[Stormhold Salves] Infusion Confusion Pt. II

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:24 am

10th of Spring, 514 AV
8th Bell

“This a lot more complicated that I thought.” Aoren tapped his fingers on the surface of the table where he sat in Stormhold Salves. He had just recently returned from an outing into the Bronze Woods with a companion he had never thought he’d meet again. The affair hadn’t been altogether unpleasant but he was still adjusting to it. There was a huff at his feet. Aoren looked down to see Isikai, his recently purchased Bozderon, Zypherian mixed breed dog laying on the floorboards. The trip had taken a little out of the pup, he’d certainly done a great deal of running and playing in the dirt. The result of which had been several baths and a lesson on how to keep the dog from fidgeting in the water.

“What? Do you have an answer?” Isikai looked up at Aoren curiously but offered no insight into his current dilemma. The Drykas man found himself in the shop buried in manuscripts about various methods and processes of Philtering that morning. There was a wealth of knowledge on the basic principles concerning the craft to be found within Sahfri Blackleaf’s workroom. None of that knowledge however, was what Aoren needed.

Shortly before his camping trip with his old…friend, Aoren had experimented with infusing magic into one of his philters. While the result hadn’t been disastrous it hadn’t been the least bit successful. The whole of the experiment had only proven just how much Aoren didn’t know about the talents he wielded. So there he was, in Stormhold Salves, in the work room trying to figure out how to build upon what he’d learned. It was proving more difficult than he’d expected.

“Well, what do you expect, Aoren? Really? You’re a mediocre mage at best who is seriously lacking in the finer points of knowledge as far as magic is concerned.” A little bit of a harsh analysis but it was true nonetheless. For all of his talent in the way of magic, Aoren knew so very little about it. That was going to change once he made his way to Zeltiva to study at the University but for the moment, he was no more knowledgeable than he had been several days prior. If anything he felt completely lacking in things he needed to know. All of that aside, he was determined to change that.

Aoren looked at the multitude of items arrayed in front of him. He had brought his artistry tools from his apartment that day. It would be better if he used his own supplies in the quest for greater knowledge in the art of Philtering than using up Mistress Blackleaf’s paints. He had set up some more advanced pieces of equipment for Philtering in order to assist him in his pursuits. Taking a deep breath he looked down at Isikai.

“Let’s hope I don’t blow us up, eh boy?” The pup quirked his head blinking at Aoren before standing up to sniff around the floor of the work room. The Drykas man watched him for a moment then shook his head. The dog couldn’t have been less interested, not that he minded. Aoren set to work then. He had gathered a few herbs from the shop’s stores upon first arriving that morning. He’d picked them carefully after reading about a particular medicine that seemed perfect to amplify with his Healing. He grabbed the text concerning the remedy perusing it just to make certain that he had the things he would need.

Note :

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:27 am

Created from the maceration of various bitter herbs found throughout Mizahar. Consumed internally to those suffering from slight or partial hearing loss once per day for seven days, hearing will return to normal.

Marim Bitters, the remedy was called. As he read he referenced the various herbs used in its creation. Each was common and easily obtained from the stock on hand in the shop. Aoren had those various herbs simply sitting in a bowl large enough to pour water into and allow them to soak. He grabbed an alembic removing the charcoal treated cheesecloth from the nozzle then placed his hand over the opening. He’d made the decision that it might serve him better to use water that was inherently magical as opposed to mundane water in his arcane experiment.

Taking a steady breath, Aoren called upon his Res. It extruded from the palm of his hand falling into the base of the alembic collecting there. He continued conjuring until the glass was roughly half-full then ceased drawing upon his Res. The silvery ethereal liquid swirled in the clear container and for a moment Aoren pondered just how the properties of the philter might be affected when using magically conjured water.

“There’s only one way to find out.” He wove a hand over the glass transmuting all of the Res within the alembic into the desired element. The Res flared a bright blue before it settled down becoming what appeared to be ordinary water. Aoren grabbed a match and lit the brazier that would heat the liquid in order to pass it through the distillation process. He affixed the cheesecloth back to the nozzle then attached the proper hoses to the opposite end of the distillation coil before setting the alembic on the holster just above the flame.

It would take a few chimes before the water rose to a boil to be purified. While Aoren had conjured it and thus knew it hadn’t been contaminated with dirt or anything of the like he wanted to make absolutely certain he was using the purest form of his ingredients. Philtering, after all, was the art of the meticulous and as he was working with magic he wanted to be as safe as possible. With a little time on his hands he looked to his art supplies, the different brushes, the parchment paper and his paint. He would take the time to plan the shape of the Glyph he would use to modify the magic to be infused into his potion.

