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gatesofember · 5 years ago

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Frailty and Fortune: Chapter 3

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 10

Rating: T | Pairing: Solangelo

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Summary: A few months have passed since Prince Nico’s wedding to William of Solace. Even with his husband at his side, Will sometimes feels lonely as he settles into his new life. He misses his home, his family, his friends, and his studies in Venadica. Meanwhile, Nico is uncertain how to help him, awkward about expressing himself, and he wonders if he’ll ever be able to truly make his husband happy. As time goes by and Will continues to feel lost in his new home, Will and Nico must both learn how to make their marriage work.

This chapter contains references to blood, gross ancient medical equipment, implied animal abuse, and billionaires being assholes. Proceed with caution.

Will was wearing black. A sensible choice, considering their clothes were likely to get dirty in the mines, but didn’t Will realize what it did to Nico when he wore black? He’d have to look at his husband as little as possible if he wanted to avoid tripping over his own feet.

They’d parted in the morning to get dressed, but had met back up again before leaving for breakfast to talk about the visit to the mines.

“When we inspect the mines, I would like you to watch out for anything troubling,” Nico had said. “Phrygia brings in more money than any other part of Angelus, but I have my doubts about how honorably it was acquired. Midas’s wealth will never satisfy his greed. I suspect he’d let the mine workers starve to increase his income, if he could get away with it. Pay special attention to the animals—their health and wellbeing and such. Your eyes will be able to see signs of mistreatment that Reyna and I may be blind to.”

“Do you believe the workers and animals are being abused?” Will had asked.

“Midas can’t handle another scandal; I do not believe he would do anything that could result in serious consequences,” Nico had answered. “Still, I have no doubt that he has little regard for the well-being of his people. I expect to see intentional oversights—things that are legal, but only just. Midas wouldn’t care for his workers any more than the bare minimum. I intend to force him to.”

After breakfast, Nico, Midas, Will, and Reyna boarded Midas’ carriage to leave the manor while Hedge sat on the bench on the back to act as Nico’s guard. Not that Nico believed that Midas posed a threat—Midas wouldn’t risk being tied to endangering the Prince of Pluto, no matter how much he’d like to get Nico out of the way. Nonetheless, Hedge’s presence provided a sense of relief that Nico didn’t know he needed. Hedge had never let harm befall Nico before and he certainly wouldn’t allow it then.

Midas’ carriage rolled through the city of Phrygia with its too-clean streets onto the dirt roads leading to the gold mine. The hills outside the windows were green with forests, the ground covered in brown pine needles. Along the way, they passed a cart full of ore pulled by a horse on its way to the city for extraction. The trees thinned when they reached the mine’s entrance.

Above ground, the mines didn’t look like much. Only a few buildings stood in the area and one of them appeared to be a stable. The largest structures were two towers made from wooden beams that stood over a massive pit.

The lifts, Nico’s mind supplied. He’d read about mine shafts, but he’d never seen one in person before. One of the two lifts was already at the surface, laden with mine carts full of ore while a group of men unloaded it, while the other was underground. The towers above the pit were connected to a large horse whim by a series of cables and pulleys used to raise and lower the lifts. The horses stood around the whim’s center in a circle, swishing their tails and manes while a worker unfastened them from the whim’s pegs and turned them around to prepare the lift for descent. Nico didn’t notice anything wrong with the horses. He glanced at Will, but Will said nothing. The horses seemed safe, then.

“It may seem small on the surface, but below ground, it’s one of the largest mines in the country,” Midas said. “There are six levels in total with two lifts. They are raised and lowered by the same cables so that one is always on the top while the other is on the bottom. The idea was suggested by one of my engineers and has greatly expedited the process of transporting the ore above ground.”

Nico frowned. “So this is the only shaft?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Everything enters and leaves the mines through here.”

“And what if there is a collapse?” Nico asked. “Is there a secondary evacuation point?”

When Nico turned back to Midas, he was pleased to see the way his eyebrow twitched. Midas knew exactly what Nico was looking for and how closely he intended to examine his mines. Nico was happy to make the experience as uncomfortable for him as possible.

“When the mine was originally dug, it used a slope system,” Midas answered. “The slope extends to the first three levels. By the time the fourth level was started, we had switched to the shaft system. It’s much more efficient.”

Reyna raised her eyebrows. “So there is only one exit from the three lowest levels?”

Midas shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Given how much mine has grown, I have considered building another shaft further down. But I can assure you that the current system is one of the most efficient—”

“There’s only one stable,” Will suddenly said, looking at the building with a frown. “Where are the other stables?”

“One is enough to house the horses,” Midas answered.

“What about the ponies?” Will asked. “Don’t you use pit ponies to haul the ore underground?”

“We do. Once they clear the platform, we’ll descend to the first level. You’ll find the ponies there.”

Nico hadn’t thought Will capable of intimidating even a mouse, much less a grown man, and he was proud when Will proved him wrong. Will’s mouth drew in a firm, dissatisfied line and he hummed a disappointed note. His eyes fixed on Midas for a second, then went back to the stables.

Nico had never seen Will wear an expression like that before. Considering his usual gentleness, it was easy to forget the occasional flashes of strength that Will sometimes allowed Nico to see—like the resolution in his eyes when they’d discussed Midas the night before or the fury in the way his jaw set the first time Nico told him about Asterion’s upbringing.

Nico was inconveniently reminded of the fact that Will was wearing black, that Will looked handsome in black, and that Will was very, very nice to look at regardless of what he wore.

Fortunately, Will spoke up again before Nico could make a fool of himself. “I will look at the stables while we wait for the lift to be unloaded,” he announced. Without waiting for permission, he turned on his heel and walked off. Midas quickly followed behind.

Nico considered going with them, but Reyna cleared her throat softly to get his attention. He turned to see her watching him with a raised eyebrow.

“What are you thinking, Lady Reyna?” Nico asked quietly.

“I am thinking that you sent your husband to look for trouble,” she answered.

“You don’t approve?”

“Oh, no,” she said. “I very much approve. You’re right to be suspicious. There’s only one exit point! What else could be wrong?” Reyna paused. “But you need to be prepared to explain yourself when we return to Divitia. The King’s advisers won’t be pleased with you.”

Nico grimaced. “No,” he agreed. “They won’t.”

After all, Nico had been sent to Phrygia to visit the most profitable mine in Angelus and show favor to Midas. He was not supposed to be snooping through the mine to find as many problems as he could. If Midas’ profits went down as a result of Nico’s visit—which Nico believed was likely—then Nico would have a lot to answer for.

“We’ll worry about that when the time comes,” Reyna whispered as Midas and Will emerged from the stables. “I’ll support you. For now, carry on.”

Will’s expression was difficult to read. When Nico caught his eye, Will nodded, but didn’t speak. Nothing to report, then.

“The lift looks to be about ready for us,” Midas said, smiling stiffly. “Shall we?”

The mine carts on the lift had been emptied and the workers were fastening them into place on the platform of the lift to be sent back down again. Nico curiously inched closer to the shaft and peered down into the pit. He could see a few dots of light winking up at him, shining on the cables that ran deep under the earth.

His heart thudded heavily in his chest. The low wooden fence surrounding the pit suddenly didn’t seem very trustworthy.

Hedge stretched an arm in front of Nico. “Best stay back, Your Highness,” he said.

Feeling dizzy, Nico nodded and stepped back to safer territory. He decided it was in his best interest not to look down the shaft again. Glancing back around, he noticed that Will had disappeared a second time and found him exchanging a few words with the boy who appeared to be in charge of the horses. He’d gone back to wearing his usual calm expression, and something about his posture seemed lighter than it had a moment ago. When he finished talking to the boy, however, he returned to Nico’s side and adopted the same serious, severe air that he’d used before.

The gates to the lift’s platform opened and Midas gestured for Nico and the others to board. Don’t look down, Nico reminded himself. His legs shook underneath him when he stepped onto the platform. Was it wobbling under his feet? He wanted to drop to his hands and knees, as if bring closer to the floor would make him feel more stable, but he forced himself to remain upright, determined not to show fear. Not in front of Midas.

He did, however, allow himself to reach out and grab Will’s hand when the lift jolted and started to descend, but he was careful not to let Midas see. Will squeezed his fingers.

The temperature gradually dropped as they lowered, and it wasn’t long before Nico noticed the stench. The air carried of odor of earth mixed with something Nico couldn’t place; something pungent and rotten. He wrinkled his nose. “What is that smell?”

“The minerals in the rock,” Midas answered. “Gold itself is odorless, but the minerals usually found in the rock around it have a characteristic scent. The dogs use the smell to track down ore.”

So dogs worked in the mines, Nico noted with interest. He locked eyes with Will in the darkness. Will nodded back to signal that he understood and would pay attention to them.

Over the creaking cables lowering the lift, Nico started to hear faint clinking noises that grew in volume the deeper they went. A light beneath them grew brighter and brighter until the lift came to a halt at the wide mouth of the first level of tunnels. Nico dropped Will’s hand before they stepped off and the lift creaked behind them and continued on its descent.

The landing was large, containing what appeared to be an empty open-air stable and multiple tracks. Ponies hauled carts along the tracks while workers hammered at the walls. Dark, jagged rock lined the tunnel’s sides as it thinned and ran outward, occasionally splitting and forking off into new pathways. Lanterns shined down the length of it, but Nico couldn’t see the end.

“Do the tracks extend throughout the tunnels?” Reyna asked, examining an empty cart.

“Yes, except for new areas where they haven’t been added yet,” Midas answered. “We lay them as soon as the ground is steady enough for them. Tracks greatly speed up transport.”

