Alchemist's Journal Vol. 2: On the Eastmarch Hot Spring Salt Flats, Dragons, and the Alchemical nature of Colour.
21st of Last Seed, 4E 201,
When I first happened upon the Salt Marshes surrounding Windhelm, what struck me almost immediately was the thematic resonance of the place - it had such striking fiery, dragon-related imagery throughout.
Of particular note to me was the Dragon's Tongue which grew in abundance throughout the place, which the Dragonflies in the area (all Orange Dartwings, no Blue) seemed almost magnetically attracted to. I tried to whip up an elixir of the two but to no avail, they did not appear to have any common alchemical properties.
This punched a whole in my theory of fundamental alchemical components being intrinsically linked by colour1, a theory largely based off of the brilliant myrrlyn and his writings on music2 and colour^3, and their place in the Aurbis (I hope one day to know as much about alchemy as he does about... well... everything!)
Desperate to salvage my theory, I tested both the Dragon's Tongue with all the local flora and fauna, as well as with all the red, brown, or orange ingredients in my collection. When boiled with Bone-Meal harvested from the skeletal mammoth and draugr remains which littered the environment, it produced results, I found myself more resistant to flame and fire (which is also red). Similar results were attained from combining the Tongue with Fire Salts, Fly Amanita (which also improved my greatsword swing), Snowberries, Ash from risen dead on Solstheim (not easy to come by) and ashen grass from Solstheim (much easier to come by). Please not that all of these ingredients are RED in hue.
The (also red) Creep Clusters which dotted the landscape had no effect with the Tongue but the Ashen Creep Clusters of Solstheim did. Seeing as the entire area was heated by volcanic energy beneath the surface via hot springs, is it too much of a leap to say that in the future, the Ashen Creep Clusters of the Eastmarch will be used in conjunction with Dragon's Tongue for its shielding effects from fire? Maybe...
As I approached the word wall at Bonestrewn Crest, the density of the Dragon's Tongue increased, as did the intensity of the redness of the grass in the area, and the number of bones. I wrote to a College friend of mine with the inscription on the wall and all he could tell me was this wall at least partially pertained to... frost. 'Frost Breath', I believe is the term he used. This perplexed me, but maybe it was this Dragon's ability to breathe frost that allowed him to conquer an area resistant to fire? Perhaps. Surely there is a link between the dragons, long gone though they may be, and the alchemical ingredients of the Eastmarch's salt marshes.
Alas, my team in the the marsh has come to an end, and I hit the road again soon. Maybe I'll write more on alchemy, colour, the Aedra and the Daedra on the road to pass the time.
Sidenote: I thought it was funny that the trees around the marshes look like dead Juniper trees, seeing as Juniper berries are a key ingredient in poisons which increase the subject's weakness to, you guessed it, fire.
Side-Sidenote: There was a lot of Iron ore in the area, which, when oxidised, turns red.
-Jonofly, Independent Scholar and Alchemist.
^1: ^see ['Alchemist's ^Journal, ^vol. ^1'](https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/371lqk/alchemists_journal_vol_1/), ^by ^Yours ^Truly.
^2: ^see ['Aurbis: the ^Musical'](https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/1oybze/aurbis_the_musical/), ^by ^myrrllyn. ^((/u/myrrlyn))
^3: ^see ['Aurbis 2: ^Colorfull ^Boogaloo'](https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/1p1fip/aurbis_2_colorful_boogaloo/), ^also ^by ^myrrlyn ^((/u/myrrlyn))