Hey everyone, so this is my first update of 2024. I ended up taking the last bit of 2023 off from writing and publishing, both for my own mental health and then so I could do a bunch of writing and stock up on new chapters for the coming year. I also ended up giving out a lot of homemade Christmas presents this year, And a lot of my free time went to working on them. Still, I'm really happy with this chapter and I hope you all will be too.


By the time Erilda had changed into the deep blue robes she used while treating patients, scrubbed the skin of her face and hands with soap and near-scolding water, and donned a pair of purified gloves, the girl-child had been moved and arranged onto a cot at the far end of the treatment room. A crowd had also gathered around to watch to coming events, a buzz of concern and excitement filling the room. Still, they parted for Erilda easily as she approached the head of the cot.

"I passed off the cleaning and changing duties to Shaarie as instructed, milady," Fiiyon Elsinfhar explained without being asked, nodding toward his fellow assistant. "A smart order too, more appropriate that way."

"When it comes to healing the sick and saving the dying, social niceties and what is considered 'appropriate' have a little place, Fiiyon," Erilda replied, taking the girl's head in her hands. When her fellow Altmer seemed to wilt under her words, the Head Healer sighed internally. "Still, I'm sure the girl will appreciate you thinking of her comfort in such things."

It would do Erilda no good in the long run to kill the empathy and sense of spirit in her underlings.

The child had been changed into a clean robe, her skin had been given a quick sponge bath to wipe off the worst dirt and grime. Shaarie had also pulled her messy hair had been pulled into a loose bun to give the cleanest access to the head wound. Yet her eyes were still closed, and that was the most worrying thing. Had this been mere sleep, all the jostling and the strange sensations would have certainly woken the girl.

"Assistant Shaarie, did you notice anything of note when you were cleaning and changing our patient?" she asked. Of all the assistants, Shaarie was the youngest. This would be a good teaching moment for her.

The young Altmer swallowed back her nervousness at being so directly addressed and nodded. "I noticed that, aside from the observable injuries, the girl… Our patient, that is, appeared to be in good health. She is perhaps thinner than ideal, but not malnourished. I also did not see signs of remarkable injuries or healing bruises that were more than a few days old."

"And your conclusion from this observation?"

"...That though the past few days, or even a week, have been very hard on her, she does not live a particularly violent or hard life?"

Erilda lifted her eyes from the patient to her assistant, cocking an eyebrow. "Is that a statement or question, Assistant Shaarie?"

Her assistant lifted a hand to fiddle with a loose strand of hair. Her braid had not been secured properly and now wisps we're getting free. Shaarie cleared her throat and spoke up with a voice too weak for Erilda's liking. "Statement."

"We will have to wait for our patient to awaken to confirm or deny your hypothesis," Erilda said, returning her eyes to the girl on the cot. "But I suspect you're right."

If there were hushed congratulations and praise to Shaarie, Erilda did not acknowledge them. "I'm speaking to all of you now, this girl has many injuries, some more dangerous than others, what should we treat first?"

"The brain," a voice from the crowd said immediately. "Everything else is in bad shape, but treating the rest of her body will do no good if her brain goes sour in the meantime."

That was the proper answer, and as Erilda started to gather healing magic at the tips of her fingers, she pressed farther. "Treating the brain can mean many things. Do you mean the physical injury or the fever that is ravaging her body?"

Another number of discussions overtook the crowd before once more, a different voice this time, spoke up. "You've already sent someone to create a fever suppressant. Seeing as that takes time, we should treat the injury."

"Excellent," Erilda nodded. "Now watch closely."

Splaying her fingers across the girl's skull, Erilda closed her eyes and let healing magic pulse from her body and into her patient. Pulse… Pulse… Pulse... In her mind's eye, she could sense the strange, meaty fibers that made the brain, flesh, and muscle knit themselves back together, feeding on the power Erilda fed into them.

"You must always pay attention while healing anything in the skull region," she lectured. "More than any other area of the body, the skin, muscles, and other tissue that reside there are delicate. Losing focus and pumping too much magic into them can result in any matter of horrors. I'm sure many of you have heard the stories of healers in training accidentally exploding patients' eyeballs in an attempt to fix them."

It was an inevitable mistake made by Restoration novices. That was why the academy Erilda trained at used prisoners and captured enemy soldiers to practice on.

"All Healers eventually develop their way of sensing the healing process within their patients," Erilda continued. "I imagine the pieces of the body knitting themselves together as I work, yet I also know someone who imagines a building being constructed. It is an intensely personal thing. I suggest focusing on developing your own and not discussing it too much with your fellows. In my experience, that can taint your mental development."