“Are those stables?” Will asked, squinting at the wooden structure on the landing.

“They are, Your Highness,” said Midas.

Will turned to Midas, his expression pinched in disgust. “The ponies live inside the mine?”

“Of course,” Midas answered calmly. “That is standard mining procedure—nothing to be alarmed about.”

“My apologies, Lord Midas, but I think it is,” Will said. “How long have you had these stables below ground?”

“At least since the construction of the shaft.”

“Then you have generations of pit ponies who have rarely, if ever seen the light of day. They stay down here breathing this air with this ceiling above their heads all the time.”

Midas sighed in a way that was so infuriatingly patronizing that Nico felt anger pulling his shoulders taut. “Like I said, Your Highness, this is standard—”

“Then the standard is wrong,” said Will. “No pony should spend their entire life in darkness. You need to build stables for them above ground immediately.”

Midas shook his head with that same dismissive air. “I’m afraid it’s not possible to transport them in and out every day.”

Nico clenched his jaw. How dare he brush aside Will’s concerns? Did Midas not realize that he was talking to the Prince’s husband?

“This seems like a legitimate concern to me, Lord Midas,” he said.

“Considering the time and money saved by keeping them inside pit stables, it’s more profitable to take the risk,” Midas answered calmly.

Nico balled his fists at Midas’ tone. He was almost tempted to smack Midas in the face just to get him to change his expression. Nico was the one who held the power this time, not Midas, and a sick part of himself that he didn’t bother suppressing wanted to see Midas show fear.

“Besides,” Midas went on casually, “there are plenty of ponies kept above ground for breeding—”

“I think you misunderstand me,” Nico interrupted. “I’m not speaking of the loss of your investment, I am speaking of lives.”

Midas still appeared perfectly composed, but the way he clasped his hands behind his back reminded Nico of his own tendency to do so when he couldn’t stop them from shaking. “Ponies get skittish in the lifts,” Midas said. “Bringing them up and down every day simply isn’t realistic.”

“Then you must extend the slope to the lower levels,” Nico demanded.

“I agree,” said Reyna. “You mentioned building another lift, but that would only help the humans. Extending the slope ought to be your first priority, along with building stables above ground.”

“It would take time to bring the ponies in and out of the mines every day,” Midas said. “They will be forced to work faster and longer to make up for the lost time and traveling so far will waste energy.”

Will pursed his lips. “No. Even if it takes time and tires them, the ponies will not be required to work longer hours or do the same amount of work in a day.”

“Ah, but that would lower the profits,” Midas said, as though he genuinely believed they were so ignorant that the thought hadn’t occurred to them already.

“Yes,” Will agreed. “I know it will.”

For a second, Will’s response seemed to have dumbfounded Midas, like he hadn’t considered that something other than profits might actually matter. “With respect, Your Highness, I know mines very well. The way I have been running it will bring the best profits and will help Pluto’s economic crisis the most.”

Something in Will’s expression darkened. It may have been the dim lantern light flickering across his face, but Nico thought he saw his eyes flash with a rare spark of anger. “You are correct,” Will said. “I do not know mines as well as you. However, you have forgotten that I am not merely a student of medicine. I am also well-versed in economic theory. The reconstruction of an economy is not solely dependent on maximizing your income; it is about providing for the people. What do you think is more important—your profits or the wellbeing of your laborers?”

Midas’ throat bobbed. “Of course, Your Highness,” he said weakly. “Their wellbeing. I only meant to warn you to expect a substantial cut in the mine’s income.”

“A welcome one,” Will said in a clipped, impatient tone. “Don’t you agree?”

Midas glanced at Nico like he was searching for confirmation that Will’s position was backed by the Prince himself. Nico couldn’t blame Midas for his trepidation; Will’s tone was soft yet commanding and left no room for arguments. Nico had nothing to add. He raised an eyebrow at Midas to say, ‘Well? My husband asked you a question.’

Midas bowed his head in deference. “Yes, Your Highness. Welcome indeed.”

“We will need to discuss the logistics further,” Reyna said. “Over the next few days, we will consider transportation issues and decide how long a worker—equine, canine, or human—may stay in the mines.”

Midas looked at Nico for confirmation again and Nico had to bite the inside of his lip to keep the satisfied smile hidden. He was the one with the power now, and Midas knew it.

“Carry on with the tour, Lord Midas,” he said.

* * *

Will breathed a sigh as he tied a fresh cravat around his neck. They’d stayed at the mines until late afternoon, their clothes and skin acquiring layers upon layers of dust and dirt. It hadn’t taken long for Will to decide that he did not like being underground. He was not meant to be so far from the light of the sun.

After arriving back at Midas’ estate, everyone had gone to their chambers to clean up before dinner. Will felt better after washing his face and hands and putting on new clothes, but he still thought he needed to spend a whole day out in the sun to recover.

He’d just finished the knot when he heard a knock on his door and he was pleased to hear his husband’s voice on the other side saying, “Will? It’s Nico. May I come in?”

“Of course,” Will said. “I’m nearly ready.”

The door clicked open and Nico entered wearing a fresh set of clothes and looking clean again. (Will did, however, miss the smudge of dirt that had appeared on his cheek in the mines earlier that day. It hadn’t been easy to resist taking Nico’s head in his hands and brushing the spot away with his thumb right there in front of everyone. Will mourned the lost opportunity to do it in private.)

“Oh,” Nico said when he saw Will, his face going pink. “I thought you’d be dressed by now.”

“Mellie doesn’t help me dress,” Will explained as he fixed his shirt sleeves. “It takes longer to do it myself.”

“I’m sure there’s a manservant available to assist you somewhere in the estate,” Nico said.

“That’s not necessary. I like dressing myself.”

Nico didn’t meet his eyes. For a moment, Will worried that something was wrong, but then he remembered the blush.

“Or perhaps you could help me,” Will suggested. He picked up his waistcoat from where it lay draped over the footboard of his bed and offered it to Nico.

Nico flushed darker, but stepped forward and accepted the waistcoat. He moved to help Will into it, but then he hesitated, sighed, and dropped his arms.

“Will,” he said.

“What?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you are not allowed to pick out separates by yourself?”

Then Will was the one who was blushing. He thought he’d done it right that time. “I limited myself to two colors like you suggested, so—”

“Some colors should never be paired together,” Nico said. “Green and orange being the worst example.”

“But—”

Nico shoved the waistcoat back into Will’s hands. “Pick a different waistcoat, Will.”

Will tried not to pout. He sighed in disappointment and took the waistcoat back, then went to the wardrobe to search for one in a more suitable color. Nico rejected Will’s first few picks before Will finally pulled out one in a cream color that met his husband’s approval.

Will frowned at Nico’s choice. “Are you certain?” he asked.

“Yes, Will,” Nico said with the tired air of someone dealing with an exhausting child.

Will continued to frown. What was the point of separates if you couldn’t have several colors in one outfit? Why wear something as plain as cream when he could wear orange instead?

He obediently offered Nico the waistcoat nonetheless.

“Fashion inclinations aside, I thought you did well today,” Nico said as the waistcoat slipped over Will’s arms.

“Did I?” Will asked. “I was worried I’d sound foolish. Midas was right—I really don’t know much about mining. I’ve been trying to read about it lately, but....”

“Reyna and I can handle financial discussions,” Nico said, turning Will around to help with the buttons. “You did wonderfully, though—that whole lecture about prioritizing his laborers? Your analysis was brilliant and you delivered it flawlessly. I was so proud of you, Will.”

Will opened his mouth wordlessly as Nico finished the last button and looked up at him with a smile. He was still struggling to come up with a response when Nico reached for his coat. “After dinner, we’ll talk with him again,” Nico said as he helped Will into the sleeves.

“You want me to join you?”

“Of course I do,” Nico said, smoothing out Will’s coat. “Won’t you?”

Will was glad Nico was too busy fixing Will’s clothes to notice the delight that must have been written on his face. Last night, when Nico had sent Will to bed early during their talk with Midas, Will had worried that Nico hadn’t wanted him there. Even after Nico had explained that he’d done it to get him away from Midas, a small part of Will still whispered that he’d been a burden on the conversation or that Nico hadn’t taken him seriously. Either way, he’d proven himself to Nico at the mine that day. Nico wanted his help. Nico valued his help.

But as much as Will wanted to say that yes, of course he wanted to be involved, he’d already made a promise to Midas. Earlier that day, during a moment when they managed to slip away from Nico and Reyna, Midas had asked Will to look over his daughter after dinner. They’d planned for Lityerses to meet Will at his room to brief Will more on Zoe’s condition and escort him to her sickbed.

Will swallowed when Nico looked up at him with a smile. It almost physically hurt to answer. “I would love to, but I think I’d rather rest today. I didn’t sleep well last night—I always have trouble sleeping after traveling.” That much, at least, was true. “You and Reyna must have things to discuss that I can’t help with anyway.”

For a moment, Nico’s brow wrinkled in disappointment, but the expression was gone so quickly that Will nearly thought he’d imagined it. “Resting is probably wise,” he said. “You’ll have more work to do tomorrow. I’d like to return to the mines so you can examine the ponies more closely.”

“You mean, individually?” Will asked. “All of them?”

Nico’s head quirked to the side ever so slightly. “Is that a problem?”

“I certainly could, but it would take longer than one day,” Will answered. “There are hundreds of them. I’ll likely have to spend most of the trip in the mines.”

“I see,” Nico said, brow furrowing. “I didn’t realize that. What if you just examined some from each level? Perhaps that would set a standard for you to judge the health of the rest.”

