( Solo Flashback ) Operation: Flora

[Liel]

1st Day of Spring, 511 A.V. It was all so strange. So many days had passed. Had she dreamt it all? Had she really found the Ethaefal on the shore that day? She had awoken mid-slumber to a stranger, one who whispered her name and she had fled into the night. Eventually his footsteps had dimmed. When she returned in the early light, he was gone and so was Aon—there was no sign that he had even been there. Her mother had told her that all things had their time, and as a result, Liel buried herself in study. And when she said buried, she meant it. There were notebooks with pages copied from the Medical Library stacked high to the ceiling. She devoured all the theories, ate and chewed every word she could. She must not remember the Ethaefal—she was helpless now. There was nothing she could do and she refused to waste time. Her mother was worried for her, tried to comfort her—but Liel insisted nothing was wrong. “What a stubborn little Konti I have,” her mother would say, kindly, sadly. Liel would turn away. Had it been him? She had barely known him. What, then? She had felt him, for a day she had felt him and he represented to her a world unknown, a world full of mystery. She grew discontent. All she had ever known was not enough, dwindled, grew quiet. So she broke the quiet with knowledge. And as Spring came around, she began. Day One: Ashwadha She made a charming little sight, all white and surrounded by green. She was determined. This would be her little makeshift laboratory, with the sun as her ceiling and the grass as her floor. Eyes of bright violet scanned the book she held in her right hand. In her left was a white marble pestle, and right below it was the mortar. Several leaves and a few seeds lay within. “Grind into a powder… one teaspoon to every eight ounces of beverage…” Pink lips murmured the words, and in a cloud of white hair, she set the book down and went grinding away at the leaves and seeds. She had with her a stone jar of Saskatan tea. The powder was made, and most of it was sealed away into a little container, save one teaspoon. Measured eight ounces, poured, set her book fifteen feet away— Then she drank. It was chalky, strange. She knew she had to wait for it to kick in, so she set to work making more powder, keeping them secure in tiny, dark containers. Hours passed and finally, she turned to look at her book. “…Overexposure over a long… time can lead to heart problems… extreme cases heart attack…” Shocked and delighted, Liel couldn’t help but break out into a big smile, her delicate webbed fingers covering her eyes—then uncovering—and covering again. She could read most of the small text from fifteen feet away! Her first experiment had been a success. It was almost enough to distract her from thoughts of unknown worlds and that night, she went to sleep with neat little containers upon her shelf.

[Liel]

2nd Day of Spring, 511 A.V. Day Two: Caesia “Dear Laviku,” she whispered, eyes clenched shut, “Please don’t let it hurt too m—oh!” With a squeal, Liel flung her arm out of the ant-nest and backed away, eyes wide and shining with reactionary tears. She stared at her arm. Previously light gold, now it was a throbbing red. Her skin crawled, unused to seeing such bumps upon it. She’d been aiming for one bite—Laviku had granted her two. Tempted to stick her tongue out at the probably-amused god, she hightailed out of there and back to her spot from yesterday. Earlier, she had dusted some powder off a Caesia bush and into some more of those little containers of hers. Now, she took an elongated, flat piece of dried coral and waited for the smarting to grow somewhat familiar. Good Laviku, it hurt. The bites were so small but they stung. After a while longer, she could no longer help it—the dried coral was dipped hurriedly into the Caesia powder and spread upon her poor arm. In almost an instant, the pain had subsided. It still felt raw and somewhat abused (would her arm ever forgive her?) but instead of the sharp pains, it had grown into a warm sort of pinch, washed over by something cool, almost minty. She breathed a sigh of relief. Another row of containers that night, neatly labelled. She’d have use for them soon enough.

[Liel]

3rd Day of Spring, 511 A.V. Day Three: Galangal She was at home today—it would be no good, starting a fire out in the field. Galangal was a root, and she had spend the morning digging up the galangal roots, placing them in paper bags filled with grass, and replanting some remaining roots so the plant would have a chance to grow again. She had learnt quite early on not to pick too much when scouring for plants. There was a mutual respect for the flora, and as a Konti, Liel valued this. She had dusted and cleaned some of the roots, and now they boiled. Now, she focused on the remaining roots. Setting them upon a marble chopping board, she sliced through them and created small chunks. It was hard – she was not too strong, but with teeth grit and eyes incredibly determined, she chopped in a frenzy that would have made any warrior proud. Three books lay open on the table. When done, she placed the chunks on a tray, side by side and not touching. Her plan was to dry these roots for later use. Glancing at the boil, she decided she could afford to leave it. She needed to store these roots under her bed – a cool, dark place. After they dried, she would jar them, along with the six other jars she already had. She planned to store three jars of each plant she harvested. When she returned, she was alarmed to see that the water was boiling quite vigorously – she killed some of the fire so that it would now just maintain the heat. She had some lime juice, and was creating an infusion to turn into a tonic. “A mixture of Galangal and lime juice is used as a tonic, which is said to have the effect of an aphrodisiac and stimulant…” her book had said. It also said that the tonic could cause mild hallucinations – which had peaked Liel’s curiosity. She enjoyed medicine, but had not seen her tutor for a few days. She had wanted to take things into her own hands, to experiment. But poisons… Hallucinations. If she could get a handle on drugs, she could get a handle on poison. The subject fascinated her. That night, three jars of tonic were simply labelled: G & L.

