Mud Baths and Other Treatments
With the nascent development of rationality and scientific thoughts throughout the more well-to-do classes of Alvenites, came the discovery of new treatment methods for a well-known range of ailments, such as arthritis, psoriasis, gut problems, and even ... old age.
The well-to-do merchants and Chieftains' family members in the 'civilized' south have all heard of the wonderful curative properties of mud.
To meet the demands of mud treatments and other new-fangled therapies, sanatoriums have been springing out a bit everywhere on the southern coasts or in the picturesque mountainous valleys of The Great Towers Range.
Some of these are in well-known spa towns where older establishments have been refurbished to take advantage of the craze.
Others have been build from new, sometimes with money lent from the The Sanctuary or from less reputable sources (e.g. The Ambulant Men).
The Sanatarium at Crawsythe is a very popular place with the well-to-do and the military orders of the Archive.
It is truly a place of rest and recovery, but it has also a darker side. The money used to build the sanatorium comes from laundering and for a hefty fee, patients can be 'recuperating' there away from the prying eyes of society.
It is located hours away from the capital, Highfort and hidden in one of Ben Croh's valleys, a safe place to hide or be hidden.
The Brigand's Health Retreat is a sanitorium newly built by the Sanctuary to cash in on the new trends.
The Sanctuary has traditionally run many hospitals and to keep up with its wealthy patrons decided to jump on the bandwagon and create a few 'Sanatoriums' under its aegis.
The Sanctuary has always been adept at maintaining its influence and power throughout Alven's society and pandering to its patrons is what it does best.
The most popular of its sanatoriums is handily situated only a few hours away from the capital Highport on the western coast near Windbay. Called the Brigand's Health Retreat, it boasts unsurpassable views on The Shimmering Seas elegant and fashionable suites, the latest in mud treatment rooms, and a Gambling Hall.
Not to be outdone by the rest of the country, Eastern Alven has also seen the construction of a few popular sanatoriums.
The most well-known is situated near the harbor of Kynally, only a short journey away from the cosmopolitan, and bustling city of Hollyholm.
The Sanitarium at Kynally is run by the powerful Clan Glassader and employs a team of Tinkerers to improve and remodel the existing contraptions.
The more up-to-date health specialists, called The New Healers have been experimenting with muds of all sorts within the last thirty years and a few have published high-profile treatises on the matter.
One of the most influential tome to hit the printers in recent years has been 'The New Healer's Guide to Mud Treatment and How to Cure Many Common Ailments' written by Valetta Fieldthrow of Clan Botterfyre.
In it, Valetta expands on many successful treatments she, herself, experimented with during her long stint in Briggashore's Spring Retreat, one of the Sanctuary's traditional spa hospitals.
It is fair to say that many sanatoriums and more modest mud treatment establishments boast that the mud they find locally and employ for their treatments is the best and has near-magical qualities in curing all sorts of illnesses and improving health.
For example, the mud used in Crawsythe comes from the hot springs that pepper this part of The Great Towers Range, while the coastal Sanatoriums use the mud from inland salt lakes deposited there since ancient times.
As for the treatments, there are many, sometimes colourful and forever evolving.
New Healers have found new ways with mud that go well beyond the traditional mud baths and poultices that were always part of country healers' practices.
Whole rooms in fashionable sanatoriums have been built to treat the usually wealthy patients who can afford to stay in such establishments. Here are two conditionings one can experience in some of the best establishments the country has to offer:
Patients are asked to step in a very narrow metal case or mould where they stand up to their neck naked.
Warm mud is then poured to encase their body. The patient now just needs to wait for another three hours or so until the mud cools down and solidifies around them.
When the mud is set, the case is opened up like a mold and the patient is then gently laid onto a bed whereby the mud will be broken off their body bits by bits. This procedure is usually done by highly skilled practitioners and can take up to a few more hours. It also serves as a good depilatory treatment.
Some New Healers are of the opinion that more extreme treatments increase the potency of the mud benefits to the body.
Traditionally, mud is applied warm and let to cool down before being washed away. There are well-known practitioners, quite popular at the moment in some fashionable circles, who have devised a series of contraptions that freezes the mud on a patient's body before it is peeled away.
Despite being quite a painful and uncomfortable procedure, the Healers assure the patients that the benefits outweigh the inconvenience one suffers from the treatment. It is now considered one of the best procedures against aging skins and limbs.
The Alven Roll Call, one of Highfort's most notorious Gazettes has reported that certain fashionable gentlemen of the Thane's Court, such as Old Malvin Greenwood of Clan Deeryant no less, have taken to 'freeze' on a weekly basis.
Most interesting is the new contraption that Tinkers have put in place to prevent the iced mud from melting during the 'freeze breeze' treatment.
The contraption was first invented in the East where 'contraptions' have become a major point of interest for those in The Enlightenment movement.
The Guild of Tinkerers has a strong following in Hollyholm, and this is where Belllis Wolfbane of Clan Glassader invented a series of fans with the particular ability to cool down the ambient temperatures.
The importance of her discovery was not realized until a few years later when she came to join the staff at the Kynally's Sanitorium. The rest is history.
This article would not be complete if I did not mention that a good number of Alvenites have not yet been converted to the new healing sciences.
In more traditional northern regions, for example, change is very slow. The new healing methods are viewed with suspicion.
Even the ruling clan families seem to trust more the local healers and their traditional ways to cure them.
In the south, among the poorer classes of Highfort and other big cities, a general distrust of newer healing treatments has also settled in. The general opinion is that the Healer's bills are expensive enough without paying for some fancy 'mud bath'.
The well-to-do merchants and Chieftains' family members in the 'civilized' south have all heard of the wonderful curative properties of mud.