“That depends on whether you want me to be an inspector or a physician,” Will replied. “It would be sufficient if you only want me to perform an inspection, but if you want me to be a physician, then I need to see all of them.”

Nico sighed. “Having a physician would certainly be preferable, but I suppose we really only need an inspection. We still have to go over financial reports and meet with Midas’ engineers and we can’t do all that from inside the mines.”

“Then I’ll go on my own,” Will said. “You don’t need me to discuss finances and there’s no sense in you going to the mines with me. Really, we’d just be wasting our time if we insisted on being in the same place.”

“Yes, but....” Nico‘s frown deepened. “I don’t want you going to the mines by yourself. They’re so dangerous. Not to mention you’d have to be alone with Midas’ people....”

“Nico, nothing will happen to me,” Will said. “I won’t even go very far inside the tunnels. Besides, I don’t think that Midas would want anything to happen to me. Even if he did, he can’t afford to be associated with any harm that might come to the Prince’s consort.”

Not to mention that Midas needed him to heal his daughter.

Nico chewed his lip for a moment. “I want you to take Hedge.”

“If you can convince him to leave your side, then yes, I’ll take Hedge,” Will said. “Somehow I don’t believe he’d take well to the idea of leaving you unprotected.”

Nico shook his head. “That won’t be a problem. Reyna will be with me.”

Will almost pointed out that Reyna was his advisor, not his guard, but he thought better of it. He wasn’t so sure that the title of ‘advisor’ adequately covered everything Reyna did. She kept Nico’s schedule, acted as his chaperone, tutored him, and yes, advised him. Why not be a guard, as well? Reyna was well-trained in multiple forms of combat, after all.

“I’ll discuss it with Reyna and Hedge tonight,” Nico said. “Escort me to dinner?”

Dinner, much as the evening before, did not pass without the occasional cold comment or awkward silence. Nico turned down all Midas’ attempts at casual conversation with subtle shifts in topic or not-so-subtle reminders of the fact that he was not making a social visit that were so hostile, Will felt almost inclined to apologize for his behavior.

Eventually, Midas either seemed to realize that Nico wanted to discuss matters of business exclusively or he gave up trying to avoid it.

“I sent a message to my engineers,” Midas said. “They’ll be here tomorrow to discuss the extension of the ramp. If all goes well, we should be able to draw up plans and complete the cost analysis before you leave.”

“Lady Reyna and I will be sure to attend your discussions,” Nico said. “My husband will not be able to join us, unfortunately. I intend to send him back to the mines tomorrow.”

Midas looked at Will briefly, but Will didn’t meet his eyes. He wasn’t quite sure why his stomach was churning uneasily—he didn’t believe he’d done anything wrong. Perhaps he feared he’d see betrayal in Midas’ expression. Will didn’t regret being so harsh on Midas earlier, nor did he feel guilty for planning to expose any more problems he might discover in the mines, but something inside him still felt conflicted. He had agreed to help Midas’ daughter—which, again, Will did not think was at all condemnable, but it did mean that he had, in a small way, pledged loyalty to Midas. Will did not like that at all.

“Was our visit today not sufficient?” Midas asked.

“Considering our concerns regarding the health of the ponies, my husband and I believe it would be best if he examined them individually over the next few days while I remain here with you,” Nico answered.

Will felt Midas’ eyes on him again. He pretended to examine his fork.

“I see,” Midas said. “Then Lityerses will escort him to the mines tomorrow.”

When Lityerses looked up at the mention of his name, he seemed surprised that he’d been brought into the conversation at all. Nico glanced at him briefly, his eyes narrowing, and with an unsurprising degree of hostility in his tone, he said, “That won’t be necessary.”

Midas’ hands folded calmly in front of his plate. “I must insist, Your Highness. I would be a terrible host to allow your husband to go to the mines alone.”

Nico pursed his lips and Will could practically hear him plotting out another argument to keep Lityerses from joining him.

“Thank you, Lord Midas,” Will interrupted before Nico spoke again. “And thank you, Lityerses.” Will glanced at Nico and gave him a smile that he hoped conveyed both an apology and reassurance. Will would prefer to examine the ponies without Lityerses’ involvement, but there was very little he could do to interfere. It wasn’t worth arguing over.

Nico narrowed his eyes, but held his tongue. He did, however, set down his tableware and announce that he had finished eating—a cue for the meal to end—which communicated his displeasure just as effectively.

“Are you certain that you don’t want to join us?” Nico asked as they left the dining hall.

Will did want to join them. But he had another duty to take care of.

“I’m certain,” Will answered.

Nico frowned, and for a moment Will considered staying a bit longer just to keep him from looking so disappointed. But Will had already made a decision to help Midas’ daughter. A little girl in need of healing was a far more pressing matter than a sulking husband.

When Will didn’t change his mind, Nico sighed. “Alright. Go on and rest.”

“Thank you. Good night, Your Highness.” Will didn’t dare kiss him outside the privacy of their own rooms, but he did press his lips to the back of Nico’s hand. He met Nico’s eyes briefly, silently asking if that had been out of line, but Nico only smiled ruefully and squeezed Will’s fingers.

“Good night, Will.”

Will didn’t have to wait in his room very long after parting with Nico. Midas had given Lityerses specific instructions to brief Will on his sister’s health and escort him to her sickbed following dinner. Will hadn’t been in his room long when Lityerses appeared looming outside his door.

Lityerses, in Will’s opinion, seemed like the sort of person who didn’t often leave a good first impression. He was simply too intimidating.

Firstly, Lityerses was enormous. His shoulders were nearly twice as broad as Will’s, his arms were as thick as barrels, and Will had to crane his neck to look at his face. Will knew that Lityerses couldn’t help his size, but Will was similarly unable to restrain the instinctual flare of primal alarm he felt when approached by a stranger who looked as though he could quite easily snap every bone in Will’s body if he felt so inclined.

Fortunately, the immediate, involuntary unease prompted by such musculature could easily be overcome with a bit of communication. People were almost invariably less frightening once you got to know them. Provided, of course, that they could be engaged in conversation.

Lityerses did not seem to want to be engaged in conversation.

Will tried to convince himself that Lityerses was merely shy and that his reserved demeanor was a product of introversion rather than indicative of an aloof and unfriendly personality. So far, Lityerses wasn’t helping with the endeavor.

“Zoe is prone to sickness,” Lityerses said stiffly as he led Will down an empty corridor. “She’s always been this way.”

“So it is congenital?” Will asked.

Lityerses frowned. “Conginti...?”

“Has she been prone to illness since birth?” Will clarified. It had been a while since he’d had a patient who was neither a soror nor a consor nor an animal and he was used to his patients either knowing quite a lot about health or being incapable of human speech.

“Yes,” Lityerses answered. “She was born during the Scarlet Delirium outbreak. Our mother died of it several months later. The doctors believe that is the cause of her poor health.”

“It’s possible,” Will said. “I doubt that’s the case, though. The Scarlet Delirium doesn’t work that way; everyone who contracted it died. If your sister had been infected, she wouldn’t be....”

Will broke off when he realized that Lityerses looked displeased with Will’s analysis. Or perhaps that was just his general expression. Either way, he didn’t seem interested in Will’s thoughts.

Right, Will remembered. He wasn’t in Venadica. The people around him didn’t want to discuss medicine and theorize with him. They just wanted to be healthy.

The room Lityerses led Will to was on the highest floor of the opposite wing of the estate—as far from the guest rooms as possible, Will noted. He wondered if the distance was the result of concern for guests’ health, respect for Zoe’s privacy, or a need for secrecy. Last night, Will had promised confidentiality out of respect, but after Nico told him about Midas’ involvement in baiting, he was inclined to believe that Midas’ intentions would always be tainted by selfishness. A large, regretful part of Will suspected that Midas’ reason had less to do with actually caring for his daughter and more with avoiding the public shame that came along with illness among Plutons.

“She’s waiting for us,” Lityerses said. He knocked on the door softly before opening it. “Zoe,” he called. “I’ve brought the healer.”

Lityerses opened the door wider and stepped back to allow Will to enter first. The bedroom was fairly large by Pluton standards, but it was still small enough to retain the distinctly Plutonian feeling of coziness. The fireplace opposite the bed was lit despite the late summer air, casting a warm glow over the room. The rose-colored armchairs in front of the fire cast two shadows back across the room towards the bed, where a girl around Hazel’s age—ten years old or so—sat propped up against the headboard. Her dark blond hair was gathered in a knot atop her head, several stringy locks hanging down and clinging to her neck and forehead with sweat. She was smiling, but looked tired, with deep circles under her eyes that had no business being on the face of a girl so young. Will could see yellow, scaly rashes poking out from under her dressing gown on the skin of her arms and neck, creeping up towards her left cheek.

Will recognized that rash. He’d seen it several before and he’d read about it in Venadica’s medical records. Only one cause came to mind.

Lityerses closed the door behind them. “This is His Highness, William of Angelus, husband to the Prince,” he said. “Your Highness, this is my sister, Zoe.”

Will offered the girl a smile. “Hello, Zoe,” he said. “I’m here to examine your illness, if you’ll allow me.”

“Are you going to cure my fever?” Zoe asked. Her voice came out in a raw croak and ended in a short cough. She sounded tired—not only from her obvious exhaustion, but something in her tone also conveyed a feeling of doubt or resignation, like she’d had enough of healers trying and failing to help.

Will looked over Zoe’s figure again. “Yes,” he said. “I believe I can do that.” He gestured to Zoe’s bedside. “May I?”

