40 Searing, Year 123
[Closed - Solo]
"Everyone likes snake venom," Zosar began his lecture. "And as a result, that is the most suspected source of poisons out here. Easiest to get," he nodded at Hilana. Hilana's collection, after all, was only steadily growing. "But a true connoisseur is resourceful an dcreative. Beyond the alchemical process... there are sources many do not even think to consider. Forget snakes for the moment. What else is there?"
"Jellyfish, anemons, scorpions, spiders, uncountable types of plants..." Hilana offered, her pencil poised over her notebook. "Exempting only snakes, tegu skin and saliva can be troublesome. The basilisks and wyverns..."
"Are too obvious. EVeryone knows about the latter two, Hilana. But go back to your earlier suggestions. Sealife is an excellent source for something more exotic while we can still easily access it. It is used less often than snakes as it can be harder to get to... even with the amount of arcane practitioners that about here. Not everyone will engage in innovation, especially if it will take more work that takes them out of their way. But I expect nothing less from the discipula of Eliana Chenzira." He looked her over. "You have access to the coast, hm? Go find something to work with. We'll see just what you can come up with. Or if you're feeling like a homebody, find something in the Vasta. Your choice."
"Where are you going?" Athalia wanted to know when she saw Hilana in a much shorter than usual skirt, raising an eyebrow. This was even shorter than the one she had taken to wearing when she was sparring with Lykos, much to her consternation. "You're not sparring at this time of night, are you?" she glanced over at the Rathari. But it could be Raithen she was going to see, which... well, made a lot more sense. But usually Hilana's winged lover showed up first. But who was she to judge? Their relationship worked for them, even if it was utterly inappropriate. It was hard to know with her. Lia did have some concerns and reservations about her little sister, but outside of the Void, the girl that had been raised in the Atraxian Expanse had adapted well and learned well. It was gratifying to know that she was smart enough, for the most part, to avoid trouble out here in the City. And she had managed to acquire favour with some high enough to help clear her path if she ever needed it.
"No, I'm going swimming," Hilana admitted. "I need to collect some things from the water for my other job at Harataecia's Blood." That made Lia touch her soror's face, tucking some of her hair behind her ears and out of her earrings. She didn't like the idea of her going out on her own at night, especially without some sort of guard, but she had to understand and admit that Hilana was armed with something that Midnight's Mother had seen fit to bestow on her, and in a way, her using it in this fashion helped her learn how to deftly use this tool in other situations that might be higher stakes.
"Just be safe, hm? We would come, but perhaps that would be unwise, what with how far you may go and the limits of your mask. But Sentinels could come," she smiled before lowering her hand. "Have fun. Go find what you need, hmm? We'll be waiting when you come back. Then you can make us tea and show us what you have found." She had faith in her abilities here, and in the Sands... there was no one else that she would rather be with than Hilana. She was Wild, true, but what she hadn't learned like Lia and their older sisters, she had made up for with her own education. She had had many different tutors... and many could not fail.
Armed with her Mask of Midnight's Mother, a leather padded set of tongs, and a number of sacks, Hilana used her Ring of Traversion to send herself to one of the places she had visited years ago with her great-aunt and one of her paternal cousins to collect the sunstars. She had been picky about this location simply because she didn't want to encounter anyone outside in it. The Ring would only be good for another portal before it would have to recharge, and getting herself stranded out here trying to avoid someone was not high on her bucket list. As it was, it was far enough from Tertium that there were few with any reason to make the trip from the port city, and remote enough that few would be passing by at this time of year. But the wave activity and tides would hopefully be favourable, particularly with what she knew about sunstars and their preferences for their habitats. Time was finite; she couldn't play around out here all night long.
Had the rest of her paternal family seen her outfit, they would have been scandalized. The skirt was well above her knees, and a halter top barely contained her chest. She did have a belt with some lengths of rope tied to it in order to secure her prizes in the sacks that she had brought. Hilana left her sandals on the shore, far enough away from the water that the tides would not claim them, and waded out into the water. The bone-white mask faded, having secured itself and Hilana willed herself to vanish from the senses of those around her. She didn't need critters stalking her, and it would be far easier to swim along and find what she needed without being hunted or followed by something that might trouble. The water and the waves welcomed her, and she greeted them in kind, going out deeper and deeper, until the water was pushing against her chest. She took a breath and submerged herself, letting the water spirits push her along. Hilana chose that moment to activate her Semblance, letting the magical enhancement reveal what was around, above, and below her.
