Cand Chronicles

6: Grimoire

6: Grimoire

I woke up early enough to bathe quickly enough to enjoy the sunrise a little bit, but not to see it's completion before I went back to the room and saw my notecards on my bed.

Seraph was still asleep, which was nice because I could easily do a run through of the cards before realizing that I knew the plants.

So I turned to the other books, thumbing through the indexes before turning to the medicines.

There were measurements and numbers, words like 'simmer', 'broil', and 'dry' that I'd never hear of. In the margins of the book were handwritten notes that but off of each other in different scrawls. Some I was able to read, but others were too artsy for my eyes to distinguish the letters from one another.

Instead of .04 grams, add .08 grams for more blasting power.

DO NOT ADD .08g TO THIS! TOO POWERFUL!

.06 grams are the perfect boost for an extra powerful bang, without the exploding element.

The handwritings in the margins were overwhelming, and I didn't know how to take all the extra feedback. Should I learn the basic proportions? Did I have to memorize them? I knew that I couldn't possible memorize anything other than the herbs.

Cress mentioned that she had a grimoire. I wondered what that was, and if all Witches had something like that. A book that would house all the notes a girl could need.

Making sure Seraph was still asleep, I opened the bedroom door once more and poked into the dining room. Jade was there, sitting with a book and an open notebook. Her own grimoire, I realized excitedly.

"Where can I get one of these?" I asked pointing to the leather bound book of paper.

Jade grinned at me, "You make it."

I frowned, "Make it?"

She put her pen in the book she was reading as a bookmark, closed her grimier and rose up. "I'll show you," she offered.

Unsure, I asked, "Is it okay for me to make one?"

She raised an eyebrow, "You're studying aren't you? Witches cannot memorize everything. I'm surprised you even memorized the herbs. Cress was insane to think the Ryken would be able to memorize them all. No Witch has had to memorize anything. We write in our journals and grimoires."

She opened one of the door from the south hall, the one opposite of where the rooms were in the north hall. Inside were reams of papers, all made with different sizes and properties. A few hides were hanging on the wall, while thread, needles, awls, and more were scattered on a long work table.

"You know how to bind a book?" Jade asked.

"I have some idea," I replied, gawking at all the tools.

"Get some papers together, fold in half for a signature, repeat for however thick you want your book, sew the signatures together like a dress, and then come to me when you're dealing with the cover. Some hides are nightmares to work with, while others are quite simple."

She left me to my own devices, which was nice because I was able to breathe in the paper and leather scent all I wanted before bracing the challenge.

The book wouldn't turn out perfectly, but I would work hard to make it durable enough to carry everywhere and thick enough for it to house all my notes without being cumbersome to carry.

There was something exciting about running my fingers over different kinds of paper. Some had more tooth to it, while others were smoother. The differences made my mind whirl with possibilities, but I chose a smoother paper. The sized were on different shelves, labelled with the thickness of each paper. I didn't know what that meant, but wanted a notebook a bit bigger than my hand, but not too much bugger.