[Sanctuary] Tension (Kavala)

by **Elem Bree** on November 16th, 2012, 6:41 am

TBD of Fall, AV 512

From behind Elem's door, a slight hiss of air could be heard, occurring with rhythmic reglarity. After ten of such sounds, a hard clinking sound of metal against stone would follow. Inside, the Zeltivan rolled his neck and shoulders, breathing in through his nose and exhaling slowly out of his mouth before continuing. He had spared no expense when purchasing the equipment at the Bazaar earlier that day, fifty golden mizas laid out to a very agreeable Akalak.

Now he was reaping the benefits of his purchase, squatting and wrapping his hands once more around a cool iron bar. His mind was clear, his focus sure on the task at hand. Or in his back, in this case. With a push and a pull, his legs straightened, the bar leaving the ground, its ends each carrying a large bell shaped stone. Elem pushed the air out, the resulting hiss akin to those that pushed out when punching. These exhalations were measured, however, as he held the weighted bar up at an angle, his biceps holding in defiance against the increased mass. The breath left slowly as Elem began to squat, until a sharp pain caught him in the right center of his upper back, causing him to drop the bar and stones with a clatter.

Moving his body around slowly, in order to guess at the cause, he suspected a slight pull in the muscle. Looking down at the bells, he suspected he may not have had the weight level and even as he descended, a look of frustration on his features. As he was covered in sweat from the exertion anyway, he decided to call it a day and relax in the bath to clean up and ease the tension. It had been a fairly sunny day, meaning there was probably a fair amount of warm water in it, which would greatly relieve his pain and tension.

While fully capable of relieving the pain with a prayer to his Goddess, Elem did not want to make the exercise invalid as the Gnosis would simply reset the muscles in his arms and back to their original state before he had started. He had to endure, just as he often did with boxing, only using his gift on himself when it was absolutely necessary. Stripping down to a loincloth and his grass bear cloak, he left his room to tread the short distance to relaxation.

Ledger :

by **Kavala** on November 16th, 2012, 8:10 pm

Cadra had told Kavala earlier that Elem was seen carrying in an odd assortment of equipment that looked like torture devices, and she’d been worried. The thought had almost made Kavala chuckle, but it had spiked her curiosity so the Konti had managed to stroll by when he was hauling in his second load of weights to see what he was about. Like Cadra, she was puzzled at first, until she saw him putting them together and realized that what he had was a collection of weight lifting equipment. So once she had that figured out, she went off to find Cadra, explain what weight lifting equipment was, and reassure the girl that Elem wasn’t taking up a new hobby anytime soon.

But that did mean Kavala probably had too. Weight lifting often meant sore muscles, strains, aches and pains, and a whole host of other situations. And knowing Elem, he’d not use his gnosis mark one bit for any of the care.

That meant she needed to get some massage oils and soothing muscle balms together rather rapidly. The Sanctuary was low on certain supplies too. They had stockpiles of the spring and summer harvest, but they were relatively low on a lot of medical supplies now that winter was setting in. It was their time to build up supplies. Everything here ran in cycles, and those cycles were important. Spring and summer were a frantic beeshive of activity while fall was a gathering period, and winter was a deep Within manufacturing period.

Kavala might as well get a jump on the manufacturing period and get carrier oils ready for massage oils, lotions, balms, and creams. Carrier oil was used by the gallon and came from vegetables, normally from the fatty portion of the plant, seed, kernels or nuts. The problem was, if one applied essential oils (the parts that really were therapeutic to patients) to skin undiluted, they would often cause irritation. Carrier oils were mild, mundane, and offended no ones skin. So they were manufactured then essential oils were added to ‘carry’ the healing properties to the skin and deep tissue where they were needed.

Essential oils were completely different in that they came from distilling the bark, roots, leaves and flowers of botanicals. Essential oils had a concentrated aroma and would evaporate. Carrier oils rarely had odor – unless it was mild - at all and rarely passed the odor on if they had one. The main difference, other than what they were made of, was that carrier oils could spoil or go rancid over time, whereas essential oils did not. So the challenge at The Sanctuary was to make enough carrier oil to be all used before it went bad. Essential oils could be made at any time.

