Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

27 Ymiden, Arc 716

Cold.

It was so cold in the morgue but that was to keep the bodies from rotting and smelling worse than they already did. Levinia was used to it, and in the heat of the day it wasn’t bad working in the morgue. She looked at the body and raised a dark eyebrow as she studied the dead person before her. Her eyebrows were a contrast to the long snowy locks on her head which were currently held back by a handkerchief in order not to get them dirty. She not only wanted to keep her hair clean but did not want to contaminate her patient, however, as the patient was already dead that wasn’t really a problem.

The corpse suddenly moved, and let out a groan causing her assistant to jump and screech. Levinia only stared at it and frowned. “Gases.” She said, having seen dead bodies do that sometimes. “That’s all.” She assured the young man who was assigned to pass her the tools of autopsy. He would also help her cut if it became too difficult and sometimes human parts were difficult to cut.

The young man nodded, almost assured by her, but seeing that she wasn’t scared he had to man up and not be scared either. She had been away for months, helping her family out while her father and older brother went on an errand. Levinia had stayed to help her younger brother Douglas work the family practice. It had felt good to be back home, but at the same time it was stifling. She needed to be on her own again and was glad to go back to her little apartment that she shared with her cat, Biscuit.

Her hands moved forward, allowing for her assistant to dose them with potion that would prepare them for what she was about to put them through. After so many months away the only work she could find was working with the dead. She knew that she’d have her customers back soon, but for now she had to make a living and working with the dead wasn’t so bad. For one thing they wouldn’t complain or try to grab her backside.

Levinia studied the young face of the woman lying on the slab. The woman looked to be older than she was but that could have been the life she led. Levinia didn't know and she didn’t judge. At the moment she had a job to do. “Alright, pass me the fisher’s knife please.” It’s half moon designed to gut the scaly hide of fish worked just as well on the more soft epidermal layer of the human body. It was sharp and accurate and Levinia would have little trouble carving the usual Y-design on the torso. With a sigh she began….

At only five foot two, Levinia had to stand on a stepping stool in order to reach the body. She sighed as the boy ran out, the knife he was about to pass her fell clanging on the cobble floor. She was about to climb down her step when a dark haired young woman came in as if sent by the gods. Levinia smiled in relief her eyes briefly inspecting her before asking, “The knife please.” She pointed to the floor and returned the other woman’s smile.

“And please call me Levinia and if you’re not comfortable with that, then doctor will do.” Levinia’s violet blue eyes flickered on the woman’s slave mark then back at the woman's amazing silver orbs, “I’m no one’s mistress.” The petite doctor concluded and once again pointed at the knife. “Do you think you can help me with this autopsy? Since you’re from the funeral home you’re probably used to the dead.” Levinia lifted an eyebrow, it seemed to be something she did often, “I hope you’re not squeamish. As you can see, good help is hard to find.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. Levinia’s family were not slave holders and she was semi aware of the rules regarding them. “I could pay for your services if you like?” She furrowed her brow in concern not wanting to insult the woman but not wanting to take advantage of her either. “It won’t be much, but as I already promised the boy a wage and he failed, I could give it to you..er..or your master?”

Levinia decided to give the woman another option, again, all in the hopes of not taking advantage, “Dissection is quite interesting.” She began, “It was one of the first things my father showed me when I was training. You can learn a lot, and well, learning is more precious than gold, don’t you think?” The little doctor gave her a dubious smile, and shrugged. She was poor but glad she knew what she did. After all, no one could steal her knowledge, at least she hoped no one could....

The woman handed her the knife and Levinia did a quick cleaning of it using her apron. There was no fear of actually infecting this patient. “Thank you...um….what can I call you, by the way?” She asked as she studied the other woman whose hair was a roaring contrast to her own. The rich darkness of her locks made her think of the rich black velvet she had seen noble women wear when it was cold. Levinia almost wanted to touch it instead she studied the body before her and prepared to cut into it.

"My owner would instruct me to learn what I could and that would be more than payment enough. And I am delighted at the prospect "Thank you so much, I very much appreciate the opportunity to learn" "

Levinia grinned at that and nodded. “Terrific!” She motioned to the slave girl with her knife hand, but careful not to point with the knife. “You just saved me money so I like you even more.” Never afraid to say what was on her mind, Levinia began to relax a bit more. At least this woman wouldn’t run off to vomit. “My father would say that a person that always wants to learn is richer than the richest king and smarter.”

