Tides of Tea

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

Tides of Tea

Postby Tanell on June 30th, 2015, 7:16 pm

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1st day of Summer, 515 AV
Shortly after the dawn rest

Tea always calmed Tanell, whether it was the enjoyment of brewing the dried leaves into a drink, the delightful aroma, or just the peace that followed the brewing. The process felt like home, comforted something inside her that stirred at the thought of growing her own plants and mixing her own tea.

Her dwindling supply of the substance had drawn her to the central peak of the city, where the Mhakula Tea House was easily found. Her visit had surprised her with a sale on the packaged teas, so she had bought a bit of two different varieties, the sunrise blend, and the twilight dawn blend. She had even sprung for two jars of a more decorative variety to store the loose tea blends in, storing both the carefully wrapped containers in the backpack she had brought with her for the trip.

The man inside had been kind, the music of his feelings towards her a pleasant lit of harps telling the woman nothing more than his delight at having a customer. All the same, it had been part of her decision to buy the decorative containers, the man's pleasure at the boost in the purchase price more than enough to convince the Konti it was worth the extra Kina.

Her departure from the store had a similar sound, as she faded from the mind of the man with distance the whimsy of sound that greeted her was light, barely heard as people's notice of her faded limited to just that, notice.

Her walk back to her cottage was interrupted by the first of Syna's light tinting the clouds in the sky with gold and brightening the sky from nearly black to the paling blue of morning. She watched for a long while, the brightening of the day letting the warmth seep into her skin imagining the feeling filled her with energy. Her breath was the only sound she heard, working to even tune out the distant music from passerby as she watched the sky change colors.

Meditating was not easy for the woman, the tones of music she heard often pulling her from her mind in curiosity of what caused someone to take notice of her. Her upbringing had caused her a concern for troubling those around her, but hadn't stifled her curiosity, so clearing her mind and thinking of nothing was a task she struggled to accomplish. It helped, now, to have the changing of the sky, the note of Syna's presence to draw her mind, keeping her attuned to the moment at hand. After only a few short chimes, the sky had grown too bright, even with the goddess tucked behind the clouds, and Tanell could no longer look upon her without fear for her sight.

As easily as that the thoughts of her day came back, the movements of her breath nudging the Suvai tucked in her belt beneath her cape, the feeling of her bag strapped to her back, reminding her of the morning tea she had intended to brew, and all thought of meditation was scattered from her mind.
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Tides of Tea

Postby Tanell on August 22nd, 2015, 7:47 pm

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Tantalize

Her walk home was a familiar one, the Sharai peak falling on the far outskirts of the city. She didn't mind the walk, though, it was good exercise, and it gave her plenty of time to enjoy the warmth of the morning. Syna's light peeked out from between the clouds on occasion, sending shifting arcs of light across the ground.

She crossed the bridge linking the mountaintops, once into the Shinyama peak, and then again, some chimes later into the less populated agricultural peak where she lived. Her home was both distinctly different and much the same as the others. The curving shapes of the cottages were all different from one another, and as she passed by the first, the woman who oversaw the estates, Sola, waved happily from her garden.

Tanell smiled in return, lifting a hand in greeting.

"Good morning!" She called, to the woman, who responded in kind. Tanell did not seek to continue the conversation, though, her tea was calling to her softly, the whispers of her own home more appealing than having tea with the woman today.

Her home appeared as she walked, the small house was crafted of light colored cob, shimmering slightly with the pieces of stone and shell that were embedded in the sand mixture. The building had three sides, two front facing, open, the third curved wide shaping the back wall that was framed by a skyglass protected garden. There were a few plants growing there, just common herbs, mints, some basil, garlic, lavender.

The roof was flat, most of it skyglass trimmed with driftwood. It was beautiful, and hers, but it did not stand out among the other houses, nothing claimed that she, Tanell, was the one who lived there nor that it was here she planned to make a business.

She sighed softly as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her, she would have to start working more seriously. She had spent too much time here in the city, falling prey to the life of Lhavit and letting the pressing matters of her call fade in her mind. She was here, working slowly, but perhaps it was time to focus.

First, though, tea. That was what had prompted her to go out this morning, and now she had replenished her stores. The kettle sat beside the fire, full from her intentions this morning, warm, but not hot enough for tea yet. She hung the kettle above the fire, it would be warmer there, and then it would really heat up.

She removed the jars of tea from her bag, placing them on the table before hanging her bag from a hook on the wall. In the chest by her bed, she found a tea cup, and the hearbalist tool kit that had been a gift from her family when she left her home in Mura.

