[[Day 25 of Month –5 :: Tethel]]
“For tomorrow’s agenda, you have a meeting with–”
Centienne lifted a hand, cutting off her assistant’s words. Icy blue eyes glanced towards the closed door of her lounge up ahead, the first hints of a sneer playing on the edges of her lips. Beside her, her husband also paused before straightening minutely. Oh, so he hadn’t been expecting this guest of theirs either? Her hand waved imperiously in dismissal; Paige immediately bowed low and left without any other word. She knew there was a reason she still kept this secretary.
“Hmph.” She snorted in disdain before striding forward once more, her husband in step with her. When they were in front of the lounge, the doors slammed open at her silent command and the Queen and Knight King of Tethel entered the room imperiously.
Lounging on her favorite wingback chair was a bored looking man, about thirty or forty she would guess. He was dressed in peasants’ garb and she felt her hackles rise at the sight: disgusting, how dare such scum taint her chair. She’d have to incinerate it and get a new one made. Just as her husband was about to step forward, the man turned his gaze away from the wine glass in his hand. Amused red eyes glanced at them.
Centienne froze as she plunged into terror. This–this was much stronger than herself. Had–had she ever felt such power? Yes, when those damned Seraphs had taken out Luciano in Palaugrim. Yes, long long ago, before the Islands. Sinners had set up an outpost close to the borders of Tethel and the Pristine Knights had gone to destroy it, but instead, they had been the ones
obliterated when the God of Sin– her terror settled the moment the malice and power was cut off. When she lifted her trembling gaze to the stranger, he was looking at his glass once more, idly swirling it as if to aerate it.
She pressed her lips together firmly as she tried to regain her composure. “And to what do I owe this pleasure?” The blue-haired woman asked icily, stepping forward to take the seat opposite her unexpected guest. From the corner of her eye, she saw Verlassen reluctantly release his hand on his sword from when he must have grabbed it instinctively. Sweeping her skirt out of the way, she perched on the armchair haughtily, chin lifted as if she was on her throne. Her husband stood beside her at parade rest, one hand resting casually on the sword strapped to his waist.
“Hmm…” The stranger intoned before his lips quirked up in a half smile, “Why, I just came to see who had established such a…
lovely kingdom.”
Her fingers tightened and it took all her willpower not to glare at the man. This filth dared covet her kingdom?! No, he was still stronger than her. She had to..
endure. Tilting her head to the side, she asked politely with the barest smile, “And who is asking?”
Red eyes finally looked away from the glass and Centienne immediately felt cold sweat form on her back. He had reigned in his power this time but the menace was still present. “I rather think you have figured it out yourself.” Idly, his gaze drifted to her husband beside her before returning to her. Leisurely, he took a sip of the vintage.
It couldn’t be. Impossible; those blasted Seraphs had killed him, one of the only good things those hypocritical Immaculates had ever done. And yet this level of power; this level of Sin was unmistakable. Certainly hidden now, but from when they’d first exchanged looks. She tried to unlock her jaw to reply it was still stiff with
fear caution.
“The God of Sin.” Her husband spoke from beside her, studiously neutral in tone. However, they’d lived together long enough that she knew he was simply masking his trepidation. She could hear it in the faint tremble of his words and the quiet creaks of his armor as he adjusted his stance.
A mocking smile blossomed on the other man’s face and he nodded his head in acquiescence.
darnit. darnit
darnit. Why was he here? Fury and panic rose within her and it took all her control from reacting visibly. Could she go to the Immaculate? No, they’d never trust her again. Then could she redirect his attention? Surely he was more interested in getting revenge on those Seraphs who had killed him than her Tethel. Yes, she must push him in that way. Then she had to be cordial, but not artificially so. Lifting her gaze, she let her smile deepen. “Then welcome back, God of Sin.”
---
The God of Sin smirked at the woman across from him. She was richly dressed and he could admit she was conventionally attractive. If only for her face and figure, he wouldn’t have minded bedding her. The danger of her possibly trying to kill him in the midst of it would have only made it even more exciting. But he doubted she’d be amenable to such a suggestion, given how ubiquitous the love story of her and her Knight King was.
