Fall 3rd, 512av, 15 Bells
“Gems! Do you have a minute? I want to show you something.” It was the classic opening to a lesson with Miles, Gemma’s father. He always had something to show her, and she always learned a lot by listening and watching him work. Sometimes she admittedly had a bad attitude about having to spend so much of her “free time” working and studying, but her dad was always patient with her and tried to keep the lessons short.
“Yeah dad, what’s up?” She asked.
“Well, kiddo, I’ve been subtly edging you toward philtering, since that’s my gig, and I think you’re ready for a formal lesson.” He said.
“Sure, sounds good. It’s basically just herbalism with fancy tools, right?” She asked.
Her dad laughed. “Not quite. I mean, yes, but it’s more than that, especially when you get to my level. Did you know I can actually infuse your gnosis power into a potion for later consumption and benefit?” He eyed her with a grin.
“You can do that? Why haven’t we been doing that already?” She asked.
“Because you and your mom are busy and one day you’ll be able to make them on your own, so I didn’t mind waiting. Besides, I’ve never tried infusing another person’s gnosis into a potion, so I don’t know how hard it would be to get right.” He said. “But now that waiting is on you.” He said with a wink. “Better get to studying now that you know…” He lifted his gaze and Gemma scowled.
“If you’d told me about this first, I would have focused more on philtering.” She said through clenched teeth.
“Well, now you know! Are you ready to begin?” He asked.
“Yes.” She said, still upset.
“Great! So first I want to teach you how to make what you already know, but through the equipment, ok? That way you’ll get used to the process without having to worry about too much new stuff.” He said. “So you already know how to make a decoction. I have one here.” He said, holding up a dark liquid in a glass.
“And you know that by boiling down a decoction, you increase its potency, right?” He asked.
She nodded.
“Right, so if we add this to philtering, we can make it even stronger by processing the vapors through charcoal and cheesecloth, and trap the oils and benefits while releasing the water.” He explained. “It’s only slightly more potent for a bit more work, so we don’t usually do this with decoction, but I want to show you the concepts here. So go ahead and put the decoction in that part there.” He said, pointing to a bulbous glass part of the tool set.
She poured the liquid into the glass.
“Good, now we need to light this fire.” He said, handing her the flint and steel. She lit it with little issue.
“So now watch as the vapors rise through the tubes, being trapped under the cheese cloth and charcoal.” He said, tracing the process with his finger.
“Now this is only one technique used in philtering, but it’s an important one. I also want to mention for safety that you should not allow the pressure to build up too much by sealing a glass container and boiling liquid in it. That can cause the glass to break or shatter.”
“Got it.” She said, writing notes as she went. She had made a whole new page for philtering and was now starting to draw the different parts of the tool set that they were using. She would figure out what the parts were called later. For now, she was on her way to becoming a Philterer.
“Yeah dad, what’s up?” She asked.
“Well, kiddo, I’ve been subtly edging you toward philtering, since that’s my gig, and I think you’re ready for a formal lesson.” He said.
“Sure, sounds good. It’s basically just herbalism with fancy tools, right?” She asked.
Her dad laughed. “Not quite. I mean, yes, but it’s more than that, especially when you get to my level. Did you know I can actually infuse your gnosis power into a potion for later consumption and benefit?” He eyed her with a grin.
“You can do that? Why haven’t we been doing that already?” She asked.
“Because you and your mom are busy and one day you’ll be able to make them on your own, so I didn’t mind waiting. Besides, I’ve never tried infusing another person’s gnosis into a potion, so I don’t know how hard it would be to get right.” He said. “But now that waiting is on you.” He said with a wink. “Better get to studying now that you know…” He lifted his gaze and Gemma scowled.
“If you’d told me about this first, I would have focused more on philtering.” She said through clenched teeth.
“Well, now you know! Are you ready to begin?” He asked.
“Yes.” She said, still upset.
“Great! So first I want to teach you how to make what you already know, but through the equipment, ok? That way you’ll get used to the process without having to worry about too much new stuff.” He said. “So you already know how to make a decoction. I have one here.” He said, holding up a dark liquid in a glass.
“And you know that by boiling down a decoction, you increase its potency, right?” He asked.
She nodded.
“Right, so if we add this to philtering, we can make it even stronger by processing the vapors through charcoal and cheesecloth, and trap the oils and benefits while releasing the water.” He explained. “It’s only slightly more potent for a bit more work, so we don’t usually do this with decoction, but I want to show you the concepts here. So go ahead and put the decoction in that part there.” He said, pointing to a bulbous glass part of the tool set.
She poured the liquid into the glass.
“Good, now we need to light this fire.” He said, handing her the flint and steel. She lit it with little issue.
“So now watch as the vapors rise through the tubes, being trapped under the cheese cloth and charcoal.” He said, tracing the process with his finger.
“Now this is only one technique used in philtering, but it’s an important one. I also want to mention for safety that you should not allow the pressure to build up too much by sealing a glass container and boiling liquid in it. That can cause the glass to break or shatter.”
“Got it.” She said, writing notes as she went. She had made a whole new page for philtering and was now starting to draw the different parts of the tool set that they were using. She would figure out what the parts were called later. For now, she was on her way to becoming a Philterer.