For all of her forays into investigating the world around her with Semblance, Hilana had yet to do it underwater. Now she was in for a treat: there was so much to discover down here. Fish were unaware of her, and that allowed her to study them, though she needed to collect air from time to time as she swam along the surface, looking down at the sandy seabed beneath her. She knew she could just use her Elementalism, but there was an act of normalcy to breathing on her own at the surface, and considering she had spent most of her life without bothering herself with Runes, she did enjoy it. Besides, she tended to be conservative with her aether if she could be; overstepping was not ideal, not out here. She returned her attention to the sea life below her, but she chose not to concentrate on too many or trying to discern all kinds of facts and details about what she was seeing. She didn't want to exert herself far too soon into her little adventure.
Out here, the water moved a lot more, and with another breath, Hilana dove down towards the rocky floor of the Crystal Sea. Sunstars got their names by having more than twice the number of arms as the average starfish. They weren't huge, either; most of them were only perhaps as long as the length of her hand. They were a reddish-pink colour with white, and plenty of spines. The colour paled in the middle, fading to an almost white shade before brightening on the arms of the starfish, getting much more vivid and darker. Now it was just a matter of finding them.
This was where Semblance came in handy. With eyes that reflected her connection to the elements in an ever-changing pattern, Hilana scoured the bottom below her. The arcane addition to her own skills and knowledge helped her sift through all kinds of information at a quicker pace than she might have otherwise managed without it. The aura told her what she was looking at, and that helped the Vastiana zero in on her quarry. Rather than swim all the way back up to the surface, now she used the air in the water to help herself breathe, forming air bubbles that enabled her to stay down below rather than spending the energy otherwise. But she had found them now, and she kicked herself down the rest of the way before using the padded tongs to carefully grasp the sunstar and put it in the bag. She was able to snag two more before going to the surface for air, tightening the drawstring of the sack to keep her prizes inside.
Up top, she was able to breathe normally again, and she tread water, bobbing along in the waves. She took the moment to scope all of that which was around her - better safe than sorry - and headed back down. She would move on to another spot, as the next few sunstars that she had found were smaller than she liked. Too small to have potent enough toxins for this project, and they were too young. It was better to let them age and get bigger. Some other year, she would find them again. Just like when she was foraging for plants, sustainability was a key consideration in terms of what she could responsibly allow herself to collect. Once she was attuned to the element of Wood, that kind of harvesting would be less of an issue. But in collecting live animals.... overfishing needed to be kept in mind.
[Closed - Solo]
"Everyone likes snake venom," Zosar began his lecture. "And as a result, that is the most suspected source of poisons out here. Easiest to get," he nodded at Hilana. Hilana's collection, after all, was only steadily growing. "But a true connoisseur is resourceful an dcreative. Beyond the alchemical process... there are sources many do not even think to consider. Forget snakes for the moment. What else is there?"
"Jellyfish, anemons, scorpions, spiders, uncountable types of plants..." Hilana offered, her pencil poised over her notebook. "Exempting only snakes, tegu skin and saliva can be troublesome. The basilisks and wyverns..."
"Are too obvious. EVeryone knows about the latter two, Hilana. But go back to your earlier suggestions. Sealife is an excellent source for something more exotic while we can still easily access it. It is used less often than snakes as it can be harder to get to... even with the amount of arcane practitioners that about here. Not everyone will engage in innovation, especially if it will take more work that takes them out of their way. But I expect nothing less from the discipula of Eliana Chenzira." He looked her over. "You have access to the coast, hm? Go find something to work with. We'll see just what you can come up with. Or if you're feeling like a homebody, find something in the Vasta. Your choice."
***
"Where are you going?" Athalia wanted to know when she saw Hilana in a much shorter than usual skirt, raising an eyebrow. This was even shorter than the one she had taken to wearing when she was sparring with Lykos, much to her consternation. "You're not sparring at this time of night, are you?" she glanced over at the Rathari. But it could be Raithen she was going to see, which... well, made a lot more sense. But usually Hilana's winged lover showed up first. But who was she to judge? Their relationship worked for them, even if it was utterly inappropriate. It was hard to know with her. Lia did have some concerns and reservations about her little sister, but outside of the Void, the girl that had been raised in the Atraxian Expanse had adapted well and learned well. It was gratifying to know that she was smart enough, for the most part, to avoid trouble out here in the City. And she had managed to acquire favour with some high enough to help clear her path if she ever needed it.
"No, I'm going swimming," Hilana admitted. "I need to collect some things from the water for my other job at Harataecia's Blood." That made Lia touch her soror's face, tucking some of her hair behind her ears and out of her earrings. She didn't like the idea of her going out on her own at night, especially without some sort of guard, but she had to understand and admit that Hilana was armed with something that Midnight's Mother had seen fit to bestow on her, and in a way, her using it in this fashion helped her learn how to deftly use this tool in other situations that might be higher stakes.
