"Nia, come here for a minute. I want to test something. I think I might have found the origin of the Bloodline Curse." Wolfe demanded.
As soon as she came next to him, Wolfe tried the same process, but instead of getting a black sludge, he got dust pushed out through the pores in the skin.
"That's it. I know why the witches are getting weaker and why they don't awaken their powers until after their eighteenth birthday. This corruption is liquid when you are young, but it dries up with age. So, with our newest witch here, it was still liquid and actively blocking her abilities. But for Nia, it was dried to a powder, and the pressure from the backed-up energy allowed it to force its way through.
I know you can't see what I can see, but if I look at both of their internal energy pathways, it is clear that the damage inside Nia is permanent. Her body has adapted to it and fully integrated it. But for our youngest member, her organs are almost fully cleansed, without any lingering trace of the Curse.
If I hadn't tried to awaken this witch, who is clearly too young for a traditional awakening, I would have never noticed. Until the effects of the curse were pushed backward out of the body, the gland just kept making more of it to corrupt the organs and mana veins as soon as they were cleared.
That's why it took so long, I had to completely cleanse her body, but I think that now it should remain that way indefinitely. I will need you to stay close to us while I observe you. Is there someone who can take over your post so that we can bring you into the Den to start learning magic and potion craft as any other fledgling witch should?" Wolfe asked.
"You mean, I'm a Witch, a real witch?" She asked, with joyful tears in her eyes.
"You are, and even if I have to do some upkeep to prevent your abilities from fading, you will stay that way." Wolfe agreed, then pulled the young woman into a hug, trying not to sneeze as her excited fluffy ears flicked across his face.
"In that case, on my honour and my name as Katerina Mills, I owe you for all my life, Wolfe Noxus." She declared.
[Servants] +1
The feeling of another connection being formed brought dozens of witches up to the newly built entrance to see who had been the one to form a bond with Wolfe.
Many of them didn't recognize the girl who was always hiding under the bush out front of their Den, but the bond recognized her as a friend, so that was how they treated her, greeting her with hugs and congratulating her on activating her aura.
"Wolfe, how old is she? Isn't she a bit young to have formed an Aura already?" Cassie asked once she got a good look at who the new addition was.
"By modern standards, yes. But by ancient standards, my guess is that puberty was when a young witch normally started to form an aura, and she was past that point. I learned a new thing while repairing the damage to her mana system, and I think it will really help us in the future.
If I perform the same healing process that I used on all of you on a juvenile witch, I think I can clear up the damage from the Curse before it solidifies and permanently damages them. In fact, my guess is that once someone uses a healing spell on her, there will be no lingering traces of the curse at all." He explained.
Ella was the fastest with the healing wand, and the gentle green light that surrounded Katerina left her looking positively radiant, healed from everything but her empty stomach.
"Let's get better acquainted. There are lots of qualified witches down here, and we can get you on your way to becoming a fully qualified witch without having to go to a Coven Academy." Ella declared as she wrapped her arm around the girl.
"Are there any more like you? Girls in the village with lots of Witch blood but still young? It would be great for everyone if we could get them healed up and activate their auras." Alice asked, happy to have more people her height around, even if they were significantly younger.
"I don't think so, at least not in my village. My mother only had me, and there wasn't another witch before her other than my grandma, I don't think." She replied with a shrug.
The witches were only tolerated within the villages because they were so useful for healing and such a benefit to everyone's quality of life that they were worth protecting.
Most of the nomadic witches simply attacked the mutants on sight, so it was hard to convince one to stay with them if she had any sort of power to take care of herself, and it led to a lot of hard feelings.
Even if she could only use a little magic, a renegade or nomadic witch would be a prime recruitment and kidnapping target for every group that she met.
"You can worry about finding more potential witches tomorrow. For today, you can introduce our new friend to the wonders of the Den's kitchen and find her a room. I will explain to the next scout that comes by that we needed to bring her down below so that she could learn to use her magic safely. I'm sure their boss will understand." Wolf suggested.
The young witch looked confused. "What's so wonderful about a kitchen? Every camp has a kitchen of some sort."
That made the witches laugh, but Ella took the time to explain. "It's not just a kitchen. Our resident Demon Lord renovated it, and it also serves as the Alchemy room to make your first batches of potions.
We've got healing potions ready for everyone who comes by starting tomorrow, and once you have a bit more training, you can help us make them.
I don't think that a single person in your village will be upset that you're not on guard duty once they learn that you made some of the healing potions they're using."
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