The Dreaming One

He is stable enough to be moved, at least on this plane. I wish I could take him to the Infirmary, but his hold on this reality is too thin to make the transition safely. We have seen nothing of the sheriff's cousin, and since Father was exiled, we haven't got a medical facility. Regency Hospital is not what it used to be, and that just leaves the Tam San. I honestly don't like the idea, but he is being moved to Caledon.

I am going with him, of course. The sanitarium staff did care for Uncle Gus well enough when he was lost in Aunt Gem's mind, but the director has not had more cross-planar experience by now. His injuries are more extensive than Uncle Gus's. The Regency Hospital deals with the injuries to Caledonians well enough, and Lady Darkling is his sponsor there. She was distressed to find out the bottled lightning had any part in the fire. Rengerin tells me it was just another link in the causality chain, but not the key reason for the accident.

Another reason to go is I am responsible for him. He was injured in the house of my father, as a guest. I must honor the law, and do my best by the ger. He believed himself to be Zaide, but it was not out of malice. The taistealaí will be honored.

Mama's assistant arranged airship passage for us, as that would be the best way to move him. I also asked her to keep an eye out for those searching for him. I do not know if he has any family, but there are several people interested in him. The ones that have not come forward to ask after him in his convalescence are the ones that worry me.

Lifting off into the pre-dawn light, I locked the door to the cabin and settled in to nap beside his bunk, trying to reach him through his travels.

The Parts Inbetween

He knows who he is, and is not, at last.

Though he hangs in the balance, not really here and not truly gone, he knows his beginnings. I am not a telepath, so I am unable to tell you his story, but he radiates peaceful contentment in his comatose state.

Soaking him in the trough filled with the burn ointments has made caring for him a delicate process. There were a few spots where his skin was burned away completely, but there is still a chance he will survive. It mostly depends on if he decides to wake up.

Rengerin tried to give me a report on what she found in the ruins, but I have honestly been too tired to focus on anything but his injuries. Tensai hasn't thrown me out of the sick room, yet. My sleeping on the pallet here has freed her up to manage Steelhead.

Could I have stopped him? What more should I have done to protect him?