Solo [Sanctuary] Stitches

[Aoren]

31st of Spring, 515 AV
Early Morning

“Easy now, focus on me. Listen to the sound of my voice. I know it’s painful.” Aoren met the gaze of a young Akalak who was gritting his teeth in pain. At his side stood a tall, powerfully built warrior whom Aoren could only guess was a member of the Kuvay’Nas. The two had come into the Sanctuary in need of attention. At the time, Aoren had been tending to some of the Imperial Watcher dogs that meandered about the complex. Upon seeing both warriors neither of whom were in the best shape, Aoren had moved quickly to bring them to the healing clinic.

As it stood, an aspiring Kuvay’Nas was propped up in one of the infirmary beds with his left boot removed to expose a blotchy looking pattern along his foot and into the lower portion of his calf. While that wasn’t his only injury it seemed to be the one causing the most pain. The only reason he could tell the discoloration was because of the green coloration of the Akalak’s skin compared to the dark bruising around the affected area. Gingerly he touched the young warrior’s skin receiving a grunt accompanied by a shifting of the leg away from his touch.

Aoren drew upon the reservoir of power that flowed within him. He concentrated on calming emotions, of relaxation. Taking hold of those feelings he pushed them outward into the outer most layers of his aura extending his influence to touch that of the young Akalak he was treating. He wasn’t nearly as familiar with Hypnotism as he felt he should have been but if providing the young man with something to focus on helped assist him while Aoren assessed his injury, it was the least he could do.

“Breathe. Now, tell me what happened.” The young Akalak seemed to relax only slightly. Aoren wasn’t surprised. His powers of persuasion weren’t the strongest but every little bit helped.

“P-patrol in the Sea of Grass. Heard of Zith hunting party. Not what was waiting…” He grit his teeth. Aoren opened himself up to the gift of Rak’keli pressing his palm down upon the warrior’s shin. Immediately the soothing power of the goddess flowed through him and into the ailing Kuvay’Nas. The man’s skin felt hot to the touch but as the relief offered by gift of Healing seeped into the man’s body it cooled. There was relief in the man’s face though it was obvious he still struggled with pain. Aoren removed his hand. The other warrior, a towering figure clad in leather armor and well-armed with dark violet skin, finished the green skinned Akalak’s story.

“We didn’t find Zith but a glassbeak pack caught us and others.” Aoren’s brow furrowed. Glassbeaks. They were terrifying creatures to be sure and most definitely not animals to trifle with when in numbers. The green skinned warrior chuckled.

[Aoren]

“Tripped in hole after ridding glassbeak of head. Hole was snake den. Bit on leg.” Aoren nodded even as the green skinned warrior still winced. While the green skinned warrior seemed to only have a basic grasp on Common the darker of the two spoke it well enough. He was thankful for that. He made a mental note to study more in-depth the Akalak native tongue of Tukant. If he were going to live in Riverfall then it was wiser that he learned the local language than try to muddle through broken Common.

“Where else are you hurt?” Pulling upon his djed, Aoren brought his own aura into harmony with that of his patient. Immediately the weave of the Akalak’s aura became visible to him and Aoren picked up on the most basic things to be perceived without having to exert much effort. There was pain and discomfort obviously but Aoren looked deeper. The Akalak assisted him by turning over onto his back to reveal a gash just beneath his right shoulder blade. The Drykas concentrated his auristics in that area as he reached out to brush his fingers over the wound.

Aoren sifted past the throng of the Akalak’s emotions as his fingers touched it. With their aura’s in synch, Aoren used his hypnotism in tandem with his auristics to push feelings of calm and relaxation into the Akalak’s sphere of influence. It helped but not by much. All Aoren could do was suggest such things to help the man focus by bringing his desire to move beyond his pain to the forefront. Whether or not he actually pushed past his discomfort was in his hands.

“Can you close the wound?” Aoren nodded to the dark skinned Akalak as he released his auristics. From what he’d observed there was no damage beyond that of flesh and muscle. The bones of the Akalak’s ribcage were still intact although perhaps bruised. His lungs were also functioning fine as best he could tell.

