Chapter 4
The Dawn
The arched double door split down its middle as the heavy iron-hinged wood was opened to the small crowd. This was no odd occurrence, to be sure. Throngs of citizens, ailing from the recent RBF outbreak, had come to the Scathachian Temple in the Old Temple District. Many of those who came seeking aid were already a moment from death, unable to be helped by vaccination or medicine. They simply needed a quiet and peaceful place to pass from this realm into the next.
Delphinea Quinn, or Phin as she was called by her Sisters, had taken it upon herself to head up the Scathachian Hospices. A clear choice amongst the Scathachians, Phin was always the most compassionate, the most reverent of the group. Her gentle touch with the dying was in clear juxtaposition to her image as a warrior, yet the soft care with which she tended to the ailing was a thing of inspiration. Phin knew that she was a priestess first, before warrior; and her pious attitude had always served her well.
Her blonde hair was pulled tightly back in a neat braid, her formidable form was draped in the white and crimson robes of her station with a pale blue smock over them. While most of her ensemble was clean, the cloth that hung at her waist was pink with blood and fluid. It had been a busy, and trying night. She bowed her head reverently to the crowd, thinking that those in front of her were in need of aid, though they looked markedly healthier than those that she was used to.
Her green eyes looked to the brightly clad woman with the child in tow. Eastern descent, Phin surmised. "Scathach's blessings of healing on you all this morning. Please, come within." The Scathachian stepped aside to help usher in the crowd, although she momentarily wondered if they would have the bed space. No matter, all who came in need of aid would receive it. The breeze that wafted from within the Temple was not what one would expect. It was not saturated with death and decay, but with incense and the scent of the river.
Phin looked to the woman who had come volunteering her services, which she was grateful for, and marveled that she brought with her her own group in need of care. Though as Phin again looked the crowd over, including the child with the Eastern woman, she could have sworn that they didn't appear ill at all. "This is your residence now, my gentle people, until you reach your everlasting and eternal home. And help, is always welcome," she bowed her head once more to the Eastern woman.
The hospice here on the river in the Temple District and the hospice on the Northwest Cliffs with the DeAuster clan were in dire need of help. Along with the members of the DeAuster family, the Scathachian Sisterhood and the Gharnholme Embassy, volunteers provided as much care as they could for those citizens who were dying. But Isuelt had made it perfectly clear to her Sisters, that as important as these hospices were, their patrols and the protection of the city were not to suffer. When the dying began coming in greater numbers, it was Phin alone, who took it upon herself to withdraw from her protective duties, and take on the needs of the dying fulltime in both locations. To be sure, there were many caregivers who came and went, but they were in need of a doctor. Since those dwelling within the hospices were not expected to live, the majority of the medical staff of RhyDin had wisely chosen to concentrate their efforts where they could heal and prevent victims: the clinics, the labs, vaccination points.
"There is food and water within, along with beds, and the healing waters of the spring," she walked with the group, none of whom needed help, and let the great doors close behind them. It wasn't until this point, that Phin looked to the Eastern woman and saw fit to hazard her guess, "These people. They are not ill?"
