32 Searing, Year 123
[Closed - Finn]
“Will you be out in the desert today?” Lia asked her sister as they watched her putting together the lunch. Breakfast had been eaten, and the young woman had turned her attention to packing the picnic basket. Grilled lamb pitas with tomatoes and onions and tzatziki, hummus and crackers, fruit, olives, cheeses, crunchy roasted chickpeas, and cardamom pistachio shortbread cookies. Hilana had made a half a dozen large trays of them the day before, and a large bag of them had gone with Raithen, along with his own basket of food to take back to the Neptori with him.
“Something like that. I’m making a quick trip with Finn, and I like to make sure we have snacks on the road,” Hilana explained. Lia’s head tilted in question. “If I could bring you, soror, I would. But where I’m going today, it wouldn’t be wise for you to accompany me until Lykos has purified you. And then I will get permission to bring you with me.” She squeezed Lia’s hands before pulling her into a hug. Lia returned it, touching her face.
“I understand, Hilana. You’ll have to tell me about it after, hm?” She smiled at her. She wouldn’t begrudge her such trips - Lia did not have the adventurous spirit Hilana did, at least, not in such amounts. Her sister had enough for all of them. “We will see you for dinner. In light or shadow, go in grace,” she touched her cheek before stepping back, making a little gesture with her hands to encourage her younger sister to go. "You do not want to be late."
She took the portal to the Luxium and hurried to Sweet Remedies, tucking the basket out of the way until Finn got there. With it being his day off, she’d figured to work until he was ready to go, and Vasilei had a whole list for her to work on and prepare from the inventory check he had done the day before. The Vastiana knuckled down and got to work on mixing the first batch of anti-fatigue teas. The main ingredient in these were dried magma bloom petals from the flowers Hilana had collected in Frost from the Umbrium, having been drying and curing so that they could be crushed and added to other herbs and plants - ginger, ashwagandha, and rhodiola rosea, all of which were good for revitalization and improvement of physical abilities. Finn might like some of that, too, and she resolved to set a packet aside for him. Vasilei liked her friend, after all, they could talk quite a bit about northern plants and Kalzasi. There was always something interesting for them to cover, especially as Finn's grandmother had been the local witch, as he had told Hilana before, and his father was interested in much of the same subjects.
The ginger had been shaved down into slices when it had been fresh and candied in order to allow it to crystallize. That served multiple purposes - preserving the fresh ginger root, modifying the flavour, and allowing honey to be involved without needing a bottle of the fresh, liquid gold. The ginger syrup that resulted from the process of making the honey-candied ginger was used in multiple other applications, as well as being sold on its own. Hilana weighed and measured out the ginger before it went into the great mixing bowl. Ashwagandha roots had been dried and ground into a powder with the mortar and pestle, and that, too, had been weighed out. Fine though it was, once it was submerged in the boiled water and activated by the heat, it was still beneficial if it seeped through the mesh strainers or circulated in the tea. The honey of the ginger helped with the flavour, as did the tangy leaves of the magma blooms.
The rhodiola rosea wasn't native to Solunarium, and as such it required specialized growing conditions that Vasilei had paid mages to recreate. But it was well worth it - the roots of the attractive ground-cover plant contained strong adaptogens, which helped the body manage stress along with fatigue, boosting and enhancing concentration. All of which were helpful, and when combined with the other components, could create a strong pick-me-up that was not unwelcome in these trying times. The big bowl was blended carefully with the whisk and spoons, before it was weighed out again into labeled paper packets. Vasilei had her pack different sizes - some individual portions, others held up to a week's supply with the measurement instructions on the back.
Hilana did keep an eye on the water clock, though; she wasn't about to be caught flat-footed when she knew Finn would be coming.
[Closed - Finn]
“Will you be out in the desert today?” Lia asked her sister as they watched her putting together the lunch. Breakfast had been eaten, and the young woman had turned her attention to packing the picnic basket. Grilled lamb pitas with tomatoes and onions and tzatziki, hummus and crackers, fruit, olives, cheeses, crunchy roasted chickpeas, and cardamom pistachio shortbread cookies. Hilana had made a half a dozen large trays of them the day before, and a large bag of them had gone with Raithen, along with his own basket of food to take back to the Neptori with him.
“Something like that. I’m making a quick trip with Finn, and I like to make sure we have snacks on the road,” Hilana explained. Lia’s head tilted in question. “If I could bring you, soror, I would. But where I’m going today, it wouldn’t be wise for you to accompany me until Lykos has purified you. And then I will get permission to bring you with me.” She squeezed Lia’s hands before pulling her into a hug. Lia returned it, touching her face.
“I understand, Hilana. You’ll have to tell me about it after, hm?” She smiled at her. She wouldn’t begrudge her such trips - Lia did not have the adventurous spirit Hilana did, at least, not in such amounts. Her sister had enough for all of them. “We will see you for dinner. In light or shadow, go in grace,” she touched her cheek before stepping back, making a little gesture with her hands to encourage her younger sister to go. "You do not want to be late."
***
She took the portal to the Luxium and hurried to Sweet Remedies, tucking the basket out of the way until Finn got there. With it being his day off, she’d figured to work until he was ready to go, and Vasilei had a whole list for her to work on and prepare from the inventory check he had done the day before. The Vastiana knuckled down and got to work on mixing the first batch of anti-fatigue teas. The main ingredient in these were dried magma bloom petals from the flowers Hilana had collected in Frost from the Umbrium, having been drying and curing so that they could be crushed and added to other herbs and plants - ginger, ashwagandha, and rhodiola rosea, all of which were good for revitalization and improvement of physical abilities. Finn might like some of that, too, and she resolved to set a packet aside for him. Vasilei liked her friend, after all, they could talk quite a bit about northern plants and Kalzasi. There was always something interesting for them to cover, especially as Finn's grandmother had been the local witch, as he had told Hilana before, and his father was interested in much of the same subjects.
The ginger had been shaved down into slices when it had been fresh and candied in order to allow it to crystallize. That served multiple purposes - preserving the fresh ginger root, modifying the flavour, and allowing honey to be involved without needing a bottle of the fresh, liquid gold. The ginger syrup that resulted from the process of making the honey-candied ginger was used in multiple other applications, as well as being sold on its own. Hilana weighed and measured out the ginger before it went into the great mixing bowl. Ashwagandha roots had been dried and ground into a powder with the mortar and pestle, and that, too, had been weighed out. Fine though it was, once it was submerged in the boiled water and activated by the heat, it was still beneficial if it seeped through the mesh strainers or circulated in the tea. The honey of the ginger helped with the flavour, as did the tangy leaves of the magma blooms.
The rhodiola rosea wasn't native to Solunarium, and as such it required specialized growing conditions that Vasilei had paid mages to recreate. But it was well worth it - the roots of the attractive ground-cover plant contained strong adaptogens, which helped the body manage stress along with fatigue, boosting and enhancing concentration. All of which were helpful, and when combined with the other components, could create a strong pick-me-up that was not unwelcome in these trying times. The big bowl was blended carefully with the whisk and spoons, before it was weighed out again into labeled paper packets. Vasilei had her pack different sizes - some individual portions, others held up to a week's supply with the measurement instructions on the back.
Hilana did keep an eye on the water clock, though; she wasn't about to be caught flat-footed when she knew Finn would be coming.