So this was the renowned queen of Tethel. He could see why she was in charge; her magic was formidable and she had handled herself admirably when he’d drawn his power forward. It was more Sin than he was used to wielding these days and he honestly felt a little tired after doing so. However, it had been worth the exhaustion to set the stage. Though both hid it well, he could see how the two across from him were uneasy, clearly mistaking that the glimpse was his normal self. Ten years ago, it
had been his normal self. Fury ripped through him at the memories–how strong he had previously been, his defeat, and his subsequent current weakness–but he wrestled the feeling down. No, now wasn’t the time to indulge; he would do so later when he’d regained his full strength. Now he needed to bend Queen Tethel to his side. Thankfully she seemed as self-serving as he’d surmised, if the sudden welcome was any suggestion. Oh, she was certainly restrained enough, but the shift in attitude was obvious. But amiability wasn’t enough; no, he’d have her and her kingdom following his commands like the lowliest of his Sinners.
Straightening from his slouch, he placed the wine glass down and smiled back.
~~~
[[Day 25 of Month -5 :: The Sanctuary, Grand Cathedral, Gless]]
“You.. what?” Cora repeated in shock, staring at the sheepish redhead in front of her.
“Er.. well..” No matter how he had wracked his brain, Omi could not think up a way to explain his hypothesis that the cure needed to include purging the Sin particles without mentioning his special vision. “I.. have the ability to see illnesses, injuries, healing magic, and the active components of medicine in people when I channel holy magic into my eyes.” It sounded so outlandish when he said it aloud; this was exactly why he’d never tried to do so before. “I happened to check on Master Lethe and the patients in the Research Division’s quarantine ward. All of them have both illness and another pathogen that I believe is Sin. Furthermore, I recall that District Fifteen had submitted a report that also theorized that the Sweating Sickness was related to Sin.”
Hazel eyes continued to look at him in surprise, disbelief clear in them. Gathering his resolve, the redhead forged on, “Therefore, I hypothesize that it’s the Sin particles that are the root problem causing the illness to be so resurgent and causing the comas. In initial reports, Cure appeared to resolve the illness until healing magic lost their efficacy. Cure would not destroy the Sin particles, so the illness probably went dormant, appearing to be cured, but then resurged. Noticeably, 90% of the comatose patients are people known to have holy magic. The remaining 10% probably are people who have holy magic but never knew it.” He had spent last evening pouring over the reports to find additional support for this hypothesis; he held out his summary in case either wanted to check his work.
“If this is so,” Head Cleric Heidi commented, not taking the offered papers, “what do you think would be the appropriate way to address the Sin particles?”
Cora turned to her superior in surprise, “Head Cleric! Surely you don’t believe this?” She looked over apologetically at Omi but continued, “There’s no such magic that allows someone to see within a person’s body!”
The older woman shrugged, “Just because we don’t know about it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The Divine Light works in its own way but always provides us a path. I believe many would say the way Master Lethe uses her magic swords in combat is also impossible, but clearly she has done so. Miracles can happen anywhere.” She turned her attention to the Scribe, “We will, of course, test this ability of yours and speak more with District Fifteen’s clinic as they are the only ones to have mentioned Sin being a possible factor. But I presume you have a theory on how to solve these Sin particles you mentioned?”
Omi nodded, “If we can destroy the Sin particles in the patient, I believe the plague will revert to being a ‘normal’ illness that can be solved either through Cure or medicine.” He was
not going to be telling them he had tested holy magic on Master Lethe already. It was only now he realized how very poorly his experiment could have gone; if the Seraph had somehow gotten worse because of him, he didn’t even want to contemplate what would have happened.
Head Cleric Heidi nodded her head before turning her gaze to the other cleric, “Cora, can you lead this investigation?” Catching the skeptical look on the brunette’s face, she continued, “If you don’t think so, then I will find another cleric to do so. However, Councilor Margarette’s Research Division is already researching all possible medicines and solutions. This hypothesis, though dependent on an unknown ability, does open up new possibilities.”
As the younger cleric remained quiet, Omi spoke up, “The best first step may be to talk with District Fifteen’s clinic again. Perhaps hearing more about what prompted them to think it was Sin-related would be helpful. We could also check whether the 10% patients truly have holy magic.”
