Ymiden 1, Arc 720
Approximately twenty-five trials had passed since the Mortalborn had returned from his final trip to the island of Scalvoris where he had held a series of guest lectures on Blood Magic, the branch of alchemy that he specialized in. He had also taken the opportunity to visit the local branch of the Order of the Adunih and donate a few vials of his newest potion – a potion based on Lotharro blood that could be used to treat anaphylaxis and heart conditions, among other things. Finally, he had gathered a number of reagents that would be useful when it came to his research and his work as a professor – one of which was contained in the large black metal box that he carried through the hallways of the Academy, to the laboratory where this trial’s lesson would take place.
He walked relatively quickly – carrying what would constitute a heavy weight to most people posed no problem to him – only stopping momentarily every now and then when he noticed a familiar face in order to incline his head in a greeting. Before long, he had reached his destination, set the box down on the floor for a moment in order to unlock the door and finally carried it to the desk that was located at the very front of the room, in front of a large blackboard where he opened it in order to reveal the bright green sand within.
By the time that the first couple of students arrived, he had prepared everything and stood in front of the blackboard, dressed in his customary suit of coal and crimson, arms crossed over his chest and hands encased in fine gloves. A smile flickered across his face whenever one of the young men and women stopped for a moment in order to eye the sand. He didn’t explain why he had brought a box that was filled with sand with him that trial right away though. He wanted to keep up the mystery and make them wonder a little longer.
He only cleared his throat and raised his voice once all the workstations were occupied and no more people arrived, once he had closed the door so that they would be able to work in peace.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen”, he spoke, loudly and clearly so that even the students at the back of the laboratory – there were two students at every workstation – would be able to understand him. “As you all know, I visited Scalvoris several times this past Ashan. I found the island to be full of strange plants and animals – even the stones and the soil have unusual properties sometimes. As one should when undertaking a trip abroad, I brought a gift with me”, he revealed, pausing briefly before he continued.
“During one my trips, I visited one of the beaches – contrary to popular belief, I do not spend all my time working”, he spoke which caused a few of his students to laugh. “And I couldn't help but notice something quite interesting about the sand there. It was always cool to the touch, even in the middle of a heatwave. The people of Scalvoris use this sand for a number of different things. I won’t tell you what for though.”
“I want you to figure it out.”
“Over the course of past two seasons, you have made a fair amount of progress”, he spoke. “For that reason, I have decided to let you experiment a bit this time rather than telling you what exactly to make. I want every one of you to come to my desk with an empty container and get a bit of sand – and subsequently make something with it. At the back of the laboratory you will find an assortment of different items that you can imbue, pieces of cloth, gloves and even stones as well as a number of reagents that you can safely combine with the sand as well as each other - primers binders, accelerants, triggers as well as metabolizers”, he told them.
“Have fun – and good luck”, he added before he opened a drawer of his desk in order to remove a few pieces of paper, a pen as well as an inkwell from it. He wouldn’t just sit there and twiddle his thumbs while his students went about their work, but observe them and occasionally take notes about how the class went (such was helpful when it came to planning future lessons, among other things) – and provide help should such turn out to be necessary, of course.
Not that he expected anything bad to happen. As he had preselected the reagents and the items that his students would be able to use, the main challenge for them would be to determine if the item needed to be treated with a primer first, subsequently use the other reagents in the correct order - and use the correct amount of them so that the item that they decided to make would actually work.
Approximately twenty-five trials had passed since the Mortalborn had returned from his final trip to the island of Scalvoris where he had held a series of guest lectures on Blood Magic, the branch of alchemy that he specialized in. He had also taken the opportunity to visit the local branch of the Order of the Adunih and donate a few vials of his newest potion – a potion based on Lotharro blood that could be used to treat anaphylaxis and heart conditions, among other things. Finally, he had gathered a number of reagents that would be useful when it came to his research and his work as a professor – one of which was contained in the large black metal box that he carried through the hallways of the Academy, to the laboratory where this trial’s lesson would take place.
He walked relatively quickly – carrying what would constitute a heavy weight to most people posed no problem to him – only stopping momentarily every now and then when he noticed a familiar face in order to incline his head in a greeting. Before long, he had reached his destination, set the box down on the floor for a moment in order to unlock the door and finally carried it to the desk that was located at the very front of the room, in front of a large blackboard where he opened it in order to reveal the bright green sand within.
By the time that the first couple of students arrived, he had prepared everything and stood in front of the blackboard, dressed in his customary suit of coal and crimson, arms crossed over his chest and hands encased in fine gloves. A smile flickered across his face whenever one of the young men and women stopped for a moment in order to eye the sand. He didn’t explain why he had brought a box that was filled with sand with him that trial right away though. He wanted to keep up the mystery and make them wonder a little longer.
He only cleared his throat and raised his voice once all the workstations were occupied and no more people arrived, once he had closed the door so that they would be able to work in peace.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen”, he spoke, loudly and clearly so that even the students at the back of the laboratory – there were two students at every workstation – would be able to understand him. “As you all know, I visited Scalvoris several times this past Ashan. I found the island to be full of strange plants and animals – even the stones and the soil have unusual properties sometimes. As one should when undertaking a trip abroad, I brought a gift with me”, he revealed, pausing briefly before he continued.
“During one my trips, I visited one of the beaches – contrary to popular belief, I do not spend all my time working”, he spoke which caused a few of his students to laugh. “And I couldn't help but notice something quite interesting about the sand there. It was always cool to the touch, even in the middle of a heatwave. The people of Scalvoris use this sand for a number of different things. I won’t tell you what for though.”
“I want you to figure it out.”
“Over the course of past two seasons, you have made a fair amount of progress”, he spoke. “For that reason, I have decided to let you experiment a bit this time rather than telling you what exactly to make. I want every one of you to come to my desk with an empty container and get a bit of sand – and subsequently make something with it. At the back of the laboratory you will find an assortment of different items that you can imbue, pieces of cloth, gloves and even stones as well as a number of reagents that you can safely combine with the sand as well as each other - primers binders, accelerants, triggers as well as metabolizers”, he told them.
“Have fun – and good luck”, he added before he opened a drawer of his desk in order to remove a few pieces of paper, a pen as well as an inkwell from it. He wouldn’t just sit there and twiddle his thumbs while his students went about their work, but observe them and occasionally take notes about how the class went (such was helpful when it came to planning future lessons, among other things) – and provide help should such turn out to be necessary, of course.
Not that he expected anything bad to happen. As he had preselected the reagents and the items that his students would be able to use, the main challenge for them would be to determine if the item needed to be treated with a primer first, subsequently use the other reagents in the correct order - and use the correct amount of them so that the item that they decided to make would actually work.
