“As you can see, back in those days, the beard was considered a sign of wisdom and was important for the Khangans. But Tahir was the first one to note that it was unhygienic and despite his custom, he shaved his beard off. He also introduced the first medical uniform. Have a look!”
A simple uniform consisted of white linen trousers and a shirt for men, and a dress for women. Lily never liked caps, so she suggested something like bandanas for men and a headscarf for women. The uniform had several pockets. Everything was comfortable and functional.
“Next we see his successor, Baron James Donter. It was Baron Donter who laid the foundations of pharmacology, compiled several herbal mixtures that are still used today, and started expeditions in search of undiscovered plants. For his time, he was an outstanding biologist and chemist.”
“Did I read that he was an herbalist?”
“That’s right.” The guide says with a smile. “Because of intrigues, the baron’s mother was forced to flee and find shelter among the common people. She found refuge in the home of a village herbalist, and her son grew up to be an herbalist.”
The children nod. They continue to listen to stories about medicine, about famous students of din Dashar, about the students of Lord Donter, about the fact that even up to the present, every member of his family has been a doctor. They finally hear about the first female doctor.
“Lilian Elizabeth Mariella Earton,” the guide leads the children to the wax figure of Lily. The woman is depicted sitting in a chair. She leans back on the armrest with a medical scalpel in her fingers. Her lips stretch into a smile. She looks pensive. Her long blonde braid almost reaches to the floor. Her ears and her neck are decorated with emeralds. Behind her stands her husband, a blue-eyed man with a stunning smile. The girls smile back at him.
“What a handsome dude!” says one of the high-pitched voices.
“This is a very curious character of our story,” the young guide involuntarily lowers her voice, “after Countess Lilian Earton lost her child, she became the first student of Sir din Dashar. It was she who insisted that both girls and boys should be trained in medicine. She generously donated to hospitals and schools. A lot of medical schools are named after her. She was also an outstanding surgeon. I must say, she was a lucky woman in many ways.”
“In what ways?” ask the high-pitched voice. The guide begins her tale.
“Lilian Earton was an outstanding woman, unusually well-educated for her time. She read a lot and wrote stories and fairytales. She discovered many old scrolls about medicine. She managed to translate them and preserve them for future generations. She gave them into the hands of those who could truly appreciate the importance of old medical discoveries. She later asked to be a student of the great din Dashar.”
“What about the Mariella lace and glass production?”
“Yes, that was the main occupation of the Earton family. In those days, it was considered unworthy of a nobleman to trade or engage in production. But the Eartons were out of this line. Several generations of their family were engaged in trade. It was their family who invented microscopes and telescopes. That age gave us a lot of interesting objects, such as compasses, the meridian, a lot of geographical knowledge, and the discovery of new lands.”
“They were discovered by Erik Thorson, right?”
“That’s right. The brave Virman and his team made a voyage across the ocean. He discovered the land, previously unknown to the inhabitants of the continent. Its inhabitants called it Alilen, that is, the beloved home. Since they had never seen Virmans before, they took Erik for a strange king. Eventually, he did become their king by marrying their princess Tial.”
“Weren’t they going to start a war?”
“You are right, young man,” agrees the guide. “There was a serious argument. All of us believe in Aldonai, but the inhabitants of that land worshipped pagan gods. This sparked a great dispute, which almost split the continent between two parts. Avesterra and Elvana believed that those people, who didn’t believe in Aldonai were savages and treated them worse than animals. They wanted to take over their land and either convert its native inhabitants or destroy them.”
“I know! They formed the union of the five,” shouts another boy. His peculiar eye shape clearly indicates his relation to the Alilen.
