In a small village situated at the end of a forest and plains area, screams of pain came from one of the wooden homes a bit away from the village.

Inside the house, lying on one of the few pieces of furniture inside the bed, a woman cried out in pain as she clutched the blanket underneath her with all her might. Her legs were currently spread as she was giving birth now, with her husband standing off to the corner with a nervous expression on his face since he knew that his wife's time giving birth had gone on for far too long that he could not help but worry about his child and wife.

He wanted to ask the doctor, but he knew that to do so might spell death for both his child and wife, so he could only painfully stare at the scene before him in the hopes that they make it through this.

The said doctor was busy ensuring that no complications occurred with the child's birth. Considering how things had progressed thus far in the delivery, he could say that it stood about a fifty-fifty chance of the baby being born successfully.

Thankfully he had shown up when he did to the small village; considering how things were right now with the still-unborn child, it was safe to assume that any random person without some medical training would not be able to help.

He is trying his best to alleviate the pain as best he can for the poor woman considering how her screams could wake even the dead.

A piece of wood wrapped in some cloth was given for the woman to bite down on since if she accidentally bit down on her tongue, they would lose both the child and mother, but somehow she bit through it, which was a heart-stopping moment there.

Still, everything was resolved, and the woman was alright for now, considering how they were approaching three hours since she went into labor. No sign of the baby was visible, which caused worry in the doctor since there were evident complications with either the child or the mother.

Eventually, seeing that things were only going to get worse meant that action needed to be taken. He would have to remove the baby from the mother by essentially cutting her open to remove the baby.

(Essentially, this is known as a C-section in the medical field)

Knowing what had to be done, the doctor bends down to his medical bag, which he kept next to his feet, and rummages through it for a second before he withdraws a small vial of a transparent liquid, a small knife, and finally, a small glass orb that would fit in the palm of a person's hand.

Tossing the orb above the bed, the doctor proceeded to move over to the woman's side, who was still grunting and crying in pain from the complicated labor she was experiencing.

"I am sorry, ma'am, but this is for the best," The doctor says before he downs the vial's contents and transfers it to the woman through her mouth.

The husband stiffens in shock and confusion as to what it is that he is witnessing before him as his brain cannot process what it is that he is seeing happening to his wife right now that the kiss on top of the complicated birth made him faint due to an overload in his mind.

Pulling back, the doctor takes away his head and proceeds to look at the woman on the bed, only to be slightly relieved that the drug had taken effect as expected.

It had dulled her senses considerably and made her enter a slightly delirious state which was to be the plan since she still needed to be somewhat awake since she might pass away on accident if asleep.

Placing the empty vial back into his bag, he withdrew a small waterskin made of new calf hide, which held alcohol instead of water since he would need to disinfect the wound once he was done. Once ready, the doctor looks up above the bed.

The glass orb he threw above the bed was hovering in the air, suspended as if hanging from the ceiling.

With a snap of his fingers from the doctor, the orb emits a faint white light, and the sphere moves down a bit before stopping and staying suspended in the air once more.

With everything set up and ready to begin, the doctor takes the small knife and cuts away the shirt's fabric near the sizable lump in her belly before bringing the knife to her exposed stomach.

With steady hands, an incision is made into the stomach, just enough to where the baby can be brought out safely so that he does not accidentally harm the child since it is still inside.

After making the first incision, blood started to seep out all over the bed, but now was not the time to think about something as trivial as bloody clothes since two lives were on the line.

Once a big enough opening was made, the body was visible, allowing the doctor to see the cause of the birth complication.

"Son of a bitch..." The doctor says as he lays eyes upon the baby

Not sparing a second thought on the matter, the work continues with the baby being taken out of the womb thoroughly before the umbilical cord is severed, and the baby is placed to the side after a quick check-up it see if it is breathing. The doctor confirmed it was breathing correctly and put the newborn on the bloodied bed sheets since the mother still needed to be treated.

Rubbing his bloodied hands together, the doctor holds the cut belly of the mother together before he looks up at the orb.

"Seal wounds!"

The orb's color changes from white to green as almost mystical tendrils of energy leave the sphere before traveling down to the woman's body and touching the closed area.

With nothing else to do but hold the cut area closed, the doctor could only look at the condition of the newborn child and its mother to ensure they would be alright.

The child was dead silent, with the only indication of it alive being its chest's slight rise and fall, showing it was indeed alive.

However, the doctor removed his hands and checked the mother's condition once the blood flow had stopped. She was still delirious from the drug he gave her, but other than that, she would be exhausted from the amount of blood she had lost, and the effects of the drug would make her fall asleep shortly.

Seeing that she was fine and was soon going to rest, the next priority would be the newborn baby's safety since it needed to be cleaned and given a check-up.

Tenderly placing the baby into his arms, the doctor carries the newborn to the corner of the room where a bucket of water was placed so wet rags could be used for the mother. Taking the father's shirt off, he puts the baby on it before placing it on the ground and looking back at the orb still hovering over the bed.