When Zoe nodded her permission for Will to approach, Will stepped forward. A table and stool were already beside her bed, a healer’s kit waiting for him on the tabletop beside a small stack of paper and a pen. Will hadn’t brought his own supplies to Phrygia—apart from some gauze and wrappings and a few medicines in case of an emergency—so Midas had told him he’d find all the tools and equipment he needed already prepared.

Will took a seat on the stool. “I thought we could start with a few questions, if you don’t mind,” he said, reaching for the pen and paper first. “Your brother has been telling me a bit about your health, but I’d like to hear from you, as well. Can you tell me how you are feeling?”

The way Zoe listed her symptoms for him almost sounded rehearsed, like she’d done it so many times that she didn’t even need to think about it. As she spoke, Will took inventory of the equipment provided in the healer’s kit, stopping every now and then to jot down a few notes on what Zoe was saying. He set aside the roll of surgery equipment without looking inside—he doubted he’d need anything from it—and pulled out the leather-bound case containing the thermometer. It was an older model, Will noted when he looked inside—large and cumbersome and probably slow to give an accurate read, but it would do.

He set that aside for later use and reached into the kit again. His fingers closed around another case and he nearly dropped it in horror when he discovered that it contained an artificial leech. He was torn between throwing the case on the ground and touching the metal out of morbid fascination. He’d only seen them in sketches in old medical books or when Asclepius pulled one out during a lesson just to deliver yet another lecture on how much he hated the things. Asclepius had been very insistent about banning the use of artificial leeches in Venadica. The Aegyptians had been talking about bloodletting’s ineffectiveness for years, Asclepius said, and it was about time they listened.

“Do the healers use this on you?” Will asked, when Zoe finished telling him her symptoms—all of which suggested the presence of a minor cold that Will could clear up by the end of the week.

“Of course,” Zoe said. She coughed. “They use it to drain out the bad humors.”

“Humors,” Will repeated in monotone. Had he traveled backwards a century, or were Zoe’s healers really that far behind in medical history? Bloodletting may still be mainstream, but explaining illness away as humors was absolutely ancient. Exactly how poorly educated were Plutonian doctors? If someone as wealthy as Midas couldn’t find a healer with medical knowledge more recent than half a century ago, how badly off was the rest of the country? And why hadn’t Venadica done something about it?

Will fiddled with the knob at the top of the artificial leech and wrinkled his nose in disgust when the sharp razors twisted on the other end. “So they...pierce the skin and...draw the blood out?” he asked haltingly.

“Once a week, sometimes more if I’m especially sick,” Zoe answered.

“Once a week,” Will muttered to himself. Upon further inspection, brown spots betrayed the presence of traces of blood left on the instrument from its last use. Didn’t anyone clean the equipment?

“Should I lift my sleeve?”

Will blinked. “What?” he asked, looking up to see Zoe already rolling up the sleeve of her dressing gown. “Oh, no!” he said once his brain was finally able to wrap around what she was asking. “No, we’re not going to use this. In fact, don’t let the healers use it on you again. Ever.”

“But then how will the bad humors get out?”

Will slammed the case’s lid shut and nearly tossed the offending object aside. “There are no humors,” he said.

Zoe looked over Will’s shoulder at her brother, her eyebrows drawn tightly together with uncertainty. She clearly didn’t trust him enough to take his word for it. Will supposed her apprehension made sense, considering that she’d been told something else her whole life, but it brought about a host of other problems—namely, how to convince Zoe’s family and healers to listen to him.

“His Highness is said to be a very good healer,” Lityerses said from behind Will, catching him off guard. “He trained under the best.”

Will turned to Lityerses in surprise. Lityerses shrugged in response to his expression. “I always thought that bloodletting was a bit unsettling anyway. Won’t it be nice not to have to do it anymore, Zoe?”

“That’s true,” Zoe said. “I could never see the humors in the blood anyway.”

There was a lot in that sentence for Will to wrap his mind around. He opened his mouth to reply, but wasn’t quite sure where to start dissecting the statement. “Right,” Will said instead. He had the feeling that he’d uproot a lot of their assumptions about medicine before he left.

His assumptions were proven correct when he asked Zoe about medication, and then again when he asked about her diet.

“I haven’t eaten today,” Zoe said proudly.

Will frowned. “You mean, at all?”

“Of course not,” Zoe said. “I haven’t eaten since the fever came back. I need to starve it to kill it.”

Starve. Surely Midas could have found someone better than whoever he was allowing to look after his daughter. With all his wealth, he could fund the education of a whole staff of doctors. Really—to starve her?

Words scrambled around Will’s head as he struggled to grab and focus on one of the ways that statement was wrong at a time. Address her fever first, Will decided, and then he’d unpack what she’d said about starving the life out of it.

“I’m going to take your temperature now,” Will said.

“Oh, I already know have a fever,” Zoe said when Will moved closer with the thermometer. “I did that this morning.”

“Your temperature would have changed by now,” Will said. “Besides, I need an exact measurement.”

Zoe sighed and opened her mouth obediently, allowing Will to slide the end of the thermometer under her tongue. Behind them, Will heard a soft chuckle. He looked over his shoulder at Lityerses and was surprised to see him smiling. Will couldn’t recall seeing him smile before.

“She hates having her temperature taken,” Lityerses explained. “It means she can’t talk.”

Zoe made a displeased sound around the thermometer, pouting at her brother.

“Ah,” Will said, reaching for his pen. “I can understand that. How about I ask you some questions and you can either nod or shake your head?”

Zoe nodded. Will noticed the bed dipping, and he looked up to see Lityerses hesitantly settling at the edge of the bed, curiously watching as Will’s pen scratched across paper. Something in Lityerses’ expression softened when he looked up at his sister, and he suddenly seemed much less intimidating. Will thought he even looked a little bit like Lee.

Lityerses patted Zoe’s ankle through the blankets and offered his her a smile. Zoe smiled back. Will watched the exchange with interest, reevaluating his initial impressions of Lityerses when he saw the way he made his sister relax into the bed.

“About your diet,” Will said, tearing his eyes away from the siblings and forcing himself not to think about how much he missed his own. “You may have trouble digesting some foods, but you need to eat to stay strong. I’ll make a list of things that will be easy for you to eat until you can handle regular foods again. Have you been drinking, at least?”

Zoe nodded and pointed to a half-full cup of water next to the bed.

“How many of these cups do you drink in a day?” Will asked.

Zoe hesitantly raised her hand and lifted a few fingers, but shrugged to indicate she wasn’t sure.

“You need to drink more than that,” Will said, making a note in his papers. He would have to write up a dietary plan later that evening. “May I examine your arm?”

Zoe held out her arm and nodded her permission when Will asked if he could lift her sleeve to look at the yellowish rash he’d noticed earlier.

“Is this rash always here, or does it come and go?” Will asked, forgetting that Zoe couldn’t speak around the thermometer.

Lityerses answered for her. “It flares up when she’s ill,” he said. Zoe gestured to him and nodded in agreement.

Will checked the thermometer, but the liquid line was still slowly creeping up the glass, so he returned to Zoe’s arm. “Does it ever go away completely?” Will asked.

Zoe nodded.

“Good, good,” Will mumbled, brushing his thumb over the rash’s scaly surface. He knew that rash. Once it started appearing all the time, the prognosis turned grim very quickly.

Will lifted the sleeve more to see how far it extended, and then covered her arm back up when he saw that it stopped before he reached the ring-like bloodletting scars littered over the inside of her elbow. He checked the line on the thermometer again and, noticing that the line had stopped rising, took it out. Lityerses laughed softly at the expression she made while Will made a note of the reading.

“Phew,” Zoe breathed. “I hate that part.”

“Better than bloodletting,” Will mumbled. “Now, you still have a fever, but that doesn’t mean you should starve. Be sure to eat and drink tomorrow. There’s a medicine I’d like you to try that will help speed up your recovery.”

“You mean you’re going to cure me?” Zoe asked.

“Your fever, yes,” Will said. “It’ll will be gone within the next few days. By the end of the week, you’ll be running around the halls.”

Zoe looked at her brother. She looked back at Will. “Is that all?” she asked. “So soon?”

“Of course,” Will said. “Unfortunately, you’ll always be susceptible to illness, so it will only be a matter of time before you get sick again. You have an immune disability I’ve treated before—the rash makes it very easy to diagnose. It gets its common name—goldrot—from the color. It’s unpleasant, but it can be managed. I’ll write up some plans on how to avoid disease to keep these episodes as far apart as possible.”

“So you can’t cure it?” Lityerses asked. The displeasure in his tone almost made Will reassess his reassessment of his impression of Lityerses’ intimidating nature.

“There isn’t a cure for goldrot, exactly,” Will replied. “It’s a matter of managing it, not getting rid of it. But with proper care, you can still live a very normal life.”

Lityerses looked like he wanted to say something, but Zoe beamed at him and he kept his thoughts to himself.

“I will meet with your father in the morning directly to give him a report,” Will said. “In the meantime, this is the medicine I’d like.” Will jotted down the name of a stimulant that would help clear up Zoe’s congestion and ease her coughing and he handed it to Lityerses. “Perhaps your father can still inquire about getting that tonight. If not, it can wait until morning. I’ll come back tomorrow evening to check on your progress, Zoe. Hopefully, you’ll have acquired this medicine by then. For tonight, drink more water and get plenty of rest.”

Lityerses waited until they’d crossed the estate before he spoke. “You said that she could have a normal life,” he said.

Will nodded. He’d been expecting Lityerses to question him since they walked out of Zoe’s chambers. “Yes, I suspect so.”

