▼ Jianyu

[Tasinei]

By Your Hands

Jianyu smoothed his new healer shirt while inspecting the fit of it in the mirror. She too was a healer and she was the one who had gotten him interested in healing and such. He also thought it was a rather good profession to have in the eyes of the gods, healing those of Yael and serving the people in his own way like the priests. Yes, he very much liked the idea of following such studies and while he wouldn't be ding much traveling, he would have a much easier time traveling as a healer and learning than just traveling for the sake of traveling.

He also liked the idea of having a defined profession.

He had commencing his studies today, it was a long road ahead of him, he knew this and the start of his journey was speaking with his father. He wouldn't be able to see him as much as before, he planned on being an excellent healer before anything else. Lives would be in his hands, much like the gods, and he simply could not afford a mistake in such instances. He would make sure he lost no one who entrusted him with their lives.

And with that Jianyu was off. He'd grabbed his books for his studies before leaving the house wrapped up so they were easier to carry. He was stopping by his fathers before heading to his class. The droughts were looking like they were ending soon but he still wanted to make sure his father was okay for the next few days since he would not be able to go. He wondered if he would be happy that Jianyu visited him less, the man never seemed to like Jianyu. Still, he would have no choice but to recognize that the path Jianyu had followed was a good one and he was doing something with his life.

"Father?" Jianyu called out as he entered the home but there was only silence. Strange, this was usually the time that his father completed his morning prays. He should have been home. Something told Jianyu to just look and so he followed his instinct.

The small living area was plain, there was the remains of food on the fire probably from some porridge his father had eaten for breakfast. Jianyu went over and pulled the curtain to the sectioned off makeshift bedroom his father slept in. It was also empty, the bed freshly made from that morning. Jianyu moved on to the next room, the only real room in the tiny home and that is where he noticed his father on the floor. Jianyu rushed to his side, gently squeezing his shoulders like he'd learned to check if someone was sleeping or worst.

"Father? Father!"

The mans eyes fluttered open and for a second Jianyu knew his father didn't recognize him.

"Father are you okay?" He'd never been scared for his father before, but losing his last family member was just simply something Jianyu was not ready to do.

"I... hm..." Jianyu helped the man up and off the floor before making sure he took a seat.

"What happened?" The younger Yaeli dragged a chair over and took a seat in front of him.

"I was praying and grew tired I think." He frowned deeply as if unable to remember what had happened. Then he took a longer look at Jianyu and his attire. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Never mind that, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine boy. Answer the question." His father waved his hand in the air as if dismissing Jianyu's worries.

"I enrolled to become a healer and my studies begin today. I hope to get an apprenticeship by the end of the year."

"Healing?!" His father roared.

"I was not chosen by the gods father, I cannot become a priest. You know this..."

As much as Jianyu wished he had been chosen, he no longer wished to carry that burden anymore. Healing was just as important as priesthood and unlike priesthood, you didn't have to be chosen by the gods. You just had to be smart and Jianyu was quite studious. He wished his father understood this, they wouldn't have this fight all the time.

"You ought to be spending your days kissing the feet of the gods!" He continued, slapping his knee in anger. Jianyu was sure he would explode f he could.

"Healing is just as good, I can save lives this was. Help the sick, I can contribute to society."

And there it was, the jab that Jianyu never uttered to his father. While his old man enjoyed a life of devotion to the gods, living with little and off the grace of others, Jianyu wanted to do something with himself. There was more than one way to devote one self to the gods and he thought that helping the sick would be well seen by the gods.

"I will not have his conversation with you today father, I am already late."

If anything, his father seemed to be the one who would need help soon. He would keep an eye on whatever his father might be ailing from and he hoped it would go away on it's own. if anything, the gods were playing a weird trick on him. The day he begins his studies his father is ill? The timing was... Too perfect to be random. Which meant he had chosen the right path and this was just another reason for him to continue on this path. Whatever the gods had in store for him, he would accept with open arms.  

[Tasinei]

In Sickness And In Health

Quote:

Jianyu got his apprenticeship with a mentor that will be traveling out of Yael for a bit (even if he's not regarded too highly in their settlement) so that he could not only get his hands on more knowledge of the medical field and such but also to figure out what his father is suffering from.

