Like many warriors, Volterra has been guilty of looking down upon the healing arts throughout his life. When he was a boy wrestling with his sister or exploring the wilderness, he always dreamed of being a warrior - never for a second did the thought of healing cross his mind. Why would it? It is his job to create the wounds, not stitch them up. This ignorance has carried through into his adult life, making him see healers as rather pointless. The fact he never seeks relief for his battle wounds - due to his opinion that a fight is a pact that both partners must see through to the end by letting their wounds sew together over time - means he's often thought of the Throat's doctors as quirky commodities rather than useful members of a functioning army.

That has begun to change now he's risen to Sultan. Whilst he may not seek healing for himself, it will be incredibly useful to have for other warriors. He's seen firsthand how easily Tiamat's herbs numbed the giant slice in his shoulder, a technique that could prove valuable during a real war. Swallowing his pride and admitting he may have been hasty in dismissing the doctors is hard for the Indomitable, a man who rarely acknowledges his mistakes and certainly doesn't apologise for them. Yet as a king he must put his prejudices aside and treat the herd's healers as lovingly as he does the warriors, valuing them as integral cogs in the Throat machine.

It's useful that his son has chosen the path of medicine, too. Whilst Volterra was initially disappointed that Astarot didn't want to be a warrior like his sire, he supposes that at least the boy is specialising in something, and maybe the apple does sometimes fall far from the tree. He's more likely to take an interest now a child of his has chosen this path, like one of those poor dads who desperately tries to be 'down with the kids' and learn all about his offspring's hobbies. He slips into position alongside Ampere, growing used to conducting these meetings alongside her now. Unlike in several of the others, though, he remains silent as he waits for their doctors to gather; he has no suggestions regarding how to manage their healers, as he's still willfully ignorant of most of their role. This is something he intends to fix, and he is hungry for education as he waits alongside the Sultana.