Fire in the Sky (Closed RP, DR PSW Anniversary Celebration)

Saerythra surreptitiously rubbed her backside as she slid off the horse and handed it over to one of the young Tinkers filling the area.  She had never left Andor’s borders before, and at current, she wasn’t terribly sure why she had thought it would be a grand time to go for a wander.

“Of course,” she mused to herself as she gazed at the gathered people, “You’re probably feeling this way due to the relative discomfort of the trip here!” Chuckling softly, she promised to herself to use a little bit of the salve in her belt pouch before she set off again; that would set her back to rights.

Her reasons for coming all this way from home were actually two-fold, and as she attempted to work kinks from her muscles by walking around, she attempted to attend to the first – harvesting herbs.  While she hadn’t stopped on her ride to the Caralain Grass, she had noted several likely spots for some things she normally had to get from peddlers, and was most pleased to have already spotted several things worth collecting (and not overly trampled) around the campsite.

And obviously, Sari had wanted to see the rare splendor of the night’s event.  She’d lived to see it several times, but often only went as far as relatives’ nearby farms.  But when the peddlers’ gossip had brought word of this gathering, something had woken up in her, an urge to go somewhere new just this once.

Another Tinker came to her and bade her to help herself of the available food.  Nodding graciously, Sari all-but-hobbled over to where a sumptuous banquet was laid out.  Helping herself, she peered around and spotted a group of women surrounded by soldiers.  There were some amongst them she could not put an age to, and it occurred to her that they must be Aes Sedai.  Nodding to herself, she sat down and finished her food before wandering over to the group.

“Excuse me,”  she spoke clearly, dipping her head in a polite greeting, “But are you from the White Tower?  I was hoping to see my niece and nephew here, but…”  She trailed off with a small frown before continuing, “Selene and Jasine Al’Thorin.  I know that they decided to go off to the Tower, but I’ve not had a letter since they left.”

A Woman’s Touch – Attn: Saerythra

Saerythra grumbled at the pile of darning, “Light,” she muttered, “I don’t know why Marric even bothers with socks; I wish I knew how me manages to rip up every pair so!” As she slid the needle into the fabric in her hands, a loud knock sounded through the door. Yelping as she accidentally jabbed herself, Sari put her labor back in the basket on the table and went to the door.

Upon opening the door, she found a disheveled young woman standing without. Blinking, Sari stepped back and gestured that the strange woman should enter. She shut the door, bemusement painted on her face, and returned to her seat, pointing to a chair at the table for the other woman. After the other woman lowered herself down and leaned upon the table, Sari spoke, “I’m Sari, the local Wisdom. And you are obviously not a local, so I can only guess that you need my assistance.”

She picked the needle up and gestured with it at the younger woman, “At least, I’m hoping you’re asking for help for yourself, and that you don’t have a friend stashed somewhere in worse shape; I’d rather not be out in this weather sewing someone up, and looking at you, I’m guessing you’re going to need a fair amount of sewing up yourself!”

—————————————————————————–

08 June 2008

Sari’s eyes widened as the girl went even paler (if that’s bloody possible!) and asked for water. Taking a deep breath, she took the young woman by the arm and helped her get up, “Yes, you may have some water, but how about you come lay down on this nice soft bed?”

The girl murmured under her breath, but didn’t fight it as Sari put the beaten-up woman’s arm around her shoulder and lead her deeper into the house. It wasn’t a big house, but she kept it sparsely furnished and maintained her children’s old rooms for patients to rest in. So it was with not too much effort that she had the peddler woman laid out on top of a coverlet before she began to lose conciousness.

The girl had had the right of it though, and was in need of water. The Wisdom went back into the main room to fetch the pitcher and a mug, and sat herself next to the patient. “Child,” she said softly, laying a hand on her shoulder, “Here is your water…” She trailed off, realizing that the girl had most definitely passed out. Sighing, Sari put the cup down and once again to go to the kitchen to prepare what she needed to treat her unexpected surprise.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Altercation, she says. Minor, she says. Hrmph!” Sari thought to herself as she worked on her unconcious patient. The Wisdom had been working on her for some time, all while trying to coax some water down the poor child’s throat. Besides the numerous cuts, bruises, and the fever to attend to, there was at least one broken rib. The girl had moaned at being moved, but the plaster had to be set to keep those ribs from shifting!

Satisfied with her work, Sari allowed herself a moment to get a tea for herself before returning to watch the patient. She had already prepared a mug with the appropriate herbs for when the girl woke up, and had the pitcher on hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Some time later, the girl started to come to. She touched the wet rag on her forehead hesitantly, and weakly turned her head towards the Wisdom. Sari smiled and rose, “Well child, I dislike treating people without even getting their name, but you’ll mend with some rest. I am going to go put the kettle on, and will be back shortly.”