Cora looked between Head Cleric Heidi and Scribe Omi, weighing the option before her. Given what she knew about the Hidden Truth, she didn’t share her colleague’s opinion that the Divine Light would always provide a solution. That said, the comment about Master Lethe’s magic was certainly true. Besides, she focused her gaze on the scribe she’d been working closely with these past days, Omi seemed reliable enough from their interactions and his first steps sounded reasonable. At most, they would have wasted half a day or so; with the lack of results in curing the illness so far, it was hardly a large time investment. She sighed but nodded her head, “Let’s follow through on Scribe Omi’s suggestions and I’ll decide from there if this is worth investigating further.”
---
Cora surveyed the street she was walking through on the way to the District Fifteen clinic. Lindela was clearly still in the midst of rebuilding, even though Alona and Lance had said the repairs were mostly done. She presumed these were the “cosmetic aspects” her friends had mentioned as she watched a man paint the front of a building a pale blue. He paused to cough and her hands twitched with the desire to check up on the worker. No, her current task was more important and if that cough was actually the first stages of the Sweating Sickness… She had no qualms about possibly becoming sick herself, but she knew she was needed to take care of Master Lethe. She’d be more helpful finding a solution to this epidemic rather than curing every sick person she found. Lips pressed tightly together, the brunette turned her attention away. In front, Scribe Omi was consulting a map as he led the way, looking up now and then to confirm their direction. Further in front, she caught sight of a tent with the Sanctuary’s logo on it.
“It should be that up ahead.”
Her companion looked up, saw the logo, and consulted his map one more time. “Yes, that seems to be the square in front of the clinic.” When both arrived, they were redirected to the third Quarantine Building where a Knight Marcus would be available. It was only when they were seated in a corner office on the third floor and Knight Marcus had introduced himself that Cora realized who exactly she was speaking with: this was Master Lethe’s squad cleric. From what she could recall, he was more experienced than gifted but still a solid cleric. Moreover, he might have more insight into Sin itself given he was out in the field more compared to traditional clerics like herself.
“So what exactly brings you two here?” Knight Marcus–Valiar, as he had told them to call him–asked as he took a seat at the messy desk. His skin looked a touch dull from lack of sleep and there were bruises under his eyes, but his smile was warm enough.
“District Fifteen submitted a report a week ago with suspicion that this plague may be related to Sin.” Cora took the lead in explaining, “No other clinic or cleric has suggested such a possibility; I would like to hear more about why you think this way.”
A grimace crossed the other cleric’s face and he sighed, “Let me get Grisia for this then.” Grisia turned out to be a blond civilian with high amounts of holy magic. A former member of the Immaculate, she’d bet. The golden-haired man smiled welcomingly at the newcovers and took a seat as Valiar closed the door and activated the privacy seals. Cora quirked an eyebrow at them; she hadn’t thought this office would have seals installed. Then again, she faintly recalled hearing from Gil (or had it been Alona?) that Master Lethe was skilled in that discipline.
“As an introduction, Grisia used to be an Advocate during the First War,” the blond bowed his head in acknowledgment, “and is sensitive to Sin. He’s also Vice Captain Adair’s older brother and thus familiar with Squad Ten. He has been here as the situation has unfolded and may be able to explain the feeling of Sin better than me. I personally have not sensed anything,” Valiar admitted, “but the sensor in our squad, Knight Leon; Captain Lethe; Master Guilford; and Grisia have all confirmed that they can feel something..” From that introduction, he launched into the explanation that had culminated in the report he’d submitted.
“I see..” Cora looked up from her thoughts when Omi spoke up, concentration furrowing the young man’s forehead. “If Knight Leon felt a spike of Sin when the cleric collapsed, that could be the Sin I saw activating. When I looked at the patients in the Research Ward, some had minimal traces of Sin while others had much heavier concentrations. But why would it suddenly activate?” The redhead mused on the topic, fingers tapping as he had no pen on hand to jot down his thoughts. “Could it be the usage of holy magic? Or no, the drainage of holy magic until Sin can overpower it?” That seemed more probable; he had seen that Sin could travel from an infected patient to the cleric using holy magic. Perhaps Clerics were unknowingly picking up more and more Sin while at the same time draining down their holy magic; at some time, the scales would inevitably tip in Sin’s favor.
He looked up to see two blank faces staring at him in incomprehension. “Oh, uh, you see..” He stuttered out, about to explain his vision ability when Cora clapped her hands and interrupted. “Before we go into that, let’s check the patients.” She turned to the Lindela natives, “Omi believes that the patients falling into comas all have holy magic. Does your clinic have any coma patients that are not known to have holy magic? I would like to check if, in fact, they actually do have holy magic.”