“Exactly.” He gets an approving smile. “Ativerna, Wellster, the Khanganat, Ivernea, and Virma united against this savage approach. They managed to defend the right of Alilen to independence. The descendants of Great Erik have been ruling there until this day. There hasn’t been a single war at Alilen. Perhaps it would've been impossible to avoid the war if it weren’t for Aldon Roman and later Aldon Vopler who firmly stood for peace, and declared the violators of Alilen’s independence the servants of Maldonaya. By the way, we have a sculpture of Erik.” The huge Virman stands tall, casually leaning on his axe. His blonde hair falls down to his shoulders. Next to him is a woman with bronze skin. Her thin hand rests on his huge paw. She is wearing an exotic costume made of feathers.
“The Great Erik and the Princess Tial.”
The children attentively examine the figures.
“Life back then was so exciting!” sighs one of the pupils.
The teacher and the guide exchange glances.
No one would ever find out how it felt when the war had almost broken out, when it almost claimed thousands of lives and nearly flooded a peaceful continent with blood. Nobody could ever feel the passions that boiled within the blood of these peoples.
“We have a whole film about it,” replies the guide.
“We will leave you to wander around the hall and look at the wax figures by yourselves. We will give you around half an hour and will soon call you to see it. Besides, the first camera obscura was also invented during Prenaissance by Lilian Earton’s son, Hans Earton and his friend, Lord Thomas Tremain.”
“Is there a wax figure of them?”
“Of course.”
A tall young man with disheveled dark hair and brown eyes smiles thoughtfully, with a clumsy box in his hands.
“Thomas Tremain. And here is his friend, Hans Earton.”
A bulky young man with dark hair and blue eyes kindly smiles at the pupils, as if bewildered by his own discovery.
“This is what the first camera obscura looked like. You can later take a picture with it.” Under the watchful gaze of the teacher, the children disperse around the hall.
A fair-haired girl freezes in front of the statue of Lily.
My great- great- great- wait! How many times is she a great-grandmother to me?
Lilian Earton is giving the little girl an ironic look. Jerisson is still standing behind her, as always protecting his wife. He is also looking at the girl.
Is his look approving? I cannot tell.
The girl’s name is Lilian Broklend. In honor of the greatest of her grandmothers. Because of her age, the grandchild knows very little about this great woman. She doesn’t know that Lilian lived for almost seventy years, that she was accepted at court, that she treated people until her last day, that she personally sat at her hospital and took patients, and that her advice had a great influence on world politics. The small children aren’t yet told that the countess’ life was constantly in danger and that villains tried to kill her. They don’t know yet that the countess is one of the greatest figures in the history of Ativerna and that the details of her life are still surrounded with a lot of mystery. Where could she have gained such education? How did she become the main authority in medicine? Why was she one of the key royal trustees, for both Edward and Richard? Nobody could answer those questions, apart from the Tremain and Broklend families. They keep silent and don’t let the historians study their family archives.
Especially precious are the diaries of the first female doctor. The children of Tremain, Earton, and Broklend families aren’t allowed to read them until they come of age.
This girl also wants to do something important and be remembered in history. Yet, her parents
don’t put pressure on her. Lily is eager to study medicine, she is interested in continuing many of the family trades, such as lace-making, knitting, and glassblowing. The only thing that her parents insist on is for their children to be inquisitive. It was Lilian Elizabeth Mariella who first encouraged her own children to learn as much as they could. A child with less than two or three trades was considered inferior in the Tremain, Broklend, and Earton families, as well as in many others. Over the years, the number of aristocrats increased. All of them were somehow related.
The granddaughter and her grandmother look each other in the eyes. One should be worthy of the memory of one’s descendants, as well as one’s ancestors. One should always remain a good person.
No matter where life takes you, no matter how hard and curious it gets, you need to remain a worthy person, even if it goes against your own wish.
“I promise to make you proud,” whispers the girl. “I will become a worthy person.” Suddenly, she gets an odd feeling that the wax figures of her ancestors have come to life. They give her an approving smile.
Do you believe in reincarnation of the body? What about the soul? Do you believe in real magic?
Bread should be warm, grass should be green, water should be cold, and the children’s future should be bright. These are the things that constitute happiness.
