[Opal Clinic] A Healer's Touch (Darren)

[Veldrys]

It seemed as if Darren wasn’t that keen on watching him after all. He disappeared into the hall without hesitation. Veldrys watched him for a few seconds, then he shrugged his shoulders and turned to face Cian again. If Darren wanted to leave, he was free to do so of course, and Veldrys wouldn’t keep him from it. „At least she didn’t just dump you, but dumped you on the steps of the temple of your goddess“, he remarked somewhat dryly as Cian told him how he had come to Mura. He narrowed his eyes a little as he inspected the humans hand again and then came to the conclusion that he had most likely removed all the glass. He proceeded to clean the wound. „No, I’ve never been to Mura“, he replied as he wrapped a bandage around Cian’s hand. „But I have to admit the Konti fascinate me. Would they have problems with a Symenestra? What do you think?“ Konti were the only women that were safe from the Harvest. They only gave birth to Konti, and few Symenestra wanted a Konti daughter. On the other hand they had some rather unique abilities. He remembered Hellebore’s Konti in Kalinor. She had been a strange one ...

[Caelum]

“Fair enough,” Cian agreed readily. “Rak’keli’s temple steps are far better a place to be dropped than a couple hundred thousand others.” An amused smile loitered on his face despite the sharp twinges of pain having shards of glass tweezed from one’s hand caused. No matter the skill employed, it hurt and he cleared his throat against it. “Ow,” he added on a mumbled, lean shoulders hunkering up. He did his best not to eye Veldrys’ handiwork, but it was difficult not to. A little shiver went through him when the Symenestra cleaned his wound. “Mura? Mm. I’d say they would be alright. You strike me as the mellow sort,” and with this the priest directed the full intensity of his regard on Veldrys. “They like that there. Too many being tagged and labeled by Rak’keli’s brighter sister to handle someone with a great deal of,” he considered, “Internal upheaval. I flew beneath their radar for the most part.” His goddess had had his back, in a manner of speaking. "Are you interested in pursuing the healing path?" He wanted to know, eyebrows raising. "Further?"

[Veldrys]

„Mellow?“ The hint of a smile flickered across the Symenestra’s face, and he shook his head very gently. ‚Mellow‘ was not an adjective that he personally would have used to describe himself. He’d participated in a few dark things in Kalinor, and he regularly cut himself and sacrificed his blood to his god, but it wasn’t entirely inappropriate either. „If you think that they’d like a man like me there, maybe I’ll travel to Mura one day if my duties in Denval allow it.“ He had heard that Hellebore’s Konti was capable of seeing the future or knowing the feelings of others – he didn’t know which. It would be interesting to meet others like her and learn from them, although another part of him was worried about the kind of things they would be able to see inside his mind and heart. „Done“, he remarked after he had taken one last look at the bandage. „It should heal without problems. I almost told you to contact me if anything isn’t as it should, but you are a healer yourself. I’m sure you know what to do better than I.“ With that he thought about Cian’s question. Before he had been nothing but a healer, but there was Viratas now. He had dedicated part of his life to his god and wanted to become a priest one day, but he couldn’t truly protect the community he had become part of as his god had told him to if he couldn’t help them when they were in pain. „Yes, of course“, he thus answered. „Of course I’m interested in pursuing the healing path further. I don’t know nearly enough.“

[Caelum]

"Healer, heal yourself?" Cian smirked. Denval, defend yourself. It was a friendly expression teasing the Symenestra as he lifted his freshly bandaged hand to give it a slow flex of fingers. "I will contact you anyway," he decided. "If you want to learn. I can teach you. They are not likely to be too hypocritical, not amid the Opal Order Healers at least, in Mura. Rak'keli makes no distinctions. Her most faithful emulate this, or try their best to." A shift of lean hips had him sliding off the table and snatching up the clay bowl littered now with bits of glass smeared with his blood and scraps of skin. It was studied for a moment, tongue in cheek, before he pulled a comical face and set it back down again. "What brought you to Denval, Veldrys? This is not a place people come to on accident."

[Veldrys]

„I know, I know“, the Symenestra murmurred. „You are an unusual patient. I’ve never had to treat somebody that probably know all the treatments as well as I do. I’m not sure quite how to act around you, Master Noc.“ He smiled a little, and then he shrugged his shoulders. It was not necessary to dwell on the topic any longer.

„I would be grateful if you could teach me“, he remarked. „While Mura seems interesting, I don’t want to leave Denval right now. But I need to improve. There’s so much that I don’t know yet. I haven’t been marked by Rak’keli. I feel I have to make up for that ...“

He took a look at the bowl, and then he turned to face Cian again. „I didn’t come here by accident“, he replied. „I came here because I had heard that the Denvali worship my god, Viratas. I wanted to find out more about how they worship him. I had also heard that this city was isolated for centuries after the Valterrian. As far as I am concerned, the Denvali must possess some knowledge that has been lost elsewhere.“

„I consider myself a bit of a historian. I want to know more about the way that the world used to be ...“

He wanted to find out more about the old world because he hoped that it would help his people. Before the Valterrian there had been no need for the Harvest. Maybe, if he managed to reconstruct the world before the Valterrian he would find a way for his people to become what they had once been again.

