The Orkhan Patient [Imogen]

[Kala Leukos]

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Kala kept her senses flooded with aetheric information about Imogen's body to ensure that her clever bit of scrivening was doing what it ought to do and nothing untoward and unexpected; a little chat would give her time to be more certain.

"Ahh... well, our father was also a Reaver. If family stories are to be believed, our ancestors were once Dawnmartyrs and so the practice continued down our bloodline. He's made a longsword his pact weapon, and I suppose when he masters the spear, he might take another. I don't know if he will initiate me. I only really know my daggers." She shrugged and spread her hands wide with a modest smile. Kaus was much more powerful than her, but her skills covered a wider range. Together, they were a powerful team, more powerful together than the sum of their parts.

"I don't know if he will join the Dawnmartyrs now that Arcas has been reborn in our crown prince. I know he hopes that if he masters the power, our elder brother will give him our father's pact weapon. It would certainly bring him comfort to have that connection with him."

The loss of her father was old, so she wasn't thrown by the thread of grief, but it still wove its way through her. Not for the first time, she wondered if her meager skills with necromancy would ever allow her to speak to her father through whatever fragment of his soul remained within the old pact weapon. Magic was often more an art than a science, and nothing ventured, nothing gained. Still, she wanted to know more before she tried, lest her ineptitude damage the sword and, perchance, that fragment of her father's soul.

After a pause, she offered, "If you would like to meet my brother to discuss it further, I could arrange a meeting."

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[Imogen]

“Ah- no, no, that's...” The offer made Imogen surprisingly flustered, though it was tricky to understand why. She was confident enough when sparring with her fellow acolytes, but with a practitioner of Reaving outside her own tradition? There was something intimidating to that which she wasn't prepared to deal with on a notional level. “That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid I'm well out of practice, it's just a passing curiosity.”

The Orkhan woman couldn't feel anything different, which she supposed was a good thing. She'd dealt with curses before, once or twice, and they could really screw the body up even if she managed to spot and burn them off quickly. Perhaps, like Sivan's alchemic, it wouldn't ever really feel like anything?

Ah, and there was that thing about Arcas. She'd heard people claim that he'd been reborn of the Kalzasi prince. Hardly seemed likely to her- she'd observed the wealthy and powerful up close for a few years now, and there was nothing about their vaunted nobility which seemed worth the moniker of "hope" to her. No, it was the common folk, like Ms. Kala here, who displayed true nobility in the end, time and again.

Still, it seemed rude to raise questions about the prince to her face; he did seem quite beloved in his city.

“Mmm. I don't know much about my own ancestors, not since Granddad came over from Ecith. Always thought that I might go there and try to look up some other family, but you know how life is.” She paused, “Really wouldn't fancy initiation with daggers as a first pact, though. In my trial, my master used a spear, and I ended up impaling my entire leg on it just to get through. And that's with a greatsword, mind you. Shoulda started with something even longer range. A dragonwrath cannon, maybe.”

“And you've got people running around calling themselves Dawnmartyrs again, you say?” Imogen wanted to snort at the idea, but it was hard for her to judge people who wanted to take up a magic sword and do some good in the world, after all. “Ah well, it's a grand goal, I suppose. Should really piss off Marshal Kane, at any rate, and that's always quite funny to see.”

[Kala Leukos]

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"Fair enough," she said with a smile. "He would certainly want to test himself against another reaver, though he does know how to take no as an answer."

It was a bit of a challenge, but she managed to pay attention to the woman's aether while also paying attention to what she was saying. Managing more than one thing at a time was becoming a necessary habit for her.

"Well, I've started to pick up polearms," she said, laughing quietly. "But I take your point. I remember his initiation being frightening, but we were children." Whether a child ought to be violently initiated was not something she seemed to question. They were Avialae, born warriors. Even diminutive Kala could be deadly when she had to be. Her daggers might not be impressive, but they allowed for quick, explosive energy, which she had more than she had brute strength.

"Ah, directly from Ecith? There are many Orkhan here who have been since the founding of Kalzasi... since before the Avialae came. From what I understand, the Dawnmartyrs didn't cease to be, but went underground. And now they have returned with their God. I have met Talon Novalys, but it was before his ascension so it wasn't a religious experience. At least for me." She winked. "And I'm certain he came back specifically to upset your Grand Marshal."

She laughed again, but there was no malice in it. While she categorically disagreed with the Zaichaeri treatment of magic and non-humans, she had adopted something of a live and let live philosophy. She could only focus on making the world a better place within her scope of influence, which didn't reach as far as Zaichaer. If anything, she could help Imogen Ward and call that a small victory.

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[Imogen]

“Ah, polearms.” Imogen smiled, eyes distant, “My old master loved them. Range, leverage, and they dance like a dream. I once saw him down one of those mushroom-lions from a hundred yards away with that ranseur...” She didn't mention the part where the beast had inexplicably caught fire and he had to chase it down to get the damn thing out. It turned out that spongy tissue, like fungus, was extremely good at trapping polearms. And highly flammable.