"Just be safe, hm? We would come, but perhaps that would be unwise, what with how far you may go and the limits of your mask. But Sentinels could come," she smiled before lowering her hand. "Have fun. Go find what you need, hmm? We'll be waiting when you come back. Then you can make us tea and show us what you have found." She had faith in her abilities here, and in the Sands... there was no one else that she would rather be with than Hilana. She was Wild, true, but what she hadn't learned like Lia and their older sisters, she had made up for with her own education. She had had many different tutors... and many could not fail.
Armed with her Mask of Midnight's Mother, a leather padded set of tongs, and a number of sacks, Hilana used her Ring of Traversion to send herself to one of the places she had visited years ago with her great-aunt and one of her paternal cousins to collect the sunstars. She had been picky about this location simply because she didn't want to encounter anyone outside in it. The Ring would only be good for another portal before it would have to recharge, and getting herself stranded out here trying to avoid someone was not high on her bucket list. As it was, it was far enough from Tertium that there were few with any reason to make the trip from the port city, and remote enough that few would be passing by at this time of year. But the wave activity and tides would hopefully be favourable, particularly with what she knew about sunstars and their preferences for their habitats. Time was finite; she couldn't play around out here all night long.
Had the rest of her paternal family seen her outfit, they would have been scandalized. The skirt was well above her knees, and a halter top barely contained her chest. She did have a belt with some lengths of rope tied to it in order to secure her prizes in the sacks that she had brought. Hilana left her sandals on the shore, far enough away from the water that the tides would not claim them, and waded out into the water. The bone-white mask faded, having secured itself and Hilana willed herself to vanish from the senses of those around her. She didn't need critters stalking her, and it would be far easier to swim along and find what she needed without being hunted or followed by something that might trouble. The water and the waves welcomed her, and she greeted them in kind, going out deeper and deeper, until the water was pushing against her chest. She took a breath and submerged herself, letting the water spirits push her along. Hilana chose that moment to activate her Semblance, letting the magical enhancement reveal what was around, above, and below her.
For all of her forays into investigating the world around her with Semblance, Hilana had yet to do it underwater. Now she was in for a treat: there was so much to discover down here. Fish were unaware of her, and that allowed her to study them, though she needed to collect air from time to time as she swam along the surface, looking down at the sandy seabed beneath her. She knew she could just use her Elementalism, but there was an act of normalcy to breathing on her own at the surface, and considering she had spent most of her life without bothering herself with Runes, she did enjoy it. Besides, she tended to be conservative with her aether if she could be; overstepping was not ideal, not out here. She returned her attention to the sea life below her, but she chose not to concentrate on too many or trying to discern all kinds of facts and details about what she was seeing. She didn't want to exert herself far too soon into her little adventure.
Out here, the water moved a lot more, and with another breath, Hilana dove down towards the rocky floor of the Crystal Sea. Sunstars got their names by having more than twice the number of arms as the average starfish. They weren't huge, either; most of them were only perhaps as long as the length of her hand. They were a reddish-pink colour with white, and plenty of spines. The colour paled in the middle, fading to an almost white shade before brightening on the arms of the starfish, getting much more vivid and darker. Now it was just a matter of finding them.
This was where Semblance came in handy. With eyes that reflected her connection to the elements in an ever-changing pattern, Hilana scoured the bottom below her. The arcane addition to her own skills and knowledge helped her sift through all kinds of information at a quicker pace than she might have otherwise managed without it. The aura told her what she was looking at, and that helped the Vastiana zero in on her quarry. Rather than swim all the way back up to the surface, now she used the air in the water to help herself breathe, forming air bubbles that enabled her to stay down below rather than spending the energy otherwise. But she had found them now, and she kicked herself down the rest of the way before using the padded tongs to carefully grasp the sunstar and put it in the bag. She was able to snag two more before going to the surface for air, tightening the drawstring of the sack to keep her prizes inside.
Up top, she was able to breathe normally again, and she tread water, bobbing along in the waves. She took the moment to scope all of that which was around her - better safe than sorry - and headed back down. She would move on to another spot, as the next few sunstars that she had found were smaller than she liked. Too small to have potent enough toxins for this project, and they were too young. It was better to let them age and get bigger. Some other year, she would find them again. Just like when she was foraging for plants, sustainability was a key consideration in terms of what she could responsibly allow herself to collect. Once she was attuned to the element of Wood, that kind of harvesting would be less of an issue. But in collecting live animals.... overfishing needed to be kept in mind.