Volous

This is excellent work. Great job.

Nothing like a good cup of potent diddyfunkle tea to knock you into unconsciousness. All jokes aside, having a centralized compendium of healing herbs and various flora will be a great resource to all aspiring healers, physicians, and chefs alike.

This is an interesting use of magic and will no doubt add a lot to RP. Its nice seeing some suggestions for magic which aren’t primarily focused on combat, and making a broom swat an unwanted guest is exactly the type of wholesomeness magic needs. +1

OOC ((MC Name: Volous)) ((Discord: Octopus#6880)) ((Timezone: PDT/PST)) IN-CHARACTER A large piece of parchment sits before you, it appears to be covered in cave-dust, inkblots, and smells of old books, stone, and ale. The letters are written out in an almost crude manner and are colored a thick black, you can see specks of what looks to be... coal? in the ink, as though it was made from particulates of crushed up charcoal. What is your name? Me name be Almaic Irongut of Clan Irongut. Why seek membership to the Mages Guild? I be seekin membership into the Mages Guild fer one big reason, that reason is to preserve the knowledge that is collectively shared throughout the realm. In me current position within me clan I assist in tending to the books, having written volumes and tomes on how to preserve ancient texts underground, Battle Archivism, and how ta make a nice and lovely Lordak’Varak cake. I also have written tomes on ta Druids that live within Talus Grove. While me loyalty to me clan comes first that does not mean I will engage in careless warfarin, or any warfarin at all unless the time of strife is so great that the very foundation of the clan is at risk or the Clan Lord himself calls me in ta war, for there are far better combatants than meself within the Kingdom, and the clan. With that being said, I intend to fully honor the values of the Mages Guild should I get accepted. What arts, if any, do you currently practice? I aint yet practice any arts, me talents lay purely in the talents of the mind and not the arcane, not yet at-least. Though that is not to say my knowledge of the arcane is less significant, I spend many o’stone days in the Irongut archive. Which gives me credence to say that once I get into the mages guild, I fully intend to focus my studies on that of Arcanism, more specifically the shielding discipline of Arcanism, for it is one of my firmest beliefs that the knowledge of this realm be protected, and that is nay possible to accomplish with only the iron of a shield and the steel of an axe. What position do you desire to attain upon acceptance? Practicus will be me desired position. When should you be contacted for an interview? Whenever. Send me a bird, o’er a golem, or whatever ye be use to send things. I be free most days, preferably within the week’s end fer me duties may take me away durin ta week. As you reach the end of the parchment, a black, wax-like seal is affixed on the bottom right corner.

Another bound volume is present before you, this one however is unique in the sense that a bunch of artistically drawn stars and planets are present on the front cover. A long orange staff is positioned between the shapes. Underneath the stars, planets and staff lays the title of this volume in bright orange ink. As you open the book and peak inside, carefully calligraphed text dots the various pages. The volume totals nineteen pages in length, and doesn’t seem to have a specific format. It is merely the ramblings of an elf examining something which he does not truly understand... yet.. Ah yes. Good evening to the reader, you have stumbled upon one of my many works and just like the previous one on Aquate Root I fully intend to examine something, that is the only similarity to my previous works however. As of writing this I have been invited to an interview that is scheduled to take place in tomorrows time with The Ilumiran Order, fortunately for me the subject of this text is of magical nature and they are a magical organization. That is not to say I am an expert in the magical arts, no, that is to say the opposite in fact. This is a layman examination of a magical object, I suppose this can be considered an analysis of the magical with the natural. Some topics explored in this examination may be entirely impossible and improbable, or they could be spot on. Whatever the case may be, this is not to be taken as authority on the subject or object itself, but rather as the ramblings of a man curious about more than the natural. Now onto the subject itself. That subject is a most peculiar stave which I picked up from the auction house. I’ll start off with a physical description, which may give some insight into why the cover itself was decorated in the various symbols that it was decorated in, then proceed to what I think it is and could be used for after I speak with an active mage. For starters, the staff is of glass origin and tubular in shape. Inside of the stave contains liquids which do not merge together, instead they remain separated, much like oil and water. The liquids are shaded in various pink and orange colors, and they are in constant motion, the liquids themselves could be described as undertaking a sort of undulation as they move. Transcribed and transfixed on the stave itself are pictures of stars, and planets, much like the ones I drew on the cover of this volume for that is where I got the inspiration, well, much less inspiration and more like a direct scription of the images. These symbols are unique in the sense that I have never seen them before, this is to be expected given my relative newness to the field of the magical arts. A hypothesis that can be proposed forward is that these symbols or sigils, as they could be referred to, imbue the stave with some sort of ability and or power, whether that power be of its own nature or of that enhancing another is yet to be determined. An interesting quality, or property, that the staff has is one which resembles a snake. Let me elaborate, when I hold it up to the light of torch and warm the stave the liquids inside appear to grow more active, as though they are trying to escape from the flames and remain cool. Whether this is of the natural laws or of the magical ones I am not yet certain. I propose that two paths and or two things may be happening here. The first proposed path is that these liquids, like most liquids that are exposed to heat, expand and move quicker than cooler ones, thus rooting this magical object into the natural realm. The second proposed path is that things which inhabit this stave are not liquid, but rather of life. They could be a magical construct and or organism which inhabits the stave as easily as we inhabit our own world, and like us when we are exposed to too much heat, they stray away in an attempt to cool themselves lest their mortal form succumb to the harshness of our reality. Whether this is possible is not for me to say, for as a layman in the magical arts I have not a lick, or rather, clue to point in either direction of the truth or lie. I conclude this rambling, and or, well, examination, with an official declaration of donation to the Eternal Library for their Fiction & Academic Wing. I would hardly call this a document on the theories or of magic or of any relevance or importance realistically, which is why I personally would not see it enter the Thaumaturgy Wing, however it is up to the Librarians to decide where this book is placed. For now this piece is concluded, a heftier examination will have to be made. Should any mage have the unfortunate pleasure of stumbling upon my ramblings and wish to examine the stave note, that I have it in my possession and am happy to share it. Herein signed,