Lityerses was silent for a few more steps, then— “So she isn’t going to die?”

“No, she’s not in danger of dying any time soon,” Will replied. “She’s actually in the very early stages of goldrot—it just hasn’t been managed well. She still has a lot of time before it gets bad, I’d say.”

“You mean...adulthood?” Lityerses asked. The hesitance in his voice made Will stop and look at him. There was a fearful hopefulness in his eyes, like he wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to let himself believe his sister was really going to be alright.

“Yes, I believe she’ll live to see adulthood,” Will answered. “Through it, quite possibly. She could still live to old age, in fact, with proper care and a bit of good fortune. But, quite frankly, you need better healers.”

“And this medicine,” Lityerses said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out the folded paper Will had given him with the name of the prescribed stimulant, “this will make her better?”

“Yes, it’s very effective. She’ll notice the change in a matter of hours.” Will paused, looking at the paper, and realized that the word he’d used for the drug was its technical name. Judging by what he’d seen of Midas’ medical staff so far, he couldn’t be certain that they’d recognize it. “Actually, may I have that for a moment? I’d like to add something.”

Lityerses gave him the paper. Will retrieved the pen from his pocket and jotted down a few more common names that the medicine also went by. “Just a bit of clarification,” he said, offering the paper back and tucking the pen away again.

Lityerses glanced at what Will had written. “Are our healers actually completely incompetent?”

Will cleared his throat awkwardly. Incompetent seemed a rather harsh word, but Will couldn’t deny its accuracy. “I’m sure they’re doing their best, but...they don’t seem very well-informed.”

Lityerses folded the paper and replaced it in his pocket. “Thank you for everything you did tonight,” he said as they stopped outside the door to Will’s rooms. “We appreciate your time.”

“You are very welcome,” Will answered. “I’m glad that I’m able to help. Will you be the one to take me to see her again tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Lityerses said. “And during the day, I will accompany you to the mines.”

“Then I will see you in the morning,” Will said, politely inclining his head. “Have a good night, Lityerses.”

Will reached for the door to his room. Lityerses, however, did not echo Will’s goodbye.

“Your Highness?”

Will turned back. “Yes?”

Lityerses’ eyes flickered across the hall, the floor, the ceiling, then settled on Will’s shoes. He cleared his throat and said, ”Tomorrow in the mines, you will be looking over the animals’ health.”

Will wasn’t certain if Lityerses meant that as a statement and a question. “That is correct,” he answered.

Lityerses shifted his weight. His eyes darted from one end of the corridor to the other. “I think,” he said quietly, “I think I might be of some use. I’ve been...looking into things.”

Will’s hand slid away from the door handle and he turned to face Lityerses completely. “How so?”

“Records and such,” Lityerses said. “It’s best not to discuss it here, but I recommend you ask my father to look at the old documents on ponies that used to work in the mines, not just the ones in there now.”

Will’s mouth felt dry. Why was Lityerses telling him this? Why couldn’t they discuss it there? What sort of trouble Lityerses would find himself in if they were overheard?

After a moment, he managed to stamp out the desire to question him and settled on saying, “Thank you for the advice.”

“Don’t mention I suggested it,” Lityerses said.

“Of course,” Will answered.

Lityerses nodded, stood up straighter, and said, “Thank you again for your assistance this evening. Sleep well, Your Highness.” He bowed once before leaving Will in the doorway to his chambers.

Will looked after him for a moment before entering his room to prepare himself for bed. The web of secrets in Midas’ manor seemed even larger than before, and whether he liked it or not, Will was getting caught in the tangles.

#solangelo #Will solace #Nico di Angelo #arranged marriage AU #solangelo fanfiction #solangelo fanfic #solangelo royalty au #royalty au #pjo royalty au #pjo arranged marriage AU #solangelo arranged marriage au

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healthyworthyofficial · 5 years ago

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Italy’s Coronavirus Response Is a Warning From the Future

Italians woke up on Sunday morning, and it was already the future. Overnight, the government announced the most dramatic measures yet taken by a democracy to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Other Western countries are watching closely, worried they may soon have to follow Italy’s lead. Rome placed severe travel restrictions on the entire Lombardy region surrounding Milan—the country’s economic, fashion, and media capital—and on 14 other provinces across the wealthy north, including Venice and parts of the Emilia Romagna region. In this area of 16 million people, the coronavirus’s European epicenter, where the number of cases has been rising rapidly, Italy banned all public gatherings—no weddings, funerals, concerts, sporting events, discos, bingo games, video arcades, or Mass—until April 3. While trains and planes are still operational, and running on time, the government is forbidding people from leaving unless absolutely necessary. Restaurants and bars can open but only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and only if they can ensure three feet of space between each guest. Nationwide, the government ordered the closure of all cinemas, theaters, concert halls, libraries, and museums, as well as the quarantine of anyone with a fever above 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 degrees Fahrenheit), and anyone who’s tested positive for the virus. Last week, Italy closed all schools, day-care facilities, and universities, until mid-March at the earliest. Pope Francis, who has been fighting a cold, delivered his weekly Angelus message on Sunday via video from a Vatican library, not, as is typical, from a window overlooking Saint Peter’s Square. “I’ll use a strong expression,” Francis said. “This pope is caged in the library.” These steps are dramatic, and have caused significant uncertainty and growing panic across Italy. They are also quite confusing, and how they’ll even be enforced remains unclear. They came to light in an atmosphere of total chaos, after a draft bill outlining the measures was leaked to the press yesterday evening. The proposal suggested that northern Italy would be on total lockdown, and so thousands of people rushed to hop on overcrowded trains heading south. Finally, at 2 a.m. local time, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gave a press conference, clarifying that Lombardy and the other provinces wouldn’t seal their borders, just that citizens would be “obligated” to practice “reduced mobility” and could leave only for emergencies. What, Italians wondered, does that mean? Who will enforce these new rules? And will they even work? Italy has long been a political laboratory, for better or worse, and a harbinger of developments that later spread. It’s also a rule-bound country where rules are often ignored, a place that often falls short on long-term planning but rises to the occasion in emergencies and has a knack for improvisation that its northern neighbors lack. It is a free society in which information is often unreliable and politicized. Today, it is an experiment in which free movement of people and goods meets free movement of a deadly virus. Countries across Europe and the world are watching how Italy handles an epidemic that knows no borders, has been putting tremendous strain on public-health structures, and is pushing the country’s already fragile economy to the brink. Lombardy alone is responsible for more than 20 percent of national gross domestic product, and tourism is one of Italy’s most important sectors. The European debt crisis revealed the flaws in a bloc that shares a currency but not a fiscal policy. The migration crisis of 2015 revealed that individual European countries want to protect their own borders and control the number of immigrants arriving, in a zone built on the ideal of visa-free travel and burden sharing. The coronavirus could pose an even greater test for the European Union, which has free movement of people but no standard health protocols across countries. Will the EU’s member states band together to work with Italy, or will they cordon it off? Will richer northern-European countries hoard medical equipment, or partner with poorer southern- and eastern-European ones to slow the outbreak? Is Italy overreacting, or is the rest of the continent underreacting? Each European country is handling things in its own way. Italy has a fragile coalition government and strong regions, and its response has been rapid, if chaotic. Germany, which has 939 cases and so far no reported deaths, has a highly federal structure, in which regions have a lot of autonomy in handling crises of this type. As of this weekend, Germany was still holding soccer matches with tens of thousands of fans—to the distress of some German doctors, who feel the country isn’t taking the threat seriously—though its health minister has urged organizers of events with more than 1,000 attendees to cancel them. He has said he was more concerned about panic stemming from the virus than the virus itself. France has a strong centralized government, and its message has so far been dispassionate concern—President Emmanuel Macron has canceled all public events with more than 5,000 people, though that hasn’t entirely been respected: On Sunday, people gathered in France for a march for International Women’s Day. Even in their behavior, the region’s leaders have differed, at least for now. On Friday, Macron and his wife went to the theater, and encouraged others to do so, too. In Italy, that has changed. Last month, when the government was trying to present a “business as usual” approach, Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of the center-left Democratic Party and president of the Lazio region, surrounding Rome, traveled to Milan to have an aperitivo, and met with young people, promoting the message “#MilanDoesn’tStop.” On Saturday, Zingaretti said he had tested positive, and was staying home to be monitored. (The president of the Piedmont region has also tested positive, as has the head of the Italian army.) Now Milan has stopped. Will the rest of Europe follow Italy’s lead and impose heavy restrictions? Britain’s politicians are debating whether to go into extended recess to prevent members of Parliament from accelerating the spread. The European Parliament has moved a scheduled session away from the French city of Strasbourg over coronavirus concerns. Last week, a spokeswoman for the French government, Sibeth Ndiye, said it was likely only a matter of time before France became a “Level 3,” or epidemic level, country in which all public events would be canceled. (Within Italy, the COVID-19 crisis has taken the wind out of the sails of the League party, whose nativist motto of “Italians First” and criticism of illegal immigration is less convincing now that Italians have become international pariahs: The prime minster of the Czech Republic said Italy should ban all citizens from traveling abroad.) In Italy on Sunday, there was confusion about the new measures. If people got in their cars to leave Lombardy, would they be stopped? What kinds of papers would people be required to obtain to leave the lockdown zone, and who would issue those papers? The Italian media on Sunday was filled with questions and little clarity. Even high-ranking officials don’t know exactly how the new measures will work. Can I go to lunch? Can I go to work? are among the questions Italians are asking, Luca Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region, which is part of the affected zone, said in a news conference on Sunday. “These are some of the weaknesses in the decree.” There are political tensions: Zaia and the presidents of the Lombardy and Piedmont regions are from the League, which is the main national opposition party and has been harshly critical of the government’s handling of the crisis. In his overnight news conference, Conte said the heath-care system risked becoming “overwhelmed” and that Italians should not leave the house unless absolutely necessary in order to be mindful of the health of their “grandparents,” given that older people are at greater risk of infection. The issue isn’t just the number of people who’ve tested positive or even the death rate, it’s the number of beds available in intensive-care units. The head of Lombardy’s intensive-care crisis unit, Antonio Pesenti, told Corriere Della Sera, Italy’s leading daily newspaper, that his region’s health-care system, the best in the country, was “on the brink of collapse” and that they had had to set up intensive care in hallways. Italy has had thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths, far more than any other European country. Pesenti predicted that in less than three weeks, about 18,000 people would be hospitalized in Lombardy, of which about 3,000 would likely require intensive care—10 times the region’s current capacity. “If the population doesn’t understand that it needs to stay home, the situation will become catastrophic,” he said. His words are a warning for public-health officials worldwide. Italy has universal public health care, which protects even people who are unemployed, and salaried employees are generally entitled to sick days. But there’s no doubt that the virus is placing more strain on the system than it can easily handle. What about elsewhere in Europe—are French hospitals prepared? German ones? Read: Here’s who should be avoiding crowds right now In Paris, where I live, life goes on, business as usual. There hasn’t been a run on toilet paper or groceries that I’ve observed, although food buying is definitely up. A friend in northern Italy was surprised on Sunday when I told him movie theaters were still open here. France has 949 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and 11 deaths, the second-highest figures in Europe after Italy’s. Two members of the National Assembly have tested positive, as has a mayor in the French Alps. The Val d’Oise region near Paris has become the hardest-hit area in France, and schools have been closed there. My friend in Italy was already adjusting to the new normal. Italy’s measures this weekend may not be the exception. They may soon become the rule. Read the full article

