Morning all and welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Here I take the start of a story idea and work on it for fifteen minutes a day. I started with an old writing prompt that interested me, cleaned it up a bit to fit the basic outline of the story I want to write and then set aside fifteen minutes each week day to see it grow. Each morning’s writing starts with the last sentence of the day before. And so now we have the story of Kasca…
Day 147: It was what she wondered since Jeran told her he wasn’t a healer.
It was what she wondered since Jeran told her he wasn’t a healer. Jeran smiled.
“I wondered when you would ask,” he said. “The truth is we have too few healers. They were among the first to fall ill and the ones left are too precious to sent out of their homes.”
Jeran laughed. “Actually, the king had to pass a law stating healers couldn’t be taken from their homes. Any relocation now needs to be reviewed.”
“Healers aren’t allowed to move?” Kasca said. While she liked the city, Kasca wasn’t sure how she felt about not being allowed to leave it.
“They are,” Jeran said holding up a hand to stop whatever protest he thought she might make. “It was a protective measure. If a healer wants to move for familial concerns or simply because they want a change of location that is fine, they can submit their reasoning and it will be approved. The law id to prevent people from taking healers from their homes.”
“Taking healers?”
Jeran nodded. “Healers became a scarce resource you could say. When people first contracted the Blood Death often, they were too sick to visit a medic or the apothecary so they called the specialist to them.”
“And they contracted the disease,” Kasca said nodding. “When I could not find other healers in the area I suspected that might be the case.”
“We lost many, too many,” Jeran shook his head sadly. “In times of trouble many have the impulse to hoard. Sometimes it is grain or some other commodity. When healers became rare, many of the landed gentry attempted much of the same thing with healers. They convinced, by fair means or foul, healers to relocate to their manner houses or guest wings. They claimed it was for the benefit of those on their lands. As the healers had no remedy for the Blood Death it did not turn out as expected and many healers were lost.”
“And since hey would have chosen the best…” Kasca let the sentence trail.
Jeran smiled sadly and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “They chose the best to relocate and thus killed off the best with repeated contamination. The healers we have now are a mixed lot. We have some who were just beginning their training and some who were simply mixed up general elixirs. Very few of our healers have magic.”
“I see.” Kasca said.
“Do you?” Jeran said. “I am an emissary of the king and had to swear an oath to uphold the law and not force a relocation to the capitol. There are many watching to see if the king will uphold his own law. If he does not then there are many who might wait until those being trained in the healing arts are advanced enough in their studies to be worth relocating. Then they might choose to do so and claim they were following the king’s example.”
“Is this why the magistrate is sending someone to collect you?”
“Yes,” Jeran said. “I am allowed to conduct my business without observation as I have given my oath, but for the rest of my time in this city I will be observed to make certain my intentions remain honorable.”
Kasca leaned against the counter and thought through what Jeran said.
