Hey guys, thanks for the feedback!
@akoebel, I know you said that the physiker scene wasn't a critique, but more questions, so I just wanted to address the surgical aspect.
I actually intended the scene to show how differently Cold Ones are from the rest of the populace. i.e. wounds healing at an incredible rate, advanced rate of recovery, and the like. You're quite correct, akoebel, in that a pierced femoral artery would normally cause death. In this case, it was nicked, which is a minor departure, but as Mathieu is a Cold One, it did not kill him. It did take him several days to recover, so it's not like he's super human by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps I'll add Eduardo putting a swift tourniquet around his leg before putting him in the boat or maybe make the physiker less sure of themselves.
The physiker isn't infalliable though. Who's to say she was completely right in her diagnose/hope of treatment? I, for one, always thought she was too eager to experiment on a comatose patient. I think she would have been one of the types caught for body stealing before dissections were legalized.
When I wrote the scene I had already done quite an extensive bit of research into physicians. It wasn't concering surgery, but rather plant/drug purposes. Having said that, I stumbled upon some interesting tidbits. Surgery was performed by Muslims well before the time period of this story. Dissections were commonplace in Europe once the Vatican gave theirr approval.The humours that run through the people in my story enhance their natural attributes. If say a warrior from our world went up against one from theirs, ours would lose. In much the same way, a physiker of that time is more advanced than a physician of our world around the same time.
Having said all of this, I just wanted to let you know I didn't pull it out of thin air. I've tried to carefully craft the technology and sciences of the period. The main difference between rennaisciance Italy and Servenza is that the rare advances in Italy are common and perhaps even mundance in Servenza.
Mathieu's wound is closed by this point. In fact, by the time he hobbles down the stairs it's already loosened up. His main weakness now is loss of blood. His humours may have sustained him, but they need time to replenish. Time he might not have...
I'm glad you liked it! Definitely keeping me on my toes and aware of what areas I provide too much detail.
Here's a very interesting, concise (read: short) article about a muslim physician who died in 1013 near Cordoba. His works were printed in Venice in 1471. Amazing how advanced Moorish Spain was at the time.
http://www.ummah.com/history/scholars/el_zahrawi/