Chapter 4

Miriam looked around the room. The familiar leather-bound books were no longer in their rightful place on the bookshelf. The kitchen table was clean— too clean. The usual clutter of recipes and herbal concoctions was missing. She had packed away all that she needed into the trunks that Adrian had somehow managed to conjure. Everything else was neatly stored around the house. She sighed. She ran a hand down the surface of the beloved writing desk, her fingers lingering on the flowery wood-inlayed border. It was her father's wedding gift to her mother. Her hand dropped listlessly. She went to the hearth to put out the fire.

Isaac watched his daughter perform the task mechanically. His heart ached too at the thought of having to leave the cottage. He had escaped the persecution of the Great War by hiding here in the sparsely-populated countryside. It was home— the kitchen warm with its scent of herbs and bread, the bedrooms soft with their pastel colors, the garden fragrant with its rioting vegetation. Not for the first time, he wondered how he had changed so much since the Great War.

He had been suddenly called away to teach a Healer seminar in the city of Grehanat when news came that the Queen and the Princess had died. The King was furious with the Healer in charge, and executed him immediately. Isaac had always felt guilty about that; he should have been the one in his place. He was the King's Healer. If not for his position as the Head of the Counsel of Healers, he would have been. The King soon declared war on all Healers. The King's soldiers charged into teaching auditorium capturing Healers. The mass chaos allowed Issac to escape through a secret panel. He hid in a forest for months, always on the run from soldiers. He ate berries and roots. He gathered wild mushrooms and sold them in markets when he could, always careful to hide his face from patrolling soldiers. He had a cave to sleep in. But when the bitter winter hit, he had no choice but to leave the forest. He was not properly geared to stay in the forest for long.

He made his way across the country to his home, Rae. He stole into barns to sleep. He grabbed clothes hanging on the clothes line when his own had become threadbare. He stood in line for a bowl of soup from the local charity house. His feet were badly frostbitten by the time he stepped into his most trusted friend's house.

Collin Macky was one of the King's most prized warriors. At least until he received a serious wound on his sword arm while fighting in one of the skirmishes near the border. Isaac was the one to treat him, and they became friends. Though Collin eventually regained the use of his arm, he was not as agile as before. He begged the King to allow his retirement, then moved to Rae. He became Isaac's neighbor, and while Isaac was away in the King's castle, he watched over Isaac's wife and daughter. It was he who hid Miriam when the King's soldiers took Isaac's wife. Collin and his wife Xana had cared for Miriam until Isaac came.

There, Isaac heard what had become of his beloved Grehanat School of the Healing Arts. Collin told him that the soldiers had driven the students out of the school premise. The students were either killed or imprisoned. Very few escaped. The buildings were torn apart as the soldiers pillaged for valuables. Now, the buildings were deserted. No one dared to risk the King's wrath by stepping into the school. Isaac took ill for several days after hearing the news. He had been a main founder of this new school. He had planned with the builders, discussed with various other Healers, and argued for funding during many sessions in the Great Counsel. He had pored over fabrics with his wife and finally deciding on one for the curtains.

Collin and Xana sheltered them for the entire winter. Miriam was happy. Her father was back, and she had Collin and Xana's son Ethan to play with. He was the same age as her, and they spent many snowy evenings playing by the fire. The King's soldiers had grown slack in their search for Healers since they much preferred a warm bed during the winter. The Healers had always been trusted in the country of Erythal, so the citizens said nothing even when they recognized a Healer. When spring finally came, Isaac knew he posed too much risk on his friends. He left with Miriam one day without telling Collin. He didn't want his friend in trouble.

They traveled by foot, sometimes exchanging a day's labor for a ride with a farmer. Isaac left his beard long and dyed his face a darker tone with herbs. They were not recognized. Finally, they reached the remote village of Triten. It nestled between the Mohana Mountains, which defined the border between Erythal and Ramosino, and the Yarun Forest. The King's soldiers did not stay around Triten for their main priority was to guard the various fortresses scattered across the Mohana mountain range.

At times, Isaac had felt a bone-deep weariness and despair, but Miriam's presence kept him fighting. He was responsible for making a home for his daughter. The people of Triten were kind, exercising the best of Erythal hospitality. They gave Isaac and Miriam shelter and food, refusing any form of payment. When they found Isaac quite educated, they hired him as a teacher. A year passed, and the Great War died down.

It was winter again, a rather hard one. Some of Isaac's students had fallen ill with fever. It wasn't long before the fever spread around the village. Isaac knew that it was his duty as a Healer to care for these children, despite the political upheaval. He gathered herbs and taught the villagers how to use them against the fever. He worked tirelessly around the village to examined new patients each day. Miriam had remained healthy because Isaac had given her herbs everyday. She helped her father in his work. When Isaac carried a sleepy Miriam upstairs to her room, she murmured, "I want to be just like you, Father. I want to Heal." She was seven.

Not one child was lost to the fever that winter. The people of Triten discussed during the Local Counsel what they should do with Isaac, the Healer of Rae. It was generally acknowledged that they had desperate need of a healer. An arrangement was made to allow Isaac and Miriam to live on a plot of land on the very outskirt of Triten. Families whose children had lived because of Isaac's help pooled their resources to build Isaac and his daughter a cottage. It was also agreed during the Local Counsel that word must not be spread regarding their healer.

Shortly after Isaac's position was established in the little village, Triten Inn's mistress came to call on him. A traveler and his son had been staying in the inn when the boy became very ill. His fever had raged for days, and he had been vomiting constantly. During the rare moments of consciousness, he had complained of a stiff neck. Isaac arrived and examined the child, who was curled up under a thin blanket and violently shaking. His jaw dropped when he saw the boy's face. It was Ethan, and the traveler was Collin. Collin was equally shocked the moment he recognized Isaac. They had no time for talk however, for Ethan was seriously ill. At first light, Isaac took his herb bag and set off for the forest.