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Entry tags:
- dnd,
- hotdq,
- ic,
- khana woadi,
- rp
Encounter with Eldath
Your name is Khana Woadi and you're a sargeant serving your seventh year out in the field. You've spent a good chunk of your life out here; your fellow soldiers, those whom you have taught and those who have taught you, those who have fought by your side and those who have left you, have become your family and friends. It is with these people that you have found a sense of belonging and community.
You have risen through the ranks over the years and found your calling as a field medic. You have seen numerous horrors. You have seen life and death in many stages. You have learned that no one is spared in battle; no one cares about your looks or your voice or your heart out here, only your affiliation, and even then, that connection can be weak at times.
This patient is no different from the others. She bleeds and writhes and hurts like the others. But when clarity comes upon her, you're compelled by her voice.
She's a young woman, probably a handful of years younger than you. You don't recognize her; you've never met her before. That's not unusual, seeing as new recruits come in and out every day. She suffered pretty major injuries, but you're think she'll make a full recovery. Her left leg was dealt heavy bludgeoning damage and is currently in a cast. You're redressing old wounds and checking on her status when her voice reaches your ears.
"Miss," she says, her voice trickling into the room like a weak stream. "Miss," she tries again, clearer this time, cleansing water. "Was it you—no, it was you. You saved me, didn't you?"
You have risen through the ranks over the years and found your calling as a field medic. You have seen numerous horrors. You have seen life and death in many stages. You have learned that no one is spared in battle; no one cares about your looks or your voice or your heart out here, only your affiliation, and even then, that connection can be weak at times.
This patient is no different from the others. She bleeds and writhes and hurts like the others. But when clarity comes upon her, you're compelled by her voice.
She's a young woman, probably a handful of years younger than you. You don't recognize her; you've never met her before. That's not unusual, seeing as new recruits come in and out every day. She suffered pretty major injuries, but you're think she'll make a full recovery. Her left leg was dealt heavy bludgeoning damage and is currently in a cast. You're redressing old wounds and checking on her status when her voice reaches your ears.
"Miss," she says, her voice trickling into the room like a weak stream. "Miss," she tries again, clearer this time, cleansing water. "Was it you—no, it was you. You saved me, didn't you?"
no subject
"Meant to be, hm? Sounds like something my mother would say...."
Her voice gets quite and she stops moving for a moment, suddenly lost in her head for a beat or two. Khana shakes her head and returns to bending the young woman at the elbows and wrists.
"Anyhow I am just thrilled that you're doing so well. You were pretty battered when I brought you here and....unfortunately it may still be quite some time before you're able to do much with your left leg...and it will probably give you a hard time when it rains or snows....but you'll be just fine."
Pairing the last phrase with what she hopes is a reassuring grin, Khana returns her items to her bag and then sits alongside the woman on the cot.
"Now...just to be sure that you're brain is doing just as well as everything else seems to be....can you tell me your name? Do you know where you are right now, or remember anything that happened before you lost consciousness? Feel free to take your time when you answer if you need to....."
no subject
The woman ponders the answer for a moment. "Heralt," she says after a moment. "My name is Heralt. I was dispatched into battle." That much seems obvious. She was not attacked randomly. She plunged herself into it of her own volition.
"I can't remember exactly," she admits. Her eyes dart to the side of the room, then over Khana's shoulder, before eventually returning to Khana's. "I was in a fight. I don't remember if I was winning or losing. But I guess that would be relative to what my opponent looks like right now."
A wry grin. "To keep the peace—that was my mission. Do you think I'll be able to return to it once I've healed?"
no subject
"You're safe now, you know...." Khana hopes she sounds more sure of that statement than she feels. She sighs. "With regard to returning to battle...that is not something I could advise with clear conscience...at least not any time soon...I'm sorry."
She stands and begins to quietly pack her supplies away into her bag now that the rest of Heralt's wounds have been tended to, and the silence lingers a bit longer than she was comfortable with. Or at least it felt that way. She chuckles softly to herself after a moment of being lost in thought.