—————————————————————————–

11 June 2008

Shutting the door lightly behind her, Sari moved the kettle over the fire and made her way to her storage cabinet.  As she waited for the water to heat, she checked her stockpiles of various things, ”I’m getting low on sleepwell root; I shall have to find time to harvest more after this girl is resting more comfortably,” she thought to herself, somewhat abashed to be running low on something so needed at this moment.  ”But isn’t it always like that, running out of what you need when you need it the most?” she mused rhetorically, chuckling softly to herself.

Closing the cabinet doors, she turned her attention back to the kettle.  Smiling in satisfaction, she grabbed the toweling hanging near the fireplace and carefully lifted the hot kettle.

Pushing the door to the patient’s room open carefully with her ample hip, the child croaked out her name. “Dilora Fashelle”, she said, trailing off and turning her attention to a bit of sunshine breaking through the clouds, “I cannot begin to thank you enough.”  Saerythra smiled at the girl as she sat down next to the bed and carefully poured the steaming hot water into the cup of herbs she had prepared earlier.

“Have you given me something to make me sleep?”  the girl Dilora queried.  Sari put down the kettle, “I realize that I asked your name and forgotten the courtesty of mine.  I am Saerythra Al’Thorin, and I am obviously the Wisdom, as my mother and her mother were before me.”  Gesturing to the cup, the Wisdom spoke again, “I’ve not given you anything to help you sleep yet; your body already knew that it needed the rest and did the job itself this time.  This cup contains sleepwell root, as well as a few other things to help speed your healing.  When you wake again, we’ll see about getting some food in you – I don’t think you’re quite up to a meal yet!”

She smiled, took the cup from the table, and proffered it to Dilora.

Saerythra Al’Thorin (Biography)

Name: Saerythra Al’Thorin (Sari for short)
Age: 53
Place of Birth/Raising: Four Kings in Andor

Physical Description: 5’3, 160lbs.  Shoulder-length brown hair with some gray, dark brown eyes.  Her skin is a healthy tanned colour, but has started to go wrinkly with age.  A few nicks and cuts, but no real scars of note (that anyone can see, that is!).

Character History:

Saerythra is the middle daughter of a prosperous farmer near Four Kings in Andor, and the first child of her father Daeric’s second wife.  Her father’s first wife died in childbirth with her third child and first daughter, Allriendrae, and her father spent many year grieving before remarrying.  His second wife and Saerythra’s mother is Latima, the Wisdom of Four Kings.  She also has two younger sisters, and a brother between those two.

Saerythra spent most of her life being big sister to her other siblings from Latima, but still had to put up with babying from her elder siblings before they made their own way in the world.  Not that she had to put up with it for very long or very seriously; her older siblings eventually decided to leave Four Kings and the surrounding area in search of a better life, leaving her pretty much as the oldest kid around.  Not that she could blame her siblings for leaving; passing travelers made the outside world sound a lot more appealing.

From a young age, Saerythra had taken an interest in her mother’s craft, and pestered Latima often to learn her skills.  Her mother, pleased to be able to pass on her knowledge to her own kin, allowed young Saerythra to follow her around on house calls (when Sari didn’t have chores, of course!), and drilled her on herbs and their uses in moments of free time.  Once she was in her late teens, Sari was accepted by her mother as her official apprentice, and allowed her to start helping with minor cases around the town.

In her early 20s, she was helping a merchant’s guard at a local inn, when she saw a man a few years her elder at the inn looking at her.  Bemused, she decided to speak to him after finishing with her patient.  This turned out to be Marric, a new blacksmith in town who had come from a nearby village and had hoped to make his way in the world doing repairs for passing merchants and such.  They got to talking, and after a fairly short courtship, they were wed.  Sari moved into town proper with her new husband, and was quite happy with it all.

Years passed, and Saerythra bore three children of her own; the middle child Rhiana is her only daughter.  As she had pestered her own mother, Rhiana pestered Saerythra to learn the craft as her brothers helped Marric out in the forge.  In time, her children followed in her siblings’ footsteps and set out elsewhere into the world to seek their fortune, but Saerythra was wedded to her duty and her people, and stayed put.  She could understand the appeal of the greater world as travelers described it, but she was ever the homebody… and she met enough interesting, strange, and sundry people in her line of work anyways.

In her ‘old’ age, Saerythra remains a caring and compassionate person, but is able to cheerfully bend people to her will as needed.  And, of course, it is needed with some of her ‘patients’.  She takes pride in her stubborn streak, and does her best to take care of everyone in town, local or not, because she feels the need to continue in her mother’s footsteps.