“The Silver Maiden deserved the greatest credits for the proliferation of healing knowledge in this day and age, and many of those lives saved by it, in my opinion. In the past, healers had guarded their knowledge, techniques, and methodologies closely, often only bestowing the knowledge to a chosen disciple or direct descendants.
She ignored that practice entirely, nay, contemptuously, even. The Silver Maiden performed her healings openly, and happily taught anyone who desired to learn her techniques and methods without discrimination. Those she taught, moved by her selflessness, in turn further disseminated those knowledge and methods, which led to the widespread availability of medical knowledge we enjoy today.
Nowadays even a small-time village healer would know many techniques and tricks that only royal healers would have known in the past.” - Alvida Norstrom, Physician and Medical Historian from the Kingdom Down Under, circa 477 FP.
“Out of the way!” said Clarissa as she had her guards rudely remove the physician who was treating her unconscious mother to the side. She, Aideen, and Solenia had ridden their horses with minimal rest, pushing the animals as hard as they could even with the aid of Aideen’s healing magic, and reached Algenverr in three days, instead of the week-long journey expected from the Royal Capital.
“Young Lady? What is the meaning of this-” asked the old physician, somewhat affronted before Graciela covered his mouth with one hand and dragged him away, if gently. The old man’s outrage was understandable, as one did not simply tear away a healer from their patient like that, but Clarissa was far too impatient to care for such niceties at the moment. All she had in her mind was her mother’s condition.
Aideen herself knelt by the bedside of the stricken Duchess, and gently laid a hand on the woman’s wrist, before she gently pulsed her mana through the unconscious woman’s body to inspect her condition. The old physician looked ready to burst, but calmed down somewhat when he saw the expertise and gentleness with which Aideen moved her mana.
“Shut up and you can watch,” Clarissa whispered to the old physician quietly so as not to distract Aideen. “But mark my words, should you end up distracting Miss deVreys and disturbing the treatment I will have your head on a platter.”
Everyone watched as Aideen quietly began treating the unconscious Duchess. Her injuries were quite severe, with a heavy concussion and a cracked skull, as well as her spine being broken in three places. For the vast majority of healers anywhere, such injuries would have made them give up, or pronounce the patient a vegetable at best.
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Aideen was not one of the majority.
With utmost care, she controlled tiny tendrils of mana to work on the broken and now partially fused spinal cord of the Duchess, taking extra care on the nerves as she slowly soothed the damaged portions while reconnecting them, one at a time. It was tedious, finicky work which required all of her concentration, and thus she dared not do it too quickly.
The old Physician watched her work at first with raised eyebrows and unvoiced question, but before long, his mouth opened and his eyes bulged as he stared at her work with enthusiasm and excitement not unlike a child seeing their favorite toy. Before long he was staring slack-jawed at the proceedings until Aideen finally rose from her kneeling position fifteen minutes later and wiped the sweat that had beaded her brows.
“Give her a few hours and she should regain consciousness,” said Aideen to the hopeful Clarissa. “She will need a lot of rest still, and nutritious foods. Avoid giving her food that is too heavy on the stomach for the next week at least, but otherwise, she should be fine. Now where are the others?”
As Clarissa and a few knights led Aideen to where her cousin Daniel lay, the old physician inspected the unconscious Duchess’ condition with trembling hands. He almost failed to restrain a cry of incredulity when he found her in perfect health after Aideen’s treatment, then his eyes shone and he hastened to catch up with the others.
Aideen repeated the treatment she gave the Duchess to Clarissa’s cousin Daniel, and took about as long. The two of them had similar injuries, Daniel’s probably somewhat worse, as he had also broken his hip bone. All that meant was an extra couple of minutes work for Aideen, while the old physician watched her closely, enthralled at her methods of healing, with the eyes of a devoted fanatic.
Clarissa had wanted to order the knights to drag the old man away, but belayed that thought when she noticed how the old man strived to be as silent as he could, even holding his breath at times. Eventually, after Aideen was done with Daniel, they all went to Clarissa’s father, the Duke’s chambers.
There they found the Duke handling some paperwork with another middle-aged man whose countenance shared much similarity with the Duchess, likely the uncle Clarissa mentioned. Clarissa herself dragged her uncle away and quickly set Aideen to work on healing her father over the baffled looks of the two men, not taking any of their objections.
“I… I can feel my legs!” intoned the Duke with surprise not five minutes later as Aideen stepped away with a smile.
“Please take care not to try to stand too soon. Your leg muscles had likely athropied quite a bit during these weeks where you were confined to bed,” warned Aideen as she looked at the suddenly energetic look on the Duke’s face. “If you insist on trying to stand, at least have some helper available to help catch you should you fall.”
“Alfonso! Clarissa! Help me up, quick!” yelled the Duke from his bed as he shifted his legs down from the bed. His brother-in-law and daughter quickly came to him and helped him as he stood up gingerly on trembling legs, but neither could keep a smile from their faces as they saw the Duke’s wide smile as he carefully took one step, then another.
From the side, Aideen looked at the Duke’s uncertain steps with a pleased expression.