The mid-morning sun was blazing on the Palace of Winds. Most of its inhabitants were inside, getting ready to go to sleep. Some were still up, working or pursuing hobbies. In a deserted parlor, the Wind Mage and the King laze on separate couches. They gave a rousing speech to their legions earlier, so they decided to cap off their morning by downing a bottle of wine and spying on the strange folk of the metal bird. Not that they were expecting much to happen. The only thing that roused their interest was that a man was carried back into the settlement by his comrades and died after being wounded by a spiked beetle of all things. Three days later, seven of the humans died from eating poisonous berries.

The Dark Mirror stood across the gaping fireplace, images of the strange tribe practically leaping off the surface. The furniture was intricately carved with plant motifs. The settees all had overstuffed cushions the color of the night sky and had ivory accent pillows. The walls were painted cherry red. Which made the verdant landscapes and their golden dresses pop from the walls. Vaati lounged back on the sofa, crossing his left leg over his right as he swirled his goblet of crimson wine. The King kicked back and propped his feet on a claw-footed ottoman. The fire's light danced from one end of the room to the other, casting dramatic shadows. Vaati held up his chalice to the pyre's glow. "How long have we been watching these humans?"

The King rested his head on his left hand and crossed his ankles. He reached over to pick his wine glass from off the end table. He peered into it. It was still mostly full. "We have been watching them for," The King paused to take a sip of his beverage. "Two weeks and three days now."

Vaati snapped at him, "And do you still believe it's worth taking valuable time out of our daily regimen to pay any sort of attention to this tribe?" He took a swig of his fermented grape juice. He sat up straight, swirling his drink as he faced his superior. "These people clearly have no ability to survive the wilderness. They haven't figured out how to determine which plants are poisonous. Or how to avoid dangerous predators." The mage attempted to smooth his feathers by taking another sip. He wanted to keep his temper under control when discussing anything with his King. "They are totally useless to us! Furthermore, we have more pressing matters on hand. The Links are restoring the Four Sword faster than ever before. Our forces may not be able to eliminate them quickly enough." Vaati glared at the image on the mirror. The humans were more terrified than ever, nevertheless they attempted to go about their daily business despite their circumstances.. "We still haven't made a crack at their language either. So I must ask. Why are we still watching them?"

The King shifted his eyes towards the wind mage. His eyes were slim and his lips were stretched into a thin line. His whole expression was stone tight. The King responds calmly "They seem to possess powerful technology. And they are the only ones who know how to work it. Perhaps even create it. It may be possible to acquire the knowledge simply by observing them."

Vaati rolled his eyes. It was a pathetic idea to him. Simply creating complex technology by mere surveillance was impossible. Subtle details could be missed. Intricacies misunderstood. They did not even know the smithing techniques for the metal. He raised his index finger and pointed to his King. He opened his mouth, about to voice his thoughts - until an idea started to creep into his mind. He withdrew his finger, and turned his gaze. What if we…

The King raised his eyebrow in anticipation. The embers made his eyes shimmer more golden than before. Vaati's scarlet eyes met the Dark King's.

"Your majesty, what if we send a small squad to keep watch over them for us? Have them report any noteworthy information to us. This way, we can focus on more important affairs."

"Not a bad idea." The king raised his glass towards Vaati. "The question is, who do you propose we send? I think it would be unwise to send our best to do a mission like this. And whoever we send, they will need a small handful of doctors."

Jax nimbly strode down a hall in the west section of the Palace of Winds. When he wasn't delivering messages, he was caring for the armory. Now he was delivering an urgent notice to the head physician. His blood curdled at the thought. He was a moblin, and they were a deeply tribal culture. As such, he didn't have a positive opinion on these newfangled "doctors". To him, they were gross perversions of shamans. Testing their sorcery on prisoners - calling it treatment. Mutilating the dead for "study" and experimenting with plants and chemicals to create so-called "medicine". Jax couldn't wrap his head around why these "doctors" would need to invent new medical treatments when shamanistic methods have worked in the past. It was akin to reinventing the wheel, what was the purpose? The boar-man glanced at the scroll in his hand. The King and Lord Vaati wanted to send a few medical professionals to go along on some kind of intel mission.

