Chapter Ninety-Three: Grand Opening

My heart squeezes and my throat closes up as I stand in the lobby of my new clinic, watching the front doors with apprehension. Today is the day, after so long of this just being a dream… I’m about to see my first patient. I know who it’s going to be, but still!

Today is the day that the Daybreak Wharf Clinic will start taking patients. From sentinels with unique medical cases to just normal people living in Shinara. Although from the look of the place, one would think that this is a heavily fortified GDF Stronghold rather than a clinic. A sad but necessary practice. My patients need to not just feel safe here but actually be safe. And there’s nothing to make someone feel safe like being in the room with a dozen trigger-happy soldiers… I really hope that doesn’t become a disaster today.

The clinic staff consists of fifty soldiers with even more staffed near Florina, some of whom have run enough incursion zones with sentinel teams to have earned magical weapons. In addition, we have three sentinels who will always be here during the days: me, Hina — who jumped onboard immediately upon seeing what we were setting up — and a red sentinel named Carlos. I don’t actually know Carlos well, having only met him for a few minutes previously. However, as a B Rank sentinel with plenty of combat experience, it’s his job at the clinic to keep everyone else safe. Despite Hina and me also being accomplished sentinels… well, blues don’t have a great reputation when it comes to defending themselves without help.

Also on the clinic staff are the usual mass of people to make something like this work. Honestly, getting them was the hardest part of making today happen. Finding a bunch of receptionists with only a week of work was hard, but getting the non-magical medical personnel was next to impossible. It was only by getting Kiley to agree to be the clinic manager that everything actually came together. Unlike me, she actually has the organizational experience to put something like this together.

With Kiley on board, getting the clinic set up so rapidly turned from a nightmare to a slightly more manageable nightmare. There was still an endless parade of things to do. From acquiring beds and medical supplies to painting the walls to setting up a small play area for kids while parents are being seen, every waking moment was spent getting the clinic ready on time.

And now… now it’s time to see if it was all worth it. I just wish Akari could be here with me today.

Shaking my head to clear that thought, I instead shoot a message toward Celeste, who is circling above the clinic to keep watch. “How many people are out there?”

[A few hundred right now,] Celeste says, making me flinch. That’s a lot, but not entirely unexpected. Most people will be getting sent on one of the trips to see Florina as they arrive.

Even we are affected by the fact that this city has far more injured than doctors to attend to them. Florina will need to act as our mana battery to help the many, so we can focus on the few who can’t be helped so easily.

“Is she out there, too?” I ask and immediately feel Celeste’s amusement.

[First in line,] she says with a laughing chuff. [A few other people tried to get close, but she scared them off.]

I roll my eyes — leave it to my mentor to bully her way to the front of the line.

Glancing up at the clock and realizing it’s time to begin, I do one final check around the room to make sure everything is in place. Carlos stands near the door with a group of soldiers, clad in his full assault state and holding an elegant rapier. If anything goes wrong, they will protect the clinic. The receptionists are in place, Hina is standing with me, watching the doors, and Kiley is hiding safely behind the receptionist desks, frantically typing on a laptop while downing coffee like her life depends on it. We’re ready to go.

Swallowing my nerves, I put a smile on my face. “It’s time, everyone!” I call, forced to raise my voice to be heard over the ruckus outside. We’ll have to invest in some signs telling people to be quiet in the clinic.

After receiving affirming nods from everyone present, my smile turns more genuine. Then, striding forward, I unlock the door and pull it open. Unsurprisingly, I’m greeted by a familiar face.

“Hey, kid! You finally ready to get this done?” Audrey asks, eyes gleaming with intensity.

Smiling, I nod. “I’m ready, just one thing I need to do first.”

Stepping around Audrey, I flare my power as I shift to my assault state. Then, conjuring golden wings, I leap up while flapping them, managing to land on the roof of the clinic. I haven’t quite figured out flight yet, but I have gotten this far at least.

