crystal & medical questionnaire.

[portalling]

FORM: Sending crystal + blank questionnaire available at the infirmary
SENDER: Stephen Strange
RECIPIENT: Everyone
NOTES: The form is below! Submit your character’s response as a reply to that sub-thread, and this will also be linked from the Riftwatch orientation & infirmary wiki pages for posterity, so you can edit/submit a new one if details change. Your character does not have to take this super seriously. Strange might just come nag if they don’t.

What with the new faces recently, I’ve been working on the medical curriculum and refreshing the infirmary’s recordkeeping. It’s high time to establish some better-kept patient files.

To that end, we’ve provided a written questionnaire at the infirmary — thank you to Amsel for her neat penmanship — and I’d appreciate it if you could fill out a form for yourself and drop it off. The records will only be referenced by healers in the course of their duties, and otherwise locked away; your personal details will remain private. Having as much information as possible will only help the healers take care of you properly.

If you don’t read Trade or otherwise require assistance filling out the form, say as such and we can have someone sit with you. Any other questions, let me know.

— but also, fill it out.

Comments

private;

[aberratic]

Captain Baudin told me that in order to become a more... permanently affixed resident of this plane, it may be necessary for rifters to amputate their anchor hand, perhaps the entire arm up to the elbow. While I am not ready to make that leap yet, I did want to register my willingness and, indeed, intention to take such an action, someday.

Not anytime soon, gods willing, but. Someday.

[portalling]

( Aw, Gwenaëlle’s getting to the newbies faster and faster. There’s also a flash of inadvertent warmth as he hears Ennaris mention that intention; it reminds him of Wysteria, and there’s far worse resemblances to have. )

Captain Baudin’s had hers for eight years, so god willing, you’d have plenty of time before amputation becomes relevant. But duly noted, and I agree that it’s a wise call. I’ll likely do the same someday if the anchor progresses far enough that it starts to hinder the rest of my health; given the choice between gruesome death or one-armed life, I’ll take the latter.

… Although, ‘permanently affixed’— does that mean your concern’s more about vanishing back into the Fade, less about the anchor devouring you?

( Strange is very matter-of-fact about risk. He doesn’t really sugarcoat things well. )

[aberratic]

I don't intend to have it long enough for devouring to be an issue. A year or two, no more.

[ she doesn't sound entirely confident about that, but, you know. gotta start getting used to the idea. ]

Long enough to train use of my other hand, get used to doing things with one hand. After that... I shall become left-handed.

Are you concerned with the devouring? If the Captain has had her anchor for eight years, it doesn't seem like much of an issue.

[portalling]

( Wryly: ) The advance can be faster or slower in some people; but yes, that’s what I remind myself to help me sleep better at night, anyhow.

If that’s not what you’re preoccupied with, then why the accelerated timeline?

[aberratic]

[ a lengthy pause, and then, quietly, ]

There is no life for me to go back to.

[portalling]

Ah. So you’re dead over there?

( Said straightforward, as carefully neutral as he might diagnose a rash or cold. )

[aberratic]

Yes. At least, I think so. Even if I had survived the—

[ there's a sharp breath in, then she falls silent again. she resumes a moment later. ]

Even if. There was no one to heal me, and no one to go looking. So. I'm dead.

[ and she's being soooo brave about it, stephen. ]

[portalling]

( He doesn’t know her personal circumstances enough to argue that and no one to go looking. For all he knows, she had a wretched existence even in that marvelous library. So for now, best to focus instead on: )

For what it’s worth—

Even if you were the richest comtesse in Candlekeep, with legions to dote upon you, and endless luxury to want to return to, there’s still no ‘going back’. There’s no rip in reality to carry us back to the worlds we knew. The Fade gives and it takes away, but the Fade made us here and this is our home now, for better or worse.

And if it’s for the better, then. All the better. Look forward, not back.

