Gren Sanderson's page

Gren's spent his whole life in Daggermark. His da passed before he knew him, so Jennine, his ma, raised him best she could. Jennine was a midwife, and a sometime doctor in a pinch, or for those that couldn't afford a real one. Gren, being a curious sort of child, and clever as a fox, learned to read early on and started studying what he could understand from ma's books and journals. When she saw him take an interest, she thought it passing strange that a boy would want to learn healing arts. She figured he'd be out swinging wooden swords with the rest of the runts in town. Still, she figured it wouldn't hurt the lad to learn.

Turns out he had a right knack for the subject. She'd point out a plant and it's properties once and he'd recognize it from then on. One day when they were foraging for medicinal herbs Gren spotted a hawk struggling on the ground. It had a long tear in its wing and a broken leg. Jennine knew the poor thing couldn't be saved, and suggested they put it out of it's misery. Gren begged to have the chance to try and save it. His ma was hesitant, but allowed it, figuring the child may need a lesson in death. Gren set its leg and stitched it's wings, and while his work was clean, Jennine did not think the animal would survive to see morning. Gren stayed by its side throughout the night and poured all his hope and care into the thing. When she woke to the smell of breakfast, Jennine was shocked to see the bird taking strips of egg directly from Gren's hand. Gren simply smiled at her and said, ”His name's Spinner.” The hawk became a fixture in the village. He would fly about town and into the nearby wood during the day, but never ventured far and always returned to Gren by night.

After a few years, ma started taking Gren with her on calls to see how she worked. She thought the sight of childbirth or the other sicknesses she tended might put the boy off his interest, but Gren was fascinated. He found nature and the human body to be wondrous things to study and he had almost an uncanny knack for diagnosing sicknesses. Soon Jennine began to notice that her patients seemed to be healthier, look happier, and be more comfortable when Gren was around. When he was old enough, she let him start taking some patients himself and she found while she was more capable a midwife, Gren was actually a much more talented healer.

Fairly recently, Jennine decided her son was ready to study on his own. He'd learned all she could teach, and had the capacity to surpass her. She helped him set up a small apartment, and as a parting gift presented him with some basic apothecary instruments of his own and an expensive treatise on medicine and human anatomy which she'd bought from a traveling merchant. That book is his greatest treasure. Gren is now establishing a small clientele of his own. One of his new patients is Luna, a working girl of the Dancing Whip who'd been knifed by a jealous customer grown too attached. Madam Holbern was a regular client of his ma's. She always kept her girls supplied with ma's special contraceptive brew. Gren had been to the Whip many times to deliver the stuff and rather liked the quiet barkeep who usually accepted the delivery's from him. That might be why he'd been making so many house calls to check on Luna of late, but he told himself he just wanted to be extra safe with his new clients.

Gren's never been devout. His mother worshiped Pharasma, as did most midwives, but Gren never cared much for the Goddess of death and prophecy. Lately he's been attending Brother Silas's sermons in an attempt to be more involved in the community. After all, now that he's on his own he can't rely on Ma's connections to bring him new clients. He feel's much more at ease with Erastil's views on family and community than with Pharasma's doctrine. Brother Silas was welcoming of Gren when he showed up, and Gren likes the priest quite a bit. He's been absent from the church more of late, and Gren's grown a bit curious as to why.