My heart lightens as I see the dozens upon dozens of dirty faces looking up at me. Some of them are better off than others, but none look to be at their best. The general rumble of the crowd silences, leaving only murmurs of “Daybreak Seraph” in its wake.

In a swirl of mist, a megaphone drops into my hand, and I raise it to my lips. “Hello everyone! I am Daybreak Seraph! My team and I are incredibly happy to see you all here today, and we’ll be even happier once you are feeling your best!”

“Now, I know there are a lot of you, so here is how things are going to happen. Everyone, please form an orderly line behind the scary pink sentinel at the front. Once you get inside, please speak to the receptionists. They will organize you into two groups. Some of you will be coming with me to see Florina and get your healing there,” I pause to gesture to the tree branches stretching overhead. “And others will be asked to remain in the waiting room to be brought back and seen by one of our experts. We will be moving quickly, so if you’re told to head to the buses, please make your way out the side exit and not the front doors. The receptionists will show you the way, but you can also just follow others heading that direction.”

“If you have any questions at all, please just ask one of our friendly staff, including the soldiers. They are here to protect you all and the clinic, but they would be more than happy to direct you. And finally… thank you all for coming!”

With that, I hop back down from the roof to land beside Audrey as people begin forming a line behind her to head through the front doors. I smile at an elderly couple moving up behind Audrey as they watch me with something akin to awe. Then, I grab my friend’s arm and tug her out of the way so they can head inside.

“Let’s head to the buses,” I say, dragging Audrey away from the crowd beginning to file inside. “The first step to helping Jessie is bringing both her soul gem and you to Florina.”

***

Audrey and I ride with the first bus load of people traveling from the clinic to Florina. It isn’t a far trip, but due to the fact that it will likely need to be made dozens upon dozens of times every day, the five buses we have ready to run the route are quite necessary.

At first, I worried that people might just start seeing the clinic as a useless side stop on the way to the tree, which would do the actual healing. However, it was quickly determined that making the clinic a necessary part of the process was a good idea. Already, more than one person — who may or may not be lingering Reavers in the city — has attempted to destroy Florina. Everyone is all too aware that one nasty fire could bring the entire tree crashing down, especially if it were magically enhanced. As such, Florina’s trunk is now also under guard, with anyone approaching being told that they have to get approved to go through the clinic first.

Despite this, though, there is a good reason to go through the clinic before just blindly trusting that Florina can handle any ailment. While she can admittedly handle most things quite well, raw healing power isn’t always the answer. Things like failing to set a broken bone properly before visiting the tree can lead to disastrous results that are extremely difficult to fix after the fact. There is a reason that the worst injuries in the GDF are handled by experts like Calan. I can handle a lot, but my medical knowledge is still extremely lacking. And while that’s something I’m working to remedy every day, it will be a long time before I reach the level of expertise he can bring to the table. Working with Calan to create lists of injuries, illnesses, and other health issues that Florina shouldn’t be allowed to handle immediately was a critical part of developing our two-group system for today.

I lean my head against the bus’s colorfully painted window as I watch roots and buildings trundle past. The cool glass and soft fabric of the seat help distract me from the fact that pretty much everyone in the bus is staring at me. Or maybe they are staring at Celeste and Astra, who are playing in their smaller forms across our laps.

“You’re quiet,” I tell Audrey, sitting up to glance over at her.

Audrey is normally one of the loudest and most confident people in whatever room she’s in. Seeing her sit beside me so subdued feels… off. How many times have I woken up in a hospital bed to receive one of her pep talks? Right now… well, she seems like she needs someone to talk to.

Audrey blinks, jostling in her seat as we pass over a particularly bad pothole… or perhaps a root.

“Sorry,” she says, swallowing. “I guess it finally hit me that I’m going to talk to Jessie today. And I… I can’t help but wonder what she’ll think of me. She never wanted me to move toward my astral path and… even though I didn’t take that final step… I’m not the person she knew. Not anymore.”

“Audrey,” I start, keeping my voice low so as not to be heard over the murmur of other conversations and light music playing overhead. “All of us change over time. And you said it yourself, you didn’t take that final step. I think Jessie will be proud of you.”