“Yes. It will need stitches. I do not possess the power to close it with Healing. Can you help him remove his chest armor?” The dark warrior nodded moving to assist his brother in arms. Rising from the young warrior’s bedside, Aoren went to the supplies kept on hand in the healing clinic. He retrieved the needle, suturing material, and some bandages bringing them to the side of his patient.

“Try to hold still. This isn’t going to be comfortable although I’ll try to work as quickly as possible.” A grunt was what he received in response. Aoren wasn’t greatly familiar with stitching. He had read about it mostly and had not had the opportunity to truly practice it. As he threaded his needled though his hands were steady. He would keep to tying simple knots. The closing of the wound wouldn’t be a work of art by any stretch of the imagination but he would do his best. Touching a hand to the edge of the warrior’s back, Rak’keli’s healing immediately set to work on soothing the pained muscles.

[Aoren]

It would not rid the Akalak of the sting that came with poking a needle through torn flesh but it would mitigate it.

Aoren brought the needle into contact with the inner layer of the Akalak’s torn flesh. The wound was perhaps two inches length. It would no doubt seem longer given Aoren’s unfamiliarity with stitching. Pushing the needle into the flesh, Aoren angled it so that it curved back out just a few spaces above its entry point. He breathed steadily watching his patient’s movements as he began his work. For the moment it seemed the Akalak wasn’t in any more discomfort than he already was. The Drykas Healer moved the needle to the opposite side of the wound piercing the flesh and angling the needled so that it crossed the space between the two sides of the warrior’s open wound.

“Now for the hard part.”

Placing a piece of thread between to spaces was easy enough in theory. Tying that was something else altogether. Aoren went with what was familiar to him. A simple knot. He pulled the thread so that the edges of the flesh were touching then began knotting the suture with slightly unsteady fingers.

“I will go see if others have come.” Aoren nodded to the dark skinned warrior as he left the healing clinic. The Drykas was almost thankful. It was easier to work without fear of being watched like a hawk. It made taking his time simpler.

“You are well?” The green skinned Akalak gave a nod as Aoren finished his rudimentary knot. Not wanting to bring any more pain to the man than was necessary, the Healer quickly set to work on his next stitch. As he worked he took hold of his hypnotic influence bringing it once again into harmony of that of his patient’s. He nudged the suggestion of calm into the air in the hopes that it might continue to mitigate any distraction of pain the warrior was feeling. From what he could tell it was working mildly but that might just have been the Akalak’s own discipline combined with the soothing touch of Rak’keli’s gift. Aoren was not adept enough at Hypnotism to truly tell.

It continued in that fashion for several minutes of relatively silence. Aoren continued his stitching, his fingers sometimes lost a grip on the thread as the blood made it slick. He dropped the knot or the thread snapped and he was forced to get a new one. Still, the work was finally completed just as Aoren heard the footsteps headed in his direction. He touched the now largely closed back wound with his fingers imparting another of a Healer’s gift to it, he purified it to stave off infection. The Healer looked up to see the dark skinned warrior from before along with another violet skinned Akalak albeit of a lighter shade than his counterpart. He was holding his arm close to his chest, the muscles in his jaw twitching slightly.

“Please, have a seat. I will be with you in just a moment.”

[Aoren]

Rising from his seat at the prone warrior’s side, Aoren rinsed his hands in a bowl of water. He went to the shelves retrieving a jar of Krolar poultice. He returned to the warrior’s bedside scooping out a small amount applying it to the newly closed wound on the Akalak’s back. With that finished he set to work bandaging the wound properly.

“You’ll need to keep this wound clean. Don’t do any heavy lifting otherwise it will reopen. Just take it easy for a little while, yes?” The green skinned warrior gave him an affirmative nod of understanding. Aoren couldn’t be certain that meant anything other than he was just listening but that was all he could do. Turning to the new arrival, Aoren moved over to the other patient giving him a once over. He had a cut on his thigh that would need to be bandaged properly. It looked as though it were not bleeding profusely so Aoren moved on. He drew on his auristics that he might be able to study the Akalak more intently.

“What happened?” The violet Kuvay’Nas extended his arm with a wince. Aoren took the arm gingerly spreading his sphere of influence outward to brush against the Akalaks. As with his previous patient, Aoren did his best to thread suggestions of calm and clarity into the air that the warrior might focus better.

