Chapter 21: Funeral

It had been the bandages. The damn bandages that I thought were fine. The ones I knew hadn’t been boiled, but knowledge of boiling wasn’t present here, wouldn’t be known. I had been flippant. I had been selfish. I had chosen to protect myself and my secrets, over the health, and in the end, life, of my best friend.

The house hadn’t been smelly because of the mold. It was the smell of Lyra’s legs rotting away under those bandages. There had been other things I didn't pick up on. Being pale and sweaty. The [Poisoner] class being an option. Not being as lively when playing in the park, moving to not wanting to play at all. She hadn’t been keeping them on because she thought it would make me happy. She was in pain. She thought she should just keep her head down and suffer quietly, to not make us unhappy, to not make me worry. IDIOT! Mom might have been able to do something if she had known. We could’ve gone to another healer and fixed her even if mom wasn’t able to do anything. I could’ve tried to [Invigorate] her, or even use [Minor General Healing Boost] to help fight the infection. Damnit Lyra, why did you not tell us, why did you not let us help!?

Why did you go Lyra, my only friend, why? I don’t want to be here without you. You were my sun, my best friend, my partner in crime, my twin. We should’ve grown up together, been neighbors, always covering each other. Our kids would have also been best of friends. All that was gone now.

Maybe not gone. “PAPILION! YOU BASTARD! GIVE LYRA BACK!” Seira or Aion might also have a hand in restoring Lyra. None of them answered. Death was final.

Lyra didn’t rate a crypt, or even any sort of burial site. The best we managed to do was a fire with just her. I slowly took Daphne, Lyra’s favorite doll, and placed it onto the pyre before it was lit.

“Be at peace now Lyra. You can be a Priestess now. Papilion will see to it, I know it.” I sent a prayer, as fierce as I could, and felt my mana draining in response this time. Who knows, maybe it helped. More likely it just did nothing.

The pyre was lit, and Lyra’s body went up with it. I hoped White Dove had taken her somewhere better. I knew Black Crow had my feelings.

I had been sandbagging. I had been casual about this world. I thought I had been beamed to a fantasy world, that everything would always turn out ok. I had been scared of revealing what I was, who I was, and the knowledge I did have. Oh, the truly scary stuff might be gone, whatever physics and chemistry were. I still had a ton. I still knew germ theory. I still knew boiling water was good. I still knew that blood circulated. I still knew that four humors was bullshit. I knew about the kidney, the liver, heart and lungs, guts and gonads. I was no doctor, but what little the average modern-day girl picked up was leagues and miles ahead of what they had here. There would be no more sandbagging. There would be no more concealing of knowledge, when that knowledge could save someone’s life. They had lives as vivid and amazing as mine, who was I to say mine was worth so much more?

As I watched Lyra’s body go up in flames, I made a solemn oath to myself.

First, do no harm.

Healing is my art.

I will use all of my knowledge and tools at my disposal to heal those that come to me.

I will heal those I see to the best of my ability.

I will apply all measures that are required to my patients.

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I will never see a patient as anything other than another creature in pain.

I will not discriminate who I heal based on class, sex, race, what gods they pray to, nor by any other means.

I will defend the patients under my care from harm and injustice.

I will only take up a knife to defend myself or my patient.

I will admit when I don’t know how to heal a patient.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, and hold in confidence anything that is said to me.

I will teach and spread my knowledge to the best of my abilities, asking for no recompense.

I will not forget you.

There was clearly so much more to the system than people knew or were taught, because after making that oath, I got a notification.

[*Ding!* You have made the promise [Oath of Elaine to Lyra]! Would you like to accept this general skill? WARNING: Oaths are binding.]

A warning, and an ominous one to boot. I took it without hesitating. It was a much better tribute to Lyra, a better reminder of her, than taking the [Poisoning] skill.

[Oath of Elaine to Lyra]: A solemn healing Oath from Elaine, to Lyra. +5% healing knowledge, power, and control per level while followed. Breaking the Oath has severe consequences.]

This would do as my eternal remembrance of Lyra. This would do.

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