Marcus led Aiden to his personal courtyard after separating from the Elder. Although to call it a courtyard would be slightly disingenuous. It was a veritable manor by itself, a large and elegant building was framed by an exquisite garden and two smaller buildings on either side. Marcus headed straight for the main building with Aiden trailing behind him, glancing around with wide amber eyes.
Anton kept close to Marcus to prevent any more accidents from befalling his already weak young master. Soon, they came to Marcus' study, tall bookcases lined walls and an ornate desk stood in front of a watercolor painting depicting an eagle soaring among rays of golden sunlight. Aiden took a quick scan of the bookcases, they were filled with collections of martial techniques and notes.
He secretly raised his eyebrows, he had long heard that Marcus was a genius scholar in the field of martial arts and cultivation and the amount of wealth contained in these bookshelves supported that notion even further.
Marcus sat behind the desk and began issuing orders to Anton to set up an Alchemy room within one of the inner rooms quietly and to avoid too much attention. The explanation to outsiders would be that Aiden was a guest who was invited to stay after his lifesaving grace to Marcus. Under no circumstances could his identity as an alchemist leak out.
Marcus lived in a very precarious and tense atmosphere in the capital, if it was known that he brought back an alchemist no matter how young and unassuming, Aiden would be in danger. His enemies would rather be safe than sorry and eliminate any slight sign that he could recover. Anton bowed to Marcus before exiting the room to fulfill his task, leaving Marcus and Aiden alone.
" If you need anything at all, you can inform Dylan, my head of logistics, and he will make the arrangements. As soon as your alchemy room is set up, I request that we immediately begin working towards curing my condition," Marcus stated, calmly facing Aiden across the desk. Now that he was back in familiar territory, his demeanor had relaxed slightly, but also became more confident.
" That was my plan as well, I gave you my word and I intend to keep it. However, curing your condition is only half the battle. If you don't find a way to cultivate that is beneficial to your physique, you will end right back where you started." Aiden smiled, slightly tense, and sat down on one of the chairs that faced the desk, his back straight and hands clenched slightly on his knees.
" I know, I have been considering this problem as well. I have a few thoughts that I am toying around with, and may pan out. But the only way to tell is to put it into practice. Although the attack this time is most likely the responsibility of the Torren family, the Rising Moon Dominion has also been restless lately probing the borders. If things escalate into war, I would rather have the ability to protect myself than be an easy target." Marcus sneered slightly before continuing, " You should also take this time to learn some self defense skills, although alchemy will take up much of your attention, you need something to save your life in an emergency. Anton is the head of my personal guard, and would be the best place to start for any training you wish to do."
The two continued to discuss the arrangements for the coming months, until they broke for lunch. Aiden immediately fired himself up, he was ready to prove his skills in Alchemical Cuisine. Marcus was limited in what he could eat, and they had to be very careful during his treatment not to disturb the careful balance in his body or else it could lead to disastrous consequences.
Anton guided Aiden into a large and well appointed room, stocked with all manner of precious ingredients and alchemical supplies. Aiden glanced around at the bountiful treasures neatly organized, each ingredient was carefully packed in a glass box with cold inscriptions etched into the panes of glass keeping the interior cold and the food fresh. Inscriptions were a mysterious branch of cultivation that used patterns to lock aura in place to achieve a certain task.
Excitement bubbled up, a smile stretching across his face. Aiden felt as though he was a baby dragon who had come upon an unoccupied hoard and couldn't wait to dive head first into the pile of treasure. After indulging in a few fantasies of all the amazing potions and pills he could concoct, Aiden took a deep breath to calm down and consider what to make.
Marcus' body was basically in shambles, so the first priority is to start the healing process before strengthening his foundation. The Braised Snake Ribs that he had made earlier were targeted at slowly building up your foundation, and while that was a good choice for him, it wasn't perfect for Marcus's condition.
Aiden mentally opened up his Alchemical Cuisine recipe book and began to search for an appropriate dish while also perusing the available ingredients. Soon he found a recipe called quite simply, Rejuvenating Stew. That looked promising, it required a gentle wood biased magical beast meat as the base.
While the Saber Tailed Viper was also a wood biased magical beast it was unsuitable for this dish due to its aggressive nature which does not conform to the healing aspect of the wood element. The wood element is defined by extreme vitality, in its gentlest form that can be healing and growth, but in its more aggressive form that is represented by devouring strangulation like that of powerful vines that choke the life out of other plants.
While examining the choices, Aiden found a Spring Hare, a commonly farmed wood biased magical beast. Relatively docile, with a sweet and succulent taste, these Hares were very popular in the Golden Lion Kingdom. The Moore family owned several large farms that raised these, or so he had heard.
After deciding on the meat, he needed to pick out the rest of the ingredients. With a gentle wood biased ingredient, Aiden chose to go for a stronger earth biased ingredient to promote the growth of the wood energy. Scanning the racks he found what looked like dark brown carrots, long and slender. They were labeled as Loftus Root, and after a quick scan of Low Level Herbs and Alchemical Ingredients, he determined that with the properties of endurance and durability that the Loftus root was known for it would be a good fit for the stew.
Then Aiden began searching for a weaker water biased ingredient so that the wood energy would be able to easily absorb the water energy and be bolstered. He soon found some Blue Spinach which was a light blue leafy vegetable known for its crisp and refreshing taste. It also happened to have a weak water bias and would not only be good elementally but also taste delicious.
Left to find, were a wind attribute and a fire attribute. Aiden searched the racks of ingredients, a small frown forming between his brows, as he dismissed one after another. Amber eyes lit up as they alighted on a bright red and white bulb. This bulb known as the Emberbreeze is a type of garlic and was both fire and wind biased, each element maintaining perfect balance.
This was it, after Aiden grabbed the last piece he excitedly strode over to his brand new cauldron. Although he held a soft spot in his heart for the turtle shell that started his journey of Alchemy, the cauldron provided by Marcus was so much more impressive. A bright copper finish with leaf patterns carefully carved along the exterior, this instrument was forged by the best smith's of the Sommerset family.
Such a cauldron was crafted to transmit heat as efficiently as possible and be sturdy enough to withstand the explosion of a failed experiment. Needless to say, gazing at this cauldron Aiden's eyes were practically shooting out small stars. He ran his hands along the shiny finish lovingly, before lighting the fire beneath using a subtle fire inscription inlaid into the floor. He took a deep breath and began to prepare the ingredients.