[Palsa Hydrasa] Where the Work Never Ends (Mirage)

by **Orinei** on February 2nd, 2013, 10:55 pm

30th of Winter, 512 AV

Thirty days.

She had been here for thirty days, and she could safely say those thirty days had been different from any other thirty days in her life thus far: she had experienced nothing like being an apprentice in the Palsa Hydrasa. Sure, she had been on Sahova before--but as more of a psychological test subject, not someone running experiments. Sahova, before she'd left, had been a place for her to do what she wanted, at her own leisure. Whatever she wanted. If she wanted to spend entire days and nights in the library, or wandering through the open labs, or sitting contemplatively in the courtyard--she could. No one was stopping her. Her only "master" was herself--that, and her creator, who did appreciate it when she checked in from time to time. He was quite familial, after all--always checking up on all his "children."

Those days, she realized, were long over. She had, of course, known they were over once she had left Sahova to begin with; her first years on her own were difficult. She had been her own master again, but in decidedly less comfortable places. Now that she was back, she was no longer in charge of her own destiny, she felt--she was an apprentice. Able to be ordered around by just anyone. You chose this for yourself, she assured herself mentally. You could have gone on wandering the desert forever, but you're going to make something of yourself here. It was true; she could have wandered and wandered and wandered, but she wasn't the type to spend eternity wallowing in her own immortality, remaining stagnant. Not yet, at least.

But here, on this undead island, the work never ended. These thirty days had tired her. The ledger-keeping, the cleaning, the retrieving of supplies. The constant badgering by one apprentice or another for help--usually with something menial. The faces of all of Sahova's newest corpses were seared into her mind; their nameless descriptions floated through her mind like so many dust motes.

She was still here, though. She was proud of that fact. She had heard numerous tales of people--nuits and humans alike--coming to Sahova and leaving quickly, deciding that the sleepless nights of work weren't for them. Orinei, though, was not about to give up that easily. In fact, these thirty days might have been the hardest, but she could feel it getting easier ever day. Even in the dullest moments, when she wished she could set the ledger books on fire, something usually brought her back to eagerness. A choice compliment from one of the higher apprentices here, a sincere thank you from a Nuit she'd helped there. It's the little things, she thought, keeping that small shred of happiness at the forefront of her mind as she pulled on her black velvet, reaching behind her neck in a languid gesture to snap the clasp closed.

Deft, white fingers began braiding her blonde hair, letting it fall in a simple tail down her back before she twisted it up into a braided knot. Her hair, already light, had been turning even whiter, for some reason--the incessant aging irked her on the best of days, but it seemed to have increased in rate lately. Lately, she'd attributed it to overwork. Quickly, she performed the other daily ministrations she'd gotten herself in the routine of: a smudged ring of kohl around her eyes, rouged cheeks and lips. A touch of white cream under the eyes to hide the bruise-like circles, lavender on snow. Done. Stowing her makeup kit, she left her small chamber, headed for the Palsa Hydrasa.

She took the familiar path, entering through the elaborately decorated door, not stopping to admire the gems and tiles as she usually did. Some days, things lost a touch of their sparkle--but she was no less ready for work. Maybe even more determined, perhaps, to prove herself today. She passed beneath the tiled and painted arches until she emerged on the edge of the Nuits' pool, its water shimmering, rippling, not as still as usual. It was quiet; she glanced about, wondering what part of the Palsa Amaryllis had hidden herself away in. She hadn't a clue exactly what they'd be doing today; she'd merely shown up at the prescribed time, readying herself for whatever Amaryllis would throw at her.

Another day as an embalming apprentice began.

by **Mirage** on February 25th, 2013, 7:49 pm

The waters of the pool rippled, more so than usual, and at the far edge a form rose from the deapths of the liquid. Cascading fluid fell down her form, for indeed it was a female, and with an extravagant flick her head those long flowing locks flew backwards out of her face, sending a shower of shimmering drops to ripple across the pools surface.

The figure was none other than Amaryllis, body laid bear with not a single marking of make up or paint upon her. With smooth motions she lifted herself out of the pool, crossing her legs in the smallest amount of modesty, and folded her arms over her bare bosom as she shook her hair to one side. That calm and confident smile lit upon her lips as she noticed Orinei, and with a wave of her hand she drew her closer, "Well a good morning to you Orinei. I take it you are in search of your tasks for the day?"

