September 20th, 2008
Photoshop and drawingtablet

Because you never know when you might need a doctor...
This is my twelfth and last entry for Akeli's concept art contest. I figure I've bombarded her enough now. This last entry is all about health care. The world of Guardians is dominated by felines, but when you get sick most cats won't be able to help you out. So you'd need to turn to other animals, who make a living by practicing medicine.

There are (in my opinion) roughly three different types of doctors, each with their own specialisation, namely the herbalists, the epidemiologists and the surgeons.

The herbalist is an expert on plants. Consequently most herbalists are also herbivores (usually rabbits, deer or goats). For herbivores, becoming a herbalist is an opportunity to escape their more common status: the status of prey animals. The herbalist will know exactly which plants can be used to ease upset stomachs, to cure headaches, to numb pain, to remedy impotence, etc. They will also know which herbs can strengthen a patient's immune system, so that he or she won't fall ill in the first place. The herbalist is also an expert on poisons and can use this knowledge to cure, but also to harm subjects. No royal court is complete without having a herbalist in its entourage, because you never know when someone might try to poison the monarch.

The epidemiologist is not a welcome guest in most places, unless it happens to be ravaged by an unknown disease. Most epidemiologists are carrion birds, such as crows, ravens, vultures and condors. Occasionally, the odd eagle might also decide to try his luck in this field of medicine. These avian epidemiologists are well travelled and have seen a great number of diseases. Most of them actually travel to areas struck by diseases, just so they can offer their services to the frightened population. Their main role is that of advisors. For the right price, the birds will educate their patients on how to prevent falling ill, or advise them on how to get well. Deadly illnesses inspire fear and panic among many people, and make most of them more than willing to pay the red-hooded epidemiologists handsomely for their services. The birds are also viewed as heartless opportunists, because if their patients fail to get well, their doctors will typically feast on their dead bodies. This causes most of the birds to be in a perpetual good mood, despite the grim circumstances. To them it's a win-win situation.

The last type of doctor is the surgeon. Only creatures with a certain manual dexterity (in other words: animals with hands, like monkeys and apes) can become surgeons. This rather simple prerequisite gave rise to the saying 'even a monkey could do it', however, this is not fair. Like their colleagues, the surgeons also need a huge amount of knowledge to be able to perform their jobs. The surgeon basically takes care of all physical health issues. He can set broken bones, bind wounds, administer medicine and can pull rotten teeth. Because they perform so many tasks, surgeons require a wide array of tools. Most surgeons are proud of their profession and will display their tools, just for the sake of displaying them. Most patients become quite alarmed, when they see their doctor sorting out a huge number of blades, pincers and other painful looking devices, while they only came to have their bandages changed.


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