Kain Retsill
47 of Spring, 501
It was a warm spring day, here outside Sunberth. Lars Retsill had decided to take his son, Kain, out of the city for some training. The wind blew softly over the hills where Kain sat. On the ground, in front of his father, he listened intently to his father's teachings.
"Kain, what I want to teach you today is a very important skill for survival. You need to pay attention to what I am teaching you, it could be the difference between life and death."
"Yes father." My life depends on everything I have to learn, when it comes from you...
"Very good. I will be teaching some basic medical procedures. By the time I am done, you should know how to prevent yourself, or others, from dying before a doctor can take care of you."
Lars had brought a pouch of supplies with him to the fields. Dumping the contents of the pouch on the ground, he explained to Kain what each object could be used for. A cloth and stick for a tourniquet, two sticks and cloth for splints, and cloth for bandages. Everything simple, and interchangable.
"Before I teach you how to use these, you need to learn what kind of injuries that they can be used for." Lars instructed his son on the things that could kill a man quickest. He went through what a major bleed, an arterial bleed, looks like, compared to a minor bleed, and where it would most likely be found on the body. "Now, what kind of injury would you get if I were to cut you... here," pointing to Kain's right forearm.
"Umm, bright blood?"
"Very good, and remember, it will be pulsing. You can feel your own heart beat, so remember what it feels like. If you get a bleed that seems to pulse with your heart, you need to take care of it right away." Kain tried to take in all of this information, but he knew his father would just ask him these questions all the time. Lars would make sure Kain would learn these things, even if it took a few years. Pointing to a part on Kain's lower leg, he asked once again. "And how about here?
"Bright again?" Kain could not understand how any cut could not be bright and pulsing. Every cut should be deadly.
"Wrong. When you get cut here, the blood will be darker, and only ooze out. You can survive significantly longer with a cut like this. These will probably just scar you, but you will survive. Do you understand the difference?"
"I think so Father."
"Very good." Lars looked up to the sky. The sun was already at its peak in the sky. "Come Kain, let us pray to Gnora."
"Yes Father." Every day, with the same thing! I don't want to pray, I don't want to train. I just want to go play. I can't wait to grow up and do what I want!
Lars shut his eyes and put a hand up to the necklace around his neck. "Gnora, Goddess of Balance and Order, give us the strength to be balance our lives and bring balance to those around us. Give us the strength to be Order to the Chaos." The look on Lars face was one of a man who just lost something precious to him. "Okay. So now, you need to know about broken bones. Do you know what they look like?"
"When a bone is sticking out of the skin?" The sun shone brightly on the two. Why do I have to study on a day like today?
"Partially correct. A broken bone does not need to be showing, it could merely be a bump in the skin. You will know if you have broken your own bone, there is nothing quite as painful as that. If someone else has a broken bone, you will know if you try to touch it. They will probably want to kill you. Now, let's start again from the top." For another Bell or so, Lars tested Kain on what he was teaching his son. The day got warmer as the sun started its slow descent, casting shadows on the pair. "Okay, I think it is time to start learning how to prevent these injuries from killing you."
"Kain, what I want to teach you today is a very important skill for survival. You need to pay attention to what I am teaching you, it could be the difference between life and death."
"Yes father." My life depends on everything I have to learn, when it comes from you...
"Very good. I will be teaching some basic medical procedures. By the time I am done, you should know how to prevent yourself, or others, from dying before a doctor can take care of you."
Lars had brought a pouch of supplies with him to the fields. Dumping the contents of the pouch on the ground, he explained to Kain what each object could be used for. A cloth and stick for a tourniquet, two sticks and cloth for splints, and cloth for bandages. Everything simple, and interchangable.
"Before I teach you how to use these, you need to learn what kind of injuries that they can be used for." Lars instructed his son on the things that could kill a man quickest. He went through what a major bleed, an arterial bleed, looks like, compared to a minor bleed, and where it would most likely be found on the body. "Now, what kind of injury would you get if I were to cut you... here," pointing to Kain's right forearm.
"Umm, bright blood?"
"Very good, and remember, it will be pulsing. You can feel your own heart beat, so remember what it feels like. If you get a bleed that seems to pulse with your heart, you need to take care of it right away." Kain tried to take in all of this information, but he knew his father would just ask him these questions all the time. Lars would make sure Kain would learn these things, even if it took a few years. Pointing to a part on Kain's lower leg, he asked once again. "And how about here?
"Bright again?" Kain could not understand how any cut could not be bright and pulsing. Every cut should be deadly.
"Wrong. When you get cut here, the blood will be darker, and only ooze out. You can survive significantly longer with a cut like this. These will probably just scar you, but you will survive. Do you understand the difference?"
"I think so Father."
"Very good." Lars looked up to the sky. The sun was already at its peak in the sky. "Come Kain, let us pray to Gnora."
"Yes Father." Every day, with the same thing! I don't want to pray, I don't want to train. I just want to go play. I can't wait to grow up and do what I want!
Lars shut his eyes and put a hand up to the necklace around his neck. "Gnora, Goddess of Balance and Order, give us the strength to be balance our lives and bring balance to those around us. Give us the strength to be Order to the Chaos." The look on Lars face was one of a man who just lost something precious to him. "Okay. So now, you need to know about broken bones. Do you know what they look like?"
"When a bone is sticking out of the skin?" The sun shone brightly on the two. Why do I have to study on a day like today?
"Partially correct. A broken bone does not need to be showing, it could merely be a bump in the skin. You will know if you have broken your own bone, there is nothing quite as painful as that. If someone else has a broken bone, you will know if you try to touch it. They will probably want to kill you. Now, let's start again from the top." For another Bell or so, Lars tested Kain on what he was teaching his son. The day got warmer as the sun started its slow descent, casting shadows on the pair. "Okay, I think it is time to start learning how to prevent these injuries from killing you."