He knelt briefly to give Isikai some attention. The pup nuzzled his hand eliciting a smile from the Drykas man. He scratched behind his companion’s ear then ran his fingers along the soft fur of his back. Isikai nipped at his fingers and pawed at his forearm but otherwise returned the affection in earnest. With a final pat upon the pup’s head Aoren returned to his work. Retrieving a piece of parchment, some paint and a medium sized brush, Aoren dipped the brush into the paint setting out focusing on the design of his Glyph.

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:28 am

The Focus was the easiest part. It was the same in nearly every Glyph that Aoren drew. Its purpose was simple, it would absorb and reflect that magic that was directed at it. That was where the tricky part came. Aoren needed to construct the surrounding runes so that they directed the flow of the magic into the object of his choice, namely, his philter. To do that he needed to build an appropriate Path. Aoren had very little experience in the way of building runic Paths. Once he’d finished painting the Focus he began working on the first Barrier.

It was still a relatively new form of constructing a Glyph for Aoren. While he had known about how to draw and use Glyphs for a number of years he seldom practiced the World Magic. Now, he was branching out. Setting down his medium sized brush he grabbed a smaller one so that he could carefully detail the runes involved in the first barrier around the Focus. As he drew each rune in a circular pattern around the Focus glyph he concentrated on notions of containment hoping that with those thoughts in mind it might aid the purpose of the Barrier itself.

Aoren set down his detail brush observing the completed Focus and the initial Barrier for a moment. He flexed the fingers in his right hand and rotated his wrist to get the soreness out of the muscles. Drawing Glyphs, no matter what their purpose or what part they played, still took Aoren a fair amount of time. There were still principles of the World Magic that he had yet to explore but understanding would come with time and practice. He glanced over to the alembic. The water had begun to boil and was slowly beginning to evaporate and condense upon the inner walls of the distillation coil. He nodded, pleased with the progress.

Picking up his detail brush he continued to work on the second Barrier that would augment the first. This one would channel the magic being released from the Focus once the proper Trigger was in place. The purpose of this Barrier, this Path, would be to funnel the magic released from the Focus into the object he desired and not just randomly being released with the hope the philter or object managed to absorb it.

As he drew the Path with careful detail, as much as he was able given his limited understanding of the principle, Aoren mused that the lack of a Path was likely the reason his first experiment failed. Slowly, the Path took shape until it too was completed upon the surface of the parchment. Altogether, Aoren’s Glyph was rudimentary but elegant in appearance. He felt as if he were staring at the base strands of a spider’s web. There was room to be more intricate but he lacked the skill to provide that much detail.

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:30 am

Moving to the corner of the parchment he proceeded to draw the Trigger. It would be simple in design as Aoren was only capable of constructing simple parameters. Upon touching the Trigger rune itself, the magic would be released. He didn’t think it could get any simpler than that. He didn’t specify what needed to touch the Trigger only that it needed to be touched in order to break the Barrier and allow the Path to channel the magic contained in the Focus. He structured a few runes to connect the whole Sigil together so that it would work as effectively as he was able to make it. When finally the whole Sigil, the collection of all of his Glyphs, was complete he held up the parchment observing it carefully. Aoren gave a nod of his head satisfied with his work.

It was at that precise moment that his pup decided to jump up into his lap and demand his attention. Isikai hopped up into Aoren’s lap bumping his arm as he did which startled the Drykas as he hadn’t been expecting it. The jerk of his hands in different directions…caused him to rip the parchment rendering all of his work utterly useless. Aoren gaped at the pup in his lap and the torn parchment in his hands. He dropped the torn sheet upon the surface of the table brushing it aside with a sigh. His shoulders sagged and he let his head hang.

“Isikai, what am I going to do with you?” Oblivious to the fact that he’d inadvertently caused his master to ruin what had to be nearly an entire bell’s worth of work, Isikai huddled up against Aoren’s chest and licked his chin. The young man shook his head unable to resist smiling. He brought his hands up petting the dog’s soft fur gently. He wasn’t angry at the pup, a little irritated at the fact that he’d have to draw his Sigil all over again? Maybe. But angry? Not at all.

“You just wanted some attention, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” Aoren hugged his dog more closely and ruffled his fur. He got an excited bark from the pup and more vigorous wiggling as Isikai pawed at his hands playfully. Aoren entertained himself by playing with his puppy for a few chimes to break up the monotony of his work. He made sure that Isikai didn’t get too rowdy so as to avoid breaking anything. When it seemed Isikai became more curious about discovering what it was that was flailing back and forth on his bum by chasing his tail in circles, Aoren returned to his work.