[aberratic]

[ another long pause. ]

There are no comtesses in Candlekeep.

[ and then, before he can feel too foolish (can stephen strange feel foolish?), she chuckles. ]

I know what you mean, though. Even if I weren't dead, I don't think I'd be doing anything different here. I wouldn't give up the memory of Candlekeep for all the world, but this is my life and my home now, and I intend to act like it.

[portalling]

Humorous exaggeration, ( he says, light. )

And good. Although so it’s said, we don’t know for certain that there’s a direct provable correlation between amputation and stabilisation. It will certainly prevent the shard from killing you, and there’s some evidence that anchor removal might render you as something closer to a native mage… but at the moment, it’s only a theory.

( Having one more data point would in fact be useful to prove/disprove that very thing, but he’s not going to encourage her into amputation if she doesn’t strictly need to do it. Yet. )

[aberratic]

If no one else takes the leap, it will always remain a theory, and anyone else like me will have to just sit and hope they don't disappear back to the Fade. All science requires risk, and someone willing to suffer in order to learn.

...still, no reason to be hasty. Science requires patience, too.

[portalling]

Better you lose the hand than me, ( is a joke, perpetually unserious, but somewhere beneath it is some actual gratification that she’s willing to commit to the scientific method. )

Seriously though, don’t rush it. But if there were a proven way to anchor ourselves here, that’d be fantastic, and you’re right: the only way to learn is to try. Keep me posted as your thought process progresses, and if the day comes that you do want to go that far, we can do it safely under sterile conditions.

[aberratic]

I don't intend to chop it off tomorrow, certainly—like I said, a year or two. I want to remain as independent as possible with one hand, and that requires practice and training.

Truthfully, [ somewhat embarrassed to admit this, ] I'm most concerned about my penmanship. I worked hard to write beautifully, and I think that no matter how hard I work now, my off hand will never look the same.

[portalling]

( He had been flippant, perhaps too flippant, as he always is; but then this particular topic makes Stephen Strange finally stop. She sounds sheepish, embarrassed, but in turn his tone shifts and becomes more serious instead. )

It might not ever be to the same level, but you can hone and practice that.

The injuries to my hands— I wasn’t ever able to get back to legibility. But as long as your off-hand’s fine, it can get better.

( Despite the context, there’s no audible bitterness in his voice; it’s as straightforward and frank as he can make it sound. )

[aberratic]

[ ah—this would be something he could understand, wouldn't it? the embarrassment leaves her voice in response, replaced by what might be gratitude, and a genuine, prepatory curiosity—what should she expect? ]

Does it ever hurt less? Being unable to complete a task that feels like it should be simple?

[portalling]

( He considers lying outright and simply pretending that this isn’t a problem. This young woman— what is she, in her late teens, early twenties? His problems aren’t Ennaris’ problems to bear. But. If it is a thing that she’s worried about, for herself… )

At the risk of falling back on a trite aphorism: time heals all wounds. So, yes, over time. The years scar, wounds scab, you grow accustomed.

I suspect it might always be frustrating, but it does hurt less.

[aberratic]

[ softly, to herself more than him: ] Less. That's good.

[ to stephen this time: ] Thank you for your candor. I imagine it's not an easy subject to speak on, especially not with someone you know as little as you do me. I appreciate the openness you show, and what it may cost you to show it.

[portalling]

( A pause. Allergic to sincerity, still, so there’s that squirming unease to fob off her gratitude with another joke, evasive. This is so much easier if you just never look at it head-on and never accept what it costs. Pretend that it’s easy, pretend that you never showed your bare throat.

In the end, Strange manages a simple: )

You’re welcome.

and that's a wrap 🎀

[aberratic]

[ it'd be hard not to miss the discomfort; while ness stands entirely by her gratitude, best not to belabor it. ]

I'm sure you've a lot to do with the rest of the responses to the questionnaire, Doctor, I won't keep you. Thank you for your time.