To meet the demands of mud treatments and other new-fangled therapies, sanatoriums have been springing out a bit everywhere on the southern coasts or in the picturesque mountainous valleys of The Great Towers Range.
Some of these are in well-known spa towns where older establishments have been refurbished to take advantage of the craze.
Others have been build from new, sometimes with money lent from the The Sanctuary or from less reputable sources (e.g. The Ambulant Men).
Well-Known Sanatoriums of Alven
- The Sanatorium at Crawsythe
The Sanatarium at Crawsythe is a very popular place with the well-to-do and the military orders of the Archive.
It is truly a place of rest and recovery, but it has also a darker side. The money used to build the sanatorium comes from laundering and for a hefty fee, patients can be 'recuperating' there away from the prying eyes of society.
It is located hours away from the capital, Highfort and hidden in one of Ben Croh's valleys, a safe place to hide or be hidden.
- Brigand's Health Retreat
The Brigand's Health Retreat is a sanitorium newly built by the Sanctuary to cash in on the new trends.
The Sanctuary has traditionally run many hospitals and to keep up with its wealthy patrons decided to jump on the bandwagon and create a few 'Sanatoriums' under its aegis.
The Sanctuary has always been adept at maintaining its influence and power throughout Alven's society and pandering to its patrons is what it does best.
The most popular of its sanatoriums is handily situated only a few hours away from the capital Highport on the western coast near Windbay. Called the Brigand's Health Retreat, it boasts unsurpassable views on The Shimmering Seas elegant and fashionable suites, the latest in mud treatment rooms, and a Gambling Hall.
- The Sanatorium at Kynally
Not to be outdone by the rest of the country, Eastern Alven has also seen the construction of a few popular sanatoriums.
The most well-known is situated near the harbor of Kynally, only a short journey away from the cosmopolitan, and bustling city of Hollyholm.
The Sanitarium at Kynally is run by the powerful Clan Glassader and employs a team of Tinkerers to improve and remodel the existing contraptions.
Mud Treatment and its History
The more up-to-date health specialists, called The New Healers have been experimenting with muds of all sorts within the last thirty years and a few have published high-profile treatises on the matter.
One of the most influential tome to hit the printers in recent years has been 'The New Healer's Guide to Mud Treatment and How to Cure Many Common Ailments' written by Valetta Fieldthrow of Clan Botterfyre.
In it, Valetta expands on many successful treatments she, herself, experimented with during her long stint in Briggashore's Spring Retreat, one of the Sanctuary's traditional spa hospitals.
It is fair to say that many sanatoriums and more modest mud treatment establishments boast that the mud they find locally and employ for their treatments is the best and has near-magical qualities in curing all sorts of illnesses and improving health.
For example, the mud used in Crawsythe comes from the hot springs that pepper this part of The Great Towers Range, while the coastal Sanatoriums use the mud from inland salt lakes deposited there since ancient times.
As for the treatments, there are many, sometimes colourful and forever evolving.
Mud Treatments and Contraptions
New Healers have found new ways with mud that go well beyond the traditional mud baths and poultices that were always part of country healers' practices.
Whole rooms in fashionable sanatoriums have been built to treat the usually wealthy patients who can afford to stay in such establishments. Here are two conditionings one can experience in some of the best establishments the country has to offer:
- The Mud Break
Patients are asked to step in a very narrow metal case or mould where they stand up to their neck naked.
Warm mud is then poured to encase their body. The patient now just needs to wait for another three hours or so until the mud cools down and solidifies around them.
When the mud is set, the case is opened up like a mold and the patient is then gently laid onto a bed whereby the mud will be broken off their body bits by bits. This procedure is usually done by highly skilled practitioners and can take up to a few more hours. It also serves as a good depilatory treatment.
- The Freeze Breeze
Some New Healers are of the opinion that more extreme treatments increase the potency of the mud benefits to the body.
Traditionally, mud is applied warm and let to cool down before being washed away. There are well-known practitioners, quite popular at the moment in some fashionable circles, who have devised a series of contraptions that freezes the mud on a patient's body before it is peeled away.
Despite being quite a painful and uncomfortable procedure, the Healers assure the patients that the benefits outweigh the inconvenience one suffers from the treatment. It is now considered one of the best procedures against aging skins and limbs.
The Alven Roll Call, one of Highfort's most notorious Gazettes has reported that certain fashionable gentlemen of the Thane's Court, such as Old Malvin Greenwood of Clan Deeryant no less, have taken to 'freeze' on a weekly basis.
A New Contraption: the Freeze Fan
Most interesting is the new contraption that Tinkers have put in place to prevent the iced mud from melting during the 'freeze breeze' treatment.
The contraption was first invented in the East where 'contraptions' have become a major point of interest for those in The Enlightenment movement.
The Guild of Tinkerers has a strong following in Hollyholm, and this is where Belllis Wolfbane of Clan Glassader invented a series of fans with the particular ability to cool down the ambient temperatures.
The importance of her discovery was not realized until a few years later when she came to join the staff at the Kynally's Sanitorium. The rest is history.
Backclash
This article would not be complete if I did not mention that a good number of Alvenites have not yet been converted to the new healing sciences.
In more traditional northern regions, for example, change is very slow. The new healing methods are viewed with suspicion.
Even the ruling clan families seem to trust more the local healers and their traditional ways to cure them.
In the south, among the poorer classes of Highfort and other big cities, a general distrust of newer healing treatments has also settled in. The general opinion is that the Healer's bills are expensive enough without paying for some fancy 'mud bath'.
This is a very interesting take on a new medicine cure. I like all the detail in how it can be used and its different methods. Great job :)
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. :)