially save it. It looks to have mostly affected the skin surrounding it but it is important to act fast.” Lor’themar held his head, skillfully ignoring the blood steadily flowing over his nose as Thalyssra spun him quickly again. She linked her arm with his to carefully guide him to the nearest Priest.
The Priest gave a quiet mumble of concern as they steadily moved their hands, inspecting his eye. Once again, a warm sensation crossed his face.
“You are checking how serious the injury is?” Lor’themar asked, though he did not seem concerned. Perhaps it was Thalyssra’s hand on his shoulder that comforted him or the fact that he had enough faith in his healers to be able to mend the wound. Either way, he believed himself to be in safe hands.
“Yes,” the Priest responded. Once again, gently touching the area around his eye, causing Lor’themar to flinch ever so slightly. It was rare they felt the need to check the wound a second time. In most cases, a quick healing spell would suffice and in the rest, he would simply have to wait longer for a short ritual but the Light had always kept him safe, and his healers had always done the most they could.
“And?” Thalyssra asked, seemingly concerned by the lack of further information.
The Priest stayed silent for a few moments longer as he cast another spell - an action that made Lor’themar frown then wince in pain. “And it is a rather serious injury. I will do all I can to mend it but… the Regent Lord must rest once the spell is complete. It would be wise to keep the injury covered for seven days. After which, we will just have to hope you have not lost your vision entirely, my Lord.”
“Covered for a week? Priest-” he paused. “I cannot see your face but I would assume it is… Priest Haas-”
“Alessel.”
“My apologies, Priest Alessel… But you understand that I only have one functioning eye at present? I cannot possibly spend a week with no vision at all, especially when there are threats such as-”
“Lor’themar, please, relax. I am sure Priest Alessel is aware of what he is suggesting and there are ways to reduce the impact of blindness. Suramar has a specialist who can aid us in creating a spell that will allow you to see through other means and I will always be at your side to help. Besides, I am sure your advisors would be more than willing to assist you.”
“If you are offering to help, I believe my advisors would do very little to support me. They-”
“Are your closest friends and will look after you, should I not be around. Stop being so unreasonable, Lor’themar. It is important you let your eye recover properly, unless you would rather lose your vision entirely?” Thalyssra squeezed his shoulders gently.
He sighed and dropped his head. “No. You are… both correct.” He lifted his head, looking at where he perceived Thalyssra’s voice to be coming from. “You trust your specialist?”
“Of course, I trust my specialist. Would I recommend them to you otherwise?”
“I suppose you would not.” He leaned back ever so slightly.
Thalyssra smiled at Priest Alessel. “Cast your spell, Priest. I will personally take him to Suramar’s best sight specialist, once you assure me he is ready for travel.”
Priest Alessel nodded and began to make complex gestures with his hands, mumbling words intensely. A warm golden glow spread across his eye and he inhaled sharply as the pain sharpened suddenly then gradually subsided. Thalyssra mumbled words of encouragement to him, running her hand through his hair until eventually, he relaxed entirely. Priest Alessel stood and gathered some gauze to place over his eye, then he carefully covered that with an eyepatch to keep the gauze in place. “He may need to rest for a bit before you leave for Suramar, and you should watch him carefully on your travels. I will alert Halduron and Rommath so that they may also assist in his care.”
“Thank you, Priest Alessel. I will ensure the best care is taken so that he may recover swiftly. After all, he is eager to return to battle.” She stood, tilting her head ever so slightly when Lor’themar only slumped against her legs. Then, she gave Alessel a pointed look.
He shrugged. “I adjusted the spell to ease his pain but I am aware that the Regent Lord can be somewhat… insufferable at times like this.” He raised an eyebrow at Thalyssra who promptly nodded.
“In that case, I should help him to his chamber so that he may rest.”
“Or perhaps, it would be wise to find somewhere for him to rest that is closer… to Suramar? I assume you can teleport there?”
Thalyssra tilted her head then nodded. “Thank you again, Alessel.” Then, holding up Lor’themar the best she could, the pair vanished into a blinding purple light.
When Lor’themar awoke, he realised very quickly that he could not see anything. As the panic set in, he frantically felt around him for something familiar, only to find the bed he was resting in was not his own. He attempted to steady his breathing as he continued to move his hands until they rested on something soft. Hair. He moved his hand along carefully until he found the arm of the person laid next to him. “Thalyssra,” he said breathlessly.
“Yes, I am here.” She sat upright, causing his hand to slide along her body until it rested on her waist.
“Where are we? This is not my bed.” He squeezed her waist gently, more out of a poor attempt to gauge his new and unfamiliar surroundings than anything.
“No, it is mine.” Lor’themar’s ears perked up in what Thalyssra could only assume to be confusion, so she continued, “you were rather tired, which is very unsurprising considering the intense day you had had, so I brought you here to rest. Alessel suggested I keep an eye on you so I hope you do not mind us sharing a bed? It just seemed to make things easier.”
“I only mind that I cannot see your beautiful face… But, Thalyssra, one question?”
She looked up, a faint blush spreading across her face. “Hm?”
Lor’themar moved his hand to her face then looked directly into where he assumed her eyes would be. “Was my own room not closer?”
“I suppose it was but I would hate to invade your privacy like that whilst you cannot see,” she mused. “Besides, we are to see the specialist today, no? It made sense to bring you to Suramar.” Thalyssra stretched casually. “Now, come with me so I may make you breakfast.” She shifted from her bed and held his hand in an attempt to guide him.
He shifted to get up, pausing mid-movement. “You changed me?”
“I wish I had. You smell horrendous. No, I only removed your armour.”
“You really know how to treat your guests, ‘Lyss.” He threw her a smile, a clear indication that he was joking.
“Don’t I just, Lor ?” she teased, pulling him up.