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Chapter Text

The last thing Pure Vanilla remembered was magic, bursts of evil and good clashing against eachother in a war for victory. He’d summoned forbidden spells from the Dark Side of the Moon in a desperate attempt to save his friends and the world from Dark Enchantress’ evil clutches.

The battle hadn’t been won, nor had it been lost. The ancient’s soul jams had shattered, scattering across the vast lands of Crispia, waiting to be put back together again. Dark Enchantress hadn’t won either. While they had battled, though it seemed hopeless, he had rushed forward, raising his staff in preparation for a spell. Pure Vanilla recalled the pleading faces of his friends, telling him the attempt to exert such a high level of magic was dangerous. He knew that. He knew the risks, and yet he still continued on.

It’s the only way.

And then, he remembered the silence that had fallen after the fight. Eerie, deafening silence. Then, he remembered closing his eyes, and the next thing he knew, he was floating in a peaceful realm of bliss, no cookie crumbs, no jam, no monsters, nothing that had been related to the battle remained. Only the soothing hum of magic that coursed through the entire place.

Pure Vanilla Cookie. A voice breaks the quiet atmosphere, and Pure Vanilla immediately knew who it was. The light of truth, the guide that had always been there since the day he was granted the soul jam of truth. You’ve fought valiantly, like a true hero. Unfortunately, it seems that your soul is now shattered into bits, and so has your soul jam. You will not be recovering too soon, so.. In the meantime, I’ll send you somewhere while your spirit heals.

The next thing he knew, he was falling, but there was no wind that blew in his ears as he plummeted into the void. Only the sensation of his body being pulled downwards told him he was falling. Everything began to fade away, each memory, each moment of his life, all accumulated into the light, which was beginning to fade, enveloping him in total darkness.

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“What’s that?!” Someone exclaimed as a sudden blindingly bright flash of light and a cookie stumbled onto the grass. They had blonde hair, rags for clothes (they looked homeless), a staff in hand, and bandages covering their eyes, so they weren’t sure if they were awake or unconscious. But it probably didn’t matter, it was still concerning either way. But maybe one more than the other.

“Honeydrop Cookie! Calm down!” Another assured Honeydrop Cookie.”S-Sorry Silver Essence Cookie..” The other replied.

Once the new cookie had adjusted to his new surroundings, he could make out the features of the two in front of him. (How did he do that? He swore he could feel bandages covering his eyes and blocking his sight..)

Who he assumed was Honeydrop Cookie, (They smelled sweet) had golden yellow hair that was tied into two buns at the back of her head, which left a few strands hanging over her face. She had kind but worried amber eyes as she stared at him. In her arms were a few books, so she was probably a young student. Her robes were a simple shade of blue with a tie–akin to a school uniform. She wore glasses with dewy honeydrops hanging from them, which seemed to be frozen in time.

The other cookie, who he believed was Silver Essence Cookie, was quite hard to miss. With those flashy and bright wings–though folded behind her back–she was pretty recognizable. But even without the wings, her hair would catch your eye. She bore glimmering silver-white hair, braided with feathers and some flowers. She wore the same robes as Honeydrop Cookie, even though she didn’t seem to like the color of the clothes. It didn’t fit her style, and even though he didn’t know anything about fashion, he agreed.

Okay, focus.

“Where.. Where am I?” He asked, getting up from his spot on the grass. He felt magic thrum beneath his feet, golden vines of power–all radiating from him. A wilting flower began to recover beside him, although unnoticed by the two cookies in front of him, that surprised him. He wasn’t that powerful–to heal something by simply being in its prescence? Judging by the way he looked, he didn’t seem like the type of cookie to be able to perform such an act effortlessly.

“Yeasten.” Silver Essence Cookie stated. “You’re special. I can sense it.” She extended a hand towards him. It wasn’t in offering, it was in testing. She felt a tingle in her dough once she came in closer proximity to the newcomer. Once she pulled it back, all the little cuts and injuries on her fingers had healed, now sealing shut.

Honeydrop Cookie’s eyes widened at the sight. Now that was uncanny. “What in the witches..? I’ve never seen healing magic like that before! W-We should tell our Fount of Knowledge as soon as we can!”

Fount of Knowledge? He could only ponder who they might be.

“Agreed.” Silver Essence Cookie replied, tearing her gaze off of her palm and now stared at him. “What’s your name? I can’t send a letter about an anonymous cookie to our Fount of Knowledge, that would imply I hadn’t been digging in too deep, and would look terribly bad on my record. So tell me, what do you go by?”