Valiar and Grisia exchanged glances, having noticed how the scribe’s explanation had been cut off, but nodded in reply, “Let me show you the way.”
~~~
[[Day 25 of Month -5 :: The Grand Cathedral, Gless]]
A priority mission to Palaugrim that required YunQiao and Leon. Adair sighed at the memory of last night’s visit by Master Guilford. He really didn’t understand why Master Guilford didn’t just take his
own Knights: Hyuga and Vlad hadn’t been deployed to Palaugrim and should still be available, especially given both Hyuga and YunQiao were casters. As for Leon and Vlad.. Which one even was Vlad? One of Squad Eight’s three tankers but beyond that, he honestly couldn’t recall much of that man. For a moment, he uncharitably wondered whether the Seraph had also forgotten about Vlad but he tamped down on it, knowing it was more his stress speaking than anything. After this was all over, he’d probably need to visit an Advocate and get Absolved.
Regardless, there’d been no reason to deny Master Guilford’s request, if a Vice Captain could even override a Seraph’s order. A wry smile stretched his lips: this hadn’t
quite been the development opportunity he’d been thinking of for YunQiao but it was still a good chance. As long as they all came back safely, it would be a good experience for Leon and YunQiao. A pity for Hyuga and Vlad to miss out on personal guidance from a Seraph, but those two weren’t his responsibility so Squad Ten’s Vice Captain threw the matter to the back of his mind just as there was a knock on the door.
---
“Come in,” A familiar voice called out through the door and Alona did as bid, opening the door to Squad Ten’s squad quarters. She’d only recently become familiar with the cozy room after her fellow Seraph candidate kept holding their meetings here when they’d been filling in for Gil and Master Lethe. While she would have preferred a more formal meeting room, there was really no good reason to insist on it when the squad quarters were free as well. Habitually, she headed over to the sidebar to get herself a drink–assam black tea, of course–and was turning to ask Romauld what he wanted when she found him beside her, also reaching into the cabinet for a mug.
She eyed him in surprise–she hadn’t known he was so acquainted with Squad Ten–but said nothing as he made himself a cup of coffee, her lips instinctively pursing in disgust as he walked away with it, no sugar or milk. Gross. How did anyone drink something so bitter? She added cream and two sugars to her own drink before walking over to the table. “So what’s this about?” she asked, referencing the missive she’d woken up to this morning requesting a meeting at ten.
Adair smiled wryly, “Well, Master Guilford is on a priority mission in Palaugrim” her fingers rapped the table in surprise, “so it’ll be us in charge again. I figure we’ll keep District Commander Lance in charge of Lindela’s affairs and Deimos will resume assisting him; he’s informing District Commander Lance right now.”
Alona stifled a sigh at the news, trying to tamp down on her irritation but unable to stop the angry jump in her eyebrow. First, should Gil really be running around on a mission already? Second, she had
just gotten rid of this duty?! Selfishly, her relief three days ago when she’d heard Gil had woken up wasn’t solely out of concern for her friend. She had been more than happy to hand the Seraph duties back to Gil and now it was apparently back on her plate again.
“Where’s Knight Joaquim?” Romauld questioned, looking for his partner Seraph Candidate. For all that Cricket and Seraphim had enjoyed ribbing about “Squad Prissy,” he didn’t think it like Vice Captain Adair to exclude the other man.
“No idea.” The Palaugrimian turned his attention back to Adair as the amber haired man continued, “He’s not under my command. Quite frankly, I’m also not sure whether Master Guilford will be handling his Seraph duties from Palaugrim but given what little I know about the mission, it sounds like he’ll be on the move.” Though unspoken, it was clear all three were finishing the assumption: they’d probably be taking back the Seraph’s workload as well.
“And squad eight?” Alona finally spoke up sharply. As Gil’s close friend, she’d take on the team if she
had to, but she would definitely demand he make it up to her later, maybe that nice tea set from that specialty shop in Rosetta.
“We’ll leave that to Knight Joaquim and Master Guilford,” Adair literally waved the topic aside with a swipe of his hand, cutting off her thoughts on whether she wanted a floral set or a more modern design. “Are you comfortable taking back the responsibilities from earlier?”