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marymosley · 4 years ago

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6 Common Types of Compensation Claims You Need Legal Help With

At some point in life, we end up on the wrong side of a predicament that leads to legal battles. Perhaps harm was caused to another person as a result of your doing or undoing, and according to the law, they deserve compensation for the said damages. But the law is a double-edged sword. It cuts both ways, and it could be that you’re the one who deserves compensation. Well, in the latter case, whether you’ve suffered bodily injuries, financial damages, social harm, or emotional distress, you may need to work with a compensation attorney to help you file your case, get justice, and have your claims compensated.

In a nutshell, compensation is payment received in the form of money, wages, salary, or benefits depending on the situation. It is paid out to someone as a result of a loss or damage that occurred from another person’s/party’s actions or negligence. In most cases, the compensation claims are paid by the insurance company of the at-fault party even though the court may require them to pay compensation in full or compliment what the insurance is paying. Starting with why you should hire an experienced attorney for these issues, here are 6 common types of compensation claims you need legal help with.

Why Hire An Experienced Solicitor?

Whether it’s a workplace injury or an auto accident, or a grave matter such as medical negligence, it is always advisable to pursue your claim with the help of an experienced solicitor. The team of legal professionals from Angelus Law says that the processes involved in compensation claim cases can be quite frustrating, tiresome, time-consuming, and costly if you decide to go it alone. With an experienced solicitor on your corner, it becomes less stressful to recover the compensation you deserve as quickly as possible. They have attorneys who specialize in areas of the law relating to your case and are equipped with technology, as well as the expertise needed to speed up your claim. Moreover, the good ones work on a contingency basis, meaning that you won’t have to pay a dime if they don’t win your case. With this in mind, let’s now take a look at a few instances where a compensation claim solicitor would come in handy.

1. Workers Compensation

We spend most of our time in our workplaces, where some of us are exposed to potentially hazardous working conditions. If you sustain an injury or some kind of harm while at the workplace, you may need an attorney to help you file a workers’ comp claim. The law requires employers to provide a safe working environment for their workers to avoid exposing them to health and safety hazards. Some situations where one could be eligible for compensation may include:

Falling sick while at work

Sustained injuries while on work duties

Worsening health conditions while at work

Disease caused by work

Injuries sustained while receiving treatment for a work injury

Despite ensuring that the employee receives the medication, the employer should ensure that the worker is compensated. This is why employers are advised to have workers’ compensation insurance. They owe a duty of care to their workers.

2. Medical Negligence Compensation

This is one of the many things that have over time captured the attention of users in the corridors of social media. From tweets and retweets about a facility neglecting its patients to Facebook shares and comments condemning nurses who offer incompetent medical services, medical negligence takes many forms. However, solid evidence of negligence has to be established for medical personnel to be held at fault. Medical practitioners have laws that command their profession. Some common examples of medical negligence may include:

Misinterpretation of medical results

Administering incorrect dosage

Issuing expired drugs

Medical misdiagnosis

Failing to inform a patient about the risks involved in a procedure they are to undergo

Wrong or misleading information about a drug

If you or a loved one has been a victim of one of the above issues, you could be eligible for compensation. Consult a compensation lawyer for counsel on the way forward.

3. Public Liability Compensation

Did you know that when out in the public, a safe environment is paramount? A trip and fall instance can be a result of someone’s negligence, and the person responsible should be reliable for his actions. It can happen in a walkway, school, mall, or stadium, just mention a few examples. Sometimes we take these lightly but the harm goes as far as internal bleeding, whose effects could manifest after quite some time. Immediately you find yourself in such a situation, you may want to take photos, get witnesses, seek surveillance footage if possible, and then consult a compensation lawyer.

4. Motor Vehicle Compensation

Motor vehicle accidents claim a lot of lives each year. The majority of these accidents cause injuries, from minor grazes to incapacitation. But there’s a reason why it is against the law for a vehicle to be on the road without at least the minimum insurance cover. If you suffer harm at the hands of a negligent driver, you deserve compensation. However, auto accident compensation cases may vary depending on the type of coverage the vehicle is on, the extent of damages, and so forth. Also, a hit-and-run accident situation may not be handled the same way as a car that has been declared for a write-off. Most importantly, the extent of injuries will dictate the compensation claim amount.

5. Personal Injury

This is pursued when someone suffers harm caused by another person’s wrongful actions or inaction. While there are many types of personal injury claims under Tort law (some of which have already been discussed), common examples include the following:

Motor vehicle injury

Slip and fall injuries

Workplace violence

Injury from defective products

Medical malpractice

Repetitive motion

Machinery accidents

The above mentioned are just the tip of an iceberg. So, if you ever succumb to any kind of injury, you could be eligible for compensation! That is why it is always important for you to be aware of your rights as a tenant, worker, or citizen.

6. Criminal Injury Compensation

As you can tell from the name, these claims are related to criminal offenses. In most cases, the victim is compensated for injuries they suffered at the hands of violent actions by the perpetrator. Some examples may include injuries from domestic violence or assaults in public and social places such as bars. Dog bite injuries may also be considered under this category in some jurisdictions, especially if the dog owner intentionally released the canine to harm you.

When you suffer harm, pain, or injury at the behest of someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated. It is your right to claim compensation as entitled to by the law. However, compensation cases are not always straightforward. Without legal guidance and representation, some of these cases take ages, and you might not even receive the fair compensation you deserve. Insurance company underwriters will always seek to minimize claim payments, and you can’t blame them since that is what they are employed to do. This is all the more reason to work with an expert claim solicitor in your case.

The post 6 Common Types of Compensation Claims You Need Legal Help With appeared first on Legal Desire.

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tialovestelevision · 8 years ago

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Quickening

We got a Darla! We got a Holtz! We could use a musical episode.

1. Looks like a flashback, probably. Holtz on a horse. Pretty horse. Riding and riding and riding. Yep. York, 1764. Old York. Somebody is showing him a torch. They found them. We get to a building, where someone knocks on the door. It’s Angelus and Darla. Angelus asks a little girl to take him to her mother. The girl says not to let strangers in, but Angelus knows her name is Sarah. Sarah invites them in. Well, she’s doomed. Darla calls her a darling girl and says to remind her to give her a special treat. Angelus locks the door. Holtz is still riding toward the place where they are. Angelus and Darla enter a bedroom where there’s an infant in a crip and a woman watching the infant. They’re doomed too, I expect. She greets them. Holtz and his friends are crossing a puddle. Holtz says to burn it down. That’s a bit of a ramshackle. Angelus tells the woman he has a message for her husband. The woman asks if they know her Daniel. Holtz and his men are approaching the ramshackle. Darla says she’ll give the message to Sarah. Holtz: “On my signal.” Darla tells Sarah to close her eyes. Darla is eating Sarah and Angelus is eating the woman. The woman is Holtz’s wife. Holtz is in the ramshackle... he rummages through the place and finds a note from Angelus. “How do you hope to save others when you cannot save your own?” Oops. Holtz got played. He knows they’re at his house. Angelus is going to eat the baby. Holtz is on his way home. He comes in to find his wife dead. I didn’t see corpses for Sarah or the baby there

2. Sun rising over the Hyperion. Darla is asleep in her room. Angel is going to Darla’s room. Angel is checking on the baby. He should ask Darla before he touches her. She takes his hand. Darla asks if he’s going to do it or if she is. Opening credits.

