A bespectacled Healer Bokar enthusiastically welcomed Aida into the classroom the following Sun Day. There were racks of vials containing colorful liquids on the teacher’s desk, and herbs were carefully placed in small piles across several student desks.
“Thanks for coming so early. I already alerted Healer Luk that we’re playing with poisons today, so she’s aware,” Bokar said, settling his glasses more firmly on his nose. “Of course, we don’t expect to need her help, but it’s always better to have backup. And I suppose that’s the perfect lesson to start with: when dealing with poisons, have as many layers of support as you can get.” He looked at her sternly, making sure she understood his point. Aida nodded vigorously.
“Excellent. Now, we’ll start slow, just to see how sensitive you are. The characteristics that differentiate a poison practitioner from a regular Healer are that poison requires more focus, more awareness, than regular healing. The category of ‘poisons’ as a whole is merely a loose classification of any substance which, in sufficient concentration, can disrupt or hijack biological processes and harm a patient…”
Healer Bokar began pacing as he dropped into lecture mode; Aida was fascinated. According to Bokar, regular healing, like with her Heal ability, was meant to address the body’s health as a whole. A Healer needed to identify inefficiencies and blockages at a macroscopic scale, while treating poisons and toxins required focusing on the local region around the toxin; observing and understanding the interactions between the foreign compound and the surrounding tissues.
Fundamentally, Heal and Regen were about helping the body optimize its natural healing capability. But poisons could hinder the body’s recovery, and there were even risks of spreading the poison further throughout the system if regular Healing was applied, causing problems to propagate.
“Your explanation about the importance of toxicology seems very straightforward,” Aida said when Bokar took a breath. “Why is it that people don’t talk about this discipline much?”
Bokar sighed. “Yes, it is not as popular because of the superstition that any association with negative things will invite bad luck into your life. I’m sure you’ve encountered such beliefs before?”
Aida hesitated, uncertain how to reply. Fortunately, Bokar seemed to think he had stumbled upon a social mishap.
“Of course, the perspective of being from a sanitation family might be different,” he said hastily. “My family has been studying poisons for several generations now, so we’ve come to accept that the superstitions are just that: superstitions. It’s all about perspective, after all.”
Aida nodded. She hadn’t quite noticed that kind of cultural belief yet, but now that Bokar mentioned it she could see it. Levi’s explanation about the industry tier levels made much more sense in that framework, with work in the sanitation and cleaning industry being rarely mentioned as an aspirational goal.
The view was overly simplistic, but it tracked with what Annie knew in the real world as well. Janitors and garbage workers were always invisible, working thankless jobs. But without those workers and infrastructure in place, the upper echelon wouldn’t be able to keep the sparkle and glitter of their offices and homes at the appropriately luxurious level to impress everybody who had the privilege of stepping foot in their spaces.
Heck, rich people spent so much money and effort to disguise their bathrooms - making their bathrooms look more like high-end spas with large mirrors, gleaming marble and bamboo aesthetics. The humble, utilitarian purpose of disposing of their waste efficiently was treated as a mere afterthought.
Rich enough to keep their hands and consciences clean. Aida thought grimly, thinking of her mother’s stories about how her employers demanded their cleaners keep themselves out of the way while broadcasting to the public about how they supported all their workers equally.
“…why it’s so important that we have people from all walks of life enter into whatever industry they desire,” Bokar was saying fervently. “Different perspectives can offer different solutions. Don’t you agree?”
“Of course,” Aida said quickly. “Just like how a well-rounded adventuring group would have all the elements in the group.”
“Precisely.” Bokar beamed at Aida. “But that’s enough philosophy - let’s have you start with this tincture. It’s diluted beekle nectar, and before you ingest it, I’d like to see if you can sense the signature of the compound within the water…”
Over the course of the next hour, Bokar handed Aida various vials of diluted toxins, having her try to sense the differences between the compound of interest and the carrier material the toxin was mixed with.
It was a very interesting exercise. Aida’s mana senses could detect mana from living creatures like heat signatures, but having to focus on inert compounds was a special kind of challenge that required great focus. She didn’t know the names of most of the toxins Bokar handed her, but she was able to identify the rough quantity of the toxin in each mixture.
Bokar, for his part, seemed to have nothing but praise for her, making Aida embarrassed and distrustful of his enthusiasm. But he doubled down, insisting that she was truly gifted at detecting poisons.
“It took me years to be able to identify the quantity to such accuracy,” he declared, nodding in approval at Aida’s pinched fingers as she pointed out where the toxin’s boundaries were in the vial she was holding. “I do believe you have a natural gift for this!”
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“I’m glad you think so,” Aida said, peering at the vial herself. The poison itself took on a glowing purple hue, with the more concentrated core of it being more opaque than the edges. Each of the toxins themselves had their own shades of purple, which Aida assumed was how she would differentiate between the different compounds.
“I don’t think so, I know so,” Bokar said, unable to keep still in his excitement. “I tell you, if you wanted to work with poisons, you will be a great asset for Relief for Health.”
“Where is your clinic based?” Aida asked, placing the vial carefully in its rack before looking up at him.
“Burston City, to the south of Buddington Town. Have you ever been there?”
“Unfortunately not,” Aida said politely. “It’s close to the Sundry Plains, right?”
