"You will heal," he asserted, busying himself with the supplies he'd need, removing the pouch from his belt, so it could serve as a relatively clean, makeshift stand for the tools. "And the pain will ennoble you further."

Yet as she removed the tattered shirt, he... he had no notion of what he saw there. A grand and disfiguring scar, and... "What happened to you, dear one?" He cautiously touched near the mark, fingertips just shy of its edge.