But he didn’t tell Cian that. He wasn’t ready to share that with anybody. The Harvest and his people’s desperate struggle for survival were a complicated topic at the best of times. Besides, it hurt to think of it.

„What do you think of that? Do you think I’ll be able to find something interesting out here?“

[Caelum]

"I came looking for peace," Cian admitted quietly. His back was to the Symestra as he with one hand began to clean up of their work. It was good practice, practice he had not had a great deal of in the last decade since arriving in Denval. Dual wield of scalpels -- or so he would claim with a smile -- required not a small amount of maintenance. "And sanctuary," he continued while water swished and a dirty bandaged thwacked in to a lined trash bin. "Unusual for a follower of Rak'keli, some have said, but I... I don't think so. There is absolutely something interesting out here. I would not be able to tell you what. Well, not all of the what." He flashed a lynx smile over his shoulder at the amethyst eyed man before returning to his absent, end of day fiddling. "You are not the first person to claim ignorance in how to conduct themselves in my presence. It would appear I am an odd ball even on the edge of the world. Not to worry. I will be glad to help further your healing skills. You should make yourself welcome here at the clinic. There have been an unfortunate number of accidents of late." He shook his head, unruly, chestnut hair mussing further, as if attempting to rid himself of a disturbing notion. "Anyway, I am always glad for the help; and when we are slow, we can go over other things. If you are on the look for some extra coin, I can petition the Captain to compensate you for your work here. Otherwise, I am afraid the clinic is dead broke." This he said cheerfully, not seeming to be bothered by it. Oh, there was always something he might like or might like to have for the clinic; but it was a free clinic for a reason and he was stubborn on that point. He sustained himself by the generosity of Denval. Sometimes they just remembered him more than others, was all. "Make up for not having a mark of Rak'keli?" That left his eyebrows raising and he pursed his lips. The counter was officially uncluttered and he slouched back around to lean back against it. Veldrys came back beneath the healer's regard, good hand catching the opposing elbow and his own third visible sign of that goddess's favor glimmering faintly on the skin of his face. "I can not tell you how to feel, of course," he said at last, "But I can tell you that there are a few too many who bear Her acknowledgement and rely on it too much. She rarely will come to them again, Veldrys. A true healer must be ready and able to do their work under any circumstance, in any condition. Fields of war are rarely calm, and war comes in many guises; it always bears death in it. It is the physicians of body and soul, of world and Ukalas who are most able to curb war's damage upon the universe."

[Veldrys]

„Peace“, Veldrys repeated and sighed. „Aren’t we all looking for peace?“ He had found peace in Denval for a moment in the arms of the Kelvic Lucette. When he had been with her he’d forgotten everything that troubled him, but it had been over again much too soon. Viratas had appeared before him. The moment he had marked him had been one of the happiest in his life, but the prophecy that followed weighed heavy on his heart. Denval’s future, whatever it looked like, would be anything but peaceful, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to prevent the worst.

„There’s something special about this city, isn’t there?“ he agreed. „I felt it the moment I left the ship that brought me here.“ He helped Cian clean up. The human wouldn’t be able to do a lot with only one hand. „You are no odder than I am“, he remarked. „I think I stick out more than you do. I’ve just never had a healer as a patient. Anyway, although I always appreciate a few extra coins, I don’t absolutely need them. If you think you can need me here, I’ll gladly help out.“

As Cian admitted that the clinic was dead broke, the Symenestra furrowed his brow. That seemed strange to him. Cian had always seemed like a fairly busy man to him. Did the citizens of Denval not pay him anything for his treatment? When he had been a healer in Kalinor, Veldrys had always asked for a few golden mizas, and those that had been unable to give him money, had usually given him food or maybe a bit of silk.

Furthermore Cian seemed to find it strange that he felt that he had to make up for his lack of a mark from Rak’keli. Of course he had a mark from Viratas, and there were some things that could be healed with it, but in the end Rak’keli was the goddess of healing, not Viratas. Could somebody that had been marked by Viratas really be as good as somebody that had been marked by her? Could a man like him ever truly excel at what he did?