The liquid of the pool slid down her lush and subtle skin. Not a scar, nor a blimish marred the beauty of her body, and if one did not know better they might mistake the nuit for being alive. There seemed to be some color to her cheeks, a blush along her neck, and it seemed time had no hold upon her at all. Her movements were cordial, dignified, confident. Even clothed in nudity Amaryllis displayed an undeniable confidence and pride. Her body was perfect, it was beautiful, and she knew this full well.

by **Orinei** on March 2nd, 2013, 7:10 am

Amaryllis’ voice had come from behind her, and Orinei whirled around in a swish of velvet skirts. When her gaze found Amaryllis, her eyes widened, her mouth falling slightly open. It wasn’t like Orinei to look away, even to preserve another’s modesty; however, it didn’t seem as if that was Amaryllis’ intent. On the contrary, it seemed as if she was inviting Orinei’s stares, perhaps even enjoying them. Orinei obliged: without knowing what else to do, she stared indeed.

Obeying Amaryllis’ beckoning gesture, she took a few tentative steps forward, eyes still staring wide. The woman before her was an absolute vision, and she knew it. The needy, wanting fingers of jealousy pulled at her heartstrings as she took it all in: her skin, glistening with the water of the Palsa Hydrasa’s pool, even seemed to have retained its lively color, quite unlike Orinei’s own white pallor and bruises. This is what immortality is, truly. Stunned and envious, Orinei couldn’t help but compare her own lanky limbs and hollowed cheekbones to the epitome of life-in-undeath that sat before her sparkling like an Ethaefal rising from the sea. True, her own features were elegant—but this was just ridiculous. Attempting to calm down, she reminded herself that one day, she too would be a master Embalmer. Meaning that she too would one day look alive.

She took a few more small steps toward Amaryllis; her movements were hesitant, but her speech was not. She did not let her gaze leave Amaryllis: if the woman was trying to intimidate her with her nudity and lack of modesty, so be it. She would not be rattled. “Good day, Amaryllis,” she said, inclining her head slightly. “I suppose you have a job for me?” In the last 30 days, if nothing else, she’d learned to control her tone slightly. Though all her words carried the sarcastic air of her normal speech, among those higher in the ranks of Sahova—particularly Amaryllis—she’d learned to be polite.

After responding to Amaryllis’ question, and tearing her eyes away from the beautiful woman before her, she looked longingly at the water. If that’s what it does to her skin, she thought wistfully, I can’t wait to jump in. Lately, her own skin had troubled her. She seemed to bruise more easily, her joints felt stiff. It made no sense—it wasn’t near time for her to jump bodies, yet. But a dip in that pool…she was nearly salivating at the thought of it. She wondered if she was allowed; she had too much pride to ask outright.

Besides, there was more important work to be done. Relaxing in a warm pool, she knew, should be far from her mind.

by **Mirage** on March 3rd, 2013, 9:01 pm

Amaryllis' smile widened, her eyes roving over Orinei's rather disheveled appearance. Her skin was drawn up, the dark circles under her eyes visible. All in all she looked more corpse than nuit, and with a chuckle the woman splashed a bit of the liquid at the girl's feet, her smile almost taunting, "My, you do look rather worse for ware today. I take it you have not yet experienced some of the Palsa Hydrasa's wonders for your self have you?"

It could have been mocking, or sympathetic. Amaryllis' tone was often hard to place as her air of superiority was often unmatched by most of Sahova. Gracefully lifting her legs from the water, Amaryllis stood with her back to Orinei, looking over her shoulder through the hair that fell down her back, "Well perhaps another time. I actually have something to do today, and I require your assistance."

Off to the side there was a white robe folded neatly, and this Amaryllis quickly dawned on her shoulders, though she did not bother tying the cloth at her waist. Waving a hand that obviously showed she expected to be followed, Amaryllis made straight for her office. Laying upon the round table in the center of the room was her usual flamboyant outfit, and as she de robed she began speaking without looking up at Orinei.

"You have been apprenticed here... 30 days was it? I find it difficult to keep track of such trivialities, yet I believe that to be correct." She lifted the colorful clothing, turning it over in her hands to straighten a feather or two, "How have you found it here?" it was a rather absent question, and it was pretty obvious that Amaryllis really did not care overly much what her answer was, but no matter what was said the woman would simply respond, "Ah, good good."