He thought, really thought for a moment. He didn’t know what his name was, what his age was, or where he even came from. It was all blank. The only thing he knew about himself was that he was a ‘he’. The rest of his memories had vanished. Thrown into oblivion, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever get them back. “I.. I don’t know. Wait, you said healing magic, right?” He glanced at her. She nodded tentatively. “Then.. you may call me Healer Cookie.”

Chapter Text

Fount of Knowledge groaned as he faced the gigantic piles of parchment on his desk. In all his years of spreading knowledge and truth, the paperwork and letters were his least favorite thing. Gods, why were cookies so desperate to get time with him? He just wanted to be free. He signed yet another letter explaining to a cookie that all he’d done was share the answer to the question they had been pondering about.

Fount of Knowledge’s eyes fell on a quite peculiar letter, it surely stood out from the others. And it was from one of his star students, Silver Essence Cookie. It was most likely more imperative than the rest. Silver Essence was quite an overachiever, constantly hopping from accomplishment to accomplishment, and Fount of Knowledge liked that about her. She was never satisfied, it was a feeling he could understand. She also sent some writings towards him often–but this time he felt like this message wasn’t about to be like the others. He opened the letter and read it, analyzing each written word carefully, gold and blue eyes squinting as he tried to make sense of the overly fancy handwriting.

Once he finally was able to decipher it, it said:

Our Fount of Knowledge,

Hello. This is Silver Essence Cookie writing to you about a magical phenomenon me and Honeydrop Cookie have discovered. While we were simply going about our daily routine, we encountered a strange cookie who had emerged from a portal, with incredible healing magic! It was unlike anything we’ve ever known before. His name is Healer Cookie. His memories seem to have vanished, and I do not know a spell which can help him. But you might. The power Healer Cookie possesses might do us well in sight of upcoming calamities that may occur. I hope you can tend to this matter ASAP.

With care,
Silver Essence Cookie.

Fount of Knowledge stared at the parchment for a moment, processing everything he’d just seen. A cookie with no memories–and promising but unrecognized healing magic? That.. didn’t sound believable at first. He knew everything. Something he didn’t understand? That was unfathomable. He wondered if this was a little prank set up by his students, but then again, Silver Essence Cookie wasn’t one to joke about such things. Maybe some of his other students like Peppered Spice Cookie or Honeydew Cookie would do such an absurd act–but Silver Essence? The very idea seemed unthinkable. She was always a heavy rule follower.

Fount of Knowledge turned the letter over, reading the address of where it came from. Sunberry Vale..a town not too far from his Spire of all Knowledge. He decided to ignore the rest of the paperwork he had, opening a portal and just smacking the work he had into his Other-Realm. He hummed in satisfaction, turning to leave his work chambers before he spotted a flurry of lavender rush towards his door. Fount of Knowledge immediately recognized whom it was, Pristine Sapphire Cookie, one of his assistants. The cookie had his staff in hand as he skittered over towards him.

“Ah, Fount of Knowledge! Are you.. going somewhere?” Asked Pristine Sapphire Cookie. Fount of Knowledge nearly chuckled at the question. Was the fact that he was preparing to journey to someplace else really too conspicuous? Or was he simply too predictable? Ah, whatever.

“Yes, indeed I am. Go get things ready for Monday. It is the last day of class this week, after all. I’ll return approximately on.. Sunday. I need to investigate a magical predicament. Now off with you.” Fount of Knowledge said, punctuating the command with a soft click of his staff against the porcelain tiles. Pristine Sapphire Cookie got the gist, skittering away and leaving him alone.

Once the younger was no longer in seeing or hearing range, Fount of Knowledge let out a sigh. He was never good with cookies. While some may say otherwise in a meek display of adoration and appreciation–it was the utter truth. In all his radiance and power, the oh so great virtue of all Knowledge is.. lonely. Not in the way you may envision, not in a way of physical isolation and exile, but a loneliness founded around feelings.

Ever since the day he was thrust into this world with every speck and shred of information within Earthbread, Fount of Knowledge felt.. alone. Well maybe some of his ‘friends’ like Sugar of Happiness somewhat soothed that loneliness, but still. Even with all those cookies who came to him daily, seeking knowledge and enlightenment, he always knew they only wanted his wisdom, and not him. Not the cookie who was emotionally confusing, not the cookie who was occasionally a bit unhinged, they only wanted the facade of Fount of Knowledge let on, because who wants the truth, when the truth is ugly and the lies are beautiful?