"You know, Heralt, I didn't know that any the blood fiends in charge around here had a desire for peace...they certainly didn't care about peace when I was your age. I guess I might have misjudged our military after all..."
no subject
Air escapes her lungs in a low whistle as she reclines onto her cot. "A military is directed by a government, right? And a government is not exactly a harmonious group. They don't necessarily care for the people. But that's what I'm here for."
She tilts her head at Khana. "And you, too. Please pardon me if I'm speaking out of line, but—you're not here to serve the government, right? Not out of, say, patriotism, but out of the goodness of your heart. You save people. That takes a special kind of heart."
no subject
Khana has tears in her eyes now. She tries blinking them back and steadying her voice -- to no avail -- before she speaks again. For the first time her voice is a bit louder, coming from her chest now. Heralt seems to have struck a chord, and Khana can’t be sure if she’s necessarily okay with that, all she knows for sure is that it’s been a long time coming.
“How old are you, Heralt? Just barely out of adolescence? Barely old enough to wed or bear children, yet here you sit with your leg in a cast and your eyes blackened! All because you wanted to do good. Those people on their plush thrones in their grand castles are sending lambs to slaughter, and for what? All of this mauling for greed and power, under the ruse of ‘change’ and ‘peace’...these lords and ladies prove that they wouldn’t know either concept if they woke up in bed with them!”
The tears in Khana’s eyes streamed slowly down her cheeks. She wiped them away and let her head hang for a moment; her voice returned to it’s original state of gentleness when she spoke again.
“You’re right, I am here to save people. I just want to save people.”
no subject
"Then—" Heralt starts, but she stops herself. In the sizzling wake of Khana's speech, Heralt finds her throat parched. "Then you should. You should save people.
"Maybe this isn't your place. I mean, the military. Organized violence, you know? A constant cycle. I'm sure your kind of skills could be better off somewhere else."
She's quiet for a second, gauging Khana's countenance. "You know—Eldath and her people would greatly appreciate a helping hand. Someone to stand up for people who fall upon danger rather than seek it out."
no subject
She pauses for a moment, losing herself in thought again in the way she often does. She is curious now. Eldath seems to have made Her presence known during every difficult situation throughout Khana's life. Of course, she always brushed it off as people who cared for her trying to help her find comfort in something that worked for them. But for Eldath to now present Herself to Khana yet again, this time through a total stranger, in one of the most taxing times in her life? Maybe it isn't coincidence after all. Maybe She is real. Maybe it's time to listen to what She has to say.
"Do you think that Eldath would accept me after I denied Her all this time? And that She could get me out of here?"
===========
Note: Thauglor is the ORIGINAL purple dragon. He was the actual dragon that owned the land that Cormyr now sits on. After he attacked the area, he became the symbol of Cormyrian people and is why the military is now known as The Purple Dragons. He's the closest thing to a deity that Khana or her brother ever followed. Idk if you would need this context but it's here just in case XD
also aight thanks for the note ;))
"Above all things, Eldath forgives. Sometimes, it takes a few tries for her light to reach her followers," Heralt replies. Her shoulders, weak as they are, rise in a simple gesture. "Above all things, she values peace. But she knows peace is a conscious choice, and you need to show her that you are committed to that choice.
"If you want to save people, consider what you want to save them from. You saved me from physical demise, which is, of course, very meaningful. And she might take that favorably considering that I'm one of her servants," Heralt adds with a wink. The gesture starkly contrasts the wounded state of her body. "But violence on a physical level is only the start. Eldath's reach is as vast as many oceans and as deep as pure groundwater. Your actions ripple farther than you can imagine."
no subject
"It only took me 20 years to realize what she was all about," she says with a soft chuckle. "Is there something that she wants? From me directly, I mean? I don't have much money, and I'm not a farmer or craftsman like others in my family. What's next?"
no subject
With a long exhale, Heralt settles onto her back and tries to find comfort in her cot and the warmth constantly radiating from her medic.
"You understand that peace must be won, fought for, coveted. If you're a fighter, then the answer should be clear. If you're a healer, again, self-explanatory. But if you're both..." she trails off. "You have a wealth of choices. But as long as you offer your reverence, she will guide you."