Beginning to dress the woman would glance over at Orinei, "You have served your time rather well, and you have shown dedication to the work which is, in a word, terribly dull." She smiled, looking away to finish dressing. Once all of the feathers were in place, and Amaryllis was her usually colorful self, the nuit would then turn and sit in the large high backed chair, swiveling to look at Orinei, "I have decided to reward your hard work, and it just so happens we have a special request come in. It seems that a rather influential Wizard wishes to have some modifications done to his next host. The process is rather involved, and it will go much quicker if I were to have an assistant. If you like you may accompany to the Surgery Chamber this day." She raised an eyebrow, "Or, if you prefer, you may catalog the latest shipment of bodies instead."

by **Orinei** on March 3rd, 2013, 10:52 pm

Amaryllis’ playful splash only further reinforced the nymph-like qualities of the woman before her, but her taunting tone was not unlike the manner Orinei herself often employed. Orinei nearly rolled her eyes, but caught herself, letting it manifest in a bit of a wan smile. “I’m afraid I haven’t,” she said, referring to experiencing much of what the Palsa Hydrasa had to offer (other than work). “I’ve been busy, as I’m sure you know.” It wasn’t meant to be a condescending comment—if anyone knew how much work running the Palsa Hydrasa was, it was Orinei, who fully understood the magnitude of the job Amaryllis had occupied for the better part of 500 years.

As Amaryllis rose from the pool, Orinei once again couldn’t help but be both appreciative and jealous. Someday… She could only hope she’d look that good when she had risen a bit higher in the hierarchy around here. I could be almost human again. Better than human. She wouldn’t admit it—and it was a very private, deep-seeded thought even in her own mind—but Orinei did envy the living. Not their demeanor, nor their stupidity, nor their reliance on trivial things like food and water: their appearance. Obviously, she was willing to trade a fresh-faced human appearances for the benefits of immortality. But what I wouldn’t give for a youthful glow…

Amaryllis’ request (or requirement, rather) of her assistance came as a surprise. Since the first day, when she’d been instructed in the completion of the most menial tasks of the bunch, and the day they had tackled a simple embalming together, she had been largely left alone. She’d done the simple embalming work, keeping Sahova’s body stock up, and had been cataloging said bodies for weeks. She didn’t see Amaryllis often; she assumed the woman spent most of her time in her office, pondering whatever mysteries she had to work out.

Eagerly (but trying not to look too eager), Orinei followed Amaryllis to her office, staying just a few paces behind her as they entered the blue-and-yellow, temple-like space that served as the headquarters of all embalming on Sahova. As Amaryllis dressed, Orinei found herself admiring the lush textures of the woman’s clothes; they weren’t colours she would have chosen for herself (blue and green were a bit garish compared to her normal black velvet), but they were beautiful all the same. When Amaryllis inquired about her time so far, Orinei realized it for the formality of small talk that it was, but answered all the same. “It’s been an excellent learning experience,” she responded. It was obvious that she hadn’t, per se, enjoyed the menial tasks she’d been set with. She disdained the cataloging of bodies quite fiercely, to tell the truth. However, Orinei wasn’t stupid—far from it. She realized that Sahova was not a place where favours were given. One worked if one wanted to achieve.

It was the last thing Amaryllis said that stopped Orinei dead in her tracks. Until now she had thought that their little meeting was going to be about general work; perhaps a new embalming technique, perhaps another meeting with a corpse ship (she didn’t hope to reenact that experience anytime soon) or maybe even the dreaded ledger books. But this…an influential wizard? Her mind immediately began to move at top speed. One of the Council, perhaps? She wasn’t exactly familiar with any of those wizards—what better time than now to find out? A satisfied smile quickly made its way across her face, and her pale face looked perhaps a touch more rosy. “I would be honored to assist you however you see fit.” She paused, but was unable to keep the next question from bubbling forth. “Might I ask, though—which influential wizard are we talking about?”

by **Mirage** on March 4th, 2013, 1:34 pm

Amaryllis smiled mysteriously, "You may not." chuckling the woman stood, walking past Orinei and waving a hand for her to follow, "For now you need only know what is to be done. There are many Wizards within Sahova that request certain modifications for their hosts, and often they do not want these modifications made public." Turning left out of her office Amaryllis made her way toward the Surgery chamber, walking along the edge of the pool, "We at the Palsa Hydrasa then hold a very influential position, one more powerful than any truly give us credit for."