"Heat"

The color changes again, turning red before it flies to the doctor. He places the bucket underneath the orb, letting it do its thing as the room temperature increases by a notable margin before the sphere stops glowing and drops to the ground.

The doctor catches it before it hits the ground since getting a new one of these orbs was expensive.

Putting it off to the side, the doctor places a finger into the water to see its change from the heat emitted from the orb.

It was perfect for cleaning the newborn, so after taking it out of the shirt, the newborn was gently put into the bucket and cleaned.

"e ee-eh, AH!"

"So you do speak..." The doctor says as a response to the newborn's cries at being placed into the bucket

Cleaning it was easy as he just had to be careful with the baby to ensure it was cleaned up before being put into a bundle meant for it.

With that done and no one else in life or death danger, all that was left to do was clean up since blood, and other liquids now covered the bed with a metallic smell lingering in the air. Used to the smell of blood, it does not bother the doctor much as he removes the woman's clothes so that someone can put her into something else.

However, the smell of blood permeating the air caused the woman's husband to stir before he began to get up and look around slowly.

"Ah! Maria!" The man says before he rushes to her side to check on her condition.

The doctor, however, steps before the man before he gets any closer to his patient.

"Step back, sir. Your wife is fine, she needs a lot of rest for now, and she will recover just fine."

"Uh... yes, but what about..." The husband struggles to speak about the condition of his child

"Well..." The doctor has trouble explaining the baby's current 'ailment.'

The man took it the wrong way, thinking it had not survived the birth as tears began to form in his eyes; however, the doctor shook his head before pointing at the bundle where the child was placed snuggly.

The man feels a sense of relief before he walks over to his newborn; however, once his eyes fall upon the child, he freezes.

"No... no! NO!" The man says before he falls to his knees in visible distress

The reason that the birth was so difficult was because of one defining factor. The newborn had a pair of horns protruding from its head, preventing it from leaving the womb.

Both parents were human, meaning that the child was a hellspawn or known more commonly as a tiefling.

"This isn't real... there is no way this can be happening."

The man was shocked because the baby in front of him was his own and had been robbed by what he believed to be because of demons.

Tieflings are viewed as omens of death, destruction, and blah blah blah. You get the idea of them being considered evil.

Still, the doctor didn't think that way about tiefling since they are nothing more than children branded by evil, leading to their being persecuted by humanity for being who they were. If there were one thing that humans are good at, it would be considering themselves as the superior race in the realm that decides everything.

"No... I will not allow this 'thing' to be known as my child!" In a rage, the man says before he brings his fists up to end the very thing he was worried about just a moment ago.

However, before his fists are brought down on the newborn, they are stopped by the doctor, who holds the man's arms in an iron grip preventing him from taking the newborn's life.

"I am not going to stand by and just let you take the life of an innocent newborn," The doctor says

"That 'thing' is not innocent!" The man shouts at the doctor as he struggles to end the life of the newborn while his firey gaze boreholes at the child

However, the doctor has an inescapable grip that holds the man in place and prevents him from doing anything.

"If you do not desire the child, I will take it away."

"What?" The man instantly stops struggling at those words

"I will take the newborn to a city where it can be raised at an orphanage, far away from your village."

"What do I tell my wife..." The man asks, unsure about what to do

"That does not concern me. Tell her the baby died, and she will mourn, tell her you had it be taken, and she will still mourn."

Taking the silence that falls as acceptance, the doctor lets go of the man's arms before he picks up the child and leaves the house. With his work done and the payment already collected, there was no longer a need to stay in the tiny village.

A single horse-drawn wagon stood at the center of the village, and the wagon was covered in a white tarp with a red cross on it, showing that it was a medical carriage.

It would be considered a massive target on someone's back; having their carriage marked this way was evidence of what they were. However, all nations have acknowledged such carriages and have guaranteed rights associated with their jobs. So the only ones who would attack such carriages are bandits, monsters, and wildlife.

Someone could get these wagons if the individual wishing to purchase one were approved by the medical association after having earned the right to carry the mark of the association on the wagon. They handled anything to do with health and recovery, whether through physical or magical means.

The healers association was one of the prominent factions within the world that held much respect and power throughout the known kingdoms. Even though their association didn't have many religious believers, which was usually the way the other associations held their influence, it was still quite spectacular.

The healers association had a diety for those that wanted to become healers of others through some divine power or other that would grant the magic to do so; however, most people cannot use magic, so the need for non-magical healers and doctors was necessary.

No one was out right now since the sun was setting, and in a tiny village such as this, candles were a rare commodity to be used sparingly if necessary, so much of the village was cast into shadow.

Still, that did not mean people saw the doctor leave, as the darkness would not envelop the village for another half hour at most, so there were a few curious gazes from the people of the village.

However, the child did not make any noise and was hidden well within the bundle, which kept it warm and protected from the elements.

Getting into the driver's seat after putting everything away and placing the baby next to him, he flicks the reigns and leaves the village to the city to drop off the baby at the orphanage and get another job.