So carrier oils were used as a base product to almost every healing filter and herbalism medication at The Sanctuary. Massage oils were no different.

Kavala had the capability to make creams, body oils, lip balms, moisturizer, lotions, shampoos and even soaps by using carrier oils as well. Often all that was needed was a drop or ten of the oil and perhaps some beeswax dissolved within.

Unlike some cities with a vast amount of resources, Kavala living in Riverfall, really had only a few choices for carrier oils. She could make sweet almond oils, apricot kernel oil, grapeseed oil, and hazelnut oil.

Each oil had its own profile.

Sweet Almond had a very slightly nutty and sweet smell that could be considered overall incredibly light. When used it left a very slight hint of oil on the skin and was able to be absorbed into the body very quickly. The oil itself had a self life of around a year and looked like it had a medium viscosity with a slight yellow tinge.

Apricot Kernel Oil looked a lot like Sweet Almond Oil and had the same shelf life, but it had a faint hint of apricots and was almost clear when processed correctly. Its texture, however, was far more ‘oily’ than Sweet Almond and it worked a bit better for massage because it wasn’t so ‘not there’.

One thing Riverfall had in abundance was grapeseed. And this time of year Kavala could buy the fresh grapeseeds by the wagon load from the vineyards just after harvest after all the pressing had been done. Most of the skin and discarded material were fed to livestock, but the seeds were saved and sold to healers like herself. Grapeseed oil, as far as Kavala was concerned, was the workhorse of her healing practice because it did so well in any environment and used for any purpose.

It had a light slightly nutty and sweet scent, was a very thin oil, and had no color to its body. It was considered incredibly thin and left a light glossy film on the skin. The only problem with grapeseed oil was that depending on its use, its shelf life was half of the other products, though if kept in a tight dark jar and sealed tightly one could stretch that out for at least eight to twelve months. But once it was opened, it had to be used quickly.

The final carrier oil Kavala knew she could use in the Riverfall region was hazelnut oil. It had similar properties to grapeseed oil, in that it was thin, light, and had a nutty sweet smell. But it had a yellow color, and left a very oily film on the skin. It was a thin oil, but the main problem with was the same problem almond oil had. In bumper crop years they could make the oils, but otherwise they were destroying food to make oil in using the nuts. Whereas with grapeseed, they were just salvaging things that had been already turned into food.

That’s why, in Kavala’s world, grapeseed oil was the oil of choice.

And it wasn’t hard to make either. All she needed was to pick up a seed press, which was a great deal like a meat grinder smiths created for butchers or sausage makers. Instead of blades it had stones, and they weren’t expensive. She’d found one at the local smithy for thirty gold which came with three different types of stones she could change out depending on what she was ‘pressing’ . The press was in the philtering lab and bolted down to one of the work counters.

There were six steps to making the grapeseed oil, but fortunately Kavala only neded to do five. The first step was carried out at the vineyard where they dried the pomace ( the remains after they pressed the grapes for liquid). Once it was dry, the pomace was run through a wife sieve and the seeds removed. Kavala was then sold the seeds fairly cheaply. They were two gold a ten pound bag, and Kavala bought them by the dozens of burlap bags.

So with the seeds all separated out and acquired that way, all she had to do was run them through the oil press and place glass jars beneath them to catch both the oil and the pomace left from that process. The leftover spent seeds Kavala fed to the pigs, goats and cows hich loved it. All she had to do was take a handful of grape seeds into the hopper on top of the press. She then cranked the press handle. The crank handle will turn the impeller in the press, crushing the seeds to extract the oil. All she had to do was keep adding more seeds to the hopper. She had a wooden plunger to help the seeds feed into the press, which guided the fresh sheeds down into the grinding stone region.
Then, when she’d pressed all the grapeseed oil she wanted, she’d pour the raw extracted oil through a strainer of cheesecloth, then into a glass jar and place the lid on it securely. Kavala was in the habit of keeping the oil in a warm dark area because it allowed the oil to settle after about twenty four bells so the solids separate from the actual pure oil. Kavala used the solids for a variety of things, but for the carrior oils she wanted the oil free of solids. So she’d pour the oil off into the glass bottle and cap the bottle securely. That was it. Grapeseed oil made.
And so that’s what Kavala started doing as soon as she saw Elem start hauling in equipment. She knew it would take him time to put it all together, work out, and by that time she’d have her oils ready and could go offer him a massage.
First though, she’d wait the twenty four bells, let him get good and sore playing with his new equipment, then mix up a fresh batch of massage oil and go see him. And for that she needed a massage table. That would mean a quick trip to the bazaar.