She stopped, turned to look at Orinei with a widening grin that showed an inner cunning hidden beneath the folds of arrogance and vanity, "You see as many secrets as there are within Sahova, none can hide from us in the Palsa Hydrasa. We know every body, every modification, and in the end we hold power over every single wizard within Sahova." She leaned forward, coming within an inch of Orinei's face, "Most do not even consider this simple fact, but surely you understand." She winked, "Even the council of Five acknowledge this fact."

Straightening the woman continued on her way, waving a hand to ward off any questions as she continued, "Now, only I am told of whom these requests are for, however, I cannot stop one who assists me from recognizing the bodies she looks after so diligently each and every day." She glanced over her shoulder, "I suppose you are decent at memorizing faces are you not?" She laughed and turned, leading Orinei now into the bare Surgery Chamber.

Upon the cold slab of stone there was a new body, that of an older man in his mid 40's. The beginnings of grey could be seen in his hair and short cut beard. Medium build, standing at about 5 foot 10 inches, his body was well preserved.

Walking around the table Amaryllis gently ran the tips of her fingers over the body, eyes searching and seeing the many possibilities it holds, "This particular wizard wishes for us to create for him a hidden compartment for storage, and we will be doing so by hollowing out his inner cavities." She looked up at Orinei, "Have you the stomach for this work my dear?"

by **Orinei** on March 4th, 2013, 7:39 pm

She was only slightly disappointed by Amaryllis’ refusal to divulge who, exactly, today’s project was for. On some level, she hadn’t expected Amaryllis to tell her such a thing. She already knew how secretive the wizards of Sahova were; Amaryllis was right, they would most certainly take great pains to hide any powers not immediately visible to the eye.

And as Amaryllis rounded on her, speaking to her at such close range, she noticed that hidden layer of cunning beneath the beautiful Nuit’s makeup. That cunning intrigued and excited her; there truly was more to Amaryllis than just a pretty face. She had known that as an embalmer, her role on Sahova was little-appreciated and even littler known, but Amaryllis had raised an incredibly good point. After cataloging a good portion of the bodies in the Palsa Hydrasa, Orinei did have a very detailed knowledge of each body in stock. It hadn’t quite ceased to startle her when she saw one of her bodies up and moving, albeit with the languid motions of a Nuit; she was proud, though, when she saw one of her works of embalming as a functioning wizard. But she never forgot them. She never forgot how she had laid hands on them, helping to save them (at least temporarily) from the all-too-mortal shade of decay that came to every body, eventually. Most of all, she never forgot their faces.

Amaryllis had confirmed for her the idea that being an embalmer of Sahova came with a great degree of power. Amaryllis—and those who assisted her—were the keepers of great secrets of the Sahovan wizards. They knew who they were, whose appearance they were assuming, and just what they could do, even if the wizard chose to keep that information hidden to all others. Orinei’s realization of the possible influence she might hold was staggering. Her eyes were alight, a rather cunning smirk coming over her own face as she considered the possibilities. She had never thought she’d be much for politics, but the amount of influence she might have over these powerful wizards was intriguing. To know these wizards so intimately…she couldn’t help but begin to plot already, wondering how Amaryllis dealt with it. She wondered if they confided in her, or what information the embalming mistress was able to pry...but she set herself back to the task at hand. These were questions that should certainly be asked, but for now, work had to be at the forefront of her mind. Nodding slowly as she followed Amaryllis, she finally spoke. “I am a dab hand at memorizing faces…isn’t it strange, when you see them one day in the Rubellum Chamber and the next, blowing things up or shouting incantations in a lab?” She smirked. It was more of a musing than a question; she knew that at some point, these things would cease being new and strange.

As they entered the Surgery Chamber, the décor shifted radically: the lush and sparkling blue-and-gold tile of the pool chamber became the stark white stone of the operating room. A blank slate. Just like this one, she thought, as she and Amaryllis stood over the man on the table. She immediately let her eyes rove over his face, taking in each detail, letting the features seep into her pores. She thought of it as if she was cataloging him: Male human, approximately 40 years of age. Approximately 5’10’’, medium build. Grey hair. No other distinguishing marks. She made a commitment to herself to commit the man’s face to memory. She would know who this “influential” wizard was, if she had anything to say about it.