“Yes, quite close - we regularly get Border Stronghold patrols stopping through our town, so we primarily fund our clinic by brewing potions for them. So if you’re interested in brewing, that could also be something we teach you.”
“Your clinic does a lot,” Aida said, wide-eyed. She was in disbelief that the first Affiliate she worked with could be such a good match with her professional goals - what were the odds of that happening?
“Well, we try,” Bokar said lightly. “Have to do things to combat the bad image that poisons have, yes?”
“Of course,” Aida said quickly. She hesitated. How did she express her enthusiasm without making it sound like she was committing? “I’m really excited that we get along so well, Healer Bokar—”
“But you will want to speak with the other Affiliates, yes, I understand,” Bokar interrupted. “Not to worry, I’ll hold out hope for you! The new sun is young yet, and we also have plenty of time to get to know each other. For all we know, we might find that we’ll get sick of each other after a couple more meetings.” He winked cheekily at her, making Aida laugh.
“Anyway, I don’t want you to feel pressured to say yes - you won’t do your best work if you feel you are coerced or obligated to come work with me, which is the last thing I want. I want a Healer who has the drive and motivation to try and learn things on her own initiative, not because I tell her to.” Bokar nodded sternly at Aida, and she could sense the sincerity in his words. “And in order to have a good working relationship, we need to be able to trust each other. And in order to trust each other…we must both willingly agree to work together. Does that sound good?”
Aida could do nothing but nod, gratified by Bokar’s words and candor.
This was a completely new feeling for her. Bokar didn’t treat her like a mere student curious about his work - he already treated her like she was a real Healer, and taught her fundamental knowledge about his field in a clear, concise manner, with only the intent to teach and no expectation that she would return the favor.
“Very good,” Bokar said, returning Aida’s smile. He raised the first vial of beekle nectar he showed Aida. “Are you too tired from detecting poisons? Would you like to try Detox?”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Aida had lunch with Healer Bokar afterwards. In the end, her Detox skill was too low level to completely eliminate the diluted beekle nectar on her own, so Bokar ended up forcing an antidote down her throat.
“That was a great effort for your first time using Detox,” Bokar was saying to her as they walked slowly to a dining table. Aida’s feet dragged on the ground as she tried to keep up with Bokar’s sedate pace, but her mana felt like it had congealed in her body. “You were able to keep the beekle nectar from spreading too far, so you didn’t have to take as much of the antidote as I would have expected.”
Aida’s tray trembled in her hands as she slowly set it down on the table, collapsing into the chair Bokar had courteously pulled out for her.
“That was a misjudgment on my part…I should have diluted the nectar more, or given you another poison. But the nectar tastes the best and is the least painful one, so I didn’t want to scare you off…” Bokar glanced at her with concern. Aida shook her head at him, smiling wearily.
“That’s okay. It did taste amazing, even though it was such a small quantity.”
The nectar was incredibly sweet. It didn’t hurt her as it permeated her organs; instead, it made her see sounds and hear colors and feel everything beneath her skin; it froze time and sped it up so that she could see the past and future at the same time. She had enough wherewithal to activate Detox, as Bokar had advised her to prep it, but even though she had only been under the influence of the poison for less than three seconds (by her mentally altered count and Bokar’s corroboration), her body had exhausted itself from that brief period of time.
“I wouldn’t want to experience that again, though,” Aida allowed. As much as she had felt elevated from that experience, she didn’t like how she lost touch with reality.
“Of course not,” Bokar agreed immediately. “I will also teach you some poison resistance skills, which are always helpful.”
“Bokar! Miss Loreh, hello. Do you mind if we join you for lunch?” Aida braced herself at the pleasant voice, meeting Teena Vega’s gold eyes and perfectly practiced smile.
“Not at all, please sit,” Bokar said, gesturing to the two other chairs next to them. He looked to the student accompanying Vega. “My name is Bokar Evins. You are…Mister Levan Bota?”
“Hello, yes sir,” Levan said humbly, taking a seat. He smiled at Aida. “Hi Aida. It’s been a while.”
“It has. How are you?” Her mana still moved thickly like sludge, but seeing Vega lit a fire in her that burned away at her sluggishness.
Bokar and Vega fell into conversation, discussing their stay at the school. Aida and Levan were left to their own devices, and they just chatted about their training.
“Healer Vega and I went to gather local materials for potion brewing,” Levan told her as they ate. “And I got to practice healing, since the more potent herbs have a lot of defenses against being harvested.” He grimaced, drawing his finger across every surface of exposed skin to mark the length and number of cuts he sustained while harvesting the plants.
“Were any of them poisonous?”
“Fortunately not, just overly aggressive. What did you and Healer Bokar do?”
“I learned to detect the presence of toxic compounds, and then I tried using Detox.” Aida gave him a wry smile, and his eyes lit up in understanding at her sickly pallor. “It was a good learning experience, overall.”
“Aida did very well,” Bokar chimed in. “Especially for her first time getting poisoned.”
“Really? I’d love to hear more about your first time,” Vega said, leaning towards Aida. Her chopsticks twirled in a lazy circle as an invitation for Aida to speak, very nearly brushing a lock of Aida’s hair.
Aida flinched involuntarily away from the utensils invading her space, narrowing her eyes at Vega. The woman had a smile on her face, but her eyes were hard.
“What would you like to know?” Aida asked sweetly.