For a few months now, almost a year really, Jianyu had been studying anatomy, diseases and a variety of other things that had to do with healing. He'd earned himself the title of top of his class and even had received an apprenticeship. It wasn't much of an apprenticeship of course, it was just helping another healer here and there when he could, but the great thing was that this one was planning a trip to Belrea and he was bringing Jianyu with him. Which was good because Jianyu was starting to feel like he had learned as much as he could from Yael.

Or at least that the healers here could offer him.

He thought everything he had learned so far was interesting and he spent almost all of his waking hours studying and reading, soaking up as much knowledge as he could. It was never enough, never truly enough to sate his thirst for knowledge. He needed more and he was starting to exhaust all of his resources. Which was why this opportunity was a great one. He planned on returning every month to check on his father who's health seemed to have nose dived since Jianyu had started his studies.

He often found the man confused with troubled memory as if he couldn't remember anymore. It made him even more irritable than usual and Jianyu had asked around, even tried reading up on the subject. He'd found very little but he knew it was a disease. He was hoping that he might find more information on Belrea. another good reason for him to travel with this particular healer. Though he didn't plan on staying with him very long. All of his traveling meant that he wasn't all too welcome when he returned back home. He'd even lost his eye glow.

Jianyu did not plan on losing his eye glow. Ever.

"Have you eaten today?"

Jianyu set out a bowl in front of his father before he even answered, he knew all too well that he had not. Jianyu had had to come every morning to make sure he at least ate something. He also came at night to make sure his father was sleeping in his bed after he'd found him asleep on a chair the following morning. Sometimes, Jianyu wondered if he'd caused this, but then he remembered that he had found his father on the floor before announcing to him his intentions of becoming a healer.

"Stop fussing," his father groaned as Jianyu poured him breakfast. "I'm not five."

Jianyu sighed, not bothered to reply anymore. Were the gods testing his resolve to see if he would truly leave to become a healer? What were they playing at? He had not forgotten a single prayer during his studies even if it cost him precious reading time. If they were testing his resolve they would be disappointed, he would follow this path to the end, wherever it took him. He was not afraid and even his father sickness would not stop him.

If anything, it pushed him forward.

"I'm going to be making arrangements soon for someone to come check up on you. Perhaps your neighbor or a friend. Do you have anyone who would be willing to come by twice a day?"

"I don't need anyone to take care of me."

"Father, I will be leaving soon and I won't be here to look after you. This is important, please understand that I might be able to..." Jianyu didn't finish, he knew his father would not want to hear that he was sick. It was a fight he had long lost. "In any case, I will be leaving for a bit, not too much time I will return home of course from time to time. My mentor has allowed me this."

In truth, he had used his father's illness to persuade his mentor to allow him to return home. Part of it was to check on his father yes, but it was also a matter of Yaeli principles. His mentor didn't have the same spirit or personality as Jianyu, there was no use explaining to him how important returning was for the gods and himself.

"Always running off aren't you?" His father spat at him, now Jianyu was convinced he was only looking for a fight. It was not uncommon but lately it had gotten worst. Jianyu wished he knew why his father resented him this much, they'd never spoken about it and Jianyu had once thought it was about his mother but truly it was not a conversation he'd ever had with him. Perhaps would never have. Jianyu let the words roll off of his back, they didn't affect him any longer.

"I will studying, hopefully I can return with lots o knowledge that can help a lot of people. I heard Belrea has very different technology."

"Disgusting, I'm not eating anymore." And with that his father stood up and went into his study.

Now he'd done it, he was mad and would be mad probably for a few days now. There would be no happy farewell, Jianyu would leave a letter with whomever he'd find to look after his father while he was gone. This wasn't about to stop him, he would make his father proud even if he would never admit it.

Jianyu sighed and spent the next few minutes cleaning and tidying up the place. he would stop by to see his fathers neighbor and then give a few close friends a stop as well. Perhaps his friends mother could check up o his father, she'd already said she would write to him whenever she could and it would be nice to get some updates on his fathers condition. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much of a bother, he knew his father as a handful. Still, h could not stay here, he needed to move on and figure out if there was a cure to whatever ailed his father. Perhaps even, he could find something to fix his fathers foul mood.