As you open the bound text your eyes are bombarded with various drawings and illustrations of Aquate Root and fanciful blue lettering which dot the yellowed parchment. The text is organized into an essay style format, with page numbers included but no clear chapter markings. Standard for an academic text. Good evening. I want to thank you for deciding to read my survey on the Ocean Based Aquate Root. This survey will be structured in an essay style format with a bit of history and background on the Aquate Root at the beginning of the text, with the survey in the midsection of the text, and with a conclusion and discussion at the end of the text. For starters I will define what an Aquate Root is, as some reading this volume whether they be researchers in a different field using this text for reference, or novices to the sciences of the sea may not know what specifically an Aquate Root is. Before we can truly understand the physical nature of an object, we must understand the etymology surrounding the object. Aquate Root can be easily summarized into the first prefix of the phrase, that prefix being “Aqua” no doubt in reference to the vivacious blue liquids which are present inside the flowery bulb. The “ate” is transitional and could hint that the liquid inside is subject to the process of Aquation while it develops. The root is self explanatory as the bulb is connected to the ground with roots. I find it helpful to understand a word in depth before looking at what that word describes, it keeps me well rounded. Now that we have talked about the etymology of the word, we must move on to the survey. This was a survey of life in the sense that I, perched from afar, watched the plant for a period of three Elven Days. In that time I was able to analyze how the environment of the sea accepted the plant, that environment which is comprised of the various substances floating in the liquids that contain the various flora and fauna which habitate it. The physical description of the Aquate Root is one of a flowered bulb that contains blue liquid, perched atop some roots. It is most notably seen in swampland areas, on the bank of the bog, however, the ocean based Aquate Root is most often seen on the shoreline, slightly submerged under water with only the flowers of the root peaking out. It can be suggested that those flowers peak out because they are absorbing the sunlight and looking for signals in a manner unobstructed by the translucent fluids which bind it into its sandy home. The bulb itself, excluding the flowers, is submerged just below the surface of the water, unmoving as its roots clamber to the sea floor. The marine wildlife that surrounds the plant acts in a peculiar way, they do not make any attempt to crack open the bulb and drink from the fluids that reside within, but rather they ignore it in favor of the seagrass and kelp which dot the submerged landscape. This could be as simple as they do not want to expend the energy cracking a bulb when they can simply nibble freely, or it can be as complex as the Aquate Root being toxic to those aquatic creatures. The former is more likely than the latter however, as an Aquate Root is perfectly edible and safe for consumption, it is also used for cosmetic purposes which further adds to its track record of safety. All and all it is a curious subject which begs for more study, study which cannot be concluded by a simple visual survey such as this. This survey however was conclusive, in the fact that it shed new light onto the oceanic variant of an Aquate Root. As we near the conclusion of this survey we must be ever mindful and reject any notion that declares this survey the end all be all of Aquate Root research, rather we should encourage more individuals whether they be the most senior of sea scholars, to the most novice of newborn researchers, to explore the marine world which does not sit far from our own home, here. I would suggest that those individuals interested take a new approach on the Aquate Root, examining the structure with blade to see what comprises it on the inside, and examining the cycle of life with hoe. More research into these subjects is always encouraged, and suggested. With that I would declare this rudimentary and brief survey into an Aquate Root complete. This text and all it contains shall be donated to the Eternal Library, where new knowledge is formed and where the spark of curiosity and investigation is tended. Herein penned,