Ymiden 5, Arc 721
It had started to rain again. The storms of Ashan had continued into Ymiden, blanketing the entire landscape in moisture. The sound that the raindrops made when they touched the windows, or the roof, reminded Tristan of some sort of drum. Had it been any louder, he might have found it annoying, but as it was, there was something strangely calming about it. Together with the fire that he had started in the kitchen stove and the smell of fresh herbs, the rain created a relaxing atmosphere. He could not help but feel at ease, and comfortable.
In Rynmere, where Tristan had been born and spent approximately the first twenty-four arcs of his life, he had been a noble and lived a life of absolute luxury. Here, in Melrath, his new home where he had moved after the civil war and the plague, he had to work in order to make a living. He did not mind that at all though. On the contrary, he enjoyed earning his own money and taking care of his family and his friends, especially since he could do so with something that he would have done anyway. Alchemy was not only his job; it was also one of his favourite hobbies.
The trial before, he had been contacted by a lady from the Alfar Hold, one Gudrun Ragnarsdotter, a seamstress. She spent all trial at work, mending clothes, she had told him. It was already quite warm in her shop as it normally was, so she was worried about about what the new cycle would bring. She’d heard about his anti-winter potion, she’d told him. Could he please try to make an anti-summer potion for her, something that would make the Hot Cycle heat more bearable so that she wouldn’t sweat halfway to death?
She’d come and pick the potion up the following afternoon.
Mrs. Ragnarsdotter’s request was the reason why Tristan was eying the flowerpots with various herbs that stood on the windowsill of the window that was in front of the kitchen counter now – parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil and peppermint, among other things – and stroking his chin as he thought about which combination would work best.
Finally, he took the flowerpot with peppermint and carried it over to the kitchen table in order to carefully pluck a few leaves, just enough for a few doses worth of potion. He knew that peppermint was a refrigerant and lowered the body’s temperature, so it would be a good first herb for the potion. With that thought in mind, he put the peppermint away again – if he kept all the herbs here, his table would be filled with utter chaos before long.
He did not return the peppermint plant to its previous place though, but set it down on a different windowsill where it would hopefully get more light instead. Peppermint needed approximately half a dozen breaks of direct sunlight per trial which was a challenge at times like these when it was raining. He also turned the pot slightly so that a different side of the plant would be facing the window as it had already started leaning to the side.
Every part of it should get an equal amount of light!
Following that, he filled a pot with water and put it on the stove in order to boil it and removed a jar with dried chamomile blossoms from a kitchen cupboard. Chamomile had similar cooling properties as peppermint, so, chamomile tea would be an excellent base for his potion.
Besides, the taste of chamomile and the taste of peppermint would hopefully complement each other well.
He didn’t only want to give Mrs. Ragnarsdotter a potion that worked; he also wanted it to taste good!
It had started to rain again. The storms of Ashan had continued into Ymiden, blanketing the entire landscape in moisture. The sound that the raindrops made when they touched the windows, or the roof, reminded Tristan of some sort of drum. Had it been any louder, he might have found it annoying, but as it was, there was something strangely calming about it. Together with the fire that he had started in the kitchen stove and the smell of fresh herbs, the rain created a relaxing atmosphere. He could not help but feel at ease, and comfortable.
In Rynmere, where Tristan had been born and spent approximately the first twenty-four arcs of his life, he had been a noble and lived a life of absolute luxury. Here, in Melrath, his new home where he had moved after the civil war and the plague, he had to work in order to make a living. He did not mind that at all though. On the contrary, he enjoyed earning his own money and taking care of his family and his friends, especially since he could do so with something that he would have done anyway. Alchemy was not only his job; it was also one of his favourite hobbies.
The trial before, he had been contacted by a lady from the Alfar Hold, one Gudrun Ragnarsdotter, a seamstress. She spent all trial at work, mending clothes, she had told him. It was already quite warm in her shop as it normally was, so she was worried about about what the new cycle would bring. She’d heard about his anti-winter potion, she’d told him. Could he please try to make an anti-summer potion for her, something that would make the Hot Cycle heat more bearable so that she wouldn’t sweat halfway to death?
She’d come and pick the potion up the following afternoon.
Mrs. Ragnarsdotter’s request was the reason why Tristan was eying the flowerpots with various herbs that stood on the windowsill of the window that was in front of the kitchen counter now – parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil and peppermint, among other things – and stroking his chin as he thought about which combination would work best.
Finally, he took the flowerpot with peppermint and carried it over to the kitchen table in order to carefully pluck a few leaves, just enough for a few doses worth of potion. He knew that peppermint was a refrigerant and lowered the body’s temperature, so it would be a good first herb for the potion. With that thought in mind, he put the peppermint away again – if he kept all the herbs here, his table would be filled with utter chaos before long.
He did not return the peppermint plant to its previous place though, but set it down on a different windowsill where it would hopefully get more light instead. Peppermint needed approximately half a dozen breaks of direct sunlight per trial which was a challenge at times like these when it was raining. He also turned the pot slightly so that a different side of the plant would be facing the window as it had already started leaning to the side.
Every part of it should get an equal amount of light!
Following that, he filled a pot with water and put it on the stove in order to boil it and removed a jar with dried chamomile blossoms from a kitchen cupboard. Chamomile had similar cooling properties as peppermint, so, chamomile tea would be an excellent base for his potion.
Besides, the taste of chamomile and the taste of peppermint would hopefully complement each other well.
He didn’t only want to give Mrs. Ragnarsdotter a potion that worked; he also wanted it to taste good!
