The next morning I experienced my first real hangover. When I opened my eyes, just a few hours after we'd finally gone to sleep, the room was already far too bright. The sun shining through the window hurt my eyes. I wanted to close them and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option as we had to continue our travels that day.

As soon as I sat up in bed, the massive headache hit me with full force and I held my head in my hands. Andrian stirred and looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

"Morning," he said in a voice that sounded as harsh as mine usually did. I grimaced in place of a smile and he laughed lightly before wincing. It seemed he had a similar headache.

We wiped ourselves down with wet towels from the washbasin provided by the inn, then got dressed before heading downstairs to meet the others. Luxania and Shidah were already downstairs waiting for us and both looked amused by my and Andrian's rough appearance. Estra soon came down and clicked his tongue disapprovingly at our bedraggled states, but offered no comment.

We went to the stable to get our horses and were soon back on the road. The route out of town was marked by an archway similar to the one we had entered through, also guarded by two sentries. They wished us a safe journey and we continued on into the jungle.

Riding my horse was a whole new variety of suffering. Despite only moving at a gentle trot, the movements made my head pound and my stomach churn. I was grateful I hadn't eaten breakfast because it wouldn't have stayed in my stomach for long. When I was in the shade of the trees, all I could think about was my stomach, and when the sun hit me, all I could think about was the pain in my head. The sunlight, which I normally enjoyed, became a vicious enemy to me, in light of my hangover.

When we stopped for lunch, the mere thought of food made my stomach turn. Andrian didn't seem to be faring much better, as he waved away all offers of food in favor of lying on the ground next to me. A nap sounded much more appealing than food at that moment. We both lay down under the cover of a tree and closed our eyes. My churning stomach and pounding head were easier to bear when I was no longer upright and moving.

I didn't get to rest for long before Estra attempted to coax us both back to life with an herbal drink he had prepared while we were lying comatose on the ground. I accepted the drink gratefully, then winced at its terrible taste. I cast a suspicious glance at Estra as the drink made my stomach complain again when it had just finally calmed down.

"Oh, just be patient," Estra told me when he saw my unhappy looking face, "the best medicine always tastes bad. Give it some time to work."

I closed my eyes again to wait, and listened as Estra began to lecture Andrian as he gave him his dose of the bitter liquid. According to Estra, mellyn blossom liquor was far too strong for a human to handle, and Andrian should have known better. I wasn't sure if my current condition proved or disproved that statement. I was certainly suffering a lot, but so was Andrian, who definitely wasn't human, and I had a low tolerance by human standards anyway. Andrian didn't argue with him, though, and accepted the scolding that came with the cure to his misery.

Sure enough, whatever concoction Estra made for us worked, and I soon felt much better. I could bear to have the sun in my eyes and I no longer felt nauseated. Andrian looked much better as well. We were finally able to eat something before we continued on our way to the trading city. My head was a lot clearer and riding my horse didn't feel like a torture any more.

We rode long and hard for the rest of the day, stopping only as the sun began to set in the distance. We found a spot that would fit our tents well enough and began to set up camp. Grilled flatbread and a soup made from dried beans and mushrooms was our simple dinner, which I ate with enthusiasm. I had eaten a little at lunch, but it wasn't nearly enough. Since arriving at the Golden Palace, I'd gotten used to eating my fill at least three times each day. Skipping breakfast and barely eating at lunch had left me feeling overly hungry. When I got my first taste of the soup and fresh bread, I started eating ravenously.

By the time our meal was over, I had consumed three bowls and was ready to burst. Despite the slight discomfort of being overfull, I was incredibly satisfied and began to feel sleepy. But before I could head for my sleeping bag, Estra asked me to join him in his tent, saying he had something he wanted to try with me. I wanted to refuse out of sheer exhaustion, but Estra insisted that I'd regret saying no.

I followed Estra back to his tent, and once we were alone, he turned to me with a broad grin and told me to sit down, gesturing to the small table and stools he always set up in his tent. No matter where we stopped for the night, Estra always set up his tent the same fashion; a nest of blankets to sleep on, the wicker table and stools, and a shelf that was somehow always filled with various herbs and medicinal plants. It was amazing that he was willing to take the time to set it up every night, and even more amazing that he somehow kept it all organized and compact enough to travel with. In fact, now that it occurred to me to question it, I realized that his tent bag couldn't possibly hold all of this stuff. How could I not have noticed this before? From the outside, his tent looked exactly like the one I slept in, but from the inside, my tent was significantly smaller than his.

Once I realized the inconsistencies, I couldn't think of anything else. I stood frozen for a moment, gaping at the space inside the tent. The part that really bothered me was that I'd entered his tent so many times without ever noticing. Why had I never questioned the fire in the corner? When had I ever heard of a fire burning inside a tent?

"Ah, I see you finally noticed," Estra chuckled, "I honestly wasn't sure if you couldn't see it or if you were simply pretending you didn’t. This space is a magical pocket of sorts. It took me years of work to create it. The tent itself is made from the skin of a monster that possessed a large amount of magic, and it's imbued with a variety of spells to increase its internal capacity without increasing its outer size or weight."

