The alchemy section of the Mage society was quite dilapidated. There were watermarks on the walls and there seemed to be a layer of dust that just coated the room, piles of books had been casually strewn about and random tools lay on the floor haphazardly.
In this world, most academic study was devoted to the creating and making of spells, the second most popular form of academia was how to create and make magical artefacts, such as magic negators or enhancers. The least popular was alchemy - a kind of forerunner for chemistry - which was not nearly as advanced as Earth science, but still the closest thing this world had to science. Sadly next to the wonders of magic, chemistry paled in comparison and was not a very popular field to go into, which explained the dilapidated state of the alchemy department.
I had to sidestep the books and random objects on the floor, to reach the young woman who was sitting, hunched over a book on the other side of the room. Her poofy blonde hair was tied back into a plain ponytail at the nape of her neck, and her clothes were very plain, which was uncommon to see within the mage society since most of the people were higher ranked nobles.
Even when I came to stand right behind her, she didn't notice me, so I resorted to interrupting her.
"E-Excuse me..." I said and tapped on her shoulder. She got the shock of her life as my fingers touched her shoulder. She shrieked and the pen she had been holding, on one hand, went flying around the room. When she calmed down and realised that I wasn't a ghost, she adjusted her glasses to the correct position in front of her amber eyes and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Sorry about that. I'm not used to people coming in here." She giggled nervously.
"That's alright don't worry. I just wanted to ask if you are a qualified alchemist here at the Mage Society." I wanted to get straight to the point.
"I certainly am." She smiled up at me.
"Wonderful, then I would like to buy your services." Thank goodness she was a qualified alchemist, if she hadn't been, I wasn't sure where I could go to find one. "I am developing a potion, but I need the expertise of an alchemist to help me do it."
"What kind of potion?" She asked curiously.
"A healing potion," I confirmed.
"Sounds interesting..."
"You will be very well compensated for your help, of course," I added in, hoping she would accept.
For a moment she paused, and I got a little worried that she wouldn't accept the job. But then a great grin broke out onto her face. "I'll do it!" She exclaimed as she jumped up and put her hands onto her hips, standing in a power pose.
She was kind of strange, but I liked it.
"For a moment there, I thought you weren't going to accept..."
"No, I was just teasing you. Honestly, even if you weren't planning on paying me well I would have accepted because it's so rare for people to come and commission my jobs, I would jump at the chance to do any work." She said. I felt kind of bad for her. Here she was, all alone, in an empty alchemy department just going over some old books, waiting for something to do.
I took out the tenebris intelexerunt from the bundle I had been keeping it in, and opened it onto the page where it explained the two types of healing potions.
"Here this book outlines the formula for each of the two potions, as you can see." I stopped talking when I saw the deep frown on her face, "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Well I can't see..." she said.
"Can't see what? The formulas?"
"No, I can't read any of it, this book is written in an ancient language, a dead language that nobody speaks anymore... How are you able to read it?"
I frowned, what dead language? I looked at the book and this time I noticed something so obvious, I'm not sure how I hadn't been able to see it before.
I had already known that even though it sounded like everyone was speaking English to me, I knew the possibility of an alternate world having the same language as mine was impossible. My suspicions were confirmed the first time I had seen a book at the Marcellus's house. The books were in a different language, the writing they used wasn't the alphabet, but somehow I could just read and understand it as if it was English. I remembered that the Gods had given me a skill called language to master and I thought that this might be the cause of my understanding their language.
Now as I retraced over the tenebris intellexerunt, I could see that the writing on the book was different from the usual writing of this world, it was angular and had a few more marks that I hadn't seen before.
"Oh, it's because I have a language skill," I explained to her.
"Wow, those are incredibly rare to have." She fixed the position of her glasses on her face and looked at me once more. "You look really familiar... have we met before?"
"I doubt it." I definitely would have remembered meeting someone like her. She squinted at me for a few more seconds before giving up on recognizing me, and then we got back to the books.
I explained to her the difference between the two potions, and I also explained how I was able to heal people really effectively. I told her that I wanted to combine my powers with the new potion to make it as effective and as cheap as possible.
"Well, when it comes to alchemy the first thing you must understand is the principle of equivalent exchange: what you get is what you put in. So, in order for you to create a potion that heals, just like how your magic heals, each dose of the potion must contain the same magic that allows you to heal, which is where the problem comes in, how will you be able to make the potion on a large scale when you don't have enough of your magic to put inside all of them..."
"I see," I said, I smiled softly because a hundred solutions to that problem were forming in my head. I was gonna go race home and get started on this. "Thank you very much for your help!" I said that I got out two gold coins from my parcel and gave it to her.
Her eyes widened, "This is way too much for a consultation!"
But I was already headed for the door because I was so eager to start creating the potion.
"My name is Olive, by the way!" She called out after me.
"Thanks, Olive! My name is Riley!"
"Wait!! Are you Lady Riley who won the Mage t...!" Was all I heard before I was out of the room. I would probably meet her again someday.
Bard was waiting for me at the entrance with a small carriage, he bowed and helped me get in. Then we set off for home so that I could start working on my phone.
