The brazier had burned low by the time Batu was writing, the cold having moved into the room while the center still had its warmth. The pale gray of winter dawn was coming through the felt on the east and giving him enough light to work by. He had the stylus in his hand and a piece of felt spread on the writing surface, and he had been at it for a while already.
The list was taking longer than a field order because the phrasing had to carry its own weight without him there to explain it. He wrote.
The midwife's hands and the attendants' hands must be washed in water that has been boiled and then cooled before any birth work begins. Not washed in cold water. Boiled water, cooled to the point of use.
Every cloth used in the birth must be boiled beforehand and handled only by the midwife after.
The blade for the cord is to be held in fire until it glows, then cooled in clean water before it cuts. The binding for the cord is to be boiled cloth only.
