(Era 11 Year 982, somewhere in the Orenia region of the Agrinas Kingdom)
I shall begin this journal by recording my name and occupation, as well as those of my Mistress, along with our approximate whereabouts. I am Bethinia, and being of common birth I have no family name to speak of. Many refer to me only as ‘Apprentice’, for that is my position. My Mistress, the holder of both my deepest respect and my apprenticeship, has many names, though few know the one she was born with - she calls herself Javren and claims that though she once had a surname, she has not used it in so long that the intervening centuries have wiped it from her mind. Given her near-perfect memory, I am not sure whether I should believe her or if that is merely what she tells herself in an effort to truly forget something which happened during the time when she was still called by her family name. Regardless, few in this time call her anything save a single title, ‘Healer’, because that is who she is - she wanders from village to village within this region, treating and healing anyone whom she may find in less-than-perfect health. For this reason, the villagers trust her, though they do continue to avoid the forest clearing in which we have built our home and herb storage.
I know not our ages, nor how long we have lived in this place. The passing of time slips by before it occurs to me to look. I do know that we have watched many generations pass through the villages under our care, and that the oak tree which we planted when we arrived has grown so much that the two of us together with our fingertips barely brushing cannot reach all the way around the tree and touch fingertips again at the other side. There was an event recently (at least, in my recollection) where a scientist visited us out of desperation and, once his lover was healed, took interest in our tree and decided to measure it, discovering that it is over 3 meters around.
Our current home is near the center of the Orenia region, which has many villages and towns and only one major city. Only the city can afford to host a priest of any skill, and many who have heard of Mistress’ skills and been abandoned by the priests of the city have sought her out in desperation. Though seldom enjoyable, her cures are highly effective and she has never turned away a patient in need of assistance, regardless of origin, species, social positions, or standing with the law. She is a practical yet caring woman, with no regard for flights of fancy and nonsensical dreams, yet still willing to lend a sympathetic ear to broken-hearted young maidens - provided they haven’t done something truly foolish in their pursuit of a husband.
- Apprentice Bethinia
“It’s the Healer! The Healer has come!”
“Good morning, everyone,” Mistress says cheerfully. “How can I help today?”
Bowing his head with respect, the village chief steps forward, saying, “We appreciate your visit, Healer. Shall I tell you of the injuries as we walk to the infirmary?”
“Very well. What news?” She asks, shifting the bag of medicinal herbs on her shoulder as they begin walking. I trail behind them with a second bag, this one full of herbal remedies we had prepared in anticipation of some of the most commonly seen ailings.
“We had an accident recently where the cattle got spooked and stampeded. They’re under control now, but they caused a lot of damage to the buildings and the people. Most of the injuries are broken bones and torn skin, but we have a few in near-critical condition. If you hadn’t come today or tomorrow, we would’ve sent someone to find you.”
“Ya shouldna waited!” I burst out. “Someone coulda died! An’ if ya’re so glad ta see us, why do I sense the Temple’s energy ‘round here? Ya don’ need us if a Temple priest ‘as come ta heal ya anyway.” I would continue, but Mistress skewers me with a disappointed look that is severely at odds with the amusement twitching at her lips. I wisely fall silent before my outburst shatters Mistress’ dignity.
As a troubled expression overtakes the village chief’s face, Mistress decides to run interference. “Are there any other patients? Sick, pregnant, old? I need to know about all of them in case I need to send my apprentice back for more medicine.”
The chief sees the out and takes it. “Jeanine and Gaara are still pregnant, and Ilsbeth thinks she might be. Toornin has a cough that might be something worse. Other than that, there aren’t many issues.” He pauses. “The Apprentice is right, Healer. There is a priest in town today. It seems the Temple in the city has decided to send their healers around the region to heal the sick and spread the faith. I think we may have upset him when we said that his services were unnecessary because we knew you’d be coming soon.”
Mistress doesn’t even try to hide her smile, choosing instead to blind him with it. “While I am greatly honored by your trust, you should have permitted him to help,” she says gracefully. “I am indeed a skilled healer, but even I cannot revive the dead. Though I’m sure you performed basic cleaning and bandaging, their injuries would not be so severe had they been cared for sooner.”
He bows his head, recognizing the wisdom of her advice. “He didn’t push the issue and instead asked to meet you. I am hosting him in my house for now. If you’ll permit it, I will bring him to you in the infirmary so that you need not delay the treatments.”