ooc :

by **Elem Bree** on November 21st, 2012, 5:48 am

The cloak rested in a heap next to the bath as Elem dipped his head beneath the warm water, coming up and massaging his scalp, rinsing the oils and sweat from his hair. Sliding back and propping his elbows up on the cool stone surrounding the magically manipulated space, the Zeltivan continued to turn his body under the water, finding that sweet spot that would allow the pulled muscle to relax. Finding no relief, he tried standing in the water, with it coming up to his navel. Bending over, he dipped his hair back into the water, slowly entending his back until he came off of his feet.

It didn't feel like a cause for alarm, but his body was very important to Elem, an interesting change that had come with his time at the Sanctuary. As he extended his arms out and gripped the edge of the bath, his body floated on the surface, the silence of the water soothing to his mind. Lifting his head to draw in precious breath, Elem submerged his face again, slowly turning his face from right to left beneath the waters. His mind quieted somewhat, thinking back at how he had begun to transform from a meek and tender bookworm into something else. Even now, he was unsure of what he was becoming, but it was definite in its transformation.

Standing once more, Elem rolled his neck on his shoulders and stepped from the bath, sliding his luxuriously warm cloak around his shoulders and making his way back to his room. Once there, he closed the door, returning to cool darkness. His wet feet slapped against the cavern's floor as he let the cloak and loincloth fall, the air moving against his nude form. Only his breaths were audible in the otherwise silent blackness of his quarters. His mind continued to work over the idea of metamorphosis. Perhaps that was why he had found the magic of Morphing so interesting, albeit vulgar.

His scholarly directions were moving toward other magical disciplines now as well as to actual laboratory work. Elem was finding that he much preferred to have real ends to his studies rather than mere concepts and ideas. it was a similar motif in his body, though it was much more pronounced. He enjoyed watching his body take its optimal form, each muscle group defining itslef from beneath his skin. It pushed him into the realms of combat, of physical exertion and activity. Rather than worry over it, Elem had faith in himself to let the change continue. He would know who he truly was in time. For now, rest.

.....

The next day, Elem spent much of the day with Aweston, gathering hay and tending ot the various livestock. His increasing strength was a welcome addition to many of the mundane tasks of the Sanctuary and he was equally satisfied to do his part and then some. Kavala provided him with resources and safety. His gratitude urged him to do everything he could to aid her in the creation of something greater than himself. It was the right thing to do, much like bequeathing his cottage to Zeltiva was the right thing to do over keeping the proceeds of its sale.

Once dinner was over and his growing hunger sated, Elem found himself in his room again, anxious to get back to work with his weights. He wanted to avoid overdoing it with his tender upper back, so he focused on his legs and lower back. First, of course, came the proper stretching and preparation of the muscles to be used, warming them with vigorous rope jumping. He then tied a smaller weight to each of his ankles, finding himself on the floor of his room. He slowly lifted each leg, the extra weight bringing the familiar burn into the back of his thigh and his calf, extensions and retractions working in those muscles.

Then came resistance and endurance. Using the same weights and position, he slowly drew up both legs a few inches from the floor, sweat streaming from his body as he held them aloft for as long as he could. While he was using mostly only his lower back, he could feel the beginnings of the injured muscle in the upper part starting to argue with his efforts. Choosing caution, Elem sat up and released the bonds from his ankles, standing slowly and cooling down. Another loincloth was applied, in case he crossed paths with Cadra or one of the other younger girls of the Sanctuary. His grass bear cloak wrapped around him, he left his room for another soak and thinking spree.

Closed [Sanctuary] Tension (Kavala)