Practical Alchemical Guide II - The Lesser Circulation vol. I
As this is a guide for the aspiring alchemist, who surely will have visited their local apothecary by now, it will not cover at length the environment in which we work. An attic or cellar will be fine, so long as you can stoke a flame without endangering its usual inhabitants. As one should know, our basic tools are our alembics, calcinators, and a mortar and pestle, but even these are not entirely necessary if one can produce the same results without-- even the retort can be substituted with any water-proofed lining, which can be easily fashioned at your local fur shop. The only tool one absolutely has to have, other than their flame, is a vessel that can function as a usable crucible for our mixtures.
Moving on from the environment, this lesson's main topic of discussion will be the lesser, positive circulation mentioned in the introduction. It is difficult to understand much alchemical terminology, and without proper study of the terms to follow the student will find themselves wandering down a long and winding path of misconception that only vigorous practice, tempered with patience, can absolve them of. Of these terms by far some of the most important are those that denote medical flora, the lesser circulation we will be learning.
The Plants and Herbs There are an immeasurable number of flora with alchemical uses, and each should be gathered preferably during specific times of day and of the year, to best preserve their properties.
Fungi and Molds
Fungi, or colloquially mushrooms, should be harvested preferably in the late spring, when the barrier between the Mundus and the Scuttling Void is at its thinnest. Only the cap is necessary, though it may be personal preference to also collect the trunk and root of the fungus, for use in bolstering otherwise thin elixirs.
Roots
These should be dug in the early autumn when all the nutrients of the host have gone down into the roots, or during the early spring before the sap of certain trees has gotten the chance to form. Better still, there is a small time in the early summer when the canis root in particular is more potent than during other times of the year.
Flowers
Flowers and their seeds should only be plucked and preserved during their full bloom in the spring, and should be dried and preserved in the shade; they will not absorb anymore energy from Magnus after death.
Leaves
Should be gathered immediately upon their host plant's first bloom, and dried quickly.
Fruits and Berries
Any fruit should be collected when fully ripe and dried quickly either in the sun or the shade, except for juniper which should be left to ferment in the shade.
The majority of these herbs should be left in the shade after their initial drying and harvesting, and any tincture or elixir produced from them should be put into a colored, opaque, bottle so that the energy from Magnus cannot misshape its properties later. There are 2 ways, in general, to obtain the tinctures from these herbs which are as follows:
Maceration - The desired herb is left to soak in purified water with no applied heat. This is by far the most common method as tea drinkers across Tamriel employ its use every day.
Circulation - The mixture produced by way of maceration is then circulated, or concentrated, using the alchemist's retort and the resulting elixir can then be bottled for practical application, or left to cool for use in future herb salts.
Alcohol can also be used as a medium in place of water, as it extracts more of the herb's inherent essence than does water. I, myself, prefer brandy.
The specifics of how each method is employed will be touched upon in the next herbal chapter.