[Liel]

4th Day of Spring, 511 A.V. Day Four: Valeriat “Liel, I really don’t – ” “Please?” she cooed, fixing her sister with her big, violet eyes. “I really would appreciate it, I have not seen Kanis in a week and I want to impress her.” Her sister sighed. They both sat in the shade of a big tree, surrounded by plush cushions. Liel knew her sister would be safe. Eventually she conceded, and Liel laughed happily. “I promise it won’t hurt.” “I know, I know.” Armed with pestle and mortar, she had crushed several valeriat flower-heads, boiled them, and made a broth. It was simple, and would bring no harm – it would actually calm her sister’s nerves, for one. But the broth was thick, and what Liel wanted to achieve was time. She wanted her sister asleep as soon as possible. Pushing the big, shining bowl before her sister, Liel watched, intent. She leaned forward, snowy lashes and red cheeks, drinking in every detail. Her sister bought the spoon to her lips – yet she was only just past halfway done when Liel noticed her eyelids starting to droop. So it wasn’t only concentration, but amount. Liel made no move to aid her as she fell gently into the cushions. She smiled. What she had really wanted to try was – crush flower heads, make broth, mix with galangal and lime infusion. A drug induced, hallucinatory sleep. Covering her with a blanket, Liel quietly left.

[Liel]

5th Day of Spring, 511 A.V. Day Five: Things Your Mother Wouldn’t Like By the fifth day, she had read on every single plant in Mura. She had a lot of head knowledge not only through books, but through way of life – the clubmoss paste that any Konti used when having muscle pains, the albizzia tea that most everyone drank to stay healthy, the bareberry that some of the older women smoked, the beaked hazelnut that was chewed to keep clean, the breadfruit that she had been eating as a small child to boost energy and keep her full when her mother had come home late – all of this, and more; it was ingrained in her. But this was not ingrained, and it was this which had captured her: the mixing of elements. The hallucinatory sleep was one. Caesia was another. It would cause respiratory problems. She had tried inhaling a very small amount of the plant’s powder, and had felt her chest getting tight. Needless to say, she had eaten jupin berries like crazy to combat it. At least she knew that caesia powder worked. Mix that with some elodea, and one could probably get very, very ill. Fireweed. It grew only in early fall, so she could not take a closer look, but she made a note of that: F.W. It was poisonous in its natural form. Perhaps she could somehow pick it without touching it, grind it into a paste. She was unsure of the taste. If used as a poison, the taste, or smell would have to be disguised. Thimbleroot! She thought with a grin. Thimbleroot had no properties save for flavour. Neither did isotete, now that she thought of it. If she mixed thimbleroot or isotete with fireweed, hopefully enough would drown out a potential bitter taste or scent. And if it hurt to ingest, she could use yellow nettle paste in the mix to numb the body while it was being poisoned. She’d have to be careful though – that idea, she’d keep on the shelf for a while. Ami, too. Mix ami with enough yellow nettle paste, and the victim would have no idea that their throat was being cut up from the inside. Hythorne sap. She giggled when she thought of using some to her advantage – “Liel, I’m so angry at you!” “Why?” “I… I’m not sure.” She could get away with most anything! She just needed to figure out how to execute the sap to achieve immediate forgetfulness, not general forgetfulness. Perhaps she could ask Kanis… Plumrose anemone. These did not affect her people, but they could seriously harm humans. Pity the human fool who hurt a Konti, Liel thought. Her sleep, that night, was troubled – her notepad was filled with words, reminders, experiments. And now, dreams of the Ethaefal came plenty. Not just Aon. Ethaefal, as a race. As a people. She woke up, gasping for air. She had poison on her mind, and she was hurting her heart, confused. Afraid. Determined. Fascinated. Stay any longer, and she knew – eventually – the other Konti would detect something amiss. Please, Laviku, she prayed, I don’t know what is wrong with me.

[Alice]

Liel

Experience: 5 Herbalism, 1 Poisons
Lores: Remembering the Ethaefal, How to Make and Effects of Ashwadha Powder, Testing Herbal Mixtures on Oneself, How to Harvest and Apply Caesia, How to Make Galangal and Lime Juice Tonic, Effects of G & L Tonic, How to Make Valeriat Broth, Testing Herbal Mixtures on One’s Sister, Various Poisons and Hallucinogens

Comments

An interesting read! I quite admire your writing style. I wasn’t sure about the xp since you mixed the two skills so much, but I hope this is acceptable. If you’re not satisfied, feel free to tell me. Also, it’s Herbalism if you work the plants into medicine or poison, not Botany.

[Liel]

xoxoThanks Alice, and my bad about the botany! Also, thank you very much for the compliment.