Blood Sickness
For Isla
Samuel Wordsworth
Book maker/seller

Age: 34 | Height: 5' 5" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 28 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 25 - Int: 1
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#1





























Ever since the incident by the Bone Bridge with Remi, Sam had been thinking about his condition even more than he usually did. He had said with such conviction there that he had no chance of being cured, never having thought it possible...but he had never truly investigated it. Ascended was such a terrible word to him that he had tried to avoid it as best as possible, had tried to forget all about it. Books had not been for learning more about it - they had been for escaping.

But it had dawned on him that he had never explored the notion of a cure. The more he thought of it, the more he wanted to believe in it. The chance to become again, to have blood in his veins and feeling in his skin, to not be a pallid corpse reanimated...it was a fantasy he went back to regularly.

The only person he could think of who had a chance of being able to help him in the endeavour was Isla. True, she wasn't from here, but as a physician he supposed she might know something about what in his body made the fluid that caused him to be Ascended. After a few days of stewing on it, he headed to the infirmary.

He had never been here before, being surrounded by the trappings of bad health (medicines, bandages, figures on beds) felt strange next to his immortality. He half expected to be told to leave, to stop flaunting his gift around with such ungratefulness.

Uncomfortable, he stood in the middle of the room and looked about. "Isla...? Are you here?"
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#2

"One moment, please!" Isla's voice trilled through from one of the doors into the ward proper; Sam would be standing in what was essentially the reception area. Once the promised moment had passed the healer appeared, stepping through into the reception with a polite smile whilst drying her hands off on a clean towel. And the sight of the Ascended (fellow Ascended now, she should say) her smile brightened, Isla folding the towel and setting it down on the desk.

"Hello, Samuel," she greeted. "It's good to see you away from a sharp drop. Sorry I haven't been around to your stall just yet - things have been... Well. The snow causes accidents." She nodded into the infirmary, as though that must have been the obvious cause of her delay. It wasn't the only thing, but it was the best excuse for now. "What can I do for you?"

ISLA
pray for me
pray to me
Samuel Wordsworth
Book maker/seller

Age: 34 | Height: 5' 5" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 28 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 25 - Int: 1
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#3





























Sam waited politely and quietly with his hands clasped in each other and his eyes on the floor until Isla entered. She seemed busy (Sam noted the towel, wondered what she had been doing to make her hands dirty) and he felt a little guilty for the intrusion on her workplace, but he was already here.

He did notice something seemed different about her, but he wasn't sure if it was just the light or her outfit.

"Oh, no, it's..it's alright. I haven't been there much anyway." Between the incident with Remi and the time he'd needed to recover, there hadn't been many days where he had felt compelled to go outside. It wasn't like he needed food or light - being Ascended made it very easy to waste entire days indulging the worst of his demons and simply staring at the wall.

"I...hm." He sighed and tried to work out how to phrase what he wanted to say. "I...have been looking to see if there is a cure. For my...condition. You remember, being...Ascended? Well. I thought...yo-you're a doctor. You might be able to help."
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#4

Now that Isla wasn't concentrating on the fact that they had just met and he had nearly fallen down a gorge, she got a taste of Samuel's social awkwardness. He seemed to not fit in the space in a way she couldn't quite grasp, but she nevertheless felt like she needed to make him feel more comfortable. As he spoke she frowned thoughtfully, taking a deep breath that she didn't need and letting it back out again.

"Let's find out, shall we?" she said eventually with a smile, motioning for him to follow her into the ward. Things were relatively in hand, so she was able to lead him into an empty treatment room where she motioned for him to take a seat on the bed. "Are things that bad for you now?" she asked softly, seeming a little troubled.

ISLA
pray for me
pray to me
Samuel Wordsworth
Book maker/seller

Age: 34 | Height: 5' 5" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 28 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 25 - Int: 1
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#5





























Isla was patient and kind with him again and Sam felt the ghost of tears pricking at the back of his eyes. He was so unused to such understanding..as much as he worried he was being tolerated like a child, he loved not having to worry about being yelled at for the slightest infraction.

He sat on the edge of the bed and frowned at the question. Did things have to be bad in particular for him to want an end to his condition? He thought from the way he had explained it to her at the gorge she would've understood how horrible it was to live in this way.