She watched Amaryllis appraise the body, saw her manicured fingertips brush over the dead man’s skin. “A hidden compartment,” she repeated, nodding, turning her eyes on Amaryllis momentarily before staring back at the man. This sounds messy. She considered Amaryllis’ question for a moment—if she was suited for this kind of work. The obvious answer was yes. She had been around long enough to have seen some rather foul decay in her life, and for all intents and purposes, this man looked rather well preserved. Again, she reminded herself that nothing ever came from hanging back. This was just another chance to prove herself. She looked back at Amaryllis, smiling rather playfully. “I should say I’ll be fine,” she said. “He looks a good deal fresher than the bodies I dealt with at the harbor last week.”

by **Mirage** on March 4th, 2013, 10:58 pm

Amaryllis chuckled, "It is the fresher ones which cause the most trouble as things have not quite... settled yet." Eyes shining with amusement the woman would walk over to the far wall where hung sets of plain white clothing, neither colorful nor fresh looking. Waving a hand for Orinei to come over as well she explained, "Before every procedure you must change into one of the outfits provided here. These are only used by myself and a few other select apprentices, so do not mind catching anything strange from them." The most subtle hint at a joke laced those words as Amaryllis began to strip, revealing her nudity once more without a single hint of modesty.

The clothing she hung carefully in place of the white cotton replacements, and Orinei might wonder why Amaryllis did not simply change into these outfits before entering the Surgery Chamber. Of course the answer was simple. She was far too vain to be seen walking about the Palsa Hydrasa in anything less than her best attire.

The clothing itself were simple cotton shirts and pants, plain white yet faded with dark stains which could have been any manner of bodily fluid. Amaryllis dawned these without hesitation, not even to the awful stink which came from them as well. Once dressed the Master Embalmer would move to a hidden cabnet in the wall, removing from it a tray with an array of interesting utensils. Short metal probes, tweezers with different shapped heads, and of course scapulas with changeable blades. This tray she moved to set upon a stand close to the table itself. Producing a hair band from somewhere or another she then tied her hair back, and then offered a band to Orinei so that she might do the same.

"Now then," she said, picking up a pair of black wool gloves from the table. A matching pair would be there for Orinei as well, "We will begin, as we do with every procedure, with first orienting ourselves with the bodies landmarks." She waved Orinei closer to the table, taking Orinei's hand and moving her fingers so that they could feel just below the man's last rib, "Do you feel that my dear? That is the lowest rib of the chest cavity. Connected to it is an organDiaphragm which helps the pulsers breath. Really rather pointless to have for a nuit, however, in order to speak we must draw in breath first, so we must try and leave this in tact as much as possible."

Gone was the woman's usual arrogant and prideful demeanor, and what replaced it was something Orinei had ever seen before. There was no sarcasm in the words, no hidden meanings. For the first time Amaryllis was speaking plainly to the apprentice, truly teaching her. How odd was that?

Moving Orinei's fingers downward, Amaryllis let her feel the rounded edges of the man's hip bones, "This bone here is a part of the pelvice, and the crestIliac Crest of this bone is where we draw our line in this operation. We cannot cut below this section or we risk maiming the lower sexual organs which, for some odd reason, many of the Wizards tend to want in tact." She looked up at Orinei and smiled, "Though I doubt they are of much use now." She laughed, a true laugh and smiled a true smile as she traced Orinei's fingers from the middle of the imaginary line between the crests, and up to the naval. She traced her fingers around one side of the navel, leading it back up to the rib cage, "When the first incision is made it should follow along this path, being certain to go AROUND the naval."

Releasing Orinei's hand Amaryllis would straighten, taking from the tray a scalpel with a hooked blade. Leaning down over the body so that her elbows almost rested on the man's abdomen she pressed the point of the blade into the skin at the center of the man's abdomen, just below the last rib. Moving slowly, in one fluid motion she then traced the path she had shown to Orinei, flesh parting as if it were butter, "There are several layers that you have to cut through before you enter the inner cavity. These include the skin, the fatty layer, and a layer of spidery white threads that lies just below the skin and holds it in place to the layer beneath it." As she reached the naval a clear liquid began to seep out of the incision, and a smell akin to rotten eggs mixed with Formaldehyde began to seep from the cut, "You were correct, this body is rather fresh. It seems we might have a bit of a mess on our hands today if the blood has not coagulated completely."

