Legend of Ransera

Where some were busy observing at what was a highly sensationalized trial, many more had their day-to-day to continue on with. Hilana was one of them. But be that as it may, to be able to observe and be in the presence of the Crownwyrm alone, she would have desperately wished to have been there. Her love of snakes and other reptiles also encompassed the dragons, especially those that nested down in the Dragon Chamber. What a normal person might have feared, Hilana was fascinated by, and sometimes that fascination was an excellent way to shorten one's lifespan. But what was the point of living to look like a walking husk if you experienced nothing that stirred your blood a bit in the time you had?

Tucked inside the comfortable shop in the district of Port Vasta, Hilana was settled at a table in the back corner where she could observe the shop and get on with the task that she had been put to by her boss and mentor. She had a piece of paper with a list of what was expected of her, and multiple tins of ingredients were stacked in a neat row. A scale, a large mixing bowl, a reed whisk, a mortar and pestle, knife and wooden cutting board, measuring spoons, and yet a larger spoon were also set to the side. Perched on a stand out of the way was a well-used recipe book, and it had been opened to a recipe for a herbal tea remedy for indigestion. Along her shoulders, though sound asleep, her black and white patterned boa constrictor was draped there, his face hidden in her long, dark hair. Tiaz wasn't particularly inclined to be bothered with anything or anyone, considering he was familiar with being handled since Hilana had gotten her hands on him as a little snakeling, and she was nice and warm now that they were out of the heat of the sun.

"Fennel seeds, ginger pieces, chamomile, and peppermint," she murmured, lining up the little sachets, each already marked with a written label as to what it was. She would have preferred to make a single larger batch in the bowl, but the problem with doing so was with the fennel seeds and the ginger. Had it just been dried herbs and plants which would have had a similar weight, it would have been easy. Put them all in the big bowl, use the whisk, and mix it up, then portion into the sachets. But because the fennel seeds, even though she would work them over with the pestle, and the little pieces of dried ginger that needed to be cut, weighed much more than the crushed leaves, they'd sink to the bottom and the recipe would not be as effective. Sometimes you could take shortcuts, and sometimes you couldn't, and this was just one of those times.

She pulled the mortar and pestle in front of her, and the jar of fennel seeds. Opening it released the sweet, herbaceous scent of the brown, pointy-ended narrow seeds, and she used her hand to waft the scent upwards before taking a measuring spoon and beginning to portion out enough for the ten sachets, a fifth of the expected quota: three tablespoons and a teaspoon, and the pestle was next as she began to crush the seeds lightly, working the tool in a steady, circular motion. She wasn't aiming to turn them into powder, just crack them a bit to open them up. People hurrying past the windows of the shop with a rather urgent manner were unusual, and Hilana set the pestle down on the table, coming around it and heading over to the door. Opening it tinkled the bells up top, and she poked her head out. "Salve," she called out to an older woman that was doing her best to stay out of the way of the swelling crush of people. "What is going on? Why are so many in such a hurry?"

"Look up, girl," the woman called back. "The Crownwyrm flies." Three words, and Hilana's eyes just about popped out of their sockets as she immediately left the safety of the doorway and looked up, shielding her eyes from the light. It wasn't just the golden dragon, but there were the Dread Mists as well. In the barrens of the Atraxian Expanse, that would have been cause for alarm. But here in the city of Solunarium, Hilana knew that it was handled. Still, she should really go up and make sure the bee hives were okay... and if she got a good view of the monstrous reptile, so much the better. She stuck her head back into the shop.

"Vasilei," she called out, "there are Dread Mists overhead. I'm going to go check on the hives." She didn't wait for an answer, her boa not particularly pleased by being woken up this way and trying to curl up under her mass of hair and constrict around her upper arm at the same time. "Tiaz," she unwound him from her bicep, grabbing her shoulder bag from the hook hidden on the wall, and slipped the constrictor into it before hurrying around and heading for the ladder to take her to the rooftop of the building. Pulling herself up, rung by rung, she finally climbed up onto the roof and turned to get another look now that she could see better. She soon realized she wasn't the only one who had had the same idea - others, too, had wanted a better view of what was going on, and after quickly checking the hives over, she seated herself on a stool, her snake all curled up in the bag on her lap in a thick ball of muscle. "You're alright," she told the snake, knowing he would uncurl in time. But for now, she could watch the spectacle, overhead and below, and only wonder what had brought it into being.