Ping!
I took my phone out of my pocket and read the notification on the screen: new skill acquired: Alchemist.
The Gods were really overdoing it...
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When Lady Riley and Bard came home from the Mage society, all Lady Riley's servants were still in shock from the visit from the Von Esterheim brothers.
They all stood in the entrance hall and talked about it.
"To think that our Madam has such connections!" Gushed Mellie as she blushed thinking about the two handsome nobles. They had been so refined and so elegant, just their presence had made her heart beat fast. Her lady was lucky to have such gentlemen around her.
"Well, I don't think it's such a good thing..." commented Auberon softly.
"What do you mean Auberon?" Asked Mellie confused.
"Although Von Esterheim's are a very powerful family, they are infamous for being cold and calculating people. I for one don't want Lady Riley mixed up with their dealings." Said Auberon passionately as he thought about the lovely and kind Lady Riley being dragged into disrepute because of the Von Esterheim family.
"You have a good point Auberon, I too am well aware of their reputation and I concede that they are quite a ruthless family, however, that is exactly why Lady Riley should become their friend... They are the most powerful family in Girannon, besides the Royal family, therefore they can give her many opportunities and they can protect and take care of her, they can lift her up in court and help our Lady make a name for herself." Auberon nodded solemnly, Agnes was telling the truth, being a friend of the Von Esterheim's could only be to her advantage. "Besides, being an enemy of the Von Esterheim family is a dark place to be in, it's far better to be their friend than their foe."
Everyone agreed to that.
Suddenly their Lady herself came bustling through the doors and bolted for what she had declared was her 'alchemy lab' earlier on.
Agnes gave a disgruntled look at Riley as she was running, again. But she was even more disgruntled that her lady was wasting her time on alchemy when she could be learning how to sew, draw, paint or play music. How would she ever successfully make it into high society as a noble lady if she studied alchemy? Agnes then decided to take the initiative to hire a music and voice teacher for Lady Riley, so that she could learn to entertain her guests whenever the opportunity arose. Agnes would also need to go into town to collect the new dresses she had ordered for Lady Riley. With all the things she had to do in mind, she left the house by carriage with Auberon into town.
Riley opened the tenebris intellexerunt to the healing potion page, and she uncovered a lump of Aristian steel (a metal that is often used for magic tools because of its high magical conductivity) that she had bought at the market on the way back to her house from the Mage society. She laid both objects out onto the table and then dashed outside to the greenhouse to pick some of the leaves of the Galea plant (the main ingredient to all healing potions), after picking three leaves from the plant she went to the kitchen where she found Ilsa washing the dishes.
"Ilsa, will you boil a pot of water for me please?" she asked.
"Yes, Milady." She said as skipped her way to the pot.
"Thank you, Ilsa, I'll be in the alchemy room," Riley said as she dashed back into the alchemy room.
She put the Galea leaves to the side for now and first picked up the Aristian steel. Riley concentrated her dark magic in her hands and began to visualize, she imagined the stone filling up with the spell she used to heal people: the anaesthetic that took away the pain, the bone mending that reconnected and realigned broken bones, the vein/artery healing that fixed severed veins and stopped blood loss, and then the flesh healing that reattached and smoothened the flesh.
She had finished the first step perfectly. Now for the next step.
"Algorithmic Magic:
When this stone comes in contact with a Galea leaf and water solution, replicate the healing spells inside the stone and disperse the magic into the solution so that the ratio of Galea solution to magic spell is 5:1."
Riley finished chanting and went over what she had casted in her head. She had put the spells she used to heal people into the steel, and she cast more magic onto the stone so that when the stone came into contact with a healing potion (Galea leaf boiled in water) the spell within the steel would be replicated and dispersed into the water so that the potion would contain the power of my healing spell. Thus, Riley had managed to create an inexpensive and effective healing potion that she would be able to sell to the public.
<————————-<<<<
I did it, I actually did it!
But I stopped myself from celebrating what could actually have been a failure, after all, I didn't actually know if it had worked, first I would need to test it. Thankfully I heard a small knock on the door and a small voice say, "Milady, I've brought the boiled water." Said Ilsa from outside the door. I opened the door and made room for her to put the pot of boiling water and the teacup down.
Ilsa curtseyed to me and then left the room promptly.
"Thank you, Ilsa," I said appreciatively. Then I poured some of the boiling water into the cup and followed the instructions of the book on how to make the cheap healing potion. As it instructed, I broke each of the leaves along their stems and was surprised by the juiciness of the leaves, they were almost aloe-like with the amount of sap they had inside. Then I squeezed each half of the leaves so that their sap dribbled into the boiling water, and I was surprised that the water suddenly turned a light shade of blue. Then for the last step, I stirred the potion with one of the halves of a Galea leaf, I watched intensely as the colour of the potion changed from light blue to dark blue and then a darker shade of green. According to the book, I was done.
