Gallel's Heir

Chapter 11.1: The Feast of Lights

Moorsday, Sorbel 1st, 2550 AE

The Feast of Lights. The first, and shortest, day of the year.
Canúden suggested we write our feelings down so that we know what they are, so we can make better plans for this coming year.

I’ve gotten pretty good at helping Dylin mix up her poultices and medicines. I learn right alongside Lianna, and Canúden too, and then we go out to the villages with her, but usually Canúden has to stay with the Kel.  Dylin says she’s glad for the extra help, but neither I nor Lianna know what to mix with what unless Dylin tells us. Well, some things we do, but not all of the herbs. There’s so many!

I’m learning to be a water mage, so if Dylin ever gets hurt, I can heal her really fast. She never really cuts anymore, though, so that’s good. She says she’s too happy to need it. I can knit skin together without any help, but bones and muscles are a little tougher. They’re harder to sense. Bones are kind of like rocks, and rocks are hard to feel inside ‘cause they’re so solid. I mean, how do you feel the inside of a rock? Nerves are really confusing, and I don’t understand them at all, but at least I can feel them now. They feel like soggy noodles, but not so stretchy, just soft and squishy.

A few weeks ago, I healed a little boy with a broken leg. Dylin had to touch him after, but she said I got everything almost right. I pushed through his waterways, and his bones knit together. That was exciting.

I practically live there with Lianna, so I can help Dylin  whenever. Healing makes me pretty tired, but I like it anyway. I can understand why Dylin uses medicines for her patients, too, otherwise she’d be just too tired to heal everyone!

I wish Dylin knew how to teach me how to be a mind mage, but since she doesn’t have that particular “wari angle” herself, she doesn’t know how to explain it to me, even though one of her trainers showed her all about it. I didn't understand why she couldn't explain it, and then Canúden reminded me that just because she watches him paint all the time doesn't mean she could be an effective art teacher. I guess that makes sense, seeing something doesn't mean you can explain it. It's still really frustrating.

At least I’ve figured out how to not be bombarded by people’s emotions. I wouldn’t dare try to actually influence anyone, not in any important way, anyway, and it’s never really effective. As an experiment, I tried to get Lianna to like my orangeberry pie, she said I could try, but no matter how I focused, she said the berries never got any sweeter, nor the crust any flakier. “Add a little more honey, sprinkle some salt, and chill the water before adding it to the dough!”

Well, I guess I can lug the water jug to the river to chill it for a while, but what with all our healing, I don’t really have time. Fancy Gallel has a few ice houses so the wilting sans can get a cold drink in the summer. I guess I could chill the water easy enough in winter, though, when it’s so cold everywhere. But I don’t know why the blasted dough would need to be cold! Ancestors, it’s going into the oven!

Tutang leaves Dylin alone now because if he ever touches her, she puts him to sleep with her wari! And, I guess, maybe since she’s bonded now, Tutang doesn’t like the idea of being with her, and she already gave him an heir so there’s really no point in their being together like that.

Canúden’s been pretty busy lately, what with the end of the war, and him working on a mural in the Assembly Hall. Canúden always gives the Kel ideas of how to improve crop production, but the Kel laughs and says Canúden’s never been a farmer and so doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The Kel’s never been a farmer! Canúden used to work in his grandfather’s garden, and he’s read lots of things in books, so he knows what the people used to do a long time ago. Da’s a farmer and he thinks Canúden’s ideas are really good, like the one about digging little ditches from the river to the crops, like mini rivers, so the crops get lots more water. It’s not just the water, but I guess the water from the river has more good stuff in it, like stronger dirt that makes crops grow better. I wouldn’t mind having a little river on our land, so I wouldn’t have to go to the Kanterol to get cold water. Though I wouldn’t want to drink river water, the well’s cool enough, even if it’s not running water.