“What someone feels is right for themselves should be their own and only their own business. Who are you to decide what is right for someone else?” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

“Hmm, I can’t seem to detect anything particularly glaring when it comes to physical injuries other than a few minor things, so I doubt that’s what you came here for,” noted Aideen after she gave Ze’phane a quick checkup like she did with Egil. “I presume you sought me out for a different issue, then, since it’s clearly not for the usual injuries?”

“It might be a presumptuous request on my part, Milady Silver Maiden,” replied Ze’phane with a low bow. “I ask for your understanding before I voice my request to you.”

“No worries, I have no doubt that whatever you think is presumptuous, I have seen much, much worse before,” replied Aideen with a melodious laugh. “Go ahead and say it then.”

“I am what my people term a switched-soul, Milady, someone who feels that they are born into the wrong body,” said Ze’phane sincerely and openly. “In my case, I have never felt at home inside my own skin, if that makes sense. While my clan has always been helpful and supportive towards me, there remains little else that they could do to help me get rid of this feeling that I am not supposed to be a man. Our shamans in the north only rarely have the proper affinities to help those of us who were both switched-soul, and even those who do, very rarely have the power to act on it.”

“Since my people lacked the ability to help me in this case, I have since left my homeland in the northern plains and traveled to the former Empire where I applied some relevant knowledge in order to earn myself a sum of gold with which I could request a powerful healer to help me,” she continued as she brought out a rather large purse from her storage. “These are my life’s savings that I have prepared for this occasion. I implore you to please accept it and help grant my wish.”

“Keep your money,” said Aideen, though not as a chastisement but instead in a kindly tone. “This is something I’d help you with had I run into you before, but sadly we had not met until today,” she added with a beatific smile on her face. “Maybe we should do this in the privacy of my place? The process will take a bit longer since reconstructing your body and making sure everything works properly is a rather finicky thing to do.”

Aideen then led Ze’phane over to her own place, and bid the half-orc to lie down on the bedding present there. She also queried Ze’phane about the scale of the changes she wanted, but was pleasantly surprised that the half-orc had not cared about resculpting her body too much, other than the necessary changes that made up the differences between a man and a woman.

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In hindsight, that point of view made sense. Aideen knew that the orcs of the northern plains were never ones to consider “beauty” as important, at least not the same way humans do. What they considered attractive was what someone managed to achieve and the challenges they had overcome in their life, as well as the ways they contributed to their clan as a whole.

“Before I begin, I must warn you first that this change will render you unable to have children for the rest of your life, are you aware of that?” asked Aideen to the half-orc lying down on the bedding. The question was more one to ensure that her patient knew what they were in for, and she considered it a must to warn them about such life-changing consequences. “I’m afraid none of us are powerful enough to alter someone’s body in such a thorough way, so even though I could help you with your body, some things are still out of my reach.”

Aideen could indeed restructure someone’s body in such a way that they would be truly a man or woman in every regard, but nothing she – or anyone else for that matter – was capable of doing could stimulate the restructured forms to produce either the seeds or the eggs that would form into new life. It was not the first time she stumbled upon a case like Ze’phane’s either, so she felt obligated to warn her patient of the consequences.

“I am aware,” replied Ze’phane with a smile. “My family’s lineage is secure, and my siblings are blessed with many offspring, so this will not be a problem,” she added. “Please go ahead, Milady, I have wanted this all my life.”

“All right, then,” noted Aideen as she gently laid her hands on Ze’phane’s shoulders. “This might feel quite ticklish, so please do your best to stay still.”

Aideen started her work after Ze’phane gave her a final nod. It was more difficult to completely resculpt someone else’s body compared to merely repairing damages to the body. When Aideen used her healing to take care of injuries on someone else’s body, she could use the rest of that person’s body as a sort of template to guide her on what to do. On the other hand, to resculpt someone to a different gender like what she was doing now had no such conveniences.

Fortunately Aideen also had a wealth of experience to draw from, so she knew what to do for the most part. Some parts of the body she could adjust accordingly, while others would slowly adapt to the changes she made over time. What was more important for her was to make the changes in such a way that the body would accept it as a natural part of itself, and thus minimizing risks of complications or rejection.

After Aideen was done around ten minutes later, there were not many visible changes to Ze’phane’s body, at least, not ones visible while she remained clothed. She had not made too many alterations, as per her patient’s wishes, so most of her time was spent working on the more subtle yet important internal changes instead.

For Ze’phane, though, the change was something she immediately noticed.

"For the first time in my life... I feel right. I feel like… me, like I am truly myself the way it should have been..." she stammered with obvious emotion as she felt the change in her body. “I do not know how I could ever repay this kindness, Milady Silver Maiden, but whatever you ask for, I shall strive to do with my utmost. This I swear.”

“All right, then. In that case, I ask that you live well and happily,” replied Aideen with a smile on her face.