knights

Nursing Academy

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The Nursing Academy is located in the center of the city of Whitehood.  Only women are sent to be trained nurses.  Men wishing to be doctors or surgeons are usually sent to Belvadore for intense study.  Recently the nursing academy began to accept applicants from women of all walks of life.  Due to the increase in orc incursions (three in one century) the demand for nurses has never been higher. 

The academy is run by a Matron, who delegates to several head nurses who carry out her orders.  The academy is funded by the military, which gets its funding from the royal treasury.  Because it is funded by the military, the academy is forced to follow any orders given to it by any high ranking officer.  Once enrolled, a nurse is forced into service for no fewer than five years.  A nurse can stay on in the academy indefinitely, however, as long as her record remains clean.  The academy can admit any patient whose condition merits constant supervision.

A classic yarn shared among the nurses who enlist in the academy is the tale of “Nurse kiss, nurse saw.”  Long ago, a beautiful but simple-minded nurse treated a wounded knight at the academy.  The knight had been stabbed, hacked, chopped, sliced, bashed, and bloodied but still alive.  The nurse, unsure how to treat him, asked the knight what he would like her to do for him.  The knight told her that each of his limbs were rendered useless and needed to be amputated.  Feeling sad for the knight, the nurse kissed each limb before removal.  Enjoying the touch of her lips, the knight requested she kiss his head and face next.  Needless to say, the nurse had a lot of explaining to do when the Matron discovered the headless knight some time afterward.

During times of peace, nurses are scattered throughout Damir from Gilstad to Belvadore.  Some eventually form their own practice or team up with a local doctor and leave the Nursing Academy.  Other nurses are hired by wealthy patrons, such as the royal family or Damir’s nobility, to be in-house nurses.  Of course, a nurse must pass all exams and finish her five year requirement in order to leave the academy.

Branta’s Tumble

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Branta’s Tumble-

The western slope of the round hill that is Proudhill is excessively steep: almost impossible to climb up and dangerous to climb down.  Some ramparts have been built into the slope to make an attempt by any army impossible, protecting its western boundary from bandits using topography as its primary defense.  The western slope is the site of many buildings of significance- most notably, the church.

History records the slope as having played a rather important role in the shaping of Proudhill.  During its early years, Proudhill had a civil war.  The city was divided on whether to have the Council or the church govern the laws of the populace.  The exalted sister Branta was a very pious member of the church and was constantly raising sedition against the Council, trying to wrest power into the hands of the church.  Middle-aged and a member of the clergy for almost her entire life, Branta did nothing else but study the Goddess and her Twelve Proverbs.  She was described as horribly thin, pale with short brown hair, and always strolled about Proudhill with her head held very high.

Branta’s troubles began when a vulgar rumor of her sexual habits began to spread about Proudhill’s taverns.  To combat these ugly rumors, Branta (without authorization from the Council) went ahead and passed the Pure People’s Code: a religious doctrine designed to snuff out human vulgarity.  The Council became outraged by her audacious over-reaching and tried to arrest her, but Branta hid behind the power of the church and its templars.

Even though she was successful in rallying a lot of support amongst the people, the civil war turned badly for her and the church’s cause.  Pushing through the barricades around the church, the knights of the Council made an effort to arrest her for inciting sedition.  Instead of being a martyr, Branta tried to fight back.  It is said Branta used some oil to saturate the church’s floor, then lit it on fire once the knights entered.  While this kept the knights back, Branta’s pyromania got the better of her and the church began to burn around her.  Not wanting to burn to death, Branta leaped through a stained glass window and then stumbled toward the steep, western slope.  Wearing a long skirt, Branta tripped in it and fell down the slope.  The knights heard her shriek but by the time they got to the slope, Branta’s broken body was already at the bottom of the hill.  Thus, the slope has been called “Branta’s Tumble.”  The church was saved from the fire but the civil war was at an end.