Ersia: Raven Dawn

"Prayer house? But then, why are there so many sick people here? Even more than the ones in robes!"

Randia kept silent and took something from his backpack. They were two pairs of gloves and an elephant-shaped mask made of leather and clothes. He went ahead and put them on Viena. The little girl obediently stands still as her curiosity starts to spark.

"Wow! This is cool! What is this?! I never knew you had something like this!"

"Can you breathe properly?"

"Huff. Puff. Huff. Puff … Feels a little bit heavy, but I think I can do just fine."

Then, Randia put on his medevist badge after he wrapped a cloth to cover his nose and mouth.

"Do we really need all this stuff? I thought we were just going to pray for everyone's health?"

"Pray? No. We are our own salvation, Viena. It's exactly as you said."

The darkness inside Randia's eyes was as cold as his words. Viena didn't know what made him say so and didn't have the guts to ask about it, especially after what happened this early morning. She wonders how those eyes could make her feel that he is so distant while he is literally kneeling in front of her.

When Randia pressed a certain spot in the trunk part of her mask, a fragrant smell bursts out through her nose. She was captivated and taken aback by the sudden nasal stimulation and her worry dispersed like flour thrown in the air.

"Wow! I can smell flowers!"

"Some patients carry foul-smelling disease, and also, there are substances that can be dangerous when inhaled in a large amount. That's why we need to put on masks."

"That's cool! So, what are we gonna do?"

"Why bother asking? Of course, we are going to work."

At first, Randia avoids public places due to him trying to keep his identity hidden as safe as possible. As a medevist, he only takes patients from person to person, unaffiliated with anything or anyone. However, the cost of living for two, takes a lot of coins, especially because Viena is still a child that must be given the best to support her growth. Hence, he has no other choice but to don the badge once more.

They walk into the church in search of the head priest. The building itself looks rather old, but the furniture and other decorations seemed to be maintained with care. Inside, Viena saw a statue of a woman in a vestment entangled in vines and flowers.

"Ran, who is that lady? Is she the queen?"

"No, my child. She is Aine. Our loving and merciful goddess."

Suddenly, a voice interrupted from behind them. When Randia and Viena turned around they saw a young man of cloth that still seemed to be in his twenties. His dense blonde hair that is stretched down to his chin is a wonderful addition to his charming smile.

"A graceful day to you, Father."

"A graceful day to you as well, children of Aine."

Looking at Ran who is bowing his head a little, Viena also follows.

"The head priest has not returned from his morning prayer; thus, he is not available at the moment. May I know your names, honorable guests?"

"My name is Ran."

"My name is Viena."

Randia and Viena replied in succession.

"I am Father Klaus. Now, to what pleasure do we owe the presence of a medevist?"

"We seek to be the healing hands of the goddess."

The priest smiled upon seeing Randia's badge and crouched to bring his face closer to Viena's.

"And I suppose you are here to help Daddy with his work, aren't you? You look brave with that mask!"

"Yes! Don't worry, we will help everyone!" Viena nodded and raised her thumb.

"How miraculous! Just when we were about to be swamped by the increasing number of patients! Very well then, let us set you up quickly. I'm sure the head priest will be delighted!"

Father Klaus ordered his disciples to give Viena and Randia a basic set of medical equipment necessary to carry out their work. Without much further ado, Randia starts calling in for the patients. Two men approached, one of them being supported by the other. It's clear as a day that with such a big swelling, something is terribly wrong with the man's left calf.

"Watch and learn, Viena. I want you to memorize everything that I'm about to do and speak. After the third patient, I will be counting on you."

"Seriously?! You've been telling me to just sit back and watch all this time!"

"Keep talking and I might change my mind."

"N-No way! I'll do it! I'll keep up the good work!"

The little girl nodded repeatedly, and she kept her eyes wide open from behind the mask. Starting from the tools and equipment, Viena tries to remember their shapes as Randia lays the patient. Then, she observes the way Randia treats his patient and the patient's wound itself.