Ugh. No time to wallow in his own misery. He had a duty, and he would fulfill it no matter what. With a smile (though it was strained), he put one foot in front of the other, ambling towards the lower regions of his Spire of all Knowledge. He’d deliberately made his private chambers at the peak of the tower, to make sure no cookie would see or find what lay beyond the veil. But sometimes that just made treading downwards all the more difficult.

A few students greeted him with respectful bows and grins, all of which he returned. But this time he didn’t stop by for idle chatter or a simple ‘Did you do the homework?’ (which most answered ‘no.’ to,) he was set on his goal. He needed to find this Healer Cookie and investigate what all the fuss was about him. While his body was focused on moving towards the bottom of the Spire, his mind was scrambling for any scrap of information it could get its hands on about said Healer Cookie. Fount of Knowledge came up blank. That.. that was once again unusual. He knew everything about every cookie.

Only after about five minutes, Fount of Knowledge began to feel tired from walking. It sounds shocking, yes. The divine virtue of Knowledge feeling exhausted from a few steps, but his crispy body hadn’t been baked with intentions for physical endurance. Maybe the other virtues such as Herald of Change or Salt of Solidarity may have good physique, but him? Even sauntering across a room would make him feel worn out. But it didn’t show much, courtesy of his soul jam. The exhaustion crept behind him, causing him to pause and lean against a pillar for a moment.

Alright. Fount of Knowledge thought. I give up. He began to levitate, which was much more of a relief to his frail body. Without having to lift a finger–simply willing it to happen–a portal opened before him. Hues of blue and milky white swirled together, a singular eye watching from in the middle. Waiting. He’d summoned a much easier passage to Sunberry Vale, and that was no less of a relief. With one, simple stride, he crossed the portal, finding himself in warm, sunny fields. A bright place that could only belong to one town.

The breeze flowed in one direction, like it was determined to reach its destination quickly. It ruffled his robes, the white fabric billowing behind him, a milky shadow of light. Fount of Knowledge began to walk, finding the exact address of where the letter had originated, a park. It was a quiet little place, ironic that where a cookie that defied all his knowledge would show up here.

Speaking of cookies, where were they all? Fount of Knowledge looked left, right, up, down, front, and back, but there were little to no other organic lifeforms within the vicinity. Another weird thing. Usually, everywhere he went streets went from a ghost town to an overcrowded hell. Well, he couldn't really complain. He preferred this peace much more. Almost made him feel like a simple, normal cookie. Almost.

The only thing Fount of Knowledge could hear was the gentle blow of wind, the ruffle of trees, and a few chirps of birds. No other cookies pestering him about the truth, no other cookies screaming and fighting to get their own desired questions answered. How perfect. He hoped that this tranquility would stretch on longer.

After about twenty more steps, the path widened into a circular clearing, trees lining the rim of the area. Cookies were bustling about, but mostly they seemed to be gathering all in one place. Most of them noticed him, their heads snapping up to acknowledge his presence. Did Fount of Knowledge jinx himself or something? Ugh. That wasn't unsurprising, nothing ever went the way he truly desired.

Fount of Knowledge acknowledged the bowing cookies and smiling faces with a simple nod, just as he always did. Once the crowd finally dissipated he could make out what–or who–was amid it all. The very cookie he sought, the cookie that defied his existence by being anonymous to the very being of divine Knowledge.

Fount of Knowledge didn't even know what he looked like before getting closer. And that was what distinct him from the other cookies. As he glanced around the clearing, he could name every single presence there, their age, date of birth, etc. But him? No. He couldn't. That was what told Fount of Knowledge who the kneeling figure was. Healer Cookie. He seemed to be tending to another’s wounded leg. Fount of Knowledge quickly approached, the ocean of cookies parting to let him through. Healer Cookie glanced up, and their eyes met. (though his was covered by bandages.)

Fount of Knowledge’s breath hitched. The soul jam of Knowledge pulsed rapidly, and the talking from the outside realm seemed like background noise now as he stared at his features. Sun-kissed dough, blonde hair that fell perfectly over his face, and a gentle smile that could brighten up even the darkest of places. For a moment, the whole world narrowed to just them both, gazing at each other.

The moment was quickly cut off by someone clearing their throat. Fount of Knowledge forced himself to stop gawking at Healer Cookie, catching a glimpse of glittering wings, almost radiating a glow of silver. Ah, he already could tell who had spoken. Silver Essence Cookie, the cookie who had alerted him of Healer Cookie.