Audrey closes her eyes, her hand closing around the gem. “I just hope that she’s alright. That… seeing her alright will make all of this worth it.”

When Audrey opens her eyes again, a trace of her normal intensity slips back in, and she smiles. “Thanks for figuring this out, kid,” she says, ruffling my hair.

“Audrey!” I complain, pushing her hand away and trying to fix my mess of blue hair and golden streaks.

Instead of responding, Audrey just wraps an arm tightly around me. She glances around at all the people watching us and grins again.

“You did something good here,” she says. “To think that scrawny little girl I met in a café would be the one to save so many.”

***

I stand guard, a golden bow that I’m not willing to use in hand as I wait for Audrey to wake up. It took her a while to work up the courage to actually touch Florina’s trunk, and I’m making absolutely certain that no one touches my mentor while she’s vulnerable. Luckily, though, there isn’t a lot to guard her from. This is a cordoned-off area with dozens of armed men and women in sight.  

As it turns out, when the GDF needs soldiers, and so many refugees need jobs… well, you end up with lots and lots of men and women in GDF uniforms having only gone through basic training. It’s a problem the GDF has had for a while now that is only getting worse. Stars, I know that beggars can’t be choosers, but I really don’t know if these people will hold up if it ever comes to actual fighting. I just hope there is an experienced soldier here with all the newbies.

I watch as another bus load of people is dropped off and led to Florina by one of our nurses. This is the third one so far, and I’m proud of how many people we’re able to treat so rapidly. Especially since Celeste has been giving me updates about the crowd around the clinic. It seems that it’s growing larger rather than shrinking as more and more people arrive to be treated. Still, with a city as big as Shinara… we can work this fast for the rest of the year and still only make a dent in the city of millions. I just hope that we can treat everyone in time.

The nurse, a young man whose name I’m sure I learned but don’t remember, leads the patients to the tree and calmly explains the procedure to them. Then, looking around, he spots me and walks quickly over.

I tilt my head, curious, as the man steps up to me and briefly bows his head. “Ma’am, Miss Hina is requesting your assistance back at the clinic.”

This makes me frown. With Florina doing the vast majority of the magical healing, there’s no way Hina should be having mana issues.

“Did she say why?” I question, watching the bus turn to leave. It will make its way back to the clinic. The people here now can take the fourth or fifth bus back.

The young nurse shakes his head. “No, Ma’am. She just said that it was urgent and told me to find you.”

My lips turn down, but I nod. “Alright. See this woman here,” I gesture to Audrey, “she is one of the most powerful sentinels in Shinara and is the one who trained me. You and my familiar Celeste are going to watch over her. If she wakes up or anyone looks like they’re going to bother her, you tell Celeste, and I’ll be back faster than you can imagine.”

The nurse swallows, but nods. “Y-Yes, Miss Seraph.”

“Celeste, have you got this?” I ask my familiar. Not because I don’t trust my employee — he went through an extensive vetting process — but because he isn’t equipped to handle any real threat.

[Yep! Go see what she needs. We’ll be fine here,] Celeste responds.

Alright then. Closing my eyes, I focus on my connection with the Dawn Cloud, the light haze of glowing mist covering the city like a blanket. It takes some serious mental gymnastics, but I’m able to pinpoint where I think the location of my clinic is. Then, I step through the mist and am gone.

I arrive near the front door of the clinic, which is lucky, as even ending up on the same block is a difficult thing. The massive line stretches out the door and into the swelling crowd where I appear — startling a few people with my sudden presence. Striding through the press of humanity, I leak just a bit of my power to let people know to get out of my way as I head through the door and make my way inside.

Hina is in the employee-only section on the fourth floor of the clinic, tapping her foot impatiently as nurses and doctors rush around her. This part of the clinic is largely filled with computers, medical supplies, and offices for people like Kiley who keep this place running.