I understood the words he used, but my mind couldn't wrap itself around it. How was it possible to distort reality enough to create something like this? It didn't seem possible that it was only now that I had noticed something so obvious.

"It seems the mellyn blossom liquor wasn't such a bad idea for you after all," he mused, "that's the only thing I can attribute your sudden awareness to. Perhaps the magic hides itself from the minds of those who can't see it, or maybe because you couldn't perceive magic, your brain explained it to you as normal... I couldn't say for sure."

What he said this time actually made sense to me. If I wasn't aware of the magic, maybe my mind wouldn't let me see it. A self defense mechanism to protect me from the paradox.

"Now, while you were out drinking like a fool with those lions, I was busy thinking about all the potions I’ve made over the years, and I think I remember one that is basic enough for you to make but will be highly valuable for you," he told me, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. "Tonight I want to try it out and see if you really have the potential to continue your training as a shaman. Success or failure isn't what matters, but the process and progress you make while trying, so don't concern yourself too much."

"What... potion?" I asked him, my curiosity peaked.

“Will you trust me enough to let it be a surprise for when you are done?” Estra asked me in response to my question.

I nodded that I would. I wanted to know what he was planning, but I was willing to trust him in this matter. Estra was both skilled and interested in helping me, so I couldn't see the harm in letting him do things his way.

"Excellent," he said with a clap of his hands, "Now the first thing you'll need to do is find the right materials. I'm going to describe each one and I want you to find them on the shelf. I could collect them for you, but I think you'll learn better if you have to identify them yourself."

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"What... first?" I asked, looking cautiously at the shelf. I had no idea if I was capable of what he was proposing. I'd read books on many subjects over the years, including medicine, but I'd never put any effort into studying herbs. I also wasn't sure if anything I'd read about Vraynian medicine could help me with the plants that grew in the Beastands.

"First, look for a plant with small white buds and a stiff, tree-like stem," he instructed, not even glancing at the shelf, "it's called a valerian flower, and it will be in a bunch, but not dried. This should be an easy one, as I believe valerian grows in your lands as well."

He was right that valerian could be found in Vrayna, and it was a flower I could easily recognize. I found it on one of the shelves and placed it on the table. Feeling a little more confident, I looked to Estra for further instructions.

"Next is the root of a guari plant," he told me, "which you wouldn't have seen before. It’s almost black in color and looks like a cluster of small hair braids."

The guari root took me a while to identify. There were many varieties of thin, dark-colored roots on the shelf. I failed three times before I finally found the right one. Each time I brought him the wrong one, Estra would tell me some basic information about the root I'd brought. I did my best to memorize the names and appearances, but if I was being honest, they all looked pretty much the same to me.

We continued this activity for quite some time. The potion I was supposed to make had only five ingredients, but each one was increasingly difficult to find. When I was finished, we had guari root and valerian, as well as the seeds of a glowing flower, a few freshly plucked leaves from a ginseng plant, and a flowering plant that constantly dripped a blue dew. Ginseng was one I had heard of before, but it was rare to find it growing in Vrayna and I'd never seen an image of the plant. The whole process took me almost a full movement, and I learned the names of dozens of things I would never remember.

"Now, the first thing you need to do is collect a vial of the dew," Estra explained as he handed me a small glass container, "It's okay if you get it on your hands, though it may cause a slight numbing of the area it touches. The dew of the hyprineus flower can be used for pain relief and is often added in very small amounts to massage oils and the like to aid in relaxation."

Estra paused while I placed the vial under one of the drooping, dripping flowers. A drop of the blue dew immediately fell into the glass vial and lightly splashed my fingertip. My finger immediately became numb and tingly, but it was a mild sensation and not unpleasant.

"Now you need to grind the seed of the glowing flower into dust. This is where it gets a little tricky. Making potions doesn't require you to talk, but it does require you to infuse your ingredients with magic at various points in the process." Estra handed me a mortar and pestle made of something that looked like glass but was as heavy as stone. "Open your third eye and concentrate on feeling your magic."

I concentrated and did as he instructed. I thought that maybe he was right about the mellyn blossom liquor, because I was able to access my magic with more ease than before. Estra watched me closely, and after a few moments he nodded as if satisfied.

"Good," he said, dropping the glowing flower seeds into the mortar. "Now grind the seeds. As you grind them, focus on directing your magic into them through the pestle. If you do it correctly, the powder from the seeds will emit a small amount of light."

I touched the pestle to the seeds without pressing down, concentrating on feeling my magic, which already felt like it had increased since I arrived in the Beastlands. It took me a while to figure out what I needed to do to direct my magic through the pestle. Trying to control something as intangible and wild as magic felt like trying to control the wind. I couldn't control it all at once, but I found a way to direct some of it the way I wanted. I felt the magical energy flow through me and out of my hands, infusing the tools I was holding. I began to grind the seeds while maintaining the flow of my magic. As the seeds turned to dust, they began to emit a soft orange glow.