I grumble something under my breath, but Mistress nods affirmatively. “I know the way to the sickbay. I will head there with my apprentice while you find the priest. Perhaps he can use his power while I work my craft.”
I tilt my head, hearing something skitter in one of the alleys. I know it’s unlikely to be a rat - for some reason, felines follow Mistress as if worshipping her, so there’s an abundance of cats in this region - but when I turn to look, there’s nothing there. I can sense the presence of an unfamiliar person, but there’s no hostility or malice emanating from it, so I decide to ignore it. I shake my head to bring myself back to the conversation and quickly follow Mistress, silently wondering.
We reach the infirmary quickly, having walked the same route many times over the years. Not for the first time, I notice that the building’s appearance is similar to that of a Temple, although not modeled after any city Temple I’ve ever seen. I’ve never asked, but since it’s built that way in every village under our care, I’ve long wondered if they see us as some sort of divine beings. The architecture reflects the villagers here: simple, lacking embellishments, but sturdy and proud - a type of understated elegance which suits both Mistress and the villagers perfectly. The townspeople built them within a few years of our arrival in the region. In contrast to the wooden buildings of the city, the infirmaries are actually carved of stone - and when I say carved, that’s what I mean.
They scraped together money and hired mages, then went to the mine and magically excavated blocks of stone of a size able to be carved into large sickbays. The villagers only asked the mages to excavate the stones and move one to each village; then, the townspeople hand-carved their decorations in the image of nature, with trees as columns and etched images of the sun, moon, clouds, and stars on the ceilings. Even the sickbeds appear as if tree roots had grown there or boulders had been placed, depending on location. There’s even a small stream running along the side of the room fed by rainwater collected on the roof.
The part that had shocked me the first time I’d seen the new infirmaries was the incredible amount of care the villagers had put into them. Not only had they used up their savings to hire mages, not only had they carved the buildings and the decor, but they had also hand-painted both the interior and exterior with painstakingly detailed designs. From the outside, the building almost blends into the forest, the carved trees mirroring those in the surroundings while the grass and animals appear so real one expects them to startle at any sudden movement; on the inside you feel as if you’re walking through a frozen forest, eerily silent despite appearing so alive. At least that was the case until the birds made nests in the rafters - now it seems as though you really are in a forest, birdcalls and all.
Suddenly I realize that I’m wandering around in my head again and snap my attention back to my Mistress. We walk in to see a worrying amount of people inside. Rarely have I seen any of the towns’ infirmaries so full; only two of the beds are unoccupied. Mistress turns to me. “Find the ones on the brink so that we can bring them back. We’ll work in order from most severe to least.”
“Yes, Mistress,” I say, trying to keep the worst of my brogue out of my voice. I’ve been trying to fix it for centuries, but I still speak with the thick accent of my hometown, dropping consonants and even entire words. I know that Mistress and the villagers don’t care, but I still try to mask it when we’re in town. “I’ll find the mos’ injured and mark ‘em for ya. D’ya want me to start healin’ the ones that’re sick ‘nstead o’ injured?” I ask, slipping back into familiar patterns as I start locating those with the worst injuries.
“Yes, please. I’ll get to work on this one here. I hope I’m not too late. They should’ve just let the priest help them…” She grumbles a little bit as she starts working. I pull out the berry paint we made before leaving and start marking them each with a letter and a number - the number to indicate how severe their condition is and the letter to indicate what kind of issue they have. Several of them are unconscious and don’t even twitch when I touch them, causing me to frown with concern.
Stolen novel; please report.
Just as I’m marking the last of the patients, the village chief enters with the city priest. The priest turns to head straight to Mistress, but I step in his path. “Sorry, sir. Please wait ‘til she’s done wi’ that person. She won’ notice ya while she’s focused like that.”
He nods but keeps his eyes on Mistress. “I’ve never seen a healing that didn’t use divinity. Is she using magic, or just herbs?”
I consider him for a long moment before answering, concerned that I can’t sense his thoughts and emotions like I can with most people. “The herbs’re all o’ the magic vari’ty, an’ the salves an’ medicines we make ‘re all imbued wi’ magic. As far as I know, Mistress ‘erself don’t use any magic during the healin’ process.”
“As far as you know?”
I study him again, unsure of his motives for asking. “I’m just ‘er ‘Prentice, ya know? Been wi’ ‘er a long time now fo’ sure, but I still ha’n’t learnt all she knows.” I’m so concentrated on trying to read him that my words are slipping.