The word ‘no’ was on the tip of the redhead’s tongue but another voice beat her out, “Of course.” Red eyes glanced over to see a determined Romauld; the younger man’s eyes shone and he even looked eager. Oh Lights, he
wanted this. When her fellow candidates’ attention turned to her, Alona simply smiled in response, hoping it didn’t look as reluctant as she was feeling. She
really hoped either Gil came back soon or Master Lethe woke up.
~~~
[[Day 25 of Month -5 :: Lindela ]]
Omi sat quietly in the office as Cleric Cora sighed heavily, her hands massaging her forehead as if it could stave off an upcoming headache. The coma patients all had holy magic: one of his initial hypotheses had been right. Across from him, the blond Advocate–Grisia, he reminded himself–caught his eye and smiled brightly.
“So now that we’ve confirmed the patients do all have holy magic and we’ve recapped why we believe Sin may be related to the Plague, will we be learning what brought along this inquiry? I seem to recall the report was originally supplied about a week ago.” Despite the chipper tone, blue eyes scrutinized him and Cleric Cora pointedly. With a wary glance at the brunette beside him, Omi re-explained his ability and his hypotheses.
“
But, this is the only time I’ve heard of such an ability,” Cleric Cora added at the end, clearly still distrustful, “So there’s no way to prove if it’s truly Sin particles.”
The room lapsed back into silence before a dark haired man spoke up. Omi couldn’t quite recall who he was given he’d shown up only an hour ago, but Grisia seemed to know him and Cleric Valiar hadn’t protested his inclusion in the meeting. “Actually, there is a way to test it, isn’t there? As an Advocate, Grisia can sense whether someone has Sin in them. We’ll just have you look around and find patients with the most, a medium amount, and the least amounts of these ‘black particles’. Then we have Grisia sense whether he can feel any Sin in them.”
“If the patients had Sin in them, surely we would have felt it,” Cleric Valiar objected, “Leon is a sensor and didn’t notice anything; Captain and Master Guilford would also–”
“Not necessarily,” The unknown man shook his head, “All three of them are Knights; their specialty is in combat. A Knight can Cure, but clerics do it better. Similarly, Advocates are better at sensing Sin, especially in civilians. It helps identify who is wavering and they can tailor their message better or monitor sooner.”
Three surprised gazes all turned to the smug looking blond who simply smirked at the speaker, “I see you
did pay attention to what I was saying, Lesus.” Turning his attention back to the others, Grisia nodded in acquiescence, “Yes, Advocates are more sensitive to small amounts of Sin. Let’s do what Lesus suggested. I haven’t been looking for Sin in the patients and it sounds like there may be truly trace amounts, which will be hard enough to find. But I will look carefully and we can see what happens.” Blue eyes raked over him assessingly, “Lesus, why don’t you go and help Omi bring the patients up?”
Fifteen minutes later saw three patients in a previously empty room on the fourth floor. A blindfolded Grisia sat by the leftmost patient, holding the woman’s hand in his. The blindfold had seemed excessive, in Omi’s opinion at least, but Cleric Valiar had taken one look at the patients, frowned, and then demanded the eye covering.
With his holy magic activated, he could see both illness and the unknown black particles flowing through the brunette patient, the “medium” one he had found. The black particles shook as if disturbed but then settled down; squinting, he seemed to see the faintest trace of holy magic flow through the body but it was so indistinct, he wasn’t entirely sure.
“There seems to be a minor amount of Sin in here.” The advocate’s voice broke his concentration and Omi blinked the holy magic away from his eyes. Blond eyebrows were furrowed, “Yes, a little bit. Enough to keep an eye on and perhaps add a few fables into the sermon, but unlikely to require action.” Withdrawing his hand, Grisia stood up and was led to the second patient. To this one, he simply shook his head after a few minutes: “I cannot feel anything.”
The last patient was a brawny brown-haired man Omi had found on this floor. He was the patient with the most black particles in the building. When the Advocate took the patient’s hand, he paused for a moment, pale fingers sliding around the calloused palm before gripping down. “There–” Oddly, his voice broke in the middle of his words, “there is definitely Sin here. Hidden under his holy magic, but enough.. An absolve is not required but I would recommend it.” His spare hand lifted the blindfold and his face seemed to drop at the sight of the patient. After a moment, his blue gaze turned to Omi, “This is the patient with the most black particles, isn’t he?”