“Anyway, I'm sure the crown prince of your city is a lovely man” Imogen lied, not sure of that at all, “And I wish these reformed Dawnmartyrs the best of luck.” She supposed that if the Commonwealth ever got around to rebuilding Ailos, the Order could probably reestablish itself whether or not their patron deity truly walked the land anew. For all that Imogen had been initiated into the rites of her order, she wasn't especially superstitious. It wasn't that she didn't believe the gods were important, they just hardly came up in the day-to-day, and she doubted it differed much if you were a holy knight.

It was odd to think about Kalzasi and Zaichaer at the same time, really. Her experience had been more like one of those mythical portals between the worlds- on one side of the train station, a tense, angry police state where talk of gods was suspect and the traditions which sustained the people (still!) were cause for mass arrests. On the other side of the train station, this weird land of laissez faire monarchy, a plethora of idols, and a careless approach to magic which even she thought was perhaps going too far.

(Did Kalzasi even register mages? Surely you couldn't rule a city where you didn't even have a census for that? The notion shook Imogen Ward, public bureaucracy expert, to the very core.)

“Well, if they manage to get on their feet again, perhaps I'll have the chance to go a round with a Dawnmartyr some day. It would be interesting to see how Ailos' techniques differ from Zaichaeri methods.” Zaichaer was not known for either swordplay or Reaving, but Imogen didn't let that embarrass her because the obscurity was, after all, intentional. She supposed that it could also happen if the two cities went to war in the next decade, but that wasn't particularly likely by her reckoning, so she opted not to bring the thought up.

“Ah, at any rate, I appreciate the attention, Nurse Kala. Most impressive to take a case off the street and find an answer so readily.” She would compare it unfavorably to Zaichari care, probably, except that she'd never gone to any of Zaichaer's officially-sanctioned houses of healing. The Kindred were easily accessible when you worked so close to the Market, and Imogen was hardly going to complain about their work.

[Kala Leukos]

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"A fungelione? Really?" Her eyes widened, suitably impressed. She only smiled at the further mention of Talon Novalys and his former self's Dawnmartyr's. His ascension must have been fraught for the people of Zaichaer and Kala had no intention of making the woman uncomfortable.

The conversation had certainly been interesting, and when it seemed Imogen was ready to go, she tried to share what she had learned from her lengthy scanning.

"It seems that whatever you are allergic to is fungal in nature. Perhaps some sort of mold. I can't say whether it was something you encountered here or perhaps en route to Kalzasi. What I've given you should help, though, and if it recurs, at least we will have an idea whether it was of Kalzasern origin or from your travels. I hope you manage to keep warm."

Her smile was warm, at least. She didn't rush the woman out in case she had any other questions, but otherwise, she would walk her to the desk where they had met. Payment at the Tranquil Gardens was reasonable, and Kala never indicated any use of her magic which might add to the financial burdens of the sick and injured.

It was people like Imogen Ward that made her wish traveling to Zaichaer wouldn't be so fraught for her. They likely wouldn't care that her father had had wings, but her Runes would make her a target for the Order of Reconciliation.

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[Imogen]

“Fungus, is it? Figures. I've never trusted mushrooms- who can say what they're plotting in the dark, hidden from the sun?”

That, at least, was just a joke. Imogen might have many misconceptions about the world, but a deep-seated concern about mushroom conspiracy, thankfully, did not feature. Although... come to think of it, if mushrooms could create a monster as deadly as the fungelione, what other weapons might the kingdom of spongey eukaryotes have hidden? Perhaps such self-assured ease was precisely what the mycelium masterminds desired?

Nah, probably not.

“Well, I appreciate the consultation, Ms. Kala. I'll apply the oatmeal as you said, and pray the Triumvirate shield me from any conniving molds henceforth.” Another jest- Imogen had no expectation that Raxen or Galetira would intercede against any fungus which wasn't at least eight feet tall. Syren, though...

(No, better to stop that thought)

Imogen let Kala escort her out to the front desk where, as per usual, she counted out the Gardens' (surprisingly low!) fee carefully. Lovely building- she wondered again how much money some nob benefactor was pouring into the place, and why. You certainly didn't get an establishment like this without real money, and you didn't get to real money with fair prices. Probably some sort of impenetrable status game; in her experience, once people were set for money they were pleased to spend absurd quantities of it on the dumbest social maneuvers.

“Thanks again, and if you're ever in Zaichaer- well, no, don't come to Zaichaer. Terrible idea, really. You probably don't need me to tell you that, either. Well, if I'm ever back in your fair city, I'll stop by and let you know how well the treatment worked.”

[Rune]

R E V I E W

Lore:

Kala:
Medicine:
Patient Intake
Ailments of the Skin
Allergic Reactions
Prescribing Ointments
Natural Remedies
Food Allergies

Surgery:
Visual Examination
Consent-Based Cared
Understanding the Interconnectivity of a Body

Semblance:
Recognizing the Reaving Rune

Scrivening:
Linking Ideograms
Ideograms for Calm
Ideograms for Recognition

Imogen:
TBA

Points: 10 each, Kala may use for Semblance or Scrivening

Injuries/Ailments: Minor Skin Condition for Imogen

Loot: None

Notes: I really enjoy reading the every day life stuff, great job.