The conjured water was boiling nicely at this point evaporating, passing through the cheesecloth as a gas and condensing in the distillation coil. The water would then travel through the coil collecting in the beakers awaiting it on the opposite side. Taking his seat back at his workstation, Aoren grabbed another sheet of parchment. He glanced over to where Isikai was now busying himself with exploring the mysteries of a piece of wood. It was little more than a stick they would have used to throw under the kiln or in the stove. The minute Isikai began chewing on it Aoren knew the pup would be entertained for a good amount of time.

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:32 am

Grabbing a beaker filled with normal water, Aoren washed off his brush so that the bristles didn’t stick. He then set about redrawing the Sigil he’d inadvertently destroyed. A loud sigh escaped Aoren as he set out drawing the Focus once again. He switched hands when he reached the first Barrier. This was partly because his right hand was tired and partly because he needed to practice.

The effort resulted in him taken even longer to draw the first Barrier than he would have if he used his dominant hand. This was alleviated when he was once again forced to switch hands or risk cramping as he constructed the Path. When he’d finished the Trigger, Aoren glanced down making certain Isikai wasn’t about to jump into his lap again. Isikai was happily scratching his side then continued to chew up the stick he’d found.

The water had finished filtering through the distillation coil at that point. Rising from his stool, Aoren stretched. He rotated his shoulders and rubbed his wrists to get the soreness out of them. Grabbing the beaker filled with the purified conjured water he poured it into the bowl of dry herbs that would form the Marim Bitters. As the herbs swirled, Aoren grabbed a pipette and stirred them to loosen those at the bottom. They would need to soak for at least a bell or two before he was ready to use them in his final experiment. For the moment he decided to proceed with a bit of a test to see if his Glyph would function properly.

Drawing upon his Djed, Aoren placed his hand upon the Focus at the center of the Sigil. He slowly conjured the magic just as he would if he were going to shape a proper Shield. With his other hand he grabbed a beaker setting it at the center of the Focus. From there he willed the nebulous energy of the Shield to flow over the expanse of the glass. Carefully he kneaded the form of the Shield so that it was pushed into place over the exterior of the beaker. He kept his thoughts lucid doing his best to maintain an inner calm as the direction provided by the Glyph aided him in the construction of the Shield. Finally when the beaker was completely covered by the Shield he studied its outer surface. It was not perfect. He could see variations in the thickness causing for a ripple effect over the beaker. He spread his fingers over the glass willing the beaker to simply block other Djed.

“Let’s hope this works.” He pressed finger to the Trigger activating it. The Focus flared to life as the runes of Barrier dissolved. The magic that was released was captured by the Path that Aoren had constructed glowing a bright royal blue. Little by little, Aoren witnessed the beaker begin to pass into the depths of the Focus. The sight made the Drykas man nod, hope for progress in his skills flaring in his chest. The moment however, was short lived.

A hissing sound caught Aoren’s attention as the runes of the Path blinked fizzing out his magic seemed to arc from one rune to another before stopping cold. The parchment crumbled leaving behind little more than a cloud of smoke as the glyphs failed. The beaker, half inside the Focus, shattered cutting the young man's hand. He jerked his hand back exclaiming as the failing of his Glyph caught him off guard. Aoren sighed in frustration. Then it hit him. He looked at the palms of his hands. He looked at the parchment. He looked back at his hands then rolled his eyes.

“Of course.” He had forgotten to add his own Focus glyphs to his hands to ease the casting. First things first, he called upon the powers of the mark bestowed upon him by Rak'keli. Pressing his palms together, a gesture that causing him only a mild bit of discomfort, he watched as the radiant blue light that stemmed from his connection with the Goddess washed over his injured hand. When the light faded the cuts were gone but the soreness remained. Going over to Isikai he knelt and pet the pup briefly on the head. It was back to the drawing board.

EditI realized I made a mistake in the way that Shields are cast. They are not standalone constructs. I remedied that with the addition of trying to pass the Shielded beaker into the Focus.

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:34 am

“I’m glad you’re here, boy. At least I’ve got someone to vent my frustrations to now.” He smiled at Isikai who only blinked at him before nuzzling his hand. Grabbing one of his large brushes and the dust pant he swept the ashes of the failed Glyph away. Setting up another sheet of parchment, Aoren set about redrawing the runes once more.