"W-well. Nothing has happened, as such...but...I'm tired. Tired of being like this. So...numb to everything and sc-scared of the sun and..." Sam thought of Remi and brought his knees up to hug, his heels resting on the bedframe. "...People don't like it. When you can't feel. Th-they get hurt. Because they don't understand. And I never wanted any of this in the first place."
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#6

Isla left him to get comfortable as she prepared some of her equipment, though she paused as he spoke - and not just because of his words. They were both Ascended and she knew she had an innate ability to sense... herself, really - what was injured, what was tired, how things worked and so on. With that in mind perhaps they could work it out together? But her confession stayed on the tip of her tongue as she saw him draw his knees up to his chest, Isla crossing the room to him.

"Hey," she said softly, drawing up a stool beside the bed so she could sit next to him and not either be towering over him or looking up. "I guess I can understand that you are tired. It... isn't easy, is it?" Hoping that would help to break the ice, she glanced up at him again as if to invite him to see more than just what her words implied.

ISLA
pray for me
pray to me
Samuel Wordsworth
Book maker/seller

Age: 34 | Height: 5' 5" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 28 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 25 - Int: 1
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#7





























At first Sam just smiled at Isla's response, thinking it almost motherly and certainly welcome....then what she had actually said hit him. It was possible she had just misspoke, of course, had chosen an unfortunate phrase; Sam looked closely at her face. She did look different, as he had thought when he had come in.

He was aware he was being quiet for an uncomfortably long period of time, but Sam took a while to study her face. There was a trick to seeing the Ascended, he'd realised a while ago - normal people had red blood under their skin which dyed their cheeks and lips, in a way that seemed stunningly red when one was without. Isla had the same paleness in her face as he knew he had.

Of course, there was the possibility she was just sick and trying to emphasise. Sam didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Isla was sweet, nice and good. Not terrible like he was, not deserving of the curse of being Ascended.

"You...you know...um. Ha-have you spoken to other Ascended? The..the way you said that..." He laughed quietly and awkwardly, a sound not designed for him. "It...almost sounds like you are Ascended."
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#8

"One other," Isla murmured, "but he was your polar opposite. I don't think I care for him very much." She frowned, very much not wanting to think about Archebold or any of the conflicting emotions he awoke in her. She smiled at his comment, her hands placed politely in her lap. She nodded gently. "Yes," she said, "it does sound like that, doesn't it?"

Absently smoothing out her tunic, Isla glanced away for a moment. "Shortly after the new shrine was discovered in the Underground, I paid it a visit. I needed to know what it was, how it changed things for the people of this place... And I Ascended, whilst I was there. Please, though - don't feel bad for me. For all of its drawbacks, it's allowing me to help more people in the long run."

ISLA
pray for me
pray to me
Samuel Wordsworth
Book maker/seller

Age: 34 | Height: 5' 5" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 28 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 25 - Int: 1
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#9





























Sam suspected Isla could be speaking about Archebold, given his own rough experiences with the man, but he didn't put forth the name. If Isla had met him, she knew herself how he was, Sam was sure.

The rhetorical question really did make him feel like a child, but he didn't say anything about that either for now. Sam let a lot of things slide in his daily life, and while Isla was a little condescending, she was at least trying to help him. But when she kept talking, revealed that she had let herself be infected with the same curse as himself...Sam shifted backwards, suddenly anxious.

"Isla...you d-don't....You don't know what you did. It's not...it's not so bad in the beginning. But then it gets worse. So much worse. Y-you won't remember hot or cold or taste things properly and if you have a chance with somebody they'll leave because you're a freak." He didn't even seem to notice how revealing he was being, his fingers tightening on the sheets. "You're too good for this. M-maybe because you're a new one they'll l-let you go back. Say you don't want to. It's not good, Isla."
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#10

Sam was sweet, and his trepitation and worry for her warmed Isla's chest, but she knew instinctively if nothing else that there was no undoing what had been done to her. And in that moment, she realised exactly why there would be no cure for Sam, either. Blue eyes softening, she shook her head to him.

"I watched what the Voice did," she murmured. "The work to become like this... it's very intrusive. Intense. I daresay the effort is not minor, so reversing it at a whim would be... not like the gods of this place."

Not from what she had experienced so far.

He was right in the things he listed that were to dislike about their shared condition, even if he was being more personal, perhaps than he intended. "To not grow old, Sam, and to be able to teach what I know to others... to save lives long after my own should have ended..." She shrugged. "It isn't so bad when I think of it like that. But you're too kind to think I'm so good. For what it's worth, though... anyone who leaves you because of something you can't help doesn't deserve you."

Rising to her feet from the stool, she glanced around the treatment room. "Would you like to go for a walk? We can talk more, maybe."

