Cyriette's Alchemy Report.

Pinned to the board in front of Roiya's office is a folded letter with the Ashfort seal on pale blue wax holding it shut. Inside is surprisingly neat writing.

I've been asked to compile a detailed report of my alchemy projects using blood of late. Looking back I now understand why this gave you and others pause, apologies for any grim images this conjured for you.

 Total Material List

2 quarts Pig Blood, fresh.

1 quart Pig Blood, provided post slaughter from a local farmer, mostly fresh.

1 gallon Cow Blood, fresh.

1 pint personal blood, fresh.

Total Project Undertaking

Attempt to improve the common healing draught 1: Failure, poor reaction, blood curdled almost instantly, turned the whole batch into chunky soup, too disgusting to even try. Safely disposed the quart of failure in sewers.

Attempt to improve common healing draught 2: Partial success, increased energy, mended moderate lacerations and bludgeoning trauma quickly. Subject reported poor taste though. "This tastes like someone pissed a copper into a lemon and made me eat it" were her exact words. Successful results but unable to consider it a success if subjects dread drinking it. Brewed 2 quarts and convinced the subjects to stop being babies and keep them on hand. Final report same as initial, successful result, foul taste.

Attempt to improve current designs 1: Majority success. Switched to cow blood, less traditional but more flavorful and generously donated by local farmer, would have been rude to turn him away. Proper herbal mixture mostly achieved but as usual compromising function in name of form produced lesser results. Subjects more eager to drink, which meant more potion imbibed, but deep tissue wounds healed slower. Still healed successfully, but less potent brew than originals. Not ready to call project over yet but may have to accept weaker potion in the name of ease of use for masses. Willing to accept less than ideal product for greater cause considering current situation.

Secondary Project 1: Attempted to use my own blood in brew only made for myself in small batch, to test theory. Theory proven exactly as expected. I felt great, shrugged off a sizable wound, but the feeling quickly faded and I was left with a knife through my arm regardless. Quantities of humanoid blood required to brew lasting potion far too unethical to consider harvesting from even enemies, and suicidal to consider harvesting from self. Project scrapped, remaining brew reduced to solids and then burnt, cost me a perfectly good cauldron. No desire to continue this project when animal blood serves as perfectly good catalyst if weaker.

Final recipie (tentative)

1/4 stein animal blood

4 stein properly purified water

fist sized bunch of ground dried dreamleaf

palm sized bunch of ground dried grave moss

fist sized bunch of ground dried rain poppy

ten chopped and ground wild chestnuts

five chopped dry fool's cap heads (NO STEMS!!!)

2 pinches Emperor Salmon scales, dried.

lemon zest to taste.

Cinnamon(? Needs something for a bit of punch, unsure)

Soak non herbal dried goods in blood overnight, should absorb easily. Place in different strainer than herbs. Place both strainers in cauldron with water at boil. Stir exactly 4 times clockwise with yew spoon and say proper incantation, allow to sit at low boil for 30 minutes. Remove strainers and discard (or keep the herbs for baking later, I'm not your mom do what you want, but those blood soaked things are spent). Allow to cool, bottle. Final result should be bright red but darken slightly in time when stored at room temperature. Not sure how long it'll keep but should be fine for long term holding.

Final findings (tentative)

Blood makes a suitable catalyst for improving natural healing magics. No reason to use humanoid blood unless you're a complete fucking psychopath when there's plenty of farmers more than willing to give some pig, cow, or perhaps even sheep blood that works suitably well. No subjects show any signs of reverting to feral nature or dark hungers any more than usual for Gilnean infected. Further observation and tinkering planned, but mostly satisfied with results if my methods are deemed acceptable.

I understand the fear of 'blood magic' but I hope this shows my methods are A) safe, B) sustainable, and C) natural. This seems to be bosom buddies with other natural arts such as bone reading and studying entrails, certainly possible to be tainted by dark users but inherently no more dangerous than the user. Of course, if you disagree you can personally watch me burn my notes if it makes you feel secure, this is hardly life or death, more a quality of life 'bang for the buck' type study, hardly a hill worth dying on if it makes my peers uneasy.