The long cut she stopped just at the invisible line above the pelvic crests, and from there she traced those invisible lines, making rounded incisions over the crests themselves on both sides. She did the same just under the lower lids so that the skin began to look more like flaps. More of the clear liquid began to ooze and Amaryllis looked up to Orinei, "Take some of the clothes folded against the wall and bring them here. He will be a leaky one I can tell." She chuckled, and she awaited Orinei's return before moving on.

"Now then, take those cloths and prepare yourself to mop up the excess liquid after I open up the cavity." Amaryllis firmly grasped a corner of the skin clap (the corner being at the top midsection cut) and pulled back, severing lines of tissue, fat and threads of facia that held the flap in place. Keeping a firm grip on the corner she switched out the hooked blade for a larger forward bladed one and made several clean swipes beneath the skin, the folds pulling back more and more with each swipe until the flap could be folded over and back freely. She repeated this process with the other side until the cavity was fully exposed. The flap they had just cut through showed a thick yellow layer that was soft and maliable to the touch, "A layer of fat," Amaryllis explained, "Which can be left in place for now."

NoteThe following spoiler contains a picture of a dissection. If you have a weak stomach you might not want to look lol

What Orinei sees :

Amaryllis indicated the large yellowish apron of Fat that hung just under the stomach, "That is what comprises most of the stomach fat seen in the high class pigs, and to us it is none essential, as is most within this cavity."

She replaced the scalpel on the tray, whiping her gloved hands on the trowsers as she looked at Orinei, "Have you any questions so far?"

by **Orinei** on March 5th, 2013, 9:37 pm

As Amaryllis explained the need for the rather grimy looking white outfits, Orinei couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows, less than excited about the prospect of donning them in favor of her black velvet. She managed a tiny smile at Amaryllis’ joking attempt, before selecting her own set of white embalming clothing. This time, she tried to avert her eyes slightly as Amaryllis undressed, replacing her finery with the white shirt and pants. Orinei’s disrobing was a tad less graceful; her attempted modesty was evident as she slipped out of her black dress. She knew that she wouldn’t look half as good as Amaryllis without clothes on: at the moment, she was all lanky limbs and protruding ribs, punctuated by the occasional purpling bruise. She kept her skin as nice as she could, particularly the areas most often seen by others, but there was no hiding in the stark light of the Surgery Chamber. Awkwardly, she slipped into the foul-smelling white outfit, wrinkling her nose as she did. Just another step. You’ll get used to it.

Intrigued, she watched Amaryllis take out the tools they’d be using; she glanced over them, wondering what some of the stranger ones could possibly be used for. She took the hairband Amaryllis handed to her, using it to pull her own hair back tightly; she supposed that bodily fluid wouldn’t look too pleasant on her white-blonde strands. As they rounded on the table (and in turn the dead man), she again mirrored Amaryllis’ motions, pulling the black gloves on over her thin hands.

Then the work began. She let Amaryllis take her hand, listening carefully to the older woman’s description as they prodded at the man’s diaphragm, two hands working as one. She memorized the feel of it under her fingers; the hardness of the man’s last rib, how it gently gave way to the firmness of the diaphragm. She nodded as Amaryllis told her of the diaphragm’s use: she made a mental note of the fact that it must be kept intact for speech.

Amaryllis moved her arm again; Orinei left it loose and malleable, trying to soak up all the information Amaryllis was sharing with her in rapid succession. As their hands moved to touch the iliac crest, Orinei couldn’t help but have a moment of morbid amusement. It had been quite a while since she’d touched a man here, at his hip. Funny, she thought, they’ll only let me touch them once they’re dead, now. It correlated perfectly with Amaryllis’ own amusement at the nuit wizards’ insistence that everything below the hip be left intact. At least they could share a chuckle about this, among other things.

It was about here that she realized that this Amaryllis—the one teaching her—was quite different from the Amaryllis of the main pool chamber. That Amaryllis, dressed in peacock feathers and ornate jewelry, was nowhere to be found; she had been replaced by this level-headed woman in all white (aside from the various stains) who seemed genuinely involved in her work. There was no arrogance, no cunning, nothing but the work at hand. Orinei felt a new appreciation growing within her for the woman at her side. She knew there was more to Amaryllis than just a coy smile and elaborate eye makeup, and this was it. The woman was a talented surgeon—and a talented teacher.