“Third time is the charm, right boy?” Isikai ignored him getting up to sniff around the workroom. Aoren paid a little more attention to the runes he used in structuring the Path this time around. He spaced them more closely together adding in a few more to increase the length of the chain the magic had to pass through.

He hoped that this would slow the surge of power bursting forth from the Focus but only application and experimentation would tell him whether or not the effort proved successful. When he’d finished drawing the Trigger he sat back hold the palm of his left hand upward.

Dipping his smaller detail brush into his black paint, Aoren drew a Focus on the palm of his hand. When he’d finished that one he switched hands painting another upon his right. By the time he’d completed drawing all of the runes he glanced at the herbs milling about in the water. It wouldn’t be too much longer before they were ready to use.

“Okay, round…umm…” Aoren had lost track of what number of attempt he was on. He shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t matter. He would keep trying until he was successful. Grabbing a fresh beaker he placed it upon the Focus then nodded. Drawing upon his Djed he placed both hands upon the Sigil near the Focus on the parchment. He found the casting much easier but as Shielding was still a magic he wasn’t accustomed to it came slow. His Djed flowed over the beaker which soon began to pass into the Focus being absorbed by it and restrained by the measures Aoren put in place. He concentrated on tasking the Shield magic with blocking out sound. He willed that task into the weave of the Shield as it passed into the Glyph. Little by little he watched as the beaker passed into the Focus of the Glyph heralded by the blue glow of his Shielding magic. Silently Aoren waited for the parchment to flare and the experiment to fail. That moment did not come. When the last bit of the beaker had passed completely into the Glyph he blinked. It had worked. He wasn't finished yet however.

He pressed his finger to the Trigger causing the Barrier to be dissolved releasing the magic in the Focus to follow the corridor’s set by the Path he’d constructed. Little by little, Aoren watched as the beaker resurfaced from within the Glyph. It was a slow daunting process. No doubt it wouldn't have transitioned so smoothly had he not layered his work in Glyphs designed to ease the difficulty of casting the magic in the first place. When finally the beaker sat upon the surface of the parchment once more Aoren picked up the beaker and held it to his ear. He flicked the glass with his free hand. The sound was muffled. Not completely blocked but dulled. Some part of the magic either hadn’t been transferred properly or he hadn’t tasked the Shielding magic properly to begin with.

Regardless, the flaw was evident but it was close enough. Still, to make sure that he was actually capable of tasking a Shield with blocking out sound, Aoren reached for his Djed once more. His forearms ached. His hands were beginning to shake. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. It didn’t help that the Focus glyphs he’d drawn were only good for a single use at his level of skill. Slowly though, his Djed began to form in his hands. He spread it over the exterior of the beaker. He was getting a little better at creating uniform thickness in his Shields but there were still areas that were thicker than others. Holes still formed far too often and required him to push and pull at other sections of the Shield.

EditSame mistake as above. Altered a thing or two here and there to ensure continuity.

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:35 am

When he was finished constructing the Shield, Aoren placed the beaker over his ear. He repeated the gesture he’d done before. There was no dull or muffled chime of his fingernail hitting the glass. At least not internally, he could of course still hear the chime from his uncovered ear.

“Well, that’s a start.” He set the beaker down watching as the Shield quickly collapsed. He rolled his shoulders nodding. He was as ready as he would ever be. Aoren had the tools he needed. He just needed to use them together. Wetting his brushes and cleaning the bristles he brought the bowl along with a vial closer to himself. Aoren dipped the vial into the Marim Bitters then swirled the vial a little watching the particulates of herb mill about inside as they settled. He placed the cork stopper upon the vial then took a deep breath. Drying off the outside of the vial he picked up a tiny detail brush then set about drawing the Sigil he’d practiced three times before that.

The Focus he drew on the bottom of the vial, a flowing starburst ready to absorb the magic he poured into it. He then, with painstaking slowness and detail, painted the runes of the barrier around the Focus winding up around the glass. The Barrier was then encircled by the Path completing the pattern. It appeared as though several winding rings of runes wove themselves over the surface of the glass vial. Each rune served a purpose and was placed there to the best of Aoren’s ability. He huffed, rolling the ache out of the muscles in his neck as stiffness had set in from being hunched over.

The final piece, he began painting the Trigger upon the surface of the cork stop. This was the most important and while he couldn’t construct it so that its timing was utterly perfect Aoren did his best. He repurposed this Trigger so that instead of activating the magic contained in the Focus when it was touched, it would activated when opened. When finally he’d finished painting the Trigger, Aoren held the vial by the edges of its opening so as to allow the paint more time to dry. It didn’t take long considering he’d used such a small amount by comparison to the vial’s size. Setting the vial down, Aoren grabbed a slightly bigger brush.