As if on cue, the final fibers that Erilda was seeing in her mind finished weaving together. Letting the magic fade, the Healer opened her eyes and looked down at her patient.

The ugly wound on the girl's forehead was now gone, leaving behind a smear of blood. And, even now, her color was improving and breathing evening out. Erilda reached down and pried open one of the girl's eyelids, giving a hum of approval when she saw a more normal-looking pupil.

"Outstanding, milady," Oisilo Nereth praised.

Internally, Erilda preend. The little noble girl inside her had never outgrown delight in well-deserved praise. Yet her outward decor remained. "Thank you, Oisilo Nereth. Now, you have some great promise in restoring bone to its proper state. So, I would like you to examine our patients' leg and give me your thoughts."

There were more murmurs as Oisilo stepped forward, Reaching out to take the damaged leg in his hands as he began a magical examination. Some excited, some disappointed. Everyone wanted to have been chosen to work on their first patient, even if nothing about her condition required their area of expertise. Yet no one would challenge Erilda. She was the head of this community. This expedition and experiment had been her baby. She controlled who did what and Erilda was confident when she chose someone to perform a task.

Which is why a sense of confusion settled over her as she watched Oisilo's face fall into a deeper and deeper frown.

"Is there a problem?"

"Uhhhh…" Oisilo's face was a picture of conflict, as if he was debating a dozen different responses in his mind. Eventually, he decided on, "This break is quite... exceptional, my lady. I don't believe I've ever dealt with one this severe. I'm not sure treating it is within the limits of my experience. Would you mind performing an examination yourself? To see if I've missed anything?"

The murmurs died into silence as Erilda came to stand beside her assistant. When she reached out with her own magic, the Head Healer immediately understood what he meant: Their patient's leg wasn't just broken, it was shattered!

Two of the brakes were clean, one several inches above the knee, and the other midway up the shin. But between them, the bone looked as if someone had repeatedly taken a hammer to it. Fractures of bone and splintered off and would dig into abused muscle. Even if the skin on the outside was marginally intact, the inside was shredded.

Erilda swallowed hard. "Yes, Assistant Oisilo," she said solemnly. "You are right. This young girl is suffering from a severe comminuted fracture. And it is… far outside your experience to treat. In fact, it is outside my range of experience to treat."

Shock shot through the crowd with the shutter, so intense that it might as well have been a physical presence. For years, Erilda had worked hard to be seen as the greatest healer on the Summerset Isles, and she well deserved that reputation, to the point that Erilda would fight tooth and nail to keep it. But there were things that even she could not do.

That wasn't to say Erilda wouldn't be able to do them in the future, but possibilities were little help in the face of grim certainty.

Fiiyon cleared his throat. "Milady, if I remember correctly, the recommended treatment for this type of bone break is amputation of the limb so no further ailments set in."

"That is not a question, Assistant Fiiyon."

The assistant shook his head. "No, milady. What I meant to ask is if you would like us to prepare to…"

He trailed off, but the meaning of his words was clear. Should he gather the necessary implements to perform an amputation? Erilda bit her bottom lip as she frowned. There's nothing wrong with amputations, in theory. The procedure was simple enough, though it wouldn't be her performing it in this instance, and it could save lives in many cases.

Still, to perform it on someone so young, and as part of their treatment for their first patient too! It was disheartening.

And yet, as the Head Healer this was a decision that Erilda must make. She swallowed hard, "Y-"

BANG!

Everyone jumped as the door was flung open and Aratte rushed in with Voriron right behind. Aratte carried a stack of fresh washcloths in her arms, while Voriron followed, balancing two different jugs in his arms.

"Alright," Voriron announced, having not noticed the grim silence. "Aratte and I whipped up some treatments for our first patient. One is for soaking cloths and laying it on her skin, that'll treat the burns and the abrasions there. And the other is a combination of fever reduction serum and a sweetened solution that will rehydrate the poor thing. We also mixed in something for the pain. I worry that it all might be too hard on her system yet, given everything, we couldn't risk… Oh dear, what has happened?"

Awkwardness never mixed well with a solemn atmosphere. It felt like slime mixed with ashe on Erilda's skin when she responded. " We have, collectively, concluded that we must amputate our patient's broken leg before it can do more damage to her system. Unfortunately, the level of breakage is too severe to be properly treated."

"What?!" Aratte demanded. "Why? I thought injuries to the bone were simple to heal?"

Erilda ground her teeth. "Under my circumstances, yes. but this is a comminuted fracture. Pieces of bone have broken off and those shards are now stuck in the muscle. We cannot heal what is no longer there. A powerful enough healer -or, more realistically, several skilled healers working in tandem- could regrow the sections of bones that are missing, but that would leave the shards in the muscle to fester and do more damage. Infection would be imminent. Unpleasant as it may be, amputation is the safest option."