She shrugged her lips, “My father is an unusual man and definitely did not serve many nobles with that attitude.” Levinia laughed at her little joke and then leaned forward to press the tip of the knife into the cold dead flesh. “Dissection of corpses was forbidden for a while, but….” She spoke as she worked, her little muscles were well conditioned to know how much pressure to exert in order to penetrate the layer of skin and fat.

She groaned slightly and continued, “Once it was allowed there was so much we learned from dissection you are very right about that.” After the initial cut the knife managed to slice through the skin easily and the little doctor went quiet as she performed the line down the woman’s chest. A human body was to be treated with delicacy and not as if it were a cut of beef or a slab of pig.

There was a sucking sound as she made the cut and Levinia was careful not to spray herself. Her eye watched as the layer of fat oozed an ugly yellow. No one said a body was beautiful on the inside while alive, while dead it was even more disgusting. “Come here, please.” Levinia requested, “See my cut? Do you think you can do the same here?” She motioned on the other side of the chest where she indicated a line that would intersect with her own to form a ‘V’. Her eyes studied the woman before her, wondering if she would be bold enough to try.

Levinia watched the young woman make the incision just as her own father had done. She was impressed with her steadiness, “Making it straight comes with practice. I did my practice on hog flesh.” Her violet blue eyes flickered towards the slave girl and smiled at her. “Its very similar to human flesh, you did well by the way.” She gently plucked the knife from the other woman’s hand and ran through the cut making sure everything was properly cut through. “Very good.”

“The purpose of this incision is to remove the organs without damage. We will open her up, crack the ribs and remove and weigh the organs.” She studied the woman and wondered what thoughts were roaming around behind those mercury eyes.

As she let that sink in she responded to a previous question, “It used to be sacrilegious to disturb a body after death. To cut into it was thought of as disrespectful and abuse against the gods.” Levinia shrugged her slim shoulders, “Superstition of the religions, is what my father called it. It wasn’t until universities and higher learning that the dead were able to be cut into. Then we discovered that the dead could tell their own tales.”

The young doctor pointed the knife blade at the woman’s sexual organs. “I can tell she was a sex worker, and that she had been pregnant at least three times.” She sighed at the possible history of this dead woman. “If it weren’t for dissection and study, we still would be ignorant of so many things. Are you able to read? Perhaps we can share a trip to the library and I can show you the history of surgery?”

Levinia gave her a hesitant smile, again she wasn’t sure how much freedom the woman had. She didn’t know much about slaves, only that they were people too. A little sigh escaped her lips at the unfairness of it all. People should not own other people and that was the end of it.

Levinia was thrilled at how much the girl wanted to know and she reminded her of herself at that age. She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet at the prospect of a kindred spirit. Her lips pulled into a grin and whatever sour thoughts had been going through her mind before suddenly vanishing like storm clouds giving way to the sun.

"I see. Will the weight and colour and aspect of the organs tell us about how she died... or also how she lived?"

“That’s right!” She responded, “That and it helps to keep a record, that way we can compare and make a reference. How else would we know what is normal and average and what is not?” Levinia smiled, hoping she was making sense. “What could be alright for one person may be completely not alright for another. That being said, yes, you can tell if something is terribly wrong. When an organ is just not right, know what I mean?” She turned to Faith and waited for confirmation before tackling the girl’s next question.

"How can you tell and... how do you know how many times?"

“Well that’s when study and comparison charts help.” She shook her head, “I cannot really explain it, it just takes practice, although I’m sure any midwife worth her weight could tell as well.” She leaned over and placed a hand over the dead woman’s abdomen. “Do you see how the skin stretched right there, and seems to have pulled a bit. Then again this woman may have been very fat and just lost weight, but I doubt it.” Levinia smiled and straightened, “But then again it's all guesses.” She whispered, “You’ll find out that many doctor diagnosis are just guesses which become better and better through experience.”

"I can read, doctor, yes." "I would be more than happy to accompany you, doctor, if you would be willing to. My owner is clear that anything that makes me a better undertaker is something I should accept, if it is offered. I am sure that he would be willing to offer you my services in exchange for some of your time"

“Excellent!” Levinia responded, quite happy to find someone as interested in books and learning. “I’m sorry if I assumed you didn’t know how to read.” She sighed, “I’m not too familiar with slaves, but I believe it all depends on what kind of slave and own their master?” Levinia decided to get her own questions in as a tit for tat. “Do you think you’ll be working for your master forever? What if he sells you, or he dies? What will happen to you? Will you ever be free?” The poured out like water and she bit her tongue to prevent more questions to spill out. Instead, Levinia waited patiently hoping she hadn’t overwhelmed the girl with questions she had no answer to, or worse, was not allowed to talk about.