Nathaniel had spent a good deal of time thinking about Rosalie’s research, he’d even gone and talked to Elanna Cousland about it. Which might seem strange considering his father had killed Elanna’s family, but as Nathaniel hadn’t been there or had any hand in it. Somehow, eventually with time passing after the Fifth Blight, the two had become reasonably good friends and he trusted her advice.
Was he still a little nervous, oh in spades, not because he worried about that it would make him less of a Grey Warden. He knew he would still always be a good fighter, and even if he would no longer be able to sense the nasty darkspawn. Plus the Sixth Blights were over, and he sure as fuck hoped there wouldn’t be a set of third blights plaguing the world in his lifetime.
However, he did worry about side effects in general. He didn’t know shit about medicine, but he had a general understanding that things sometimes had unintended side effects. He’d thought of everything from the extreme like becoming impotent, to the simple like breaking out in itchy vibes. He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind because at the end of the day he trusted Rosalie.
Nathaniel decided to leave his griffon Glacaus at home and use the Eluvians. He wasn’t sure how he would feel after and this felt like the better choice. He wasn’t even sure how long he would be gone, he imagined she would want to monitor him for a bit after receiving the treatment.
He arrived at the University of Orlais, and was directed to the medical labs and hospital section of the University. He go turned around once, but then finally ended up in the right area. He found the lab he was directed to and walked in. Seeing Rosalie he smiled.
Your guinea pig has arrived!! He said with a laugh, trying not to sound nervous.
Rosalie took a deep breath when she heard Nathaniel’s voice. Today was the great day, it would be determined if she was a success or a failure. The time of hypothesis and experiments on plants and small animals had passed and now it was time to try her remedy on a living human being. When Nathaniel had offered she had been surprised, she had truly believed that no one would offer willingly yet here he was.
“A pleasure to see you Nathaniel” she said with a kind smile “You are not a guinea pig, just a patient” she said signaling a chair.
“Let’s do a basic recap” she said “This remedy will be taken orally, daily excepting for the first dosis which I will inject” she said calmly “I am going to do it very slowly, if you experience any symptoms or need anything just say it and I will stop immediately okay?” she said before starting to prepare anything. Rosalie wanted to make sure of that Nathaniel was in the same page as herself.
Nathaniel was nervous, he tried not to show it though, but the idea that he might not ever hear the Calling and be forced to the Deep Roads was simply too good to pass up. He’d talked it over with Elanna in depth and everything pointed to the fact that this was something he wanted, risks and all. He’d been a Grey Warden for going on twenty years, and it felt like time was running out. Loghain had heard his calling after seventeen years as a warden, granted the other warden had been a good twenty years older than Nathaniel, or more, so he wasn’t sure if general age of a Warden played a part in when they heard the Calling. He took a seat in the chair that was indicated.
Got it, watch for symptoms. The idea that death could be a symptom briefly flashed through his mind, but then if he didn’t give Rosalie’s research a try, then he was as good as dead any way, Could be months, could be years, but sooner or later he’d need to fuck off and die somewhere in the Deep Roads, and that just simply did not appeal to him. Nope, he’d rather be a guinea pig, er, patient, than let the inevitable just happen. Depending on how this goes, a lot more Grey Wardens could sign up. I think some are just hesitant because there are so many unknowns about the treatment. Actually seeing someone go through it will change a lot of minds.
Rosalie prepared the medication in the needle and cleaned the injection area with some alcohol in order to avoid an infection. “Exactly for any doubts or symptoms I am here” she said kindly before puncturing the skin gently in order to introduce the concoction. “I don’t know, I think that there are mixed feelings on the matter. I have received very…unpolite and borderline threatening letters from people from your order giving me a very rude review on their opinion on my determination to cure the blight” she said, saying it in a very kind way.
“A non small portion of the wardens may feel threatened by this remedy, believing that then the existence of the wardens would be pointless. Others more close to the end likely just feel jealous of having missed the chance which I can partially understand but in my humble opinion that’s just…cruel”
Yea I don’t understand why they’d think it would mean the end for the Grey Wardens, it’s not like the darkspawn are going to give up just because you found a cure. They’ll still need a dedicated group of people prepared to fight the blights. He winced slightly at the injection, though tried to hide it as best he could. It wasn’t like he’d ever been poked with a needle before. He sighed and shook his head.
It’s not even like it’s only the Grey Wardens that fight the blights. I mean King Cailan was right there on the front lines and died fighting the Blight, he wasn’t a Grey Warden. People are just petty, narrow minded and stupid heads. He said with a chuckle, even though it exasperated him to no end to even be associated with people that had said those things to Rosalie.
“Yes but a few consider that if you don’t have the Darkspawn sensing powers you are less fitting to be a warden” she said with a sigh “And before you say anything Vincent told me because I needed to know which organs did the blight target; it’s not the same to have a more focalized area than not when it comes to calculate the dosage of a cure” she explained as she worked,
“I am worried about Vincent’s safety, what happens if due to my research anyone faces him? If something happens to me I can take it but what if he gets fired or hurt or anything like that?”
Yea but it’s double-sided. We can sense them, but they can sense us, so it’s not like we take them by surprise. I mean not that it’s never come in a little bit handy. I just don’t think it’s as valuable as some believe it to be. It all came back to his other statement, stupid people being stupid heads.
Nathaniel sighed, taking a moment to reflect. As for Vincent, I think he is more than capable of handling himself. But, I get your concern. The best we can do is to continue the work and deal with any issues as they come. He said earnestly, hoping his words offered some comfort. He didn’t want to think that other Grey Wardens could be so petty that they would take their concerns about Rosalie’s research out on Vincent, especially in any way that would hurt him, but could one really predict the actions of a stupid head.
“You are quite right, but for some reasons wardens consider that it’s best to be able to detect even if it’s at the expense of being detected”
She smiled and retired the needle “Hopefully this will be the first step to accomplish the goal of finishing the work” said the blonde as she placed the now empty needle on a tray. “So, write me with any doubt that you may have and of course if you experience any symptoms” explained the doctor before turning around to face him. “Nevertheless I’d like to give you a health check in 15 days and to measure your taint levels to see the effectivity of the medicine”.
Nodding, Nathaniel agreed. I'll be sure to keep you updated on any changes I notice, and I'll be back for that check-up. He said, feeling a sense of hope. This could be the beginning of a significant shift for the Grey Wardens, and he was proud to be a part of it.
I plan to take some time to visit friends in Starkhaven the next couple of weeks, with the Blight over I’m taking a much needed holiday. I figured you might want me to take things easy and well, not be somewhere flying on my Griffon in case a side effect hits? It was half a question, half a statement.
“Yes I’d rather have you traveling in a safer method so that if you feel a bit weakened you don’t suffer an accident. In theory your skills shouldn’t be affected but you know…” Rosalie said as she started to tidy up her laboratory.