As he got closer to the ward, he heard someone screaming at the top of their lungs - sending chills down his spine. It brought him back to that one time where he had the misfortune to briefly witness an amputation. What had happened was a prisoner developed gangrene on his entire right leg. He was brought in from the dungeon and laid in the operating table. The apothecary had to force a numbing cocktail down the man's throat as he was cursing at all of them and proclaiming that he would rather be dead. Apparently this man was being kept because the King himself wanted him for questioning. The boar-man remembered he stood next to the door, waiting to give his message to the Doctor before the surgery began. The Doctor walked in and he gave him the note. He motioned for the surgeons to begin without him. Unfortunately while the Doctor was writing out his response, the moblin had to stand by for five agonizing minutes to witness the saw cut through flesh and bone. The man almost blew everyone's ears out. Jax could still hear the bone sounding like lumber being cut! Just as bad was the smell of decaying flesh. When the Doctor gave him his letter, Jax bolted for the exit. It still made him feel sick to this day.

He turned a corner and walked down a short corridor to the heavy, ebony door of the clinic. Jax inhaled sharply. I hope I don't get sick, I hate being around sick people. He pushed the door open and pokes his head in.

The entryway was fairly plain. It was a fairly small room, about the size of two to three king sized beds. No artwork graced the walls. There were benches with vermilion cushions on both sides of the double door. The archway on the left was framed by two spiral columns. It led downstairs to the recovery wing. On the other side of the arch on the right was the sick ward. Twisted pillars also edged the entrance on the right. Dead ahead was the "receptionist" desk and the apothecary's lab behind it. He could hear two people conversing...

"Are you coming in or not?" The voice was smooth and clear; it was distinctly western Hyrulean with an aristocratic flair. It also had a sharp point in it, like the owner didn't like having their time wasted.

Must be Shadow Luce. Jax swung the door open to see Luce behind his desk and an angry patient. The patient was an unpleasant looking bokoblin with an unbandaged gash on his arm leaking out pus and plasma. He was waving a remedy of some sort in front of Luce's aloof face.

"... why do I got to choke down some brew that don't even work?!"

"Have you been drinking it four times daily?" Luce asked with a twinge of annoyance.

"No, 'cause it tastes bad and it don't work."

"That's the problem, you have to take the medicine as prescribed in order for it to be effective. If you have been doing that and it still does not work, then we can figure out something else. As for the taste, I'm sorry but it can't be helped. If I added anything to help with the flavoring, it could nullify the entire medication." Luce peered at the bokoblin's cut. "Why isn't your wound bandaged?"

"Because I don't believe in bandages," the bokoblin proudly exclaims. "They smell bad and they get all sticky and full of gunk. They're also just uncomfortable and unfashionable."

Luce blinked a few times and then he rubbed his brow. "You have to wear bandages. They help to prevent the injury from spreading. If they are getting full of pus and plasma constantly, then you need to change them more frequently. Lastly, it doesn't matter whether or not it's fashionable! What matters is your recovery." Luce paused to see what the patient would say. When he was silent, he quietly groaned, "I'll get you a roll of gauze and cotton squares. Change them when they are oversaturated. Do you understand?"

The patient grimaced. "I won't touch no bandages! You can't make me!"

Luce slapped his palm on the table. "Alright. Keep wasting my time like you are with HIS time!" He pointed at Jax as he yelled. Jax took it as a signal to come forward. "How can I help you?" Luce's voice was considerably calmer this time around.

"I was sent here to deliver a message to Doctor Zenir." Jax just wanted to get out of there as quickly as he came. He knew that Zenir would be upset at the news.

"Go on ahead, he should be in his office now." As soon as he finished speaking, Luce turned his attention back to the unruly bokoblin. "Explain to me what you plan on doing to heal your wound and what you expect the outcome to be."

Jax didn't stick around to find out. He only hoped Zenir would cool down quickly after receiving the order.

Author's note: The pacing of this chapter was bugging me, so I decided to cut it down significantly. I did so by cutting out the acne talk with one patient and removing the interaction with Zenir and Jax.

I also decided to change Lhusuu to Luce because I wanted a name that was more fitting for the character. Luce is a Latin name meaning light. The name Lhusuu came from a location from Final Fantasy XII. The character has been evolving in my head for many years now and that was the name I originally picked for him since I couldn't come up with something better and I saw it as somewhat symbolic to his character at the time. Like a dark place that has a source of light deep within. I tend to think deeply about what I should name my characters as you can tell.