He once again set about painting a Focus glyph on the palms of each of his hands. This time however, he rolled up the sleeves of his loose cotton shirt exposing his forearms. Picking up a medium sized brush Aoren rest his left forearm on the surface of the table and prepared to accentuate the Focus on his palm with something more.

Starting from the Focus on his palm he worked on slowly painting intricate runes that wound themselves along the length of his forearm down to his elbow flowing outward from each tip of the central starburst pattern of his Focus. The result was a spiral design covering the length of his forearm leading down to the central Focus on his palm. He had built a Path so that the Healing magic that he channel from himself flowed a bit more easily from his body through the connection he had with Rak’keli and into his philter.

Aoren repeated the pattern on his right forearm. The work was slightly more tedious than with his left. He had to paused several times and take a short break, getting up to walk around the shop in order to loosen his stiff muscles. At one point he stopped completely to spend time with Isikai and walk through the greenhouse with his pup. By the time he’d finished it was well into the afternoon.

by **Aoren** on April 28th, 2014, 7:38 am

------------------

14th Bell

Aoren was finally ready. He took a deep breath. The paint along his forearms and in his palms had dried. The Glyphs there and upon the surface of the single vial that would be the culmination of hours, upon hours of work were in place. Taking another deep breath, Aoren closed his eyes. He allowed his mind to quiet. He focused not on whether or not his experiment would be a success but what he would learn from this endeavor if it wasn’t. He reached for the inner peace and tranquility that he felt when he touched upon the power that Rak’keli channeled through him. For the power was not his own, no. It belonged to the Goddess. He was but a door through which that Healing power could pass through.

Aoren focused on that concept. He focused on being a conduit for the power of the Goddess of Healing. He focused on channeling her strength. Opening his eyes he had to blink as the runes along his forearm, on the palms of his hands and upon the surface of the vial were glowing a bright azure light. Aoren willed the powers of Healing to flow into the philter he held in his hands. He willed that the strength the Goddess of Healing had bestowed upon him also be bestowed upon the medicine he held.

Slowly, little by little, the runes along his forearms dimmed and faded. The light trailed down the Path set forth by the Glyph’s on his skin into the palms of his hands. It collected there then flowed into the philter as the Focus upon the bottom of the vial drew in the magic. The water and herbs within the vial were illuminated by a calming ethereal light. The runes scrawled upon the surface of the vial dimmed until they were once again the black paint used to draw them. The Sigil upon the vial remained. The liquid continued to glow brightly.

Aoren waited.

And waited.

Nothing bad happened. The glass did not crack. The Marim Bitters did not turn black and evaporate into smoke. The runes did not fade. Disbelief began to wash over Aoren’s features.

“I did it.” He spoke it as a whisper.

“I did it.” This time a little louder. His voice caught the attention of Isikai who had been dozing nearby. The pup yawned raising his head to peer at Aoren curiously.

“Ha! I did it! Finally! Yes!” Aoren pumped a fist into the air then looked at the vial. It was as it had been since the completion of the transference of power. The runes scrawled upon its surface seemed to hold the magic inside. What exactly had been enhanced by the Healing, Aoren had infused into the philter? He had no idea. That was the subject of another research project. He would have to discern how to specify certain properties of his magic into the philters. The last thing he wanted was to one day be infusing more dangerous magic into a potion and be left completely unaware as to how it would turn out.

Given the benevolent nature of Healing magic and the concoction that was serving as its host, Aoren would have said it was safe to assume nothing malignant could come about from his creation. Unless of course the Glyph suddenly fizzed out and caused a surge making the vial explode. He eyed it for a moment holding it at arm’s length half expecting that to occur just as the thought crossed his mind. When it didn’t happen he was even more excited.
His first magical potion. It had taken hours of work that had resulted in several failures, a few cuts, lots of soreness, an exploding vial, lots of paint and parchment dust but he had done it.

And there was so much more that he wanted to do. Later though, a little later. At that particular moment, Aoren wasn’t sure he had the patience to make another that day.

by **Radiant** on April 28th, 2014, 2:59 pm

Aoren :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Philtering	+4 XP
Herbalism	+1 XP
Glyphing	+4 XP
Shielding	+3 XP
Endurance	+2 XP
Calligraphy	+3 XP
Animal Husbandry	+2 XP

Completed [Stormhold Salves] Infusion Confusion Pt. II