“Wrist twisted. Hurt.” The structure of the wrist slowly began to feed itself through Aoren’s auristics. What he could discern was a throbbing. The area was hotter than the surrounding tissue. There was swelling and bruising from what he could tell. As the study of the wrist’s internal structure continued, Aoren perceived no breaks in the bones. There were breaks in the uniformity of the muscles from what he could tell. He perceived that those were possible tears.

Nodding, Aoren allowed the gift of the goddess to flow through him. The touch of Rak’keli moved from him to the wrist that he held lightly in his hand. It was an amazing thing to behold as he observed the divine power of Rak’keli interact with the man’s body. The tears and strain he’d found through auristics was lessened in moments. The swelling evaporated. The bruising dissipated and the heat from the warrior’s skin cooled. In short order the wrist was back to what Aoren could only guess was its normal condition as he released it.

[Aoren]

“How does it feel now?” The warrior rotated his wrist. He sighed heavily in relief giving a nod of thanks.

“Better.” Satisfied, Aoren released the hold he kept over his auristics as he turned to the wound on the man’s leg. As with the wound that had been on the other Akalak’s back, this one would need to be sewn together. He leaned in closer to inspect the wound before stepping away to retrieve more thread and a fresh needle. When he returned he took up a set so that he could sew together the wound comfortably.

“This is going to need stitches. Try to relax.” The warrior leaned back, propping himself up against the wall closing his eyes. Aoren did his best to not pay attention to the fact that others were perhaps watching him. He threaded the needle, touched his hand to the Akalak’s thigh to allow the power of Healing to soothe the irritated muscles, then set to work. As the needled pierced the Akalak’s flesh the warrior grimaced, flinching slightly.

Aoren reached to touch upon the man’s sphere of influence with his own. His djed moved more sluggishly, even for a magic he was grossly unskilled in. The strain of using both Auristics and Hypnotism in tandem with one another was beginning to take its toll. Aoren let up on his reach for the persuasive magic sending only the smallest of suggestions in the Akalak’s direction. It was a notion of weariness. Of being tired and wanting to drift off into slumber. The man was already tired from his exertions, Aoren merely expounded upon the idea that it would be good to sleep. That being tired was okay. He doubted it would do more than make the Akalak flutter his eyes compared to the pained discomfort he was feeling. Still, it was worth a shot to make him more comfortable.

The sewing passed by slowly with Aoren having to start over when he realized he’d stitched himself into a corner. It earned him a chuckle from his patient for which he was grateful. It was better than being kicked. He continued working until finally the last stitch was in place. The Healer chewed on his bottom lip before nodding giving it the purifying touch of granted by his gnosis. As with the other patient, Aoren applied a bit of Krolar poultice to assist in the healing process. He took his time bandaging not wanting to jostle the Akalak’s leg and open up the stitches. When the bandage was in place he stood up going to rinse his hands.

“Try to rest. If you can keep weight off the leg it would be best.” Drying his hands he turned to the three Akalak who stood at the door to the clinic. The dark skinned warrior gave Aoren a grateful nod as did the others.

“Thank you for your aid.” Aoren returned the nod with a slight bow of his waist. He looked around the clinic quietly the sounds of a busy Sanctuary reaching his ears. It was easy to forget when he was so focused that the whole of the complex was bustling with activity. Aoren set about cleaning up after himself placing things back in order. He was mostly pleased with how he’d treated both patients. He hoped the others in their party had fared well. If they had not then they would no doubt pay a visit to the medical center in the city, Alements or the Sanctuary. Whichever they could reach in time.

[Caelum]

Thread Award

Aoren

Skills
Auristics +4
Endurance +1
Hypnotism +4
Leadership +2
Medicine +5
Persuasion +2

Lores
Medicine: Snake Bites
Medicine: Akalak Skin Discoloration
Auristics & Hypnotism: Tandem Use
Medicine: Basic Stitches
Medicine: Sprained Wrist

Notes

I got the healing thread. Of course I got the healing thread. Beautifully done as always. Feel free to contact me with any questions of concerns and please do not forget to edit your post in the grade request thread to reflect completion.