She was nearly startled when Amaryllis let go of her hand; she’d been in a near trance-like state, letting her hand be moved to feel the different regions of the man’s midsection. When Amaryllis grabbed the scalpel, though, her attention was unwavering. As the woman traced the path around the man’s middle, her eyes widened slightly; she wasn’t used to seeing this sort of thing. It didn’t bother her, it was all in a day’s work, after all, but watching how easily the flesh parted was the tiniest bit unsettling. When the clear fluid began to seep from the incision, Orinei once again wrinkled her nose, shaking her head slightly to clear it of the smell. Still not as bad as the harbor, she reminded herself. At Amaryllis’ instruction, she curtly said “yes” and swiftly moved to the side of the room, grabbing the designated rags. She quickly came back to the table with the folded fabric, positioning herself at the man’s side to mop up any excess fluid.

As Amaryllis made more cuts, some beneath the skin, some with the larger knife, the fluid continued to brim over the sides of the incision, clear and stinking. Orinei, nose still wrinkled, looking a tad uncomfortable as she pressed the cloths against the side of the man’s body, absorbing the fluid that seeped out of the cuts until it seemed to slow. She relaxed her pressing motion as Amaryllis told her about the layer of fat, at which she nodded, tilting her head somewhat appraisingly.

She certainly did have questions. She assumed most of them would be explained as they continued the process, but she did have one pressing issue with the whole procedure. “I might be getting ahead of myself here,” she said, thoughtfully. “But I’m wondering. Will we be lining the insides of the cavity with something? The man can’t very well want to carry his belongings and have them smelling like…that.” She gestured at the cloths damp with the clear fluid, laughing a bit.

by **Mirage** on March 6th, 2013, 6:13 pm

OOC :

Amaryllis looked up and smiled, that arrogance showing again just slightly, "My you are an observant one aren't you? You are correct of course. There is far more that goes into this process than simply removing a few organs." Her eyes returned to her work as she took a pair of scissors with a rather thigh head from the tray, along with a pair of tweezers that hand what looked like metal teeth at the end. Using the tweezers to pull at the yellow fat she began cutting away at the apron as she continued, "After we remove the organs we will be lining the inside with a special cloth that shall maintain a sterile environment inside of the cavity. After that is completed we shall be installing within this host, per its owners request, a customized work created by Lab 15." The apron came free in one large piece, and taking a large sack from under the table she unceremoniously threw it inside. She glanced up at Orinei as she went back to work, "These organs and other internal structures will be used as food for several of the experiments and slaves. We cannot allow them to go to waste after all."

With a steady hand Amaryllis began working through all of the organs, examining them and pulling away bits of fat and tissue, throwing this into the sack as well, "It will take me some time to clear out the cavity, and as there is little to be said about this process I have a new task for you." she said without looking up, "You are to go to Lab 15 and speak with Cid, the Master Apprentice there. Tell him you have come to retrieve the Modification for host 17."

She would allow Orinei to think on this, certain she would have a mixture of emotions about having to travel so far to pick up the item, but with a laugh she straightened to look her in the eye, "Though I would rather you did not travel about in that attire for all to see. Instead of taking the usual course you may travel by way of the passage in my office. The door is hidden within the wardrobe behind my desk. Knock three times and the panel will open."

Chuckling she would continue with her work, waving Orinei off to fetch the device while she finished up the tedious task of organ removal.

The secret passage within Amaryllis' office was simply a long corridor made of brick and stone, but after several chimes of walking it would give way to the cave hallways of the caverns. It would go down at a steep incline, at times stairs were carved into stone to aid the footing, and finally it would let out on level 14 just before the entrance to Lab 15. The door to the secret path, once closed, blended perfectly with the wall, but Orinei should notice that it could be found under the 3rd glowing arrow from the left. It opened in the same way as the portal hidden in the wardrobe.

Cid could be found within Lab 15 in his usual place, bent over his desk working on some gadget or another, but of course this was far on the other side of the lab and Orinei would first have to navigate her way through the hustling crowd.

OOC :

Closed [Palsa Hydrasa] Where the Work Never Ends (Mirage)