Chapter 1: The Alchemist's Heart

-AUTHOR’S NOTE-

This is a rewrite of the old Chapter 1. I wasn’t happy with how the chapter was originally written so I updated it. I tried my best to fit it naturally within the preexisting narrative but if there are any oddities please forgive me. Anyway enjoy! 

CONTENT WARNING: DEATH, VIOLENCE/GORE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, BODY HORROR, DRUG USE, SELF-HARM, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, XENOPHOBIA

An intoxicating aroma filled The Alchemist’s Heart. Sweet florals mixed with earthy herbs and smoke. Together they created a pungent smell that felt refreshing at first but quickly became nauseating to anyone who stuck around. Arcane liquor brewed in a pot over a soft, crackling fire in the back of the shop. It was the last bit of the morning stock, a second batch of health potions. Aurora stood at the front counter and flipped through the pages of a book, one she had received as a gift from one of her customers. It was a journal; detailing the various adventures its author had been through. Tales of dungeon crawling, monster slaying, and people saving. She sighed longingly as she turned to the next page. Despite being gifted the journal the other day, Aurora had already almost finished it. Years worth of travel experienced in just a few hours. Loud creaking and gentle chimes broke Aurora’s focus. She nudged the book away from her and assumed a more professional posture as the door to The Alchemist’s Heart swung open. In stepped a tall, bald man wearing thick metal armor decorated with several colored paintings of the sun.

“Garrison!” Aurora smiled, pretending to have been checking on her brewing potions. “Good morning! How’s my favorite capital guard?” The man regarded her with a stern look.

“Greetings Miss Vale.” Garrison said, ignoring Aurora’s forced pleasantries. “King Helson has made new decrees for the coming year. I thought it best I deliver the news to you personally.” He reached into a leather bag at his side and pulled out a handful of envelopes. He offered them to Aurora, who took them hesitantly. She removed the wax seal and skimmed the text. Her face paled as she read.

“Increased rent? Taxes on magical consumables? Garrison!” She shouted. “I can’t afford this! I’m barely getting by as is!” Despite seemingly good business, The Alchemist’s Heart was barely making a profit. It wasn’t because of Aurora’s prices, quality, or lack there of. No, Aurora’s financial troubles traced back to the king. It felt like all of her problems traced back to the king. Whenever King Helson would make a decree, among all of the regular changes, there was always a clause meant specifically to harm Aurora. New rules, regulations, fines, and fees; all to spite her. It would never call her by name, but the wording was so specific that it realistically only applied to her. Aurora had a theory on why the King did this, but hoped that King Helson wasn’t that petty. “Garrison you have to help me out with this!” She begged.

“I’m sorry Miss Vale, but the King’s words are final. There isn’t much I can do.” Garrison’s sympathy shifted to scolding as he noted a half drunk bottle sitting not too far from Aurora. “Maybe if didn’t drink your supply, Miss Vale, you wouldn’t be in such dire straits.”

“Hey, I’m just making sure my stock is of up most quality and doesn’t go to waste. It’s called sampling, Garrison.”

“And I’m sure someone of your, figure, could stand to cut back on sampling.” Garrison said, scanning Aurora.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” She brushed off his comments. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before, in fact she’s heard much worse from people whose opinions she valued much more. Aurora finished up reading through the decrees. She had just one letter left to open. But this one was different than the rest. Its words were of different handwriting, written on different paper, sealed with different wax. It definitely wasn’t from the king, or from any higher up in the Solstyan government. “The sanitarium.” She whispered. Aurora frantically opened the letter and read its contents in a panic. She couldn’t get through the whole thing before hanging her head. Her body shuttered. As if her situation couldn’t get any worse. Treatment cost for her mother had more than doubled. “Thank you Garrison.” She said meekly. It was the only words she could muster without breaking into tears. Garrison bowed his head and turned to leave.

“May the sun shine brightly upon you Miss Vale.” He paused, letting his guilt subside to retain his professionalism. “And happy Solstice.”

