Chapter 4 - Hakuya’s Concoction

Hakuya smiled as he casually started pulling out several items from his sack. He unrolled a leather carrying case which held a number of glass tubes and corks, some of which already had various liquid, crystal or powdered contents. He placed an adjustable stand on the table and secured one of the empty tubes in it. He then placed a brass funnel in the mouth of the tube. He removed three sticks of citronwood incense, a brass plate, a wax candle and a package of waxed parchment wrapped in twine. From the pockets of his robe he removed an ornamental silver dagger.

“As expected from a disciple of Yuima.” Reid said, examining the strange variety of objects that had been laid out on the table. Hakuya was once again surprised. He neither wore any symbols of the Goddess of Nature, nor had he revealed his path to the broker who arranged this meeting. Reid caught the look and laughed suddenly.

“It’s your scent.” He said, pointing at his nose, “You have the smell of a follower of Yuima. It’s the scent of fertile earth, washed in rain rich in spirituality. Citronwood, too. You guys love it.”

Hakuya resisted the urge to sniff at his clothes. Most likely it wasn’t something that a normal person would notice. It was only because Reid was a hunter that he could make such observations. It was true, though - He, like most followers of Yuima, carried with him small vials of fertile earth from the Everblossoming Valley.

“And how did you know I was a disciple?” Hakuya asked, then frowned as he read Reid’s expression. “Ah. You didn’t know.”

Reid laughed again, a bashful expression on his face, “Lucky guess, I suppose. I was going to say apprentice, but you have too many smells on you. More ingredients, higher rank.”

Annoyed creases wrinkled the top of his forehead as Hakuya realized he had inadvertently confirmed Reid’s guess with his reaction. Being discovered as a follower of Yuima didn’t bother him, but having someone know he was a disciple was a different matter. He felt people always overestimated his strength once they learned that.

Hakuya continued setting up the ritual, placing the candle in the center of the brass plate. He then unwrapped the twine around the waxed parchment package, revealing a block of oily clay that had a faint smell of iron and ash. The clay was a deep burnt umber so dark in colour that it was almost black.

“Corpse mud.” Reid wrinkled his nose. “For sealing the essence once you’ve extracted it?”

Hakuya nodded. Holding the bottom of the incense sticks with his left hand he pinched the top of the sticks between his right thumb and two forefingers. He channeled his spirituality to the tips of his fingers, lighting the incense effortlessly. He then grasped the sticks with both hands and brought his hands up to his forehead as he closed his eyes and bowed three times, mumbling soft prayers under his breath. He then placed the incense down on the side of the brass plate, which had a special indent in the side to rest the sticks. Using the same method he lit the candle in the center of the plate.

“I am preparing some medicine for a doctor that I met while passing through the city.” Hakuya said, “A simple recipe, even for a candidate of Nature. The hard part is finding material rich in esoteric energy - or essence, as you call it.”

Hakuya rolled up his sleeves, then unscrewed the lid of one of the bottles and retrieved the glowing larva from inside with his left hand. It felt warm and firm, rather than slimy or moist as its glistening appearance suggested. The skin of the grub had the soft texture of velvet, and it pulsated in his hand. A steady vibrant bluish white light emitted from five rings which encircled the body of the grub.

Hakuya gripped the ornamental silver dagger firmly and positioned the grub over the brass funnel. Reid’s eyes widened expectantly. The edge of Hakuya’s mouth twitched at the sight. What is he, a child?

In a smooth motion Hakuya sliced the grub lengthwise, bisecting its entire body in one motion. It squealed shrilly for a few brief seconds as its entire body spasmed in Hakuya’s hand. He kept a firm grip on the larva, letting the bluish white glowing juices flow out of his hand and into the funnel, where it ran down and eventually filled about half of the glass tube.

Reid showed no response to the death of the larva, his eyes focused completely on the thin, luminescent liquid that dripped into the vessel. It had the lightness of alcohol, and gave off only a faint fresh scent.

“Is that pure aether?” Reid asked, not making any effort to hide his astonishment.

“Yes.” Hakuya said as he placed the still corpse of the grub aside. He picked up a rag, wiping off a black residue from his hands that consisted of the blood, entrails and other impurities that had leaked out of the grub. “The solubility of aether with regular matter is extremely low, so as long as I’m careful with the cut, I can get by without a filter.”

“You are quite skillful.” Reid grinned.

“Lazy, is perhaps the more appropriate term.” Hakuya sighed.

Hakuya repeated the process once more, then stoppered the tube with a cork. Wiping his hand off on the rag again, he took the tube and held it up, carefully examining the contents of the vial for impurities. Reid leaned in for a closer look. It was crystal clear, and the light was now even more vibrant than before. Both disciples could feel the esoteric energy emanating from the tube.

“You wouldn’t happen to be willing to sell this to me, my friend?” Reid licked his lips unconsciously. “I never knew that grubs could produce so much pure aether.”

“It takes a certain skill to maximize the yield, I suppose.” Hakuya lowered the glass tube, satisfied with his work. “The impurities in the grub can spoil the aether, if not dealt with appropriately. He didn’t elaborate more, and Reid could only guess at what the “appropriate” measures were.

