Chương 78: Chapter Seventy Four: Mix Trouble And Brew

"Sit right here." Phiomen lifts me onto a chair a foot away from another girl. Perfume sweet of agony and despair wafts over. She barely moves except to breathe, but I can tell she's angling herself away from me. Yikes. I'm not over the moon about you either. I rolled my eyes and rested my chin on my hand. Phiomen claps to regain the attention of a dozen students still calling their souls from the fields." Today, we will be going over basic aspects of potion crafting. Does anyone want to start us off?"

She waits patiently for some poor lamb to volunteer. Unfortunately she's surrounded by wolves and jackals. After a beat of tense silence, she sighs in defeat.

"The spirit of ingredients, control over the fire, gauging correct dosage, sacred rituals, identification, innovation, intent, and containers." She counts on both hands and waves them in the air.

"Every aspect is just as important as the others." With that, she grabs a small curved glass bottle from the table behind her desk and walks over to us. Every table occupied by a student has a small crystal cup with an open mouth sitting on the very edge. Phiomen pours a small amount from her bottle into each cup.

"Today. We will be practicing identification. Using any method you wish, strive to identify the substance inside this cup." She steps back and sits down at her desk. A hanging plant lightly brushes her forehead, and she waves it away. Blinking dust from her eyes and brushing her hand on her waist. That's it? The cup is grabbed by my deskmate first. She removes her veil so she can begin the process, and I get a good look at the snobs visage. Her cheeks are a bit flushed, and she has a small gap between her teeth.

Her eyes are really clear, practically crystal. She passes the cup to me when she's finished and hops off her stool to go consult the stacks of books around us. The others do the same, and I sigh. The cup is the perfect size for my small hands, and I lift up the glass to the light. It's a menacing purple now. The crystal reflects onto everything around us with a magical hue of amethyst. But it changes every so often to a darker hue. Is it poison? Poison would react to a metal, right? I have...

fishing around in my veil, I whip out my silver hairpin, and my hair falls loosely down my shoulders. Here goes, my fingers pinch around it and the hairpin dips inside the black-purplish concoction.

"..." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Nothing happens. Rats. What does it smell like? Taking the plunge I leaned over and got a big whiff. Ew. Rearing back in disgust, I blinked tears from my eyes. Hot garbage and grapes. It smells like wine! No wine I've ever seen has ever looked so menacing. Who would ever drink this willingly? That's it. I have no idea what this is, and I'd rather skip straight to the point.

[Inspect] A familiar blue circuit runs around the pupils of my eyes and zeroes in on the item. The answer reveals itself to me in a minute. [Shadowtear Wine] [Pitch black liquid that appears purple in the correct lighting. Drinking causes the user to temporarily enhance their vision and reflexes. Side effects include: nausea, fatigue, vertigo, migraines, abdominal pain, and death.]"Come back to your seats." Phiomen gets up from her perch and surveils each of the girls' findings.

Once she gets to our table, she raises an eyebrow at my empty hands and my seatmates' open book. Spider... something. I don't know that word yet but it's as good a guess as any.

"Eira?" Strange how the name just came to mind.

"Can I just tell you the answer?" Phiomen nodded.

"Shadowtear Wine."

"..." She purses her lips, and her eyes glow a little brighter with excitement. The girl next to me gives me a strange look, and I ignore it.

"How did you come to this conclusion?" Choosing my words carefully, I respond.

"I read about it." Phiomen casts a glance at her open book of presumably grades and then moves back to her perch.

"Eira and Vale. Both of you pass. Everyone else... you tried and the art is well suited for those who don't give up." Most of the girls visibly deflated at that news. The class bell rang again, and everyone got up to leave. Encouragement was lost on my seatmate as she carefully put the book back and fled out in a rush. I sighed and maneuvered down the chair. One at a time. Phiomen held a hand up and said." Wait. Vale and Eira. Stay behind." What now?

Vale, a much taller girl than most of her peers, stopped in her tracks, in a hushed voice said goodbye to a friend, and came to the front. They waited patiently as I moved my hatefully stubby legs over to her desk. The question comes out like a card from a mishandled deck." Where did you hear of that name?"

"..." I chose to stay silent as Madam Phiomen pinned me to the spot with her silver spotlights. Vale raised an arched flaxen colored eyebrow and replied.

"I lived near one of the Stoneface Taverns growing up. Saw it firsthand." Phiomen accepted her answer and turned to me again.

"And?"

"Do I have to answer?" Phiomen bit her lip and considered it carefully. Arriving to a conclusion that has her shaking her head.

"No... For now, you don't. Instead, I'll have you answer a different one." She reached underneath her desk and brought out a larger bottle filled with a reddish-tinted liquid.

"Identify this substance now." Vale frowned, and I immediately felt my cheeks flush. Goddamn it. Using my magic, I brought it down to eye level and sniffed it. My eyes went wide, and I looked back at Phiomen. Is she joking? This isn't a potion.

"Tea? Famme Root Tea?" Something in her eyes changed, and she paused for a moment. Soundless, formless, and ever-growing whispers started up again. Red eyes and betrayal...

"Go. You may go now." Her gaze turned slightly cold as we left. The large bottle of tea was placed back in its rightful place. ••••"Why do we add the skin?" Warm hands guided her back to the fire-breathing lizard in front of her. Sharp silver knives carefully dissect the creature until what is desired is readily ripped away from it.

"This keeps it at a suitable temperature for over a week, and it's useful for other reasons. Nothing should go to waste... Nothing. We must always seize the moment. Know when to give up, but never cower from greatness. Understood?" Eager to please and dedicated to the lesson, she agreed without a second thought. Greatness... What was so great about taking more than what was required? The space that you left... The emptiness.

"Greed..." Salt and pepper bangs framed silver eyes focused on the little girl's receding back. Warm fire from the lamps lining the rocky surfaces cast a long shadow on the walls and floor of the cave. Raw fingers scratched repeatedly at the table below her. Working her jaw until that baleful storminess drained from her cheeks. Wood gave way to chips and peels under the bloody nails. Sweet aromas lingered in the air and swirled around the room.

The bottle was drained dry, and ink ran down her chin as she swallowed it down. Black veins spread under her skin, and she leaned back in her chair.

"What do you want now?"