EP19: International Men's Day Special - TRANSCRIPT

Hi, you're listening to Hyba Is Writing, and I'm your host, Hyba! It is the 19th episode and it is November 19th, 2020, and I do not think this is a coincidence to take lightly because today is also International Men's Day! In honor of this lovely day, I'm baking something special for the wonderful men in my life as a small thank you for everything they have done for me, and I'm recording this episode featuring one of the men in my fantasy series, Qays! For those of you who don't know yet, Qays is one of the main characters in my book, The Fall of the Black Masks. He is Mila's father - Mila is another protagonist - and the man responsible for saving Ragnar - who is the third and final protagonist of that book.

Some of you might not know this - I certainly didn't until today when I looked up what this day specifically celebrates - but International Men's Day is a time when we focus on the contributions of men in six areas of life: nation, society, community, marriage, family, and childcare. The theme for this year is "Better Health for Men and Boys". If you haven't already searched it up and learned more today about not only men's contributions but also the challenges to their health, today is a good day to do that.

The reason that I chose Qays for this day is because I feel he embodies a good male figure and role model. He isn't perfect - none of us are - and he has made his own mistakes in the past. But Qays is an important character to me nonetheless, and I wanted to share a bit more about him with you today, especially as it concerns his contributions to the society, community, and nation of Belvatria, and his contributions to his family and daughter, Mila. So let's talk about Qays!

Qays's personal history isn't really delved into in the book, so some of this is information you won't really get to read. Qays was born in Belvatria, grew up in Belvatria, and fought for Belvatria in the army as a young man. His parents were pacifists, so they disliked his joining the army and engaging in deadly combat. Still, Qays felt strongly enough about defending his country that he persisted. It wasn't until later on that his beliefs wavered slightly, and he decided to leave the army and lead a much quieter and more peaceful life fixing people and helping people heal instead of hurting and wounding them.

He began his studies as a physician, taking after his father, and soon after, his parents passed away. Qays had a natural knack for the healing arts. He soon became a great physician, known for his gentle manners and skills as a physician. With his success, he was able to start having his own hospital built, one that he could run as he pleased, according to the standards he thought were most important. Many of these standards improved the chances of survival and healing for patients and were met with enthusiasm in the wider medical field.

Qays dedicated his life in large part to making continuous improvements to the medical field, and he soon became arguably the best physician in all of Belvatria, often approached even by nobility and royalty. Though he was asked to become the exclusive physician to the imperial family and their Saray, Qays refused, believing that to turn his back on the rest of his patients would be an unforgivable crime.

While Qays gave so much of himself to his community, his nation, and his society, he also invested a great deal to raising Mila as a single parent. Under his parentage, Mila grew to be an independent, strong-willed, and successful young woman. She studied the medical arts since a young age, along with her other lessons at school and later on with tutors, and works alongside Qays in his hospital as his sole heir. Qays believes that by teaching her everything he knows now, after decades of experimentation and careful investigation, she can go on to further the medical field in her own right as she continues down this career.

When we meet Qays in The Fall of the Black Masks, he is already a well-established physician with his own hospital. He has a stellar reputation, and is well-liked by his community and patients for his honorable manner as well as his skills. When an epidemic breaks out in Belvatria, it is Qays and his hospital that spearhead the organization of a quick and effective response. Though Qays was invited by the imperial court to join them in their travels away from Belvatria during this dangerous time, he decides to stay and face the mysterious illness head-on, working day and night to help find a cure or treatment and stop the spread of the sickness, even when his daughter, Mila, disappears, taken by the criminal organization calling themselves the Black Masks.

So, I happen to think Qays is a very remarkable man. You might listen to all of this and roll your eyes and think, Sure, he can do that because he's a fictional character and he's perfect! He's got plot armor! He's not realistic! But there have been many people like Qays throughout the annals of history, many of whom have influenced the character concept of Qays tremendously.

I might point you to the well-known Muslim physician, Ibn Sina, whose works were revolutionary at the time of the Golden Age of Islam. He is known today as the father of early modern medicine, but he wasn't only a physician - he was a philosopher, a writer, an astronomer, a mathematician, a chemist, and so much more.

Or I might point you to Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi al-Ansari, another Muslim physician who was considered as the best surgeon in the Middle Ages and whose works would go on to influence the medical field for almost five-hundred years. In fact, some of the instruments he made to treat his patients are still in use today!

You can also check out Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, or Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Tamimi, or Ibn Rushd, or so many other men who have made amazing contributions in the fields of medicine, as well as other fields, and whose only plot armor was fate.

That's all for today's special episode! If you have comments, thoughts, questions, please leave them at my blog or through my contact form, or at my social media. All the links are in the episode description!

Thanks for tuning in today! Until next time!