He turns to me with surprise in his eyes. “Where is your accent from? I haven’t heard anything like it in a long time.”
I open my mouth to form a properly-spoken, highly evasive answer, but before I can say even a single word, Mistress appears over my right shoulder. “Good morning, Priest. I would love to speak with you about healing, but first we need to save the other people here.” She throws him an unreadable smile. “I trust that the lives of the villagers will outweigh that stubborn pride that so many priests exhibit when asked to work with an herbal healer?”
He flinches but nods. “For what it’s worth, I volunteered to come to Orenia because I heard you patrol this area.”
At that admission, he turns to begin healing the nearest moderately injured patient. After blinking at each other, Mistress and I begin working on the badly injured and the sick respectively. I mumble under my breath as I work. “Bloody priests. Can’ say ‘nythin’ straight up, gotta mix it all around and give it out a bit at a time. Nev’r met ‘un as wasn’ confusin’ as cactus juice.” My muttering continues, but I’m not really focused on it anymore.
Several hours later, as the sun begins to set, Mistress finally straightens from the last patient. His injuries had been so severe that Mistress and the priest had to work together to even keep him alive. I sigh. While they were focusing on him, I had enough time to treat every other patient in the infirmary… on my own. Groaning, I lift my head and look around at the now-empty sickbeds. It’s been years since I’ve done so much in a single day. “Mistress?”
It takes her a moment to answer. “Yes, Beth?”
It’s clear that she’s tired if she’s using my nickname. “I think… we’ve been in here too long. Let’s go eat. Sun’s goin’ down an’ we ha’n’t lef’ yet.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea. Priest? You said you wish to speak with us, would you care to share a meal?”
There’s a long moment of silence before a male voice groans quietly. “I would enjoy that, if only I could stand up. I think I overexerted myself. I haven’t healed so many at one time since the beginning of my training, and even that wasn’t to this extent…”
I start to laugh, but it quickly turns into a coughing fit. “I’s thinkin’ summat verra sim’lar jus’ a momen’ ago. Las’ time I felt so worn, was da firs’ time I worked as Mistress’ ‘prentice, ‘n’ ‘at’s a verra long time ago.” I’m so tired that my brogue is coming out in full force, and for a moment I worry that they won’t understand me, but no one mentions it.
Mistress and the priest both huff out laughs of their own, and we all just lay there on the cool stone for a moment longer. Then he says, “I think I forgot to introduce myself, earlier. I’m Laurient. I knew there had been an accident, but they wouldn’t let me near this place, so I didn’t know the extent. If I’d known sooner, I might’ve tried harder to convince them…”
“No,” Mistress says, “it’s good that you didn’t. Had you forced your way in here, they would’ve pushed you out of town no matter how many you saved. That you helped them now, after being pushed away, will make a big difference.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see her press her hand to her forehead. “Ugh. I think I‘m getting a headache.”
I lever myself to my feet and stumble over to her, my hands already seeking the necessary herbs. Not the painkillers with the side effect of drowsiness, but the stimulants that will keep us both on our feet long enough to get home. I pause for a moment to give some to Priest Laurient as well, knowing it won’t be good for him to fall asleep on the floor like this.
It takes a few moments for the herbs to take effect, but it’s clear when they do as we all let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. “Food, now?” I ask plaintively, not caring that I sound a bit like a petulant child.
Mistress smiles. “Yes, of course.” We step outside to find most of the village waiting for us and suppress quiet groans. “Village chief, why have you gathered?”
“We wish to offer our gratitude to you, your Apprentice, and Sir Priest. We had begun to believe that many of those injured would not pull through, but you have saved them. Thank you. More, we heard that you did it despite great strain on yourselves, and expected you to be rather weary upon your exit. We decided that the least we could do is offer you supper for your troubles, and a bed for Sir Priest.” He offers a half smile, which is all he can manage since his stroke a few years back. “We would offer a bed for yourself and the Apprentice, Healer, but we know from past visits that you will always refuse.”
Mistress smiles blindingly. “As you say, we cannot stay the night. But we will gladly accept a meal, especially if you’ve put so much effort into it. It will prove an excellent opportunity to speak with the pregnant ladies we were discussing earlier, as well.”