Aurora swore and threw the papers off the counter. She stood there in the empty shop, staring at the wall, panting. Happy Solstice? What a joke. To Aurora, it was a stupid holiday to celebrate another failure of a year. Another wave of rage washed over her. She spun back around and grabbed the journal. She chucked it as hard as she could at a shelf. Several potions broke upon impact, with a few more rolling off the shelf and shattering against the floor. The book laid there in pool of magical elixir, a dead dream stained with a dying compromise. Aurora gathered her composure. She took a few deep breaths trying not to let herself fully break, not now at least. Her competence can come into question later when the shop was closed. Aurora turned to the potion she had been drinking earlier and took a swig. Cerebral Seltzer she had called it, a potion that helped clear the mind. Really the effects weren’t super understood. Nobody could agree if the potion was helpful or harmful, if it dampened one’s emotions or made them more aware. It didn’t matter. All Aurora cared about was that it was a sugary drink, numbing the pain was an added bonus. It wasn’t doing a very good job however. Were Aurora’s emotions that strong, or was it her tolerance that was strong? Either way she needed more. But before she could take another drink the shop’s door opened.

In stepped another armored man, but this one was different from Garrison. He was still Solstyan, Aurora could tell that much from the style of armor, but everything about him seemed antithetical to the guard from moments before. Rather than heavy plates, the man had more chain, cloth, and leather. The typical iconography of suns was replaced with a single bear crest on the shoulder and almost everything had been colored green. The man, Aurora noted, was not bald and instead had slicked back brown hair. His beard was short, stubbly, and patchy. A long scar streaked down the side of his face, accentuating his missing eye.

“Good morning sir!” Aurora said, instinctively slipping on her professional mask. “How can I help you today?” To any normal man, Aurora’s forced mood would be obvious. But this was no normal man.

“Good morning!” He said, thinking this was another joyful conversation. “Do you have any health potions in stock? I’m on break from my post and I’ve got a few pains I was hoping to heal up.” Post? So he’s a soldier? Strange get up for a Solstyan guard, Aurora thought. She assumed he was just another enthusiastic adventurer.

“Certainly! How many do you need?”

“Three should get me by!” He said holding up three fingers. He had a big smile on his face, like Aurora was some old friend he was happy to see. Aurora nodded and reached for her stock of health potions. Empty. Aurora’s eyes went wide and she nearly choked on her own breath. Seems like she went a little overboard with her so called sampling. Her tolerance definitely was getting stronger.

“I’m sorry sir.” Aurora turned around sheepishly. “It seems I don’t have any in stock at the moment.” She was hoping that he didn’t notice the almost empty potion bottle sitting on the counter.

“Ah, that’s a shame.” He somehow didn’t. “Can I place an order to pick up later?” He asked.

“Yes, certainly you can.” Aurora answered, now a little amused by his naivety. “I just need a name.”

“It’s Ulric Ursine!” He said proudly. Aurora wrote down his name and his order. Before she could give out any details on cost or pickup time Ulric placed a few gold coins on the counter. Aurora was too stunned to speak. He had overpaid by such a large margin it would be considered theft. Did she even have that much change to give back? “Keep the change, I don’t need it!” He smiled. “No rush on the potions, just take your time. I’ll be back by the end of the day. Happy Solstice!” And just as quickly as he arrived, he left.

“Happy… Solstice…” Aurora said, stunned. For some reason those words didn’t sting as much as before. What just happened? Why was that man so nice to a person he’d never met? He gave her such a hefty tip despite her forced politeness and messy shop. Aurora felt she had to be dreaming. She continued the rest of her day in a daze. Everything went fairly normal after the morning passed. A little extra customers thanks to the festivals, but overall pretty standard. Despite the fact, Aurora was mentally exhausted by the end. The three potions sat on the counter. Ulric never did come back to pick them up. Maybe he forgot? It didn’t matter much to Aurora since he already paid, but a part of her did wish to see him again. However Aurora couldn’t daydream for long. Her train of thought was broken by a loud commotion coming from outside. A large herd of people sprinting through the streets.