Annotated 17-16
Fr’Nj’s chant was Phil’s composition, and I think it’s his best poetic writing for the series: good enough that we had no trouble repeating it twice after this, in Chapters 19 and 21.
Had we included the cantankerous Astr’x to challenge Rachel on her lack of enlightenment, this scene would’ve been more of a battle between faiths that disagreed on the details but not really the essentials, with Fr’Nj caught between Astr’x and Rachel as, um, peacemaker. As it is, Rachel is in a position to see the benefits of Fr’Nj’s faith almost immediately, and she’s certainly broad-minded enough to believe that there are multiple paths to the Heart of All, much as Fr’Nj will soon recognize Rachel as a champion of life. If you want throat-ravaging arguments between two people who should be on the same side and one person in the middle trying to settle them down, the next page will have you covered.
It didn’t look to me like Scipio’s injury was a life-threatening one in the first place. Not when he was up, walking around, and speaking coherently. I could see him losing an ear without magical healing, but no more than that. So is Rachel just being overly concerned here? After all, she may be a effectively a cleric, but I don’t recall any mention of her receiving actual medical training while she was with the Sisterhood.
Ears and tongues are two things that just bleed and bleed and bleed. Not hugely life threatening, but if you don’t do something with it can drain a person faster than they can make more blood and eventually cause serious problems.
That not withstanding, I think Syr’Nj, who is a trained medic, would have reacted with more urgency if Scip’s injury was actually life-threatening (given the available healing options). So I’m with Wyvern in thinking that Rachel is being a bit obtuse with that question.
Speaking of Rachel, what happened to her black eye?
They are in the hospital. Maybe she got a little Wood Elf healing for herself. ;-D