“What’s the problem?” I ask, knowing Hina wouldn’t have called me back so soon without something serious.

I expect something to be up with us missing some critical medical supply, as our frantic rush to set this place up very well could have led to something getting missed. Even with all the experts we had to consult, setting up an operation this large so rapidly means that something going wrong is almost a certainty. I just hope it’s something I can sort out quickly.

Hina lets out a nervous breath. “I need you to follow me and check a patient’s mana toxicity. Because either I’m going insane, or we have a massive problem.”

“Mana toxicity?” I ask, following Hina toward the stairs. “Aren’t you treating normal patients?”

Hina nods as we move quickly. “That’s exactly the problem. I am treating normal patients. We’ve been open less than an hour, and I’ve already seen five cases. The story is the same with all of them. They start feeling sick and weak, and even have other doctors look at them. No one can find anything wrong. I look at them with my powers, and I don’t see anything wrong. The second I check their mana toxicity level, though…”

We burst out the door onto the second floor, and Hina starts leading me past patient rooms, presumably to the right one.

“It can’t be a broken scanner?” I ask, nerves starting to spike.

Hina shakes her head, “Not unless all of our scanners are broken. I’ve tried over a dozen at this point. Also, my general sense for mana toxicity is telling me that it’s extremely high. I want to get your take on it too, but if you agree with me… We will need to figure out how five people who have never touched magic in their lives are suffering from mana toxicity poisoning.”

With that, Hina opens the door into a patient’s room, and I follow her inside. Within, I see a pale-looking woman who seems to be in her forties sitting beside a nervous teenage boy just a bit younger than me. The woman’s hands tremble in her lap as she looks up toward me, and my heart wrenches in my chest. If Hina’s right… I have no idea how to treat this.

The face of the teenage boy lights up as he sees me, and he jumps to his feet. “You’re Daybreak Seraph!” he exclaims, then winces and lowers his voice. “Sorry… I just… Can you help my mom?”

My throat tightens with worry, but I force a smile to my face. “We will do everything we can,” I tell him, doing my best to sound reassuring.

Despite my own uncertainty, though, the teenager continues to smile. Perhaps my reputation is preceding me… Stars, I really hope I don’t fail to live up to it.

Moving up to the woman, I offer her a smile. “My name is Daybreak Seraph, or Serena if you like that better. I’m going to take a quick look at you, if that’s alright?”

The older woman gives me a weak smile. “Of course… do what you need to do.”

“Just give me your hand,” I say, offering my own. “I’m going to take a quick look magically, then I will consult with my colleague to develop a treatment plan.”

The woman nods, taking my hand in hers.

Carefully, so as not to make any potential mana toxicity worse if indeed that is what’s happening here, I shoot thin threads of my Celestial Restoration empowered mana into the woman. Instantly, I can sense that Hina is right. Perhaps it’s my new nature, a deeper understanding of what mana inside a body can do, or Celestial Equilibrium playing a role. However, with one touch, I know.

I withdraw my mana back within me and release the woman’s hand, offering her and her son another smile. “Thank you for that. Now, you two just hold tight for a moment. We will be back soon.”

Together, Hina and I step out of the door, careful to keep our expressions neutral. Then, we move all the way back into the stairwell before speaking once more.

“You’re definitely right,” I tell Hina, eyes wide. “But where could she have built up that kind of toxicity?”

Hina shakes her head, “At first, I thought she tried getting treated by Florina, or maybe that your Dawn Cloud was building toxicity in her. But that’s why I brought you to this one. Her son brought her here from outside the city, hoping sentinels could help. She lives in a town nearby, not in Shinara. She shouldn’t have been affected by either of those things.”

I nod, “The Dawn Cloud’s mana is so dispersed that it never should build a dangerous level of toxicity in someone. Florina is another story, but… from out of the city?”

Hina nods, “Four are from in the city, but this one stands out for having the same story but a different location.”

I take a deep breath. “Whatever it is, Hina, we have only a day or two to figure it out. Otherwise… that woman and everyone like her are going to die.”