197S9.9.08

This afternoon, we leave for the next stage of our training.

In a few short hours, this camp will be chaotic as we gather our things and march down to the docks, but, right now, everything is as peaceful and near-silent as always. It is almost hard to believe that this restless, lazy time has come to an end, but I am rather grateful for it; it will be so good to move and to learn, even if it means facing fiends and other threats to my life, and I am eager to see where the next leg will take us. There must be many places in this land where they could train us well, and I cannot even begin to guess where they will choose. I had heard one of the other squads speculate that they may take us to the Calm Lands, but I rather doubt that; such a place does not seem appropriate for the training of an army such as this.

Regardless of the destination, I am also quite looking forward to the chance to be onboard a ship again. It has been quite a long time, but I have always enjoyed the gentle motion and the notion of being surrounded on all sides by nothing but water; it is almost as if you are adrift in your own private heaven, as the stars show so clearly through the darkness without the interference of city lights. Of course, given the situation, I am sure there is no chance of such a sensation and I doubt there will be any time to turn to the stars to see how far we have gone. It is a pity, but this is not a leisurely cruise; I should not be disappointed by such a thing.

The sun is beginning to show over the low rises of rock and so I should likely set about getting myself prepared for what lies ahead of me. I know it may be selfish, but I think I may go down and enjoy the cool water of the pond one last time. It may be quite a long while until I have the chance to bathe again and I wish to enjoy it while I still can.

If I wake him, I wonder if I may be able to convince Gippal to join me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The way they hurried us to the docks, I thought that we were seconds away from missing the boat, yet we've been standing here for what must be more than two hours; why are they having us wait so? Is there something wrong or is this simply the usual way things work in the military?

At least some good did come of this: I found a rather beautiful staff lying in the rocks alongside the docks and, as no one else has use for it, I have claimed it for myself. It is a bit heavier than the last I used and it is sharply pointed at one end, but it seems as if it could be quite useful in the upcoming trials.

I think I may practice with it a bit while we are waiting.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To pass the time, Paine agreed to spar with me—her sword to my new staff—and I will admit that she continues to be able to give me quite the challenge; I am beginning to think that I may never best her in a fair fight and I am rather glad that I likely will never be forced to have to face her in such. The men of the other squads were clearly quite amused when I lost to Paine for the second time and I noted that Gippal seemed to share in this amusement.

For a long while now, I had been promising Gippal that I would spar with him, hand-to-hand, so that I could show him why I prefer to fight without a weapon and this seemed as perfect a time as any to prove my point; I do not think he would back down, anyway, but under the pressure of the other squads' smirks, I knew that he would be hard set to refuse, even if the sparring was not in his usual style of fighting.

We faced each other without our chosen weapons and, though I was doing my best to pull my punches, I still managed to fell him after only a few moments; it was rather easy as he was leaving all the most vulnerable areas quite open and he did nothing to try to impede the speed with which I struck. I should likely offer him a few lessons on how to better defend himself, but I'm quite sure he'd only take offense at the offer; we probably don't have the time for such foolishness, now, anyway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We're finally out to sea.

The ship disembarked almost as soon as we boarded and, much as expected, the quarters are quite tight here. I am not sure that there is any room to sleep below the deck and, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure I would wish to sleep there; it seems the art of cleanliness is rather lost on the general Spiran public and it is impossible to move unless you push the limbs and bodies of the other men out of your way.

I think I may spend the majority of my time above-deck if it is at all possible.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We have hardly been on the ship for an hour and our squad has already found trouble.

It seems that one of the men from another squad approached Paine in a way which she did not appreciate and, rather than simply asking him to leave her alone, she lay him flat with a rather mean punch. It was a rather stunning display and I am certain that the other men will now give her as much space as she needs; the only problem is that the man was injured rather badly and none of the men from his own squad would do anything to help him.

I had to help him. I did not mean it as an insult to Paine nor to our squad, but the man was screaming much as the armoryman had; I simply could not ignore it. It took no more than a simple cure spell to heal his wounds, but, as soon as he realized that he had been cured, the man did the most embarrassing thing: he kissed at the ends of my robes and he praised me as if I had brought him back from the dead. Naturally, I did my best to calm him, but truly was beside himself with gratitude.

It never struck me before now, but I believe I may be the only one who knows curative magic on this ship.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was right; I am the only one on this ship who knows curative magic.

Ever since I cured the man who insulted Paine, I have been mobbed with requests from the various members of the other squads. Most of it has been for small things such as knife-wounds or sores from badly sized boots, but there have been a few requests for healing from ailments which can only be spread through one manner of contact; I know it should not come as a surprise—there are, after all, a few women who are peddling that very manner of contact on this ship—but the Yevon priest in me is sorely tempted to turn those with this particular ailment away. Naturally, I will not give into this temptation, but I suppose it simply demonstrates how deeply those beliefs affect me, even now.

197S9.9.09

Nooj has fallen sick.

I only learned of this when Paine managed to draw me away from the injured and, though I realize that I should have been paying more attention to my squad's needs, I am glad that it is nothing more serious. Thankfully, Paine and Gippal managed to find a secluded place for Nooj to rest and I have been keeping him under the influence of a strong sleep spell so that his body does not grow dehydrated with the sickness. Since the magic seems to be working quite well for him, I believe I may try adding in a cure or an esuna next I cast, so that his body takes no great damage from what it has already been through.

It is quite curious, though. I had always thought that machina would repel magic as magic stems from Yevon's holiness and grace, yet Nooj has shown no adverse reactions to my casting. I had always thought that magic, if it did not simply destroy machina, would then simply have no effect, yet every spell I have cast has worked perfectly on him. I suppose these beliefs were more lies given by the machina-biased priests and Measters, but it could perhaps also be that they never bothered to test magic in such a manner. It is a shame. I am sure this information could be quite useful for anyone who is in a situation similar to Nooj's but, because of our bias, no one has bothered to learn.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

I am no longer sure how long I have been down here.

Nooj's state hasn't really changed. He still wakes every now and again and he is always delirious and quite ill when he does; I continue to cast him to sleep every time he wakes and, every few hours, I cast a cure and an esuna to ensure that he is comfortable…or as comfortable as he can be in his current state.

Gippal has come and gone a few times and I think he is growing a bit irritated with me; first, he wished to have me swim with him when the boat stopped and, later, he wanted to have me watch the sunrise with him. Normally, I would be more than happy to join him, but I honestly do not wish to leave Nooj in this condition. I will just have to make it up to him when we land.

Paine is starting to worry me. She, too, has been with Nooj since he fell sick and she refuses to leave or to rest. I am sure that she knows that there is nothing she can do for him, but she insists on staying at his side. I can understand her worry and her concern, but I may have to cast on her, as well, if she does not rest soon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I just cast the both of them to sleep. I know that Paine will kill me when she awakens, but it was honestly for her own good; she will do no one any good if she makes herself sick. Somehow, I doubt that she will find any comfort in this, if I manage to tell her it before she turns me into a thin paste on the floor, but that is the way things must be.