ISLA
pray for me
pray to me
Samuel Wordsworth
Book maker/seller

Age: 34 | Height: 5' 5" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 28 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 25 - Int: 1
MIA - Regular - Ragdoll Cat
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#11





























Isla's analysis of the process of becoming an Ascended was like a death knoll to Sam - she was talking of herself but the practicalities were the same. If she was right, if the operation was so indepth...there likely was no reversing it, for him or anyone else. Sam chewed on his lip as he fought down the heavy feeling in his throat.

_But you won't want to help eventually_ he thought, but could not say it. If he gave the thought voice he feared it would become true.

He stood with her and nodded, letting her lead the way. Honestly he was glad to leave the infirmary, the sickly sweet smell of illness just making it to his senses enough to be nauseating.

"So...if you cannot see it being changed for you...I su-suppose there is no hope for me?" He asked as soon as they set off - as little as he wanted to hear the answer, it was better to find out now and not when he'd let hope build in his heart.
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#12

Isla led them from the treatment room on quiet feet, murmuring to one of the other medics that she'd return soon and to send someone for her if there was an emergency. They were only going for a stroll around the Sanctuary, and neither of them would feel the cold, so she decided against grabbing a coat.

The snow crunched under her feet as she walked, glancing back for Sam and smiling as they fell into step together. His words brought a thoughtful frown to her face, Isla kicking a small pebble along with them. To reverse what had been done, something so intense and invasive that it had overhauled their system completely... hm.

"Truthfully, I don't know," she told him, glancing up at him. "Certainly I don't think that the Voice will be able or willing to reverse what she sees as a gift to us. But maybe one of your old gods would help...?" It was a shot in the dark on a subject that Isla was only beginning to understand, but she wanted to offer anything she could to the suffering young man.

"Although... when I ascended, the Voice... did something. Made something happen to my eyes. I'm not sure it's something all Ascended have, it was like... an extra." She tried to find the words for what she was looking for. "Maybe the Voice could offer you something extra to make your life more enjoyable?"

ISLA
pray for me
pray to me
Samuel Wordsworth
Book maker/seller

Age: 34 | Height: 5' 5" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 28 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 27 - Luck: 25 - Int: 1
MIA - Regular - Ragdoll Cat
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Posts: 3,135 | Total: 8,707
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#13





























Sam walked with Isla out into the snow - thankfully, the sun was not out today, hidden behind clouds of a greyish blue. The crunch of snow underneath their feet only served to remind him what he was missing, the lack of any kind of cold bite on his skin. He watched the pebble Isla kicked skip and jump ahead of them without any kind of recognisable emotion on his face.

"I've never...spoken to an Old God..." He only knew what he had read in books, and what that Outlander man with the church had been saying. If what he said was what the Old Gods were into, Sam wasn't sure he would get on well with them. Still, he supposed it was worth a try. A trip to the shrine in the temple couldn't hurt, right?

Isla continued on to speak of something 'extra' the Voice had given her. Sam's face twisted up into a confused frown. He didn't remember his Ascension very well, having blocked it out long ago, but he didn't think he'd been given anything 'extra'. Why would Isla get it, and not him? Was he not as good for the Voice?

"What...happened to your eyes? D-did it hurt? I don't think I have anything like that....and I don't want it. All I want is t-to be normal."
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#14

Isla arched an eyebrow across at Sam in pleasant surprise, not having expected to hear that he had never spoken to one of these 'old gods' everyone seemed to go on about. "It's worth a try then, right? Who knows, someone might be able to help you. But... I would be wary. I have heard worrying things about some people who have communed with them. That the prices for their help can be steep, at times."

Wrinkling her nose (and firmly not thinking about what kind of price she might have to pay for anything that the Voice could give her), Isla finally let the pebble clack away over the ice and resumed her footsteps in silence.

She shook her head gently. "No, it didn't hurt. She knew that I was a medic and so... she... I don't know how to phrase it, exactly. But now I am able to see the bones within a person, so I can check if there are any breaks or fractures. And I can see heat patterns, too. It's useful in my line of work."

Samuel sounded lost and sad, and Isla could only feel sympathy for his longing to be 'normal'. "As a doctor I can assure you that normal does not really exist," she murmured, glancing across at him. "But I'm sorry, Samuel, for what happened to you. And that you had no choice about it. I will try to help you as much as I can, even if it's only to make your life more bearable."

ISLA
pray for me
pray to me


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