41. VIT Potion II

When the glass case opened and the flower came into view, Mirel’s breath caught.

Even without Flow Sight, the Vitalicious Flowbloom looked valuable. Under Flow Sight, Alistair finally understood why. The flower was not only filled with flow. It held flow in layers.

Fine strands ran through the stem and petals, looping back on themselves in slow, careful patterns. The flow was dense without being violent. It gathered most strongly near the center of the bloom, where several strands twisted together in a steady knot of vitality. It did not behave like fireflow, thunderflow, or the harsher flows he had seen used in violence. This was quieter, deeper, and much more difficult to disturb without ruining it.

Mirel stared at it with open delight. She leaned closer, then stopped herself before touching the case. Her professional discipline returned quickly. She took one long breath, released it slowly, and looked at him.

“It is in good condition.”

“Good enough?”

“If I fail with this, I’m giving up my licence.”

Mirel began by preparing the stabilizing base. She measured a clear liquid into the narrow-necked vessel, then added a pinch of pale powder that dissolved and left behind a faint shimmer ordinary eyes would barely catch. Flow Sight made the change clear. The liquid’s loose flow settled into a calmer pattern, spreading evenly through the vessel instead of drifting in uneven patches.

She added three drops of something red and resinous, then stirred with a glass rod.

“Redscale gum?” he asked.

Mirel glanced at him. “You listened yesterday.”

“Yes.”

“Do not ask more unless I tell you to.”

He inclined his head.

The burner activated with a touch of her finger against the frame. The heat stone inside glowed softly, and under Flow Sight, Alistair saw a narrow line of controlled fireflow move into the metal ring beneath the vessel. The flow circled with restraint, feeding heat evenly into the glass.

Mirel adjusted it three times before she seemed satisfied. The liquid warmed until its flow loosened and became receptive without turning chaotic. Alistair could see the difference. Too little heat left the stabilizing base stiff. Too much made the faint structure inside the liquid begin to fray.

Mirel worked in small steps. She crushed one dried root into powder, scraped a sliver from a dark mineral, and cut two fresh leaves until they were almost paste. Each ingredient entered the vessel at a different point because the flow changed after every addition.

The root seemed to thicken the base. The mineral gave the pattern weight, and the leaves helped it bend without breaking. At least, that was what Flow Sight suggested. Mirel was building a structure that could accept the Vitalicious Flowbloom’s effect without letting it scatter.

Only after the base settled into a slow, steady rotation did she turn to the flower.

Mirel unlocked the case with careful hands. The moment the lid opened, the flow in the room shifted. The change was subtle, but Flow Sight caught it. The Vitalicious Flowbloom seemed to breathe into the air, its flow pressing outward as if testing the space around it. The strands inside the petals tightened, then relaxed.

Mirel moved quickly, before hesitation could ruin the timing.

She took the crystal-tipped tool and held it over the flower. A faint layer of flow formed around her hand.

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Alistair’s attention sharpened.

At first, he thought the rod was doing the work. The crystal brightened, and fine threads of flow extended from its tip toward the flower. They were delicate, almost hair-thin, and they touched the bloom without tearing into it. Then Mirel’s fingers moved, and the faint layer around her hand changed shape.

It looked almost like a glove made of flow.

The rod gave her precision. Her class supplied the pull.

A thin aura of controlled flow gathered around her gloved hand, sank through the tool, and coaxed several strands from the flower’s center. The tool helped her reach, separate, and direct the strands without damaging them, but the extraction itself came from Mirel.

The first strand lifted from the bloom.