"Your name, occupation, and marriage status."

"What do you eat for breakfast and how many hours do you sleep last night."

"Your past medication, your injury, and how long has this been going on."

Viena can notice how Randia's fingers move in a certain way on his lap. It seemed to her like as if he was writing something.

After a few more questions, Randia starts moving to his apparatus. He took some dried leaves out of his bags, and he looked at Viena to make sure that she was paying attention.

"This is Derasil leaves … Southern Oriana … Windcrown … and Tearfall seeds," Randia shows Viena the ingredients of his concoction before putting them in the mortar.

"This is used to make your senses numb. Hopefully, people will feel less pain with this."

"Hopefully?" Viena finds the word strange.

"Yes. The effectiveness depends on many things. It starts from the quality and the composition of each ingredient to the physiology – I mean the condition of the patient's body itself."

After Randia is done grinding the concoction, he puts them in a glass vial. Then he lit up a small fire on a straw and used it to ignite the ground powder in the vial.

"Hold the vial and keep an eye on the fire inside it, you can only see the fire from above. When the fire turns blue, immediately close the vial with its lid. If you're not wearing a mask like now, you have to be careful not to peek too close to the hole. You don't want to get too much smoke in your eyes."

Viena did as Randia instructed. After roughly twelve seconds, the little girl saw the blue fire and immediately did as she was told. She almost missed the timing due to her mask obstructing her vision a little. However, in the end, she managed to do it.

"Done!"

Randia then took the vial and put the vial right under the nose of the patient.

"I need you to inhale as strong as you can as soon as I open this lid."

Randia took the lid off and the patient inhaled the gas inside. In an instant, the patient is knocked out cold.

"Stasia," Randia casts a spell on the unconscious patient.

Viena was too astonished to say anything. Everything is new and looks amazing to her. When she is at the peak of her excitement, Randia turns to her face.

"The next procedure might be very dreadful for you to see. If you think you can't handle it, you can leave. Make your decision."

"… Is there going to be blood?"

"Yes."

Rather than leaving the room like Randia had told her, the little girl decided to gulp down her fear.

"I … I want to learn!"

Her answer brings a little smile to Randia's face. This was the second time Viena had seen him smiling. Strangely, it's more than enough to wash all her worry and anxiety. His silent praise creates a butterfly in her stomach and a tower of steel in her wavering heart.

In the end, Randia performed surgery on the patient, with the aid of Viena. He sliced through the muscle as Viena wiped the blood with a clean cloth. He collected and rearranged the broken fibula and tibia, before gluing them back together using special honey-colored ointment and binding them with thread.

After all the stitching and wrapping are done, Randia immediately works on another remedy. This time he's making a take-to-home painkiller for after surgery. Viena went to help by sorting the ingredients as she was taught previously.

They ended up working in the church for almost three hours. Each patient has a different case and treatment. To Viena, every person is like a whole new book to read and explore. She carefully pays attention to every detail of everything Randia said and done. Luckily for her, there was no other patient who needed such an extreme effort as much as the first one.

"How do you feel?"

"To be honest, I really wanted to throw up at first."

"But then the breakfast would be a waste."

"Yes. That's why I gulped it back down."

"You are doing just fine. There is a lot of room for improvement."

Viena giggles behind the mask. Randia's half-hearted compliment is something that she always finds very rewarding and annoying at the same time.

"The mask is heavy, isn't it? You don't have to keep wearing it. You'll make your neck and shoulder sore."

"N-No! This is nothing!"

Randia noticed that Viena had been turning her head quite often since the last hour. The weight is taking a toll on her, but since it was like a new toy for her, she won't part from it. Hence, he needs to compel her to take the mask off her face.

"We will be done soon. Go take a break and give me the mask. I'll need to make some adjustments so you can work more comfortably."

"Okay then!"