Life is a ray over an abyss of pain,
Its pathway goes through the wind and the rain.
We never know what we will meet on the way
Perhaps we will know at the dying of day.
Fate laughs at our voyage, asking us “Why?”
“To know that our children shall never cry.”
Chronology
1460 Edward marries the princess Imogene of Avesterra
1462 birth of Edmund
1463 Amalia Earton is born
1466 birth of Richard
1468 Jerrison (Jess) is born
1468 Imogene dies
1470 Edward marries Jessamine Earton
1471 Edward ascends the throne and becomes king
1473 Birth of Lilian Brocklend
1476 First engagement of Jerrison Earton to Eliza Errolston
1479 Engagement of Amalia Earton to Peter Ivelen
1480 Death of Eliza at the age of 12
1480 Wedding of Amalia Earton and Peter Ivelen
1481 Birth of Amalia’s son Jess
1483 Wedding of Jerrisson Earton and Magdalena Yerby
1484 Birth of Amalia’s daughter Sessie
1489 Birth of Miranda Catherine Earton
1489 Death of the second wife of Jess, Magdalena Yerby
1491 Death of Jessamine
1492 Death of Jyce Earton and Edmund
1495 Wedding of Jess and Lilian Earton
1496 Aliya appears in Lilian’s body
Book Recommendations:
Dear fans. Lily’s adventure is over. But please continue her story by leaving a review or joining my page.
I also have other great news. A new series of mine will be released soon.
Lina J. Potter’s pen now takes us to the mystical lands of the Kingdom of Radenor suffering under the reign of the unjust King. His sister, the Princess of Radenor is determined to have him dethroned. Her half-demon son, Alex conceived by a demon father, becomes the ultimate weapon of her bloody revenge. A magnificent tale of blood magic, necromancy, court intrigue and family revenge.
Order the opening book Half-Demon
In the meantime look at these other series from my publishers.
NOW available for order, the uplifting Sci-fi Space Opera Kiran: The Warrior’s Daughter (The Rights Of The Strong) by Ellen Stellar
Meet Kiran; the young, reckless, and wild cadet of the most prestigious university. Beautiful, free-spirited, jolly, clever and fun-loving. Her life is one of organizing underground races, gambling, skipping classes, issuing fake IDs and having passionate love affairs… Until one day she is abducted to her native planet as a captive, forced to marry the strongest warrior by the law of the strong. Her restless soul won’t abide, to her cruel father nor to her supposed husband. She is a cadet after all.
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18-Year-old Arina studies Veterinary Medicine in Moscow during the day and works in a veterinary clinic at night, struggling to make ends meet. When she wanders into the photo exhibition of Maxim, she is struck by the cruelty and violence erupting from his world. Son of an oligarch, Maxim is handsome, talented, and rich… On his turn, he is dazzled by Arina’s innocence, beauty and otherworldliness. He offers her a contract for the next two months and three days.
Hence, somewhere in the grey area between art and erotica, both Arina and Maxim embark on a life changing romantic adventure. Little-by-little Arina uncovers the truth behind the secrets and the family tragedy that marks Maxim’s personality.
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What do you do when it suddenly hits you that you hate your husband, but you do not know why…? Where do you go from there? What do you do when after 15 years, the word "don't" slips inside your routine "I love you"?
Table of Contents
Welcome
Contents:
Prologue
Chapter 1
The first knot
Chapter Two.
Anagnorisis.
Chapter 3
Black pawn, white pawn
Chapter 4
A solemn arrival
Chapter Five
Princess’ fickle game
Chapter Six
The Second node
Chapter 7.
Young fruit.
Chapter 8
A glimpse into the future.
Epilogue
Post-epilogue.
Two hundred years later.
Chronology
Book Recommendations:
The Price of Happiness: A Strong Woman in the Middle Ages (A Medieval Tale Book 5) Page 41