The redhead nodded, watching uncertainly as Grisia looked back at the comatose man. Beside him, Cleric Cora shifted but seemed silenced by the sudden gloom in the room.
“I would like to try absolving him.” The blond man suddenly spoke.
“Grisia..”
“Valiar.” Blue eyes looked at the cleric coolly, “As this appears to be Sin and Cures are not working, we can try clearing it away with Absolve. This seems like a logical next step. And as I– am the only Advocate here, it would make sense for me to do so.”
Omi watched the discussion carefully, noting the odd pause but not understanding it. It
was a logical step and he recalled wanting to use Absolve himself when he’d prodded Master Lethe with holy magic, when those black particles had started creeping–he swallowed harshly. Should he speak up? Explain that Sin could pass onto the blond man if he extended holy magic into the patient? But then he’d have to explain his experiment and he
really did not want to confess to that. No, he’d just call out when he saw it happening. Clerics didn’t get sick immediately; it had to be related to the balance of Sin versus holy magic. One session wouldn’t be enough, probably. “It–it might be dangerous to do so, given what happened to Master Lethe and the other clerics,” he warned in a roundabout manner, hating that he wouldn’t just speak frankly.
“You originally said you thought it was related to the drainage of holy magic until Sin could overpower it,” Grisia pointed out, parroting back his earlier mutterings. “I presume I have no plague or Sin right now,” Omi shook his head in confirmation, “so as long as I don’t pour too much holy magic into–the patient, I should be okay.”
Cleric Valiar sighed heavily, crossing his arms and frowning, but otherwise did not protest. Cleric Cora stepped into the silence: “Very well, let’s test this then. Omi, please use your skill and describe what you’re seeing in real time.” Seeing him step closer and his eyes glow white, she continued, “Advocate, whenever you’re ready then.”
Omi concentrated his attention on the patient’s arm and torso, pouring in more magic to magnify the view. He wanted to see both how the black particles reacted when immediately introduced to holy magic and the overall effect on the body. “Absolve” he heard and then watched as holy magic entered the patient. Unlike his experiment, the holy magic seemed sharper, immediately pushing against the black particles. The two particles–deep gold for the holy magic and black for the Sin–seemed to fight each other: the black ate at the gold but the gold eventually crushed the black. Perhaps a one to three or one to four ratio? His hands twitched to scribble down his observations but he’d forgotten to bring paper and pen.
“Omi.” A voice cut his concentration and he almost deactivated his holy magic, “What are you seeing?”
“Ah– the holy magic is showing up as deep gold particles and is able to destroy the Sin particles, but not at a one to one ratio. The Sin is also able to.. Eat back at the gold particles? It’s like they’re fighting but the gold is better at ganging up–Oh! Ah! Advocate! The black particles are extending towards you!” He just remembered to check if the Sin particles were leeching towards the healer like they had with him and yes, they were.
Lesus immediately tightened his hands on Grisia’s shoulders but gleaming blue eyes dismissed his concern. Of course Grisia would continue given the patient was Roland. The two had already been friends when he met Roland in Knight training. He could see and feel nothing beyond the warmth of the Advocate’s absolve, the holy magic overpowering any sense of Sin. Minutes ticked by as he tried to gauge how much holy magic the blond had used before Grisia finally stopped, sagging back into his hold.
“What do you see, Omi?”
The redhead hummed thoughtfully, glowing eyes still studying Roland. “It seems to have worked. The Sin particles have decreased in amount but the illness was not affected. I’d say there’s about.. A third less than what there used to be.” His gaze shifted to the other patients, adding, “Still a bit more than what the medium patient had, but they’re comparable now.” The glow subsided and the scribe seemed to deflate, hands rising to his temple.
“Go take a seat Omi and get some food,” Cora ordered as she walked up to the absolved patient, scrutinizing him: “I’ll run diagnostics on this patient and then we can regroup and recap what we’ve learned. Absolve seems to work but we need to figure out how viable it is: how much holy magic is curing how much Sin, can we truly cure the patient of just the illness after, and we only have one set of.. special vision.” Despite how she stumbled over the words, a hopeful gleam shone in her eyes. “We may have found a way to cure the Sweating Sickness.”