"Oh, very good," Estra commented in a voice that sounded genuinely pleased, "such excellent results for your first attempt! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were already someone's apprentice."

Being praised with such enthusiasm was something completely foreign to me. I smiled until my eyes crinkled and I felt the tips of my ears turn red. Encouraged, I looked to Estra to tell me what to do next.

"Grab a stone bowl off the shelf and ladle one scoop of water from the pot on the fire," he continued, "then you're going to cut the guari root and add it to the water. You don't have to put any of your magic into the root. That part will come later for this ingredient." He waited while I followed his instructions, and when I was done, he said, "Now you're going to take the ginseng leaves, chew them, and let them mix with your saliva. Do not swallow them. Instead, spit them into the mortar with the seed dust."

I took the ginseng leaves and put them in my mouth. The bitter, earthy flavor wasn’t entirely unpleasant as there was also a hidden sweetness to it as well. When the ginseng leaves had turned to mush, I spat them into the pile of seed dust. Upon contact, the seed dust began to glow brighter, turning a shade of deep yellow.

“Excellent, that’s exactly what we wanted to see. Now add the dew from the hyprineus and use the pestle to mix and mash it all together while directing your magic into it again. The more you can infuse into the base of the potion, the more powerful it will be, but don’t overdo it, because there’s more to come after this.”

I picked up the vial, which was now full of dew, and poured the syrupy blue liquid into the mortar. I began to channel my magic into it as I mashed it all together. As I pressed and stirred the small bowl of ingredients, the yellow glow became brighter and then turned a deep shade of green.

"That's perfect," Estra announced right after it turned green, "these ingredients are ready. Next, you'll need to direct your magic and use it to bring your bowl of water to a boil. The water is already quite hot and the bowl you put the water in is made of a material that can conduct heat, so this is well within your abilities. First, you'll have to channel your magic into it, just like you did with the pestle, but this time you're going to use that magic to warm the bowl enough to boil the water. How you do this, however, is entirely up to you. Take a moment to think about how you can use your magic to create enough heat for that. You're the one who has to visualize it to actualize it."

I thought for a moment before continuing. I wished he would give me more direction. So far, I had learned to sense and direct my magic, but the idea of actively using it hadn't even crossed my mind. It was clear, however, that Estra felt I needed to figure it out for myself. I placed my hands on the sides of the bowl and began to direct my magic into the bowl. Visualize it to actualize it. Suddenly his words began to make sense and I closed my eyes and visualized the bowl coming to a boil. Once I had it as a clear image in my mind, I noticed that my hands began to feel warm. The warmth continued to increase as I continued to visualize the inner part of the bowl becoming hot, like fire, until the outside became too hot for me to keep my hands on it. I opened my eyes as I pulled my hands away and saw that the water in the bowl was boiling.

"The heat from the bowl will keep it boiling for a while," Estra informed me, his voice trembling ever so slightly. "Now you need to add a few petals of the valerian to the water and stir until the mixture turns cloudy and dark." I added the valerian and took a wooden spoon to begin stirring. After only a few stirs, the chopped roots had completely dissolved and turned the water a solid blackish color. "Add the mixture from the mortar and continue stirring while directing your magic into the bowl. If you're successful, the liquid in the bowl will turn a transparent shade of green."

I added the liquid from the vial to the bowl and stirred the resulting mixture. I closed my eyes and imagined the contents of the bowl turning a clear green color. I wasn't sure if I was imagining the right shade of green, but I didn't think that part would matter too much.

"Hah!" Estra suddenly shouted, causing me to open my eyes.

The contents of the bowl had turned a translucent shade of emerald, and I could see the bottom of the bowl again. The murky water had completely transformed, and a green glow emanated from the resulting potion. It seemed that I had succeeded in creating something worthwhile.

"Excellent work Falyn!" Estra exclaimed excitedly, "I am thoroughly impressed. I didn't want to make you nervous by telling you this, but it's actually quite rare to succeed on your first attempt at a potion. All the magic in the world won't help you if you don't have the focus to direct it, and that's usually something that takes a lot of time and effort to master. You may not have much magic, but you have very good control over what little you have."

Estra grabbed one of his teacups and handed it to me, asking me to hold it for him. He wrapped his hands in a blanket so he could pick up the bowl and pour the still boiling liquid into the cup. After putting the bowl down, he took both the cup and my hand in his and smiled at me with wide eyes.

"The potion you just successfully made is a recipe from an old friend of mine. A number of years ago, his village was attacked by a monster called a dragon. Uh, a dragon is a reptile monster that flies and breathes fire," he added, seeing that I had no idea what he was talking about, "They are very rare, appearing only once every few years and only in the far east of the Beastlands. The dragon burned the village and killed hundreds of people. I went with my friend when he returned home to help the survivors. Many of the survivors had suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation. A select unfortunate few had inhaled air so hot it burned their throats and seared their vocal chords. None of the traditional remedies had worked, so my friend created this potion to help treat those people. If I am correct in my theory, you have just made a potion that will heal your voice. Drink it before you go to sleep, and you should have your voice back by morning."