„What about you?“ he wanted to know. „Do you ever rely on your mark too much?“

[Caelum]

“That is generous,” Cian said to himself, quiet in the dust and dapple of sunlight. Surgeon’s fingers curled around his mouth where the imprint of a frown weighed heavy with thought. Veldrys’ question slipped an unexpected shadow through rich brown eyes. An elegant amble rolled him out of his slouch with a tilt of his head, inviting the symenestra to take a stroll with him. Worn boots scuffed the ancient floor of the historic barracks and the mess of blood and glass and toppled jars in the hall was vanished, cleaned by the worrisome hands of volunteers. The distant, soft sounds of voices in conversation floated toward them from the lobby and from another examination room back the way they had come. The healer chose a different route and stepped past the slant of the stairwell to drop a shoulder against the door to the kitchen. It swung open to clean and welcome, the aroma of cinnamon and bread baking pot bellied stove comforting as an embrace. Cian walked right through to the far door, nudging it open to the herb garden with its rows upon rows of painstakingly organized plants. It was confounding, really, how he could be so irritatingly organized in one place and a complete disaster of disorder in another. “When I was younger,” he talked again in the daylight, head hanging and eyes sliding over the flourishing collection of greenery, absently on the look out for stray weeds. “I was not fully devoted to healing. My time and interests were more divided, split between varying responsibilities. I had a talent at healing. A touch. I knew I did, but once Rak’keli marked me for the second time, I let myself get caught up in those other things rather than attempting to further my physician training. “A boy died,” he finished, abrupt and distinctly lacking in detail. Friendly and open, welcoming and whimsical, Denval’s healing priest was yet still a firmly closed book in some regards. It did not come out often, but when it did darkness seemed to fall around him with great sorrow. “I learned. I don’t take Rak’keli’s favor for granted, or any of those gods who have blessed or tagged me, anymore.”

[Veldrys]

„Generous?“ Veldrys repeated and shrugged his shoulders. „Maybe“, he decided. „Although I’m not doing it purely because I’m such a helpful person.“ A small, ironic smile flickered across his face. „I hope to learn something while I’m here, to gain a little more experience.“

With that he followed the human, curious as to where Cian intended to take him. He noticed that the mess in the hall was gone. Apparently somebody had been here and cleaned it while he had been occupied with Cian. Why hadn’t they stayed to see how the owner of the clinic was doing? Were they shy? Or just not interested in meeting a Symenestra?

As they entered the kitchen, he furrowed his brow and looked at Cian in confusion. What were they doing here? Did Cian prepare his potions in the same place where he cooked his food? That seemed rather careless. Or did he intend to reward him with a warm meal for his efforts?

Veldrys was just about to tell the human that he had problems with certain kinds of food and would be perfectly content with a drink – he would eat when he came home - when he noticed that there was another door leading out of the kitchen. He stepped through it after Cian, into the garden.

As he noticed that it was filled with different kinds of herbs, his eyes lit up. While Cian talked, the Symenestra inspected the herbs to see if there were any that he recognized. He wished he were allowed to create his own herb garden near the Chapel. It would make a lot of things easier. Maybe he would talk to the Chaplain about it. There were certain herbs that were decorative as well as useful.

As the human mentioned the boy that had died however, Veldrys looked back at him abruptly. He had noticed something dark in his eyes and in his voice. He he hesitated for a moment because he was aware that Cian might not appreciate the questions, but then he softly asked, „What happened?“

As Cian told him that he had learned, he just nodded. There was nothing he could say to that. Cian was right of course. You shouldn’t rely on the gods, on any gods. He was already using his mark from Viratas too much. Maybe it would be better to stop, to concentrate on other things and just communicate with his god through a prayer.

[Caelum]

The healer smiled to witness Veldrys' interest in the herb garden. The vegetable garden was smaller, but that was the nature of the clinic, and sprawled just beyond a knee high stone wall. Past the moss blanketed garden walls waited the orchards and the cliff, a slice of heaven he had claimed and built and lost himself in. "Orangeroot," he answered absently to the Symenestra's look, waving a bandaged hand at the row of spiky, flowering bushes. "Vervain, calidon, danewort, thorn apple..." The rich soil sank beneath his feet as he stepped between the rows, stooping down eventually to tug up a stray weed. Dark earth crumbled between his fingers. "Help yourself if your supplies are low," he offered. "It would not hurt to stock pile and I've an abundance." There was a pause, a too long silence as he crouched beside a nettle bush, careful not to touch the fanged leaves as he rooted up a handful of weeds. "A lot of things happened," he said finally, head bowed over his work and the shadow of day he cast broken against the garden wall. "But ultimately the child was poisoned. My gnosis provided damage control to his heart, to his organs, but it could not counter and diffuse the poison." Uprooted weeds were slung into a pile to the side. He sat back on his heels, having been careful not to use his injured hand and risk the bandaging getting dirty. He squinted up at Veldrys, a breath released from his lungs. "I found out later I had the antidote all along," he finished. The story itself was far from told in its full flesh, but so were all the stories of Cian Noc and what he had been before setting foot in Denval. "No amount of divine grace can substitute for knowledge, Veldrys. The gods are great, but they aren't omnipotent. Sometimes They need us as much as we need Them."