She removed a pair of shears, and a ceramic mortar and pestle from the kit, taking them to the table with her cup. A glance to the kettle told her it was not hot yet, so she stepped out the back door to the garden, shears in hand. She eyed the plants, maintained only minimally, and decided that she would take lavender, the one that grew in silvery blue spikes, and lemon mint, which hung in a pot from her kit, spilling over the sides in furry spiked edged leaflets.

She knew there was a specific way cut plants. Something to keep them from being hurt by the trimming, to encourage them to grow. She didn't actually know what that way was, though. So she just took cuttings, trimming the lemon mint where it hung over the edge of the pot. The small square stem cut just beneath the leaves that she wanted. It left an ugly looking stem growing out from between the other leaves. She trimmed that away, leaving the leaves as the end of the plant.

That at least, looked better. A bit more of a plan in mind, she took the trimmings of mint with her to the other plant. The lavender grew in the ground, three tall silvery spikes climbed out of the dirt. She didn't have any better of an idea on how to cut this one, and it grew less readily, so she had to be more careful.

She trimmed the first one about three quarters of the way down the spike, giving her plenty of plant to use, and leaving plenty to grow more.
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Tides of Tea

Postby Tanell on August 23rd, 2015, 12:00 am

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Tantalize

She eyed the plant. The cut was not as clear as the ones on the other plant, the leaves were more closely packed, and her cut had damaged all the surrounding leaves.

It wasn't good to leave the damaged parts on, it would strain the plant. Plucked the cut leaves off the stem, gathering them with the other cuttings she had taken. The smell of the lavender was strong, but soothing, perhaps spicy in a way she couldn't quite explain.

The lemon mint, when she stirred the cuttings, was light, fresh, perhaps tingly was a good word. Of course, it smelled like lemon as well, the citrus mixing lightly with the spice of the lavender. The other mints hung from the ceiling as well, one dark green and sharply minty when it brushed against her head. Peppermint, she recalled from the scent. She had bought it when she was ill, the woman had said crushing the leaves in a bath would help to clear her sinuses.

Perhaps she should cut that too, cutting and drying the plant would make it something she could sell. Maybe she could prepare herbal remedies, balms, bath additives. She had the plants for it, she just needed the skills, and surely someone in the city could teach her.

Her shop could sell plants and plant based items as well as fortunes and jewelry. A smile spread across her lips, perhaps there was more to learn than crafting. She reached up to trim the stronger mint plant, cutting once more, just above the leaves as she had with the other mint. Trimming back the plant until it no longer spilled over the edges of the pot.

She would need to buy jars, she began planning as she made her way into the house. She set down the plants beside her cup on the table, moving to pick up the kettle that had just begun to shrill an alert of the heated water.

She set it, too, on the stone table, forgetting for the moment her aspirations of grandeur.

The sunrise blend was light, wakening of the day, gentle warmth, all wound up into a single cup of tea. After the beautiful sunrise she had just witnessed, it was without a doubt the tea she wanted. She measured a spoonful, the serving poured gently into her cup, careful not to burn her self, the water soon followed.

Steam carried the scent of the tea to her nose, she could taste the flavors of it as it drifted across her tongue. It was certainly too hot to drink for the moment, so she would have to content herself with the smell.

She turned back to the plants she had gathered, eyeing them with a new interest. From the base of the lavender cutting, she removed a few of the long pine like leaves. Their scent spiked anew, as she dropped them and the other damaged leaves into the mortar.

The fuzzy and slightly bumpy leaves of the lemon mint were next, she pulled them free from the square stem that all varieties of mint shared, and dropped a few into the mortar to join the lavender leaves. The cool stone pestle was heavy in her hand as she lifted it, the weight helping her to crush the leaves into an aromatic paste.

The citrus and the lavender mixed with the smell of fresh green plant, it was pleasant, and would perhaps make a nice tea in the future. She wondered if all she had to do to make it into tea was seep it in the hot water. Perhaps she needed to dry it first?

The tea in the jar was dried, but she wondered how much that mattered to the flavor. She continued to grind the plants, trying to remove the chunks and turn as much of it as she could into liquid.

When the pieces were as small as she could make them, she rinsed the pestle with the hot water, letting the liquid rinse the pieces and juices down into the mortar, which she then continued to fill until the plant matter was completely covered.

Sola had said that this process would scent the water like the plants, which could then be used for washing. It seemed reasonable enough to Tanell, but how much water and how much plant was not something she was familiar with. She would just hope she was doing it right.
"Speaking in Kontinese" "Speaking in common"
"Others speaking Kontinese" "Others speaking Common"
Plants ~ High altitude herbs ~ Atlas
A Call for Help! Grades needed
User avatar
Tanell
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Posts: 94
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Joined roleplay: August 1st, 2014, 6:42 pm
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