The Last of the Empyrean

Chapter 4 - Earth Magic

In our earth magic class we learned how to use the earth's resources as ingredients to make vital elixirs and spirit bags. Such as the elixir of truth, the elixir of knowledge, spirit bags for wealth, growth, power, and love. As well as recipes to create and destroy curses.

The first elixir we learned to make was for knowledge, now this did not create an everlasting effect, the elixir wears off at the stroke of midnight. The recipe for the elixir was simple it called for the following ingredients;

"Half a crowne of powdered Dill-cress,

A pennyworths of Chervil,

Two artic petals,

And the 51st page of whichever book of knowledge one seeks to gain."

Once all the ingredients are obtained, combine them in a cauldron half full of the purest spring water; boil until it turns a sapphire blue color and gives off a bitter aroma.

As our classes progressed the elixirs and spirit bag recipes got more and more difficult, in terms of brewing and rarity of the required ingredients. One of these recipes being a spirit bag for enticing the affection of another. This recipe would take three months to complete the ingredients were as follows;

"Four Moon Barberry seeds,

The petals from an Ivory Blossom,

Ash from a burned Borage tree

and the leaf of a love thorn flower kept under the tongue of the one seeking affection for three months."

After the three month waiting period, all the ingredients are placed in an enchanted spirit bag and burned in a white hot flame while reciting the incantation, "Qudium Occiaidio Dynumb Vasate".

Our biggest test was to make an elixir to save one who has been poisoned with the deadliest poison known to our kind, the Red Fungus. The recipe for this elixir calls for 

"Powdered Viper fruit kernel, 

Glowing mushrooms, 

Echinacca root, 

Tamva's stem juice, 

And Red Ring Honeycomb."

Grind the Viper fruit kernel into a fine powder, in a caldron combine the ingredients with boiling water until it turns a mossy green color and lets off an orange blossom aroma.

Only a handful of us were able to successfully brew the potion, however, Miss. Marigold explained to us the complexity of the recipe and she was very impressed and surprised on how many of us actually managed to complete the elixir. 

"I am very impressed with the ability and skill those of you who managed to complete the elixir possess this early in your time here at Ebbaron, and I expect great things for all of you has you continue your studies here.", She said. Once we completed our final task we gained another rune, the creation rune, which is shaped as a large "X" with curled top and bottom end at opposite sides.

The second half of the class was about connecting to the creatures of the earth. For centuries mages called the forests home, they lived in peace and harmony with nature and its creatures. The creatures in nature not only guide new mages but can also be messengers and scavengers for ingredients.

For the next few week we spent all our class time studying the animals in nature what they did and how they did it; how the interacted with us and each other. We started small with bugs, particularly butterflies and moths, we studied their life cycle. From an unborn egg, to a larva, to a caterpillar, to a chrysalis, and finally a completely new creature; a butterfly or moth. Butterflies symbolize growth and new life.