Voriron swore but the young Bosmer just shook her head in disbelief. "No, that can't be. can't you just remove the shards through surgery?"

The Head Healer fought the urge to growl. She did not have time to explain herself to this girl! " If it was only one or two shards, that could be a solution. but there is over a dozen Aiden there. Even if we chose that potential surgical option, we would have to do so much cutting and exploration of the leg that there is a good chance she would be rendered useless anyway. not to mention the potential for infection. Also, as you may know, she is undergoing an intense fever and that much blood loss and physical strain combined with the fever would be deeply detrimental to her overall health."

The explanation was thorough and detailed, yet purposefully harsh. Erilda did not want to be argued with anymore. Every moment they spent arguing was a moment they weren't treating their patient and therefore opening her up to more infections and ailments.

And yet… Erilda felt something twitch inside herself at the way Aratte's face fell.

"There's no other alternative?" she asked.

Erilda shook her head. "The hardest part of the path we have chosen is the fact that not only can we not save everyone, we often cannot save people in the way we'd like. So sadly, no. There is no all other alternative."

"Well…" A new voice from the crowd broke through the tension, turning all eyes to the speaker. "We could theoretically manipulate the detached shards back into place. Then, with enough healing energy, we can grow the leg bone back together. Potentially, there would still be weakness of the limb, but it would certainly be better than a full amputation."

It was Dhaia Sillonosin, A dark-haired Altmer woman who'd been one of the last to sign up for this expedition. While she knew no one else in the group and spoke little of her past, she had volunteered her specialty in caring for pregnant mothers and newborns, a position they had yet to fill to the time. And for that, she had been accepted quickly and with little question.

Erilda had yet to see any great display of ability out of her, besides the standard test anyone needed to pass to become a member of this group. That alone was reason enough for Erilda to find her words discomforting. "What do you mean? Are you suggesting the use of a telekinetic spell? It is an interesting thought, but to do that without seeing the objects we are moving is so dangerous we could rip the shards out of this girl's leg."

The younger woman smiled mischievously, her golden eyes glinting as she tapped graceful fingers against the inlay ruby of her magical staff. "I'm afraid I have not yet had the chance to introduce myself properly to any of you. You know of my experience tending to newborns and those with child, yet before I chose to pursue a life of healing I was a combat mage who specialized in necromancy."

Erilda shifted at this news. She wasn't fond of necromancers. Oh, she had studied the field in the academy and understood its practical application well enough. Like any highborn Altmer, she even knew several minor spells in that branch. Yet to play with the dead had always seemed such a gruesome thing, more so after Erilda decided to devote her life to healing. The murmurs that broke out surrounding them indicated she was not the only one.

Still, the Head Healer schooled her expression into neutrality. "I fail to see how that is relevant here."

"As part of my experience in necromancy, I became very familiar with bone crafting. When I was making familiars, I learned to sculpt bone as easily as some would manipulate clay or wood. To move a few shards several inches would be child's play, Even without being able to see it."

Hope sparked in a rolled his chest. "You're saying you can help this girl?"

Dhaia shrugged. "I've certainly never used my craft in such a way. But, in theory, yes, I can help her I can even save her leg. Of course, if our Head Healer allows me the chance to test this hypothesis, that is."

Erilda waited for the appropriate three heartbeats to pass before responding. It wouldn't look good to see him too eager. "Do it. While I observe you."

The necromancer grinned.


It was an hour passed sundown and the crowd had long since dispersed when the girl finally stirred. Slowly at first, small twitches in her face and fingers, but eventually her eyes flickered open.

"Wheremmmeye?" She mumbled, one hand raising to rub at her face. Then she pulled her hand back, staring at it. "Stickyyyyy."

"Move slowly, and do not attempt to sit up. Your body is still weak," Erilda instructed. "You might not realize it yet, but you are certainly thirsty. I will get you something to drink and soon we will figure out what food your body can handle."

Erilda had dealt with many patients in her life, and she had manufactured the ideal calm and gentle voice for dealing with them. In fact, she had often been praised for how quickly she could put patients at ease. Needless to say, Erilda was somewhat unprepared when the girl finally looked at her and screamed.

"AH!" she shrieked, scrambling backward. With a flail of uncoordinated limbs, she nearly fell off the cot when Erilda reached over, grabbed her by the front of the robe, and pulled her back to safety. "Are you a ghoul?"

Erilda wrinkled her nose at the thought of being associated with those hideous undead beasts. "Certainly not! I am the one who saved your life, I'll have you no. As for where you are, you are at my clinic. One of the guardsmen found you and brought you here. You were very close to death."

