| General Fiction posted October 2, 2014 | Chapters: |
...17 18 -19- 20... 
|
  |
Leopold seeks advice, Valerius treats Cassius.
A chapter in the book Vision and Sound: Their Stories
The Deacon & The Doctor Are In
by michaelcahill
| Background Two souls meet in many lifetimes. They are mates, but they are not aware of it when they are human. Somehow, regardless of circumstances, they are drawn to each other. |
Previously, we heard some insights from Magic Felix as to the opinions in Heaven regarding Vision and Sound. Valerius continued his instructions with Trelittia. Julia and Cassius were at play and Cassius fell from a tree and severly injured his leg. Julia saw it as a great beast knocking him out of the tree as she was witnessing the hunt for the woolly mammoth from a previous lifetime. The doctor was summoned. As Julia looked back on the field where they had been she noticed that the bodies she had seen laying there were all vanished now. That was normal for her. We continue now as we find Leopold in Constantinople on a mission to get advice from the church.
~~~~~~~Leopold in Constantinople
The Church displayed magnificent artwork everywhere, sculptures, paintings and windows of stained glass could be seen no matter which direction one were facing. Leopold had never taken the trip here before and stood in awe of its opulence. He came as the spiritual leader of his small village seeking council with the religious leaders of the church. His concerns with the daughter of his friend where founded in doctrine that he had been raised on. Fanaticism is not always with ill will, but it is usually with ill thinking.
He had been granted an audience with Deacon Rastavius, an elder in the church of great age. Rastavius had reached the age of seventy-four years when forty was considered a good and full life. He remained of sound mind and managed to see to his own care.
Leopold dropped to his knee before him, grabbed and kissed his hand. Rastavius smiled as he lifted him to his feet. "That is unnecessary, son. I am but a deacon. We are equals. I serve the same purpose as you, but in a large city is all. What brings you to our humble parish?"
Humble parish? Leopold let that thought drift through his brain. "I come on a matter of great urgency to our village. I believe that one of the members of our community is demon possessed. I thought that I should seek council before taking action."
"I see." Rastavius stroked his long white and black beard. In spite of his age, his hair and beard still had a great deal of color. "A demon is a clever and dangerous thing Leopold. They must not be tolerated!" The calm that had accompanied him quickly vanished to be replaced by a firestorm of vitriol. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live! It is clearly writ. Yet, there are those that would don a festive hat and dance with the devil in the forest, whilst the lute plays the tunes of damnation! Listen good, my friend, a demon can turn the most sensible head to the ways of the wicked imp. I've seen it myself too many times. Even within these sacred walls are those that think a carefree tune, or a run to the city's entrance, will calm a demon's spirit. Think of the silliness of it!"
Leopold listened with wide eyes. He had suspected as much. He knew of the schools of thought that considered the demon-possessed to be ill, like an over-grazed calf with a bellyache. Abramus had been his friend of many, many years. He knew him to be a man of strong faith. It saddened him to realize that he had a daughter that endangered his very soul and that of his family as well. But, it was his position as a spiritual leader in the village that concerned Leopold the most. He couldn't allow friendship to intercede when it came to protecting the souls of those in the village that he was called on by Almighty God to serve.
Rastavius began walking swiftly towards a door near the back of the church. "Come, Leopold, I have important things to show you".
Leopold followed with haste to keep up with him.
~~~~~~~Valerius arrives at the home of Abramus
"Hurry, we have stemmed the flow of his life forces somewhat, but they seep unabated. He weakens. The wound is deep and I fear the bone inside may be broken." Abramus was clearly distraught, but he brought his fatherly leadership to bear on the situation. There was no time for sorrow now. That would come later if the need arose.
Valerius realized, as he looked at the gaping wound in the leg of Cassius that he had never treated a wound before. He had his instincts and the brief instructions of Trellitia to go by for this, his first patient. "Heat water and bring me strips of woolen fabric." All jumped at the sound of his voice. He reached into his satchel and pulled out some herbs that he had acquired and spread them out on the bed where Cassius lie moaning. The items he requested came to him and he set about cleaning and dressing the wound. He seared the wound, which brought forth screams from Cassius in spite of his great bravery. He noticed that the leg was not straight and suspected that the bone had been broken in the fall. It occurred to him that returning the leg to its proper shape might assist with its healing. The pain of this might be unbearable… perhaps some wine to dull the senses. "Bring some wine and get his two brothers. I'll need you as well Julia and you Abramus."
They all carried out his instructions to the letter. He administered the wine to Cassius who was more than amenable to ingesting it.
"Now, I need you all to hold him in place as I return his leg to a normal position. I suspect it will be painful". They all positioned themselves around him and stood at the ready. "Be strong, Cassius, I will be as swift as possible". Valerius took a deep breath. He grabbed the lower part of the leg and hard while twisting to the right. There was a large popping sound as though someone had taken a tree branch and smacked it on the table. All froze at the sound including Valerius. All eyes went from Valerius to the leg. It looked almost normal save for some swelling and blackened skin.
The eyes all in unison looked into the eyes of Cassius. A look of relief covered his face. He spoke, "I think you have fixed it somehow. It is as though you reversed whatever had happened. It barely hurts." He smiled and it didn't appear to all be from the copious quantity of wine he had ingested.
"You must not use this leg until it is healed. Do you understand?" Valerius looked at Cassius who paid no attention to him.
"Cassius! You must listen to me. You will damage the limb if you use it and it will never heal. Are you listening to me? You must stay off this leg. I will immobilize it. You may use a crutch to move about the room, but I want no work about the farm until I say it is okay, do you understand?"
Cassius looked to his father.
"NO! It is not up to your father. I am the doctor. It is my instructions. You will both abide by them. Is that understood? I am setting forth this treatment for your own good. You will see. If there is any chance of returning to full health, you must listen to me."
Abramus looked solemn. "Of course, Doctor. We will follow your instructions to the letter. I can't thank you enough. What do we owe you for your services? We are poor of monies, but we have goods and services to offer. Of course, there is the treatment of my daughter as well."
Julia bristled at that. "I need no treatment, Father. Negotiate on behalf of my brother of course. I am in need of no help."
Valerius jumped into the conversation. "Of course, Julia, your father meant nothing by that. As far as young Cassius here, I consider it a learning experience. I haven't given thought to payment and the like. Now, Julia, there are matters for us to discuss, but treatment is not what I would call it. We need to silence the voices in the village that may not understand the things you see and hear. We may even decide that they aren't worthy to be made privy to them. We will discuss these matters by and by. Now, keep an eye on this young man. I want to know if there is any fever at the earliest possible moment. Tend to his dressings and apply the liniments I am leaving with you. He is brave, but I am relying on you, Abramus, to keep him from being foolish. With that, I will bid you all good day". Valerius, the village physician, turned and left the house to return for more instruction from Trellitia.
 Recognized |
Delighted with the wonderful advice and input. Please keep it coming. I'll try to get caught up with responses, but I put reviewing first. I know you'd rather have a review than a response. But, I do read every single review and copy them to Word. Thank you.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. 
You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.
© Copyright 2024. michaelcahill All rights reserved. Registered copyright with FanStory.
michaelcahill has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