Then I took my steel ball and gently dipped it into the potion and watched even more intensely as the colour of the potion changed. This time it changed to a dark red colour and the consistency changed into that of a thicker liquid rather than the more watery consistency it was. I looked down at the red liquid not quite sure if it had worked or not, sadly there was really only one way to check. By testing it out on myself. I grimaced at the thought of experimenting on myself but it wasn't like I could do this to anyone else...
I reached up into my hair and felt for the sharp blue pin that Edna has placed in my hair for decoration this morning. I slid it out of my updo and saw the gleaming sharp point of its tip. I brought the sharp end up to hand and quickly slashed myself on my palm. I felt a sharp stinging pain and held in my urge to cry. I had to be strong. I had to do this.
I brought the cup of red potion to my lips and took a sip. I immediately gagged at the terrible taste of the potion but forced myself to swallow and then used the back of my other hand to wipe my tongue in an effort to get rid of the terrible taste.
I breathed in and out a few times and willed myself not to tear up. Gah, it tasted awful...
Then I look down at the cut on my hand, only to find a slight redness where I had made the cut, my cut was gone... it was healed! My potion had worked.
Thank goodness.
I smiled thinking about how this potion would be able to help so many people. But before I could start selling it, I would need approval from the board of the Mage society to start selling a magical product, and since Sinjin was my magical supervisor, I would also have to inform him.
So, I walked to the study and took out two pieces of paper, and two envelopes. I addressed the first to Lord Umfrey Marcellus and told him about my breakthrough with the potion and asked to have a meeting set up with the board to review her potion so that she could sell it.
Next, I wrote a letter to Sinjin, also to inform him of the potion and that I wanted to sell it to the general public so that everybody had access to health care.
I folded each letter and placed them inside their envelopes. I wasn't quite sure how to seal the envelopes because they didn't have the sticky tab that you licked and then seal on Earth.
"Edna!" I called out.
"Yes, Milady." She entered the room and curtseyed. I had begun to notice that the servants tended to follow me around the house, they would try and give me privacy and wait outside room doors but they would generally stick quite close to me, I guess it was in order to be close to me in case I was in need of some assistance.
"Edna, how do I seal envelopes." She smiled softly and walked over to me.
"You have to use your magic Milady." She said. She lifted one of the envelopes demonstrated. "Sealing current." She chanted softly and I watched as her wing magic flowed onto the envelopes and flowed all over the envelope until it closed shut, the Magic then dispersed and what was left on the envelope was a pretty wind magic marking.
"Give it a try Milady." She said and held up the envelope to me.
"Sealing current." I chanted and watched as my black smoked first swirled around the envelope but then dissolved into it and created trickling smoke markings onto the envelope.
"This is how we seal envelopes Milady. To unseal them, we say 'disperse current' then the magic falls away and we can open the envelopes." I nodded brightly, Magic was so cool.
"Milady, letters are sent by using a wind magic spell, so I will send these letters for your ladyship. Where does your ladyship want these letters sent?"
"This one must go to the Marcellus mansion, and this one must go to the Alucard mansion," I confirmed.
"Yes, Milady."
She curtseyed to me and then left the room to go and cast a spell to send the letters.
I sighed feeling very content with myself, today had been such a fulfilling day. Soon this country would have an inexpensive solution to injury.
I need ice cream.
I went into the kitchen to find Ilsa wiping the counters and the tables with a cloth. I could see some sweat on her brow and she looked tired and unhappy.
"Ilsa."
"Yes, Milady." She turned around and curtseyed when she saw me.
"Ilsa, shouldn't a girl your age be in school?" I asked.
"School?" She sounded shocked. "No Milady, only wealthy merchants children and nobles can afford to go to good schools. All the other schools are horrible and the teachers are mean and they beat us, so I prefer to work and help my mum and dad make a living for us." She said frowning, probably reminiscing about the horrors of school.
"But don't you want to learn how to read and write and use magic?"
"I do, but it would be unfair of me to learn those things while my mama and papa struggled to put food on the table." This poor girl had been burdened with things that weren't meant for children to worry about.
"Well, then would it be okay, if I taught you how to read and write and use magic?" I asked smiling.
Her eyes opened wide and looked at me with awe.
"Would you really Milady? Do you mean it?" She asked hopefully, he cute mouth turning into the shape of an 'o' and her big blue eyes peering into mine.
"Of course I will." I nodded smiling as she excitedly jumped into me and gave me a hug.
"I'm so lucky to have the kindest, prettiest, smartest lady ever!" She squeezed my waist as tight as a corset and We laughed happily together.
"Okay, then it's settled, I'll spend an hour or two studying with you every day." I ruffle her bright red curly hair and placed a kiss oh her forehead. Then I went into the icebox and got out the tub of ice cream and got a scoop for both of us. We greedily tucked into our cups with our spoons.
When Agnes came back it was already quite late and I had already had a scrumptious supper of chicken pie and was already in my nightgown, ready for bed.
She told me that tomorrow a music teacher would be coming to teach me how to play and an instrument and also teach me how to sing. She also told me that she had gotten some new dresses for me to try on. I nodded sleepily as she told me and as soon as she had finished talking I went to sleep.