“Fount of Knowledge.” Silver Essence Cookie addressed, bowing in respect. “You actually paid us a visit.” She was leaning against a tree, a folded book tucked in her elbow. Another pile of books lay beside her, probably just the scholar doing some research. Fount of Knowledge nodded, leaning against his staff for support, even though he was levitating in the air. The meeting of eyes between him and Healer Cookie left him queasy.

“How could I not?” Fount of Knowledge drawls. “This is an.. anomaly.” He risked just the tiniest glance at Healer Cookie, who was still working on the injury. He studied him for a bit. Healing magic flowed from his hands onto the scrape, undoing the damage. Healer Cookie’s brows were furrowed in concentration, but that didn't make him look any less appealing. Next, Fount of Knowledge eyed the power that came from his palm. It was very strong, closing the wound with ease and fixing it up. Healer Cookie had likely gone through training or teaching, but he didn't know where else he would learn such unbelievable magic besides his Academy.

In about two minutes, the cookie who had been hurt was now frolicking around with their friends. The wound was barely visible now, treated with tender love and care it was baffling. A cookie who had ultimate magic that could most likely resurrect a dead body, remained gentle and kind? That was something Fount of Knowledge could admire. He could barely keep his temper.

“So..” Healer Cookie began. “Not to be rude, but who are you? Do you require healing like the others?” It was a considerate offer, really. But Fount of Knowledge didn't need to regenerate by another's hand, he could mend himself quite well. But still.. Fount of Knowledge might need to get a closer look at his magic.

“I'm your Fount of Knowledge.” He stated, watching as Healer Cookie’s eyes widened. Does he already have an inkling of an idea of who he is? Oh well. Not too surprising, he was quite known across Yeasten. The cookie who probably told Healer Cookie who he was was Silver Essence Cookie. Speaking of her, where was his pupil? He glanced up again, only to realize she was already gone. “And uhm.. No, I don't need your healing. Not necessarily.”

Fount of Knowledge pondered about it for a moment. He didn't have any injuries that needed mending as of now.. But he could make it work! He opened a portal and grabbed a knife from it, cutting his hand and throwing it back in. Blue jam bled from the wound, and Healer Cookie watched in horror.

“Oh I uhm–Witches are you alright? Why would you–”

“Just testing something. Heal me.”

Hesitantly, Healer Cookie took Fount of Knowledge's hand in his, starting to work his magic. The virtue simply watched, calculating and noting down each spark of power that left the healer’s palm. It was incredible! This magic would prove useful in future depravities! He needed to study it. Now.

“Woah.” Was all that Fount of Knowledge could put into words. His hand was now completely healed, only a faint line of a scar could tell you a scratch had been made on his perfect dough. Healer Cookie exhaled, relaxing his hand.

“Please don't hurt yourself next time.” Healer Cookie asked, and Fount of Knowledge could only nod absently, still staring at his now healed palm.

Healer Cookie sighed, knowing he probably wasn't getting to this cookie. The other seemed so lost in thought that he grasped his arm, making him look at him. “Promise me.. I don't want anyone getting hurt on purpose. Please.”

Who was Fount of Knowledge to deny that simple request?

“Sure.” Fount of Knowledge said, and Healer Cookie breathed a relieved sigh, letting go of his arm. “But.. I have something to say.” He stated, watching as the other perked up at his words. Now or never it was. He cleared his throat.

“Your magic.. I don't recognize it. And I know everything. There isn't an inkling of Bright Moon Magic that amounts to your magic.” A pause, to see if Healer Cookie dared challenge the Fount of Knowledge. When he didn't, he continued. “If you don't mind, I want to.. observe your powers. So you'll have to come with me, to my Spire of All Knowledge.”

Healer Cookie hummed, considering the opportunity. Fount of Knowledge already knew what would come next, and he was scrambling for reassurances before the other beat it to him. “Sure. But.. Give me two more hours. I want to help the cookies here a bit more, if you don't mind.”

A saint, isn't he?

Fount of Knowledge nodded. Two hours was nothing for an immortal being like him. Since he couldn't die, it sometimes felt like centuries passed in the blink of an eye. He suspected it wouldn't feel too long waiting for Healer Cookie to be.. well, a healer. Also, it didn't seem too bad to let him aid the cookies here a bit more, didn't it?

“I'll teleport you to me when two hours pass.” Fount of Knowledge said, and before Healer Cookie could ask more he turned on his heel, going to wait somewhere else for 120 minutes. Somewhere not that populated.. hm, the forest would do. Fount of Knowledge began levitating towards the thicket. The trees were packed together, making it a bit difficult to navigate. Perfect.

Waiting shouldn’t take too long.