The Blades Burn

Chapter One: The Girl With The Bright Red Hair

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   Maria Byrne, a young Kealish woman with a knack for helping people and nursing the sick back to good health. She might not have been a Grisha to her knowledge, especially a Healer, but she was still good at her job. She was originally just a nurse in The Wandering Isle. She was the one the people of her village went to for any of their aches or pains. She was there if someone broke a bone or sprained something. She was depended on by the people who cared for her, and she cared for them in return. She spent most of her younger life in her village, helping anyone she could. As she continued to help people she got better and better at it, slowly letting her skills improve with each person she helped.

   She soon got to the point where her medical skills were matched only by the Grisha Healers who had been trained in the work. As she got better and better though, her village thought she would have a better use. They thought she was a witch, a Grisha.

   One morning she could hear a large group of angry people coming towards her house in the hills. She knew they were after her, so she ran, getting to the forest that surrounded the village. Even when she was a safe distance away she kept running. She left The Wandering Isle, knowing if she stayed someone would try and kill her. She traveled the world, trying to find a place that would be safe for her.

   Soon enough her travels took her to the Grisha capital of the world, Ravka. Ravka was the place she hoped she could prove herself once more. With in its borders they had many a Healer in their “Second Army” but not enough of them to help everyone, especially for the people not as fortunate as the Grisha and their “mystical powers”. She didn't like how the Grisha were seen as people that were so high and mighty there, or how they were seen even in her home. They had power, power that could help so many people, but people took those powers out of proportion, especially in Ravka. The Grisha helped people because it gave them more power than they already had, not out of the kindness of their hearts.

   Maria hated how they had such great power, but only used it to benefit themselves or the best of the best. Still, even people without these powers could be useful, sometimes even more useful and do more good in the world, and that was exactly what she aimed to do.

   Maria soon found a place where she could work and help anyone who came through the door. It was a bit close to the Fjerdan border, but she personally didn't care. She found a job in the local medical facility. She worked for a long while as a nurse there, helping hundreds if not thousands of people over a few years. Over those years she worked up the ranks in the hospital, soon becoming the top doctor there, well top non-Grisha, but it was still progress. Some people believed she might even be Grisha. Someone took it far enough to have an amplifier come to the hospital and check her, but there wasn't even a spark of Grisha power in her that showed itself.

  Soon people of all backgrounds came to this hospital to be treated by her if they could not get or afford healing from a Grisha. She helped so many people, but sometimes the most unlikely circumstances change everything.

  One morning some of the hunters in the area dragged an unconscious man into the hospital. He was of a large build, larger than either of the hunters. He had bright blond hair, obviously Fjerdan. He seemed quite beat up and hurt. Maria quickly took him into the medical area. He was going to be hard to bring back to full, healthy shape, but she always enjoyed a challenge. Little did she know that unconscious Fjerdan would forever change her life.

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   Hello guys! I know you might not be used to any of this stuff, especially if you came from The Bag Of Blood story, but this is a new work that I have been doing. It is in the Grishaverse, which is a book series by Leigh Bardugo. I take no credit for the world, but most of the characters that appear in this book will be my own, if not my friends characters that I have been given permission to use for this story. Anyways I hoped you guys liked this chapter!