3. Holtz is sitting in his little underground shrine watching TV. Catching up on the twentieth century. The demon who woke him up is hanging out behind him. Talking about how long it’s been. What’s happened. Holtz asks about England; the demon says that it went through a rough patch about sixty years ago but it’s mostly unchanged. Warm beer, boiled meat, bad teeth. That’s why he moved to LA. He asks Holtz if Holtz has followed the American stuff in his videos; Holtz says he understands enough. Holtz asks how, with the weapons of the modern war, no one has killed Angelus or Darla. He’s wrong, there… people have in fact killed both of them. Angel killed Darla and Buffy killed Angel, and the Romani killed Angelus in a way, but Angel and Buffy resurrected him then Willow killed him before Buffy killed Angel and it’s all very confusing. And Darla came back but wasn’t really Darla again until Drusilla killed her. It’s all very confusing and I don’t blame the demon for skipping all that. Much easier to talk about the hydrogen bomb. The demon says that Holtz’s fate and their fate are entwined. The demon has been tracking them this whole time. The demon can visit dimensions where time works differently. He’s also had plastic surgery. He tells Holtz to get some rest.

4. Darla wants to know if Angel knows how to do it. Angel is thinking about the last time Darla was here. You know, with the sex? Darla says that was hard to forget. They’re talking about it. It’s very uncomfortable. The others come in… Wes and Fred had a breakthrough on the Nyassian scrolls. Some of the verbs were problematic when converted to ga-shundi. She gets into practicals. The tro-clon isn’t a person or a thing; it’s a confluence of events. So it means Angel, Darla, the child, and other stuff, like probably Holtz and maybe his demon friend and possibly Gavin’s building permits? There are phrases in the scrolls that refer to the thing being born. Darla knows something is protecting the fetus; Fred asks how she knows that and Darla says she can’t get rid of it. Fred says sorry she asked. Gunn wants to shoot Darla but Angel doesn’t want him to. The team is discussing how to kill it once it’s born - chopping its head off, or hitting it with a mallet if it has no head, or a net and a flamethrower if it skitters. They should have a flamethrower regardless. Angel says nobody’s throwing flames, and also that Darla can’t leave. Angel asks them to give the potential skittering thing a chance. Cordy asks if Angel wants her to help protect the vampire that bit her and her evil love child; Angel says yes. Cordy punches Darla in the nose then says she’ll do it, but Darla goes into labor. Jaw-punches! Medical marvel.

5. Wolfram & Hart. Lilah pokes herself in the finger and draws blood, then puts some blood in a bottle and starts signing documents in it. Her assistant comes in. She asks him to take the papers she was signing. His name is Cyril. Cyril has a miniDC. He’s leaving with the mail. It has creepy guy from Carpe Noctem in Angel’s body and Lilah making out on Wes’s desk. Cyril isn’t trying to blackmail Lilah - he respects her way too much to be attracted to her. But being in the mail room, he sees a lot, and he has to choose a side. Lilah wants to know who the other side is. Gavin is the other side. His exterminators planted bugs at the Hyperion. Lilah is going to Gavin’s office. Gavin is watching his bugs. There’s a tech guy. There’s a transcription. Lilah found them. Gavin knows about the creepy old dude. Cyril is on Gavin’s side. Lilah asks who the unidentified pregnant female is. Gavin doesn’t know. Tech guy is getting the tape out. Darla knows she’s Darla. Gavin needs her. She calls Linwood.

6. It’s been 20 minutes since the last contraction. They’re irregular. Darla wants the fetus out. Darla doesn’t want to be in labor. She wants to be done. Angel gets her lying down. The team wants to know what’s in Darla. Fred suggests a hospital. Cordy says they don’t admit vampires. Angel asks if they have to admit. Wes says they need the right equipment, not a doctor. I… wouldn’t trust these people to read an ultrasound unless the machine was calibrated to use hypersonic versions of dark ritual chanting. Which… would be hella awesome, actually.

7. Linwood doesn’t care how much it costs. He needs someone who can answer the bloody question. Heads are gonna roll if the Senior Partners find out. Linwood is telling us his life story. Cyril is eavesdropping on them both, and making a call. He’s called the Tittles. He presses three to speak to or worship Master Tarfall, Under-Lord of Pain. He tells Master Tarfall, Under-Lord of Pain about Darla. Wow, how many people is he going to double cross this episode?

8. York, nine years later. Holtz is at home. Drinking. There’s his demon friend, materializing. Holtz threatens him, so not friends yet. They posture. The demon is funny. He offers to get Holtz into position to kill Angelus and Darla if he swears to show them no mercy.

9. Hospital. Darla is in a bad mood. And in a wheelchair. It’s a teaching hospital. The contractions stopped. Wes says she might have been having false labor. Fred and Gunn come in with an ultrasound machine. Darla’s getting on the table.

10. Holtz has his videos and his underground shrine. He wants to go kill Angel and Darla. He tries to grab the demon but his hands go through him. He can’t stake Angelus himself. The demon says there are rules and timetables at work. The demon turns into a human form and gives Holtz a coat.

11. Wolfram & Hart. They have psychics and superheroes all gathered together. Linwood is chewing them out. He’s not without compassion. He’s giving them a chance to save their job and their skin. A psychic: “No, you’re not. You’re going to have me killed.” Linwood: “Now why couldn’t you have had that kind of foresight when we needed it?” He kills the guy. Lilah has found out that there’s a prophecy, but nobody knows where the scroll is. Berlin is on the phone for Linwood. If the Senior Partners look to place blame, Linwood’s going to step forward and blame Darla. Darla makes a phone call.

12. Someone’s doing mystical meditation. With fire. His cell rings. He answers it. He understands.He puts his candle out. He stands up. He uses the Force to get his katana.

13. Ultrasound goo! Wes is taking a look. He’s studied ultrasounds before. It might have two heads. Cordy sees it. Wes: “Oh, my.” Angel: “What is it?” Wes: “It’s human.” Gunn references CHUD. It’s actually human. A boy. Darla is not as excited as Angel is. Fred says they should look up. They’re surrounded by vampires. That’s a lot of vampires. Cordy wants to know who has a plan. The vampires call the fetus The Miracle Child. And praise him.

14. Holtz and the demon are walking around. The demon is telling him about modern life. The demon has hired ruthless bastards. His name is Sahjan. They're in a demon fight club to hire mercenaries. They’re grappler demons. Holtz is unimpressed. Holtz wants to know if there are other surprises.

15. The vampires want to protect the miracle child. The ninja jumps through the window. The vampires dogpile him and kill him. They’re serving Ul-thar. They also want to kill the humans and use their blood to nourish the mother.

16. Lilah, Gavin, and Linwood are planning. They have the blueprints for the Hyperion, care of Gavin. They have mercs. And a Balkan doctor named Fetvanovich who is an expert in paranormal births. He wants to dissect Darla and the child.

17. Darla is sitting the fight out. They talk about slicing Darla open and wearing her entrails before worshipping the miracle child. Darla’s in, now. Angel wants the others to get Darla to the car, but Fred takes a dagger and tells the vampires that if they move she’ll kill the fetus. The vampire leader calls his men off, but Fred blows the bluff. Now we get a fight. Wes kills a vampire. Darla throws one with her hyper-strength. Angel kills a vampire. They run.

18. Commandos at the hotel. So’s the doctor. They have separate cages for Darla and the fetus.

19. The team is back in the car. Darla is in a mood. Gunn wants to go to Vegas. Wes wants to go back to the hotel to get the Scrolls. Angel agrees to a quick stop. This is going to get messy.

20. Commandos. Doctor with wicked-looking tools. Holtz comes in. Holtz asks where Angelus is. Linwood doesn’t like this. Linwood needs better audio. Holtz asks them to hand over the vampires. Linwood orders his commandos to take Holtz out. Their picture goes dead. Nobody’s answering Linwood’s calls.

21. The car pulls up in an alley a few blocks from the hotel. Angel gets out to get the Scrolls. He tells them to leave without him if he’s not back in five minutes. Darla starts to say something then tells him to just get out of here. He crosses rooftops to get to the hotel. Wow, that’s a mess. Lots of dead commandos. Place is wrecked. The doctor’s been impaled. And Angel hears Holtz say his old name. “Angelus. I’ve been waiting for you.” And Darla’s screaming. Her water’s broken. Wes tells Gunn to get a blanket. Fred wants to know what’s keeping Angel. Episode end.

Overall: That was certainly the start of something, wasn’t it? Holtz remains the most interesting part of this arc, his mad quest for revenge simultaneously destructive and painfully sympathetic. Sahjan has style. The Darla pregnancy angle is still objectionable for all the reasons I’ve gotten to earlier.

I do love the thirty-plan pileup that we get here, with Cyril, Gavin, Lilah, Holtz, Sahjan, the vampire cult, and Angel and Darla all working different agendas. There’s nothing particularly deep to say about that. It just gives the episode an entertainment aspect that’s been a bit lacking from the rest of the Darla-pregnancy arc.

Next episode looks like it’ll have the baby be born. So we’ll at least be done with that.

#angel #quickening #angel season 3 #season 3 #season 6

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usocmedical · 2 years ago

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#Smart transducer #BMES Equipment Repair

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usocmedical · 2 years ago

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Overview on Ambulatory infusion therapy and its Benefits

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#Kangaroo pumps #Angelus Medical #Baxter infusion pumps

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callsignbaphomet · 1 year ago

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Aawwww <3 you're too sweet!

I forgot about the damn specialized teams which are pretty important imo D:

Copy/paste from somewhere else.