We all follow him to the central green, where tables have been set up with all manner of food. I look around with awe - and then with concern. Tugging Mistress’ sleeve, I murmur, “Won’ this be a problem when winter comes? I don’ wanna leave ‘em wit’ nothin’ fo’ their supplies…” I trail off as Mistress starts shaking her head.
“These are all fresh-caught, can’t you tell? None of this is from their storage and a lot of it won’t keep even if we try to tell them to store it for winter. Besides, how can we tell them that we won’t eat when they look so excited?” She gently guides me to a table. “Eat, drink, regain some strength. Enjoy yourself - this doesn’t happen very often.” I nod and she walks away to where Ilsbeth, Jeanine, and Gaara are standing together.
Priest Laurient comes over to stand with me, looking exhausted. “I’m so tired, I’m not even sure I can eat anything.” He pauses. “Pardon me, but I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name.”
I smile. “I didn’ give it.” He startles, but I continue before he can speak. “Mos’ ‘round here jus’ know me as Apprentice” I give special care to pronounce it properly “but mah name’s Bethinia.” I hold my hand out to him. “Nice ta meet ya, Priest Laurient.”
He smiles and shakes my hand. “You can just call me Laurient, if you like. What would you prefer I call you?”
I consider. “Don’t much care, really. Jus’ don’ call me Tinny. Me ma used ta call me tha’ an’ I hated it.”
He laughs. “My mom used to call me Entie. I completely understand not liking childhood nicknames.” He hesitates. “Do you think… would the Healer - um, your mistress is - oh…” he trails off, staring at Mistress as she wrestles some drunk men back to their homes. “That is, would she be willing to let me observe you both while I’m here? I think I mentioned this earlier, but I requested to be sent here so that I could meet you - well, meet her.”
I turn to study him more closely. “I cannae speak for her, but I hafta ask. Why d’ya wanna observe us? I cannae help but be suspicious. Don’ have nothin’ ‘gainst th’ Temple, but they don’ usually act all friendly-like wi’ herb healers like us. Too focused on magic and divinity to ‘cept people like us.”
He nods sadly. “I know. My mom was an herbal healer. I was found to have divinity and chose to become a Priest rather than a Paladin because I wanted to heal people. I’ve always wished I could’ve learned Mom’s healing arts before I left. When I heard there was a skilled herbal healer in this area, I was hoping I could learn or at least watch for a little while, in case I can use it to help save someone when I’ve run out of divinity or can’t access it or it doesn’t work. I mean, if that’s not okay, I can just cycle through the villages and help if I run into you anywhere…”
He trails off, clearly worried. I sigh heavily. “I doubt ya hafta worry. Mistress’ ain’t so prejudiced as I am. S'long ‘s ya’re sincere, she’ll prob’ly let ya learn.” A thought occurs to me suddenly and I pause, amusement twitching at my lips. “I’dn’t mind havin’ a fella student fo’ once, neither. And ya’ve shown earlier tha’ ya can be right helpful when it comes ta healin’. Ya should be fine, so relax and ‘ave some food. They did a wonderful job cookin’ it today.”
His face lights up. “It’s been so long since I’ve eaten something that wasn’t Temple food.” He nibbles on a pre-prepared sandwich and practically moans. “It’s so good!”
I chuckle and push him toward the nearest table before heading off to tell Mistress his query. “I’m not pushin’ ya one way o’ t’other, Mistress, but I think we should at least hear ‘im out. He don’t seem ta have ‘ny other reasons ta watch us, but ya’re better at telling when people’re lyin’ than I am,” I finish. She hasn’t spoken the entire time I’ve been explaining, just watched me as if searching for something.
Finally, she smiles and gives me a nod. “I’ll speak with him. In truth, I was planning to offer him something similar. Staying with us doesn’t just give him an opportunity to learn, it also guarantees him a chance to go to every village and to be accepted by them. And besides, I get a chance to convince the Temple that herbs are acceptable for healing. If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite him back tonight. The wolfman from earlier would likely appreciate being able to run again sooner rather than later, but the Temple doesn’t usually heal magical creatures…” she trails off and I grasp her meaning. If he refuses to heal the wolfmen, he’ll lose his chance, but if he’s willing, then he might actually be able to learn.
I offer her a smile, struggling to mask my concerns. The Temple has never been friendly toward herbal healers. I swallow hard, resolving myself to enjoy this night of festivity regardless of what may come in tomorrow morning’s light.