The cover of the diary was made of thick leather, even if the book itself was pretty slim. Aloe caressed the engraving of the title with her fingers. She didn’t remember many things about her grandfather, but she recalled the man having very distinctive handwriting. Whilst Asayn had floral calligraphy, Karaim wrote the letters with thick straight lines. The title ‘Cultivation Technique’ was also written in that manner.
It was late, the sun had already set by now and she was tired after a full day of walking, but for some reason, Aloe was attracted to the book. It was recent, the parchment was still straight, and the cover had also no dust on top. This diary was probably the last thing Karaim did before he fell ill and came back to Sadina with Aloe and her mother.
With some hesitation, Aloe opened the brown-maroon cover. The first page was short in content, but the handwriting was the same as the title cover. It read the following:
“If someone is reading this, then I’m probably dead.”
That was the first sentence, but Aloe felt a strange feeling inside of her, it was kind of ominous reading the words of a man who knew he was going to die.
“In this diary, I’ll detail my botanical research of my greenhouse, so please, if someone else who isn’t my granddaughter Aloe, stop reading. This is the last wish of a dying old man.”
That’s where the first page ended. She shouldn’t have thought much of it, but then she noticed something. It was barely visible, but a few specks of dust greyed out the top corner of the page, as if someone had opened this book after a long while.
“The bandits?” Aloe mussitated. “If that’s the case, then I guess it makes sense they left the diary here. It would be kind of a bastard move to go against the wish of a dead man after already robbing his property... my property.”
Aloe glanced at her scribe’s light, it had enough fuel for a few more hours, but she wouldn’t like to waste all of it today. She turned to the next page and resumed learning.
“Aloe, if you are reading this, I think some apologies are in order. I practically abandoned your mother and you when your father died, and whilst I’ll not explain my motives, please accept my apologies.”
“That’s not a good way to apologize, old man,” Aloe whispered with a hint of rage. She couldn’t care about the man, she never did. But Karaim had forgotten about his daughter, only turning up to her when he was dying. He was a pathetic grandparent, but an even worse father.
Aloe groaned. “Doesn’t matter, I should just read.”
“I spent most of my twilight years on the development of... a magic.” Aloe raised her brows but continued reading. “I’ve deciphered the origin of the monsters but found far better applications than I could have first believed. My greenhouse is the culmination of this investigation. I call the process ‘Evolution’ and through the mixing of different species I was able to cultivate new plants never seen before.”
“The origin of monsters?” Aloe herself didn’t know much about the creatures that waltz around the desert.
Most of them just come out at night, and not every creature was hostile. Dune dwellers are a clear example of that. Humans had learned to domesticate the monsters. But that raised a question.
“What has he done? Has Karaim... created new monsters? He talks about plants but... I certainly didn’t expect this from a book titled Cultivation Technique.”
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Aloe continued reading.
“I’ve discovered that Evolution is similar to the Nurture nobles use, and I have found signs of some other application of the arts... However it may be, Evolution differs greatly from other vital arts as rather than applying to the practitioner’s body, it’s expressed through other individuals, whether they may be plants or animals through the transference of foreign vital energy.”
“Nurture... that sounds familiar. But what are vital arts?” Aloe felt like a moron when the next line explained it.
“I’m not an expert on vital arts, I have barely scratched the surface of one of the three fields, but I have an approximate idea of what they are. The name ‘vital arts’ comes from the source, the power needed to execute such arts, Life.” The last word was written differently, it wasn’t straight like the others. It possessed some... elegance. “’Life fuels more life, and therefore, the world blooms ever-brighter each cycle.’ It’s a quote I have taken from an ancient pagan religious manuscript, but I feel it applies perfectly to the description of vital arts.”
The page ended, prompting Aloe to turn to the next couple.
“I’ll go over more details on the vital arts along with my notes, but my knowledge is scarce as I’ve made it sound. I won’t bore you anymore with endless explanations, instead, I want you to see my masterwork. Please, go to the shelf behind the desk and pick up a jar with the tag ‘Aloe Veritas leaves’, there should be a few aloe vera-like leaves inside.”
Aloe grabbed the scribe’s light and referred to the shelf in question. There were tens of jars of all sizes tagged with their names. Some were seeds, whilst others were leaves or roots. There were also fruits, but all of those had been spoiled by now after a month in the desert. Thankfully, there was no odor, the scorching heat had dried them before they rotted.
“Jasmin, date, palm, grass, can… oh.” Aloe stopped at one jar that piqued her interest. It was tagged with the ‘cannabis seeds’ name. She quickly searched for… grown specimens but found no samples as she had done with other plants. “Oh well, this is certainly quite the acquisition, either way. They surely will sell for a hefty price, though who should I sell them to? Hmm… That’s a problem for tomorrow me. I should search for the Aloe Veritas leaves now.”
It didn’t take her much time to find the right jar as they were all tagged and placed in alphabetical order. Shahrazad, her mother, made a joke about her father’s tidiness once she recovered from Karaim’s death.
“Your grandfather took this long to die because even Death had problems with all the bureaucracy he had laid before him.” Her mother had said with a weak smile.
Stupidly enough, Aloe also found herself smiling at the recent memory. She grabbed the pot with the ‘Aloe Veritas’ tag and brought it to the desk to continue reading the diary for instructions.
“Take a single Aloe Veritas leaf and apply it to your skin.”
Aloe opened the jar to get hit by a stench. Aloe vera didn’t have the greatest smell, and it would seem this ‘Aloe Veritas’ was even worse. She had never heard of the plant's name before, but the smell was pungent enough to carry a legacy.
The woman put the leaf on the desktop and looked at it. It did resemble a lot like an aloe vera leaf, it was long and slightly thorny, but instead of the vibrant green color of the plant with a similar name, the Aloe Veritas leaf was light brown, appearing more like a strip of parchment than a plant. It had some dark blue splotches on the surface, making her think that it may have begun to rot.
With only the shallowest hint of hesitation, Aloe picked the parchment leaf and rubbed the cut section against her dark-skinned hand. The cut poured a bit of liquid, but instead of the light green from the aloe vera plant, it was almost pure black tar.
The surface of the leaf began shifting, the spots of what now looked like ink splutters reordered and drew arcane symbols.
“What the...?” Aloe jumped out of her seat and the leaf fell to the desk. “Is... is that normal?”
The leaf itself didn’t move, but the ink spots continued moving around until they settled in cohesive wording. They read:
Name: Aloe Ayad
Species: Human
Description: Female member of the human species, a species known for their ingenuity, high adaptive capabilities, and societal structure.
Aloe felt as if her heart had stopped as she read the words of the leaf that had read her entire being. Her hands trembled and sweat started to trickle down her forehead. Something was very wrong. She looked at the inked leaf in front of her, her name written on it. Shivers were sent down her spine. Only two words came out of her mouth.
“What the...”