Oracle Leaders:

Aleksey Malakhov (head of Oracle)

Jelani Haakonsen (acting head of Oracle, second in command)

Angelus Haakonsen (third in command)

***(Eventually the leadership will change. Aleksey will leave all of Oracle to Jelani and Angelus will leave the leadership. He's been sitting on that decision for a long time. He feels the position isn't for him. So when Jelani becomes the head of Oracle Ginger will be his second in command, the third position will be vacant for a while but eventually it'll be filled. For the time being Angelus will stay as third.)***

Code names for specialized teams or units in the field. Each team has a leader. The number of people in a team depends on the size of the branch and the availability of a skilled agent within the branch. Agents from different branches can be called in depending on the current need of a branch.

Trickster Team (arcane users):

These agents are specialists of the arcane arts and provide for the team both defensively and offensively. They can aid the team by providing fellow agents with power ups or cover ups (defenses) as well as easily dispatch targets. They can manipulate the area of operations. Most can provide distractions where Draugr Team cannot.

Team Leader: Ginger Lee Grimm (eventually Angelus will be the Trickster team leader as well as third in command until he finds a replacement)

Draugr Team (heavy gunners):

Agents who effectively use and know heavy artillery. They are mostly in the front line accompanied by Tricksters.

Team Leader: Latoya King

Wraith Team (CQC):

Unit that engages the enemy with personal weapons (ie handguns, blades and in the case of non-humans claws and fangs when available) and hand-to-hand combat at very short range. This unit is fast and aggressive when taking over a vehicle or structure controlled by the enemy. However they need to be accurate and precise as to avoid friendly fire.

Team Leader: AJ Rodriguez

Yūrei Team (infiltrators):

Infiltration tactics. These agents use the environment to swiftly and quietly flank targets bypassing enemy front line strong points to isolate them for attacks by follow-up agents with heavier weapons, abilities and equipment.

Team Leader: Jasmine Grimm

Specter Team (hackers/tech):

This unit is made up of skilled computer experts that use their skills to use bugs and exploits to gain entry into enemy computers, security systems but are mostly used to gain information. They seldom set foot into the AO as they can complete their tasks from a safe distance.

Team Leader: Xiomara Ruiz

Revenant Team (explosives “bomb squad”):

Explosive engineers and bomb disposal technicians. The unit is specialized and highly trained to disarm bombs on site or to set them up whenever needed.

Team Leader: Shaine Janus-Łaska

Ghost Team (marksman/snipers/counter-snipers):

The unit operates to maintain effective visual contact with the enemy and engage high-value targets from concealed positions or at distances exceeding their detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision rifles and high-magnification optics, and often feed information back to their units or command headquarters. This unit aids most of the other units within the AO.

Team Leader: Trevor Ravencroft

Ndalawo Team (non-specialized):

This unit is basically composed of agents that can handle multiple tasks. They don't specialize in any one single thing but can handle different tasks, weapons, and jobs. People with medical training mostly fall into this unit.

Team Leader: Loke Haakonsen

And yes, each person has a codename. My username is a reference to Jelani's lmao.

@apothecaryforwearysouls

Lmao I don't even know where to start. So Oracle is a paramilitary PMC that has ZERO ties to any government, country or anything really. Like there are no ties.

Oracle has several goals but the biggest one is making sure humans don't obliterate non-humans and vice versa. Aside from that this world, setting, whatever you wanna call it deals with anything and everything paranormal.

Look, my dumbass 14-year-old ass was watching a James Bond movie one day and I thought, "Huh, what if this shit had werewolves in it?" and so Oracle was made. Actually, it was made later during the summer of 2000 'cause my mom's ex had promised we'd have a fun family summer of traveling the island and doing so many fun things. I bought a journal to document it all. Midsummer rolled around and we did nothing and my journal was blank so I took that previous idea and fucking RAN TO THE HILLS WITH IT. 23 years later we have this massive as fuck all world in my brain that I bother everyone with.

Anyway, Oracle started with 3 men. A werewolf, a vampire and a human during the height of the Akkadian empire! The werewolf is actually the man that is now known as Aleksey Malakhov aka Angelus's grandfather aka Jelani's father-in-law/mentor.

He had a different name back then I just forgot and I don't feel like looking through my hundreds of notes and files to find it.

By the way, Aleksey is Sumerian. He's been around for a while now. In fact he was one of the very first werewolves. All 4 of the first werewolves are Sumerian and yes, they are still alive today in 2023. How? Werewolves are VERY long lived but not that long. It's part of the original curse. The first of every breed inherets the curse and has to live with it forever.

Spoiler alert. With Angelus being the FIRST and frankly the only Crossedbreed he is also cursed. He can't die. He just hasn't realized that but Aleksey knows it and doesn't feel like telling his grandson will help in anyway. Is that a bad thing? Probably but he's doing it out of love. Angelus had been suicidal for decades and had attempted suicide so many times he lost count after 200 times. He's doing far better now a days though.

We don't have just werewolves here in Oracle. There are werewolves, vampires, fairies, monsters--shorter list is what we don't have: aliens. Idk it's not my thing. If you wanna say there ARE aliens in Oracle then who am I to say there aren't any.

As I kept expanding Oracle I wanted to add people from different cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, believes, religions, faiths. We have EVERYTHING here. When I say I have a metric shit ton of OCs I mean it with my entire chest. I want to represent everyone. Easier said than done 'cause I wanna be accurate and respectful and a lot of times that means doing a lot of research and sometimes it gets tedious. I'm just one man behind all of this fantastical nonsense.

Yeah, I mostly talk about Loke, Jelani, Trevor and Angelus because those are my comfort characters and I know them better than I know my own damn self. Not gonna sit here and lie, Jelani's at the forefront for any and all Oracle things. Everywhere I am online I use him as a pfp. He's the mascot if that makes sense. I am extremely proud of this character and I love him so much. He's to Oracle what Pikachu is to Pokemon. Idk if that makes sense.

Oracle doesn't just focus solely on the PMC. There are so many things that make up this setting. There's groups of humans that hate and fear anything that isn't human and want to kill them all off. The most infamous being the Council of the Knights which admittedly has been a thorn on Oracle's side for a few centuries now. We have problematic vampire covens who think of non-vampires as cattle and make shit difficult for others. We have a death cult led by a very unstable woman who created a virus that destabilized actual fucking deities into destroying shit with the help of a deity (actually it's a Concept but that's too complicated for now). There's also deities themselves that every so often wanna start shit. Because of that we have people like the Nyota tribe from Kenya who have dedicated their entire lives to keeping a rogue and exiled Maker imprisoned so They don't start Their stupid nonsense again.

What the fuck is a Maker? There is a hierarchy when it comes to deities.

Iirc it's demigods, gods, and finally Makers. Makers are the gods of the gods. Those are like actual creators, they make the rules and shit but they also break 'em. They're complicated. There is NOTHING above a Maker...except for the Concepts. The best way I can explain a Concept is that they are ideas and the very first Concept is the Concept of Existence. There's the Concept of Evil, Concept of Concequense, Concept of Good, Concept of Nothingness and many more. CoE and CoN are opposing ideas that have been at each other's throats since always.

Concepts intervene in life but they don't at the same time. They also only exclusively communicate with Makers. Only Makers. Jelani has an...interesting role with CoE and some other Makers and by extension with CoN. I can explain that in another post cuz it's a lot and complicated.

So as for what kind of creatures Oracle has? Like I said I wanna add any and all cultures so there's everything to pick and choose from. I've even invented a few. Are there cryptids? Yes! In this setting things like the Mothman, Bigfoot, Nessie, Jersey Devil and just basically all cryptids are just creatures from other planes/realms whatever you wanna call them. Some people use planes others use realms some others use other words. How the fuck did they get from one to ours? Easy. Portals. Portals are unstable and quite frankly scary natural phenomena that happens randomly all over the world. Sometimes creatures and animals get caught in them and get trapped in other realms. Sometimes it's a building, sometimes an entire town gets trapped.

Is there magic? Yes, there is!

Can anyone use/learn magic? Yes! We don't do that stupid "chosen one, only a select few can use or learn magic" bullshit here. Magic is an ability that anyone can learn to use.

Are there rules? Yes!.....I just gotta find that stupid file where I have it and I'll post it if anyone wants to know more about it.

Oracle deals with things of magical natures too as well as portals and planes. There are actual black sites where, and I use this word loosely, "stable" portals lead to other planes that need to be checked every so often. Not many Oracle agents have access to this kind of op by the way. It's really need to know level type shit.

So back to the founding of Oracle. These 3 men, these sell swords got together and went into business together and were like unstoppable. As time went on 3 became 6 then 6 became 9 and then we get to 2023 with Oracle still very much alive and kicking with thousands of agents all over the world with 6 branches spread across the world and 2 training facilities.

If Oracle is 100% independent from any government then how does it pay it's agents and employees?

Aleksey has invested very wisely, owns parts of companies, owns whole ass major companies that generate a bitch ton of money. All of these are made up by me obviously. Part of the profits from those hundreds of companies go into the pockets of agents, assets, and Familiars. It pays for weapons, gear, vehicles, gadgets, ammo, facilities, housing--EVERYTHING!

Look I don't know how realistic that is I'm horrible at math and economics so just go with it.

Wtf is a Familiar?

A Familiar is a person (non-human or human) that indirectly works for Oracle. They give information, keep an eye on certain groups, areas, phenomena and the like. Familiars can be approached by Oracle to join as agents IF they so choose.

There are certain rules that apply to certain characters, places, ideas, creatures and stuff but for the most part I like living things open to enterpretation and flexible.

I think C said it best. Oracle can be described as "weird espionage with a cosmic horror twist". It's got a tiny teeny alternate history to it too.

I hope that covers like the basics of Oracle. If you wanna know something else about the setting as a whole or specifically about Loke in this setting just ask.

#Oracle Corp #Oracle Corp tag

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