Potioneering was an invaluable skill to be had, but Karl had never been the one to display much interest in the art. Although he had received enough knowledge to apply it in the field—in case such a need arose—his skills were indeed limited.
Gathering these materials ought to be the easiest part, because what was coming next certainly wasn't.
"I will iterate the recipe and you follow through." Cinis stated as she hovered near the edge of the table.
Karl nodded and started first with grounding the Crimson Heart Grass, known to be used as a seasoning in common households, it came in dried form. He ground the grass to fine powder using the mortar and pestle.
Next was preparing the Golden Shade Flower. The flower itself looked delicate with majority of petals consisting of white with golden lines tracing the edges. Chaotic shapes danced right in the middle, giving the appearance of shadows wiggling.
One of the characteristics of these flowers was how quickly they wilted after being plucked. That's why they were a speciality of Crimson Vale, being the only place to hold fields of them.
The preparation of the flower required him to soak the petals in clear water, before adding a reagent that would dissolve it. He followed the instructions and watched as the flower broke into chunks, before disappearing inch by inch. At last nothing but light blue water remained.
The next step was simply to filter the sample. For that he needed first to rid it of impurities and then vaporize all the water.
There was a specialized tool for this sort of thing and Karl filled the cylinder with nervous touch. What the tool required was the manual control for the user to direct their mana and hasten the process. This was one of the steps where his skill would determine his success.
The results were mixed and something he had been expecting. His control over mana was fine, but he lacked that refined quality of an Alchemist who spend hours on day trying to solve puzzles and working to hone their skills. The end result was half the liquid drying off too quickly and then getting burnt.
With his significantly meagre reserves, the drain had him needing a rest before he pulled himself back on his feet. The second time proved successful and he had all the ingredients for the next step.
Being the most crucial step of the process Karl banished all the thoughts from his head and concentrated wholeheartedly.
"This part requires, merger of energy, essence and intent." Cinis explained. "Mana substitutes for energy, Essence is the materials prepared, but your intent requires both your spirit and your bloodline echo."
It took some time to fully understand but by the end of it, Karl finally understood the true difficulty of potion making. He carefully added some water to the beaker and then unloaded the ground grass powder. It started to dissolve quickly, turning the water a rusty shade of red.
He stirred the solution and added some reagents next, watching as the colour grew deeper. At last he added the filtered mix of Golden Shade Flower in the form of thick blue syrup.
Mana came forth to his call and flowed into the beaker to meld the forces together. His blood raged in his veins, his heart thumping with increased intensity. Then the colour started changing, from light shades to brown to iridescent green, then growing fainter until it was similar to sunny yellow.
He had failed!
Karl grit his teeth in frustration, judging what was clearly a half an hour's waste of time. At this rate he would need enormous amount of time and skill to even begin to make a dent.
Taking a deep breath he forced himself to calm down. When the rage boiled over, all that remained was stone cold determination. He repeated the process again.
This time his dedication paid off, and the end result was a red potion giving a faint golden sheen. It had taken him a little less than half an hour, and he had ended up with six potions worth of product.
Now was the time to test it.
"How long will it take for a cut to heal?" He asked.
Cinis was examining the potions when she heard his question and titled her head in thought. "Depends," she said. "Though if it isn't too deep and you only take a sip of the potion, it should take you two seconds to heal. This is counting your own regeneration power of course. For normal mage, it would take them six or even eight seconds."
It didn't surprise him that she knew of the Bloodthrone family's unique ability. Instead he was really curios whether the potion would hold to the claim.
Taking out a dagger from the drawer, he swiped a cut across his forearm. No blood leaked out, but that was to be expected of a vampire, especially if they are Bloodthrone. Taking a small gulp of the potion produced instant results. The cut healed in a matter of seconds, as if the wound was reversing back to its original appearance.
Karl's eyes shone with gleam, thousand thoughts crossing his mind.
He tried the process three more times before he exhausted the materials, and only succeeded in one. At the end he wound up with Eleven potions, not counting the half he had used. He stored those away within a glass vail and cleaned the desk.
After taking care of storing the equipment in his trunk, Karl set on his bed with a contemplative expression. This boon was something his parents had left for him, and he was grateful no doubt. But having this sort of treasure could become a disaster in itself, if not handled properly. Even then, it ultimately came down to personal strength.
After a bout of exchange with the tiny spirit, he was told that the grimoire had an endless repository of spells and knowledges of all variety. But most of all, there was a section which registered his process with the heart itself. And that with each bit of progress he could unlock some really good stuff.
Karl let the sleep take hold of him, feeling relief in what felt like years. Tonight was going to be long, but tomorrow promised much work.
***
When Karl awoke, it was already late. Even if the dominant shroud confounded most people, for more residents the colour of the sky wasn't the determining factor in judging the time. Instead they used the magical clocks both personal like the one on Karl's night stand, and public, setup in every town near the center.
Groggily opening his eyes, he focused on the time to note it was past his usual wake-up time. All the sleep vanished and in its place came a brisk urgency.
He washed his body and donned his clothing, taking a moment to check himself out in the mirror. The black hair was styled straight and sleek, his pale white face complementing his looks.
Opening the door, he was greeted by a maid with a bow and inquiry. "My Lord, would you like to have your breakfast delivered?"
"Not to my room," he replied, "send it to my workplace instead."
The maid bowed deeply and excused herself. Karl walked through the halls back into his four walled chamber of misery. He sighed and started leafing through the documents.
The story repeated itself with more reports of violent incidents or requests for reinforcements. Sooner or later he would have no choice but to broker peace with Count Bloodcrest. At least that's how it would've gone if he hadn't acquired the grimoire. Although the result was still up in the air, evening the field helped reduce his anxiety, and filled him with hope.
For the better part of the day, he immersed himself in his work, ideally wondering if he should sneak away to trade a bout with his uncle. Though with his current weak body, the man would suspect some foul play in the air, and inquire about. At that point, Karl would've no choice but to tell the truth.
Knowing the price he would've to pay in case of a mishap though stayed his hand. He would tell them eventually, but for now secrets should remain secret.
It was around when half the day had passed when suddenly a knock resounded. He raised his head to look at the door, wondering who it was.
"Come in."
The doors parted opened the reveal the sight of the fat bellied Chamberlain. He bowed first before taking a few steps inside.
"My Lord, Lord Ronald has sent me to inform you that Lady Aurelia will be arriving soon." He stated. "And that he will be waiting alongside the retinue near the gates of the castle."
Hearing the news filled him with elation, and he smiled widely. "Thank you for delivering the message. You may leave."
The man left, but the smile on Karl's face stayed. After all he was meeting his cousin after so long.