The girl calmed slightly, her lips stuttering as she tried to form words. Judging by the faraway look in her eyes, Erilda imagined memories were flooding back to her. "But… you look so different! If you're not a ghoul, what are you?"

"I am an Altmer, girl. My name is Erilda Grayiuth, the Head Healer of the Second Chance community. And you are safe here, young…"

"I've never heard of an Altmer before," the girl said instead of answering the implied.

Erilda gave a wry smile. "Not surprise. We are from very far away and have only recently arrived in the region."

Her patient nodded slowly, still keeping her eye on Erilda. "Oh… sorry for freaking out then. My name is Saoirse Reed. Thank you for saving me."

'Excellent, We are finally getting somewhere.' Deciding to push things along, Erilda reach down to grab a jug of apple juice and a cup. She filled it and passed it to the girl, who took it hesitantly. "I'd like to know what you were doing out in the wilderness, Saoirse. There was no one else around when you were found, nor can I think of a reason for you to be out there. Unless you were running from something, or somewhere."

Shifting under the covers, Saoirse sniffed at the juice before taking a hesitant sip. That was quickly followed by a larger gulp.

"Drink slowly," Erilda. "I don't know the last time you've eaten or drank anything, but I'm assuming it's been a while."

"Three days at least," Saoirse mumbled. "I know, I wasn't running for anything. Actually, it was sort of the opposite."

"Oh?"

"..."

"Saoirse, My colleagues and I have come to this land to help people. We helped you, didn't we? And if there are more people out there we can help and you know about it, I implore you to tell us. We do no one any good simply sitting here," the Head Healer pressed, adding extra emotion to her voice and reaching out a gentle hand to touch the girl's knee.

Physical contact was important in developing a connection, and connections were important to getting one to do what you wanted.

After a moment, Saoirse took a deep breath. "My community has always been pretty well hidden. It's off the beaten path and there's a lot of rough terrain around here, but there's also a pond that we've always been able to get water and fish from. They're not always the best tasting, but we've made do with the purifiers we have. We can even grow some crops. It's always been safe, safe enough that use kids could run around and play, and we only needed a few guards to keep animals away. But about a month ago some Raiders found us and…"

She closed her eyes and shuttered. Erilda let out a sympathetic hum as she patted the girl's knee once more. The texts about this world said raiders were prevalent, and that clearly hadn't changed since the Last Dragonborn's visit many years ago.

"We managed to fight them off, but a lot of people were hurt. Some were killed too, including the only doctor we had, along with his assistant. And that meant everyone who was hurt didn't have anyone to help him get better. So they got worse instead."

The cup quivered in Saoirse's hands as she continued. "I had to do something! I wanted to fight when the Raiders came, I'm thirteen after all! But my older brother said I was too young. He locked me in a closet and then shoved a bookshelf in front of the door so no one could find me. I had to sit there while he got shot and nearly bled out on the floor of our home! I felt so useless!"

"Understandable."

"At least it meant I wasn't one of the people hurt," the girl said with a weak grin. "And since all the adults were either injured, dead, or trying to keep things together, I thought that meant I'd be the perfect one to go in search of help."

Erilda cocked an eyebrow at Saoirse. "And I assume your brother agreed with this plan of action?"

Her patient blushed. "I left a note behind."

Well, that answered the silent question of if he or anyone else even knew the girl was gone.

"I won't lecture you on the stupidity of such an action, I can assume you figured that out on your own," the Head Healer said. "I can only hope you prepared for your self-chosen undertaking in some ways thought."

Saoirse sighed. "I thought it I had it all planned out. I packed some ration bars and water. I knew the general direction of the next closest settlement. I just had to go northeast and over five hills. I could even use the stars to check I was still going in the right direction. It took so much longer than I thought it would be though, and hot too. I ran out of water so quickly! And then most of my food got stolen by birds… I also didn't think about the wildlife though. A pack of mongrels ended up chasing me, I tried hiding some marks to get away from them but I slipped. I think I hit my head because I heard a crack and then I don't remember anything before waking up here."

Deciding not to tell the girl the full extent of her injuries, Erilda just nodded. "You did a noble thing, trying to help your people. However, I imagine when you return, they will not agree with the sentiment. Still, you did end up finding aid and that should keep them from being too angry with you."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Saoirse asked, brow furrowed.

Erilda stood to her impressive full height, unable to help the grin growing across her face. "As I told you, my colleagues and I are here to help. And if you lead us to your community, I can assure you that we can aid them. Once we arrive, they will be better than ever."

"...I'm not sure I can believe you."

"Then let me prove it to you."