Perhaps it is a special characteristic or skill of Nature followers, he hypothesized. There may be a ritualistic component as well, considering the incense, ornamental blade and the words that he mumbled while lighting the incense.

Hakuya took the tube and rubbed it against the corpse mud block until the entire tube, including the cork, was covered by the thick, oily substance. He then held the tube over the flame of the candle, rotating the tube slowly as he burned off the oily residue, solidifying the seal around the tube while channeling his spirituality into it. When he was finished, the tube was completely sealed in the baked clay, with no light emerging from it.

Again, he examined the black tube with the utmost scrutiny, checking for any cracks or flaws in the seal. The esoteric energy could no longer be felt by the two, and even Reid couldn’t smell the liquid through the seal.

“If I have not used the aether in the next week, I will sell it to you.” Hakuya said as he tucked it gently into an empty spot in the leather carrying case. He then turned his attention to the third grub. “I may need it to make medicine by then, though.”

“Medicine?” Reid prompted.

“I met a doctor on my way into town. He is treating a patient who is suffering from a deep fever. Regular medicine hasn’t worked. Even the kind made from spiritual ingredients hasn’t had any effect.” Hakuya retrieved a flat bottomed flask from the case. It was about the size of a small cup. It had a circular base, and its glass walls tapered up to a thin mouth, which fit a cork.

He placed the flask on the table, then pulled a few tubes from the leather case that had contents in it. The tubes were unlabeled but the half bald man seemed to know where each ingredient was by memory as he unhesitatingly picked them out from their slots. Though the contents were ground into powder, Reid recognized the ingredients in the tubes by their smell. They were common medicinal herbs, some of which had spiritual properties.

“Star root, angel hair grass, white citrus.” Reid said, listing off the tubes. He paused at a tube filled with a chalky, off white powder. “Powdered iron tapir tusk?”

“Correct. I’m impressed you could tell, especially from smelling them through the corked tubes. I wasn’t even aware that iron tapir tusk had a distinct smell.” Hakuya said. A big smile beamed on Reid’s face. He’s acting like a kid that just passed a test. The corner of Hakuya’s mouth twitched again as he observed the hunter incredulously.

He pulled a small pouch from his sack with ingredients that he had gathered in the forest outside of town; Small budded twigs from a red oak sapling and a cluster of baby oyster mushrooms.

After laying all the items on the table, he pulled out a brass bowl from the sack. The exterior of the bowl was etched with various runes designed to increase its function as a vessel. The interior was polished to a mirror shine. Hakuya took the tubes one by one, uncorking them and gently tapping them against the edge of the bowl to drop some of their contents into the bowl. He dropped the twigs in, and crumbled the mushrooms on top. Then he reached into his coat and pulled out a small brass tube from one of his inner pockets. It was capped with a metal lid.

“This one you should already know.” Hakuya said.

“Fertile soil from the Everblossoming Valley.” The Hunter nodded, his brows slightly furrowed in curiosity.

Hakuya emptied about half of the brass tube’s contents into the bowl. The rich, loamy soil was fragrant with the smell of rain and earth. It brought a calming mood to the room. Hakuya began muttering softly under his breath again, stirring the spirituality of the soil with words from an ancient language that Reid did not recognize. The light from the candle and even from the lamps in the room dimmed, such that a shadow fell across the walls and corners of the room. The thin wisps of smoke from the incense began gently flowing toward the bowl, as if guided into the vessel by an intangible breeze.

The disciple of Yuima replaced the cap of the brass tube and tucked it back into his cloak. Then, he picked up the jar with the final grub and gently, but firmly gripped it in his hand as he had done with the grubs previously. The grub was placid, calmed by the atmosphere of the ritual. It did not squeal or even writhe in pain as Hakuya cleanly bisected its body and let the aether within drain down into the bowl.

The aether did not immediately react with the contents of the bowl, which looked like a random mess of strange coloured powders, crumbled bits of mushrooms and twigs. However when it touched the loamy soil, the soil melted into the aether, thickening the liquid. The thickened liquid then began melting the other ingredients in the bowl.

Hakuya stopped chanting under his breath and held his hand above the bowl. With a gentle push of spirituality the contents in the bowl began swirling calmly, until everything had dissolved. The bluish white light of the aether changed into a luminous green that evoked the fresh renewing energies of spring. The green light slowly faded as the recipe reached its conclusion, leaving behind a milky and translucent green liquid. The flames from the candle and lamps brightened as the shadows retreated, and the smoke from the incense stick began wafting naturally into the air again.

Hakuya poured the liquid into the flask and corked it. Then he held it up to examine the contents of the flask closely. Though it no longer emitted light, there was a subtle life to the liquid when it swirled around. Once again satisfied with the result, Hakuya set it down on the table and sighed, leaning back into the chair.

Reid’s eyes were wide as he reached out to the flask, picking it up with trembling hands. He glanced up at Hakuya, then back down to the flask, then back to Hakuya, as if he couldn’t decide which was more incredible.

“Is this what I think it is?” Reid asked, his mouth dry.

“What do you think it is?” Hakuya asked.

“Elixir of Life!” Reid exclaimed.