Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

14. Knack for Potions

Professor Lurgs raised the gramroot and cluster of ovelpetals above her head so the entire class could see. Without warning, she plunged the ingredients into the bubbling cauldron in front of her, steamy water spilling over its lip. 

Whatever stirred inside the enormous bowl was enough to incubate the classroom with a foggy veil of heat. Yet Lurgs didn't even wince as the liquid concoction reached her shoulders, sprinkling onto her bare skin.

"Potion making, my dears," the professor smiled, "is a fine art. For when it was in the Early Centuries that man was struck with the revelation to brew an elixir using only the assets Aeris has provided to the world, why, it kickstarted a new age for humanity. Potions and elixirs all have their unique effects. They can be used to heal, purify.

"But as with magic, there is always a darker, much more sinister side to that coin. Some rogue sorcerers or shadows in the Black Market create potions that can kill and corrupt. They have many uses, however, no true potion should be made to bring harm to a person. They are sacred gifts unique from magic. Regardless of if you are a mage or a dullard, man or beast. Potion making is an artform meant for anyone or anything."

Elaine smiled. There was a sort of charming humility about Professor Lurgs. Elaine imagined she and her mother would get along well together. At the very least, they'd be able to talk each other to death about the marvelous intricacies and secret techniques of potion-making.

From the moment Elaine could pick up a spoon, she had already begun her education on potions. Her folks had hoped she would in time take over the family business, after all. 

Out of all the classes on her schedule, Elaine wasn't exactly the most thrilled to attend this one. What else was there for her to know that she hadn't already learned while helping her parents man the shop?

Well, apparently there was a lot she didn't know. For instance, Lurgs had taught them that it was unwise to mix ingredients from different countries, let alone separate continents. Unless they were properly tested and monitored, the resulting potion might be a bit more catastrophic than otherwise intended.

She also discovered that some potion makers, and even the larger potioncraft companies in the higher-end cities, were utilizing specific spells on their products. She had always wondered why her folks didn't invest in using magic on the potions they sold. According to Lurgs, magic and potions should not be mixed.

Though it was true that potions induced extraordinary and enchanted effects on those that ingested them—and also how some potion ingredients possessed magical properties themselves—a potion maker worth their salt would never even entertain the notion of casting their products with magic. There were too many variables to consider, too many possibilities.

"Don't believe everything you hear from the tightwigs in the Capital, or the goblins overseeing their enterprises," Lurgs grunted. "They use spells to craft their potions not to improve their quality but to cut back on costs, manpower, and time. That's all it is. This might be a sorcerer training institution but if I ever catch any of you waving your wand in my class, I'll automatically fail you. Understand, dearies?"

Even when she was plainly upset, the professor couldn't fully commit to that scowl. Rather she settled for an unpleasant frown. It didn't make her come across as intimidating, necessarily. 

Here she was threatening to fail them and yet her tone latched onto a soft, almost consoling cadence. She sounded like a well-meaning grandmother lightly scolding their grandkids for a mistake.

Lurgs had reached well past the halfway point of her life, but a beauty complemented by preserved wisdom and experience beamed through the cracks in age. She was a tan-skinned woman owning brown hair interspersed with gray-colored streaks that had been tied into a bun atop her head—curly strands rested on either side of her round cheeks—and a pair of glasses hid behind them squinting, green eyes.