The gentle sound of running water meets the setting sun shining through the ravine, in the clear pond, the hustle and bustle of fish as they begin to find places to rest for the night can be seen, with one exception. A large fish, as black as the bottom of the pond, looks up to see something shining in the twilight. Swimming up, it opens its mouth, swallowing the hook whole, and, feeling the line, tries pulling away.
"Hey Fredric, I hooked a big one!" Pro says feeling the line go taut.
"Splendid, do you need any assistance reeling it in, young master?" Fredric asks, striking flint stones over the firewood until flames begin to form.
"No need." Pro reasuse yanking on the line before rapidly twirling it around, wrapping the line around the fish, and making it spin upward. The fish breaks the serface, jumping upward, revealing itself to be a mighty catfish five feet long. Pro pulling with all his might, yanks the flying fish to land. "See no reeling needed."
"understood... young master," Fredric replied with a raised eyebrow. "Either way, it appears to be a magic beast of the second or third rank. You should extract the magic stone, and I'll get it ready for cooking."
"On it," Pro said, taking a small knife and placing it to the throat of the fish, making one clean cut down its length. Reaching in, he pulls out the guts of the fish and carefully cuts them away, picking out a smooth, shining stone for the pile and throwing the rest back into the pond. "Here you go," Pro hands the rest of the fish to Fredrick before bringing the magic stone to a small alchemy setup. Fredrick placed the fish on the stone floor, laying his knife behind the gills and letting the blade glide down the fish's side. Pro plucks the leaves of the little dragon and places them, along with the roots, in two separate piles. Fredrick pulls out a large slab of rock salt and braces it on a couple of stones over a small fire. He adds more fuel to heat it slowly. Pro places the Dew of the Sea into a mortar and pestle, places it in his lap to stabilize it, grinds it into a pulp, and pours it into a small caldron. Fredrick spreads seasonings and spices on the fish strips. Using his knife, he makes a single drop of water to test the temperature of the rock salt. Pro uses a ladle to skim off the remains of the herbs in the cauldron, and a pen to carefully write on the magic stone. He puts the magic stone under the caldron and adds the root and leaves of the little dragon. Frederick watches as the drop of water quickly evaporates. Judging it to be hot enough, he adds more fuel and places the fish onto the rock salt. Pro gently stirs the pot, and magic from the stone flows freely into the caldron, enhancing the properties of the herbs and dissolving them into a potion.
"Young master Pro, the fish is ready." Fredric places the fish onto a cloth to cool down and removes the rock salt from the fire.
"Alright, Fredric," Pro takes a pair of tongs and fills potion bottles with the concoction he made. he corks them and sets them to the side. "Looks like it made about a dozen bottles," he picked up the magic stone with the tongs and placed it on some mana sealing paper, and wrapped it up for later.
"Is that the mana paper from the east you learned to make?" Fredrick watches Pro from by the fire.
"Yup, it's normally used to make talismans to ward off spirit-type monsters that are more common there," he puts the potions in a bag and walks over to Fredric. "Potions made from the blood of sea dew and the guts and wings of little dragon." Pro sits down, showing the bag to Fredric.
"In other words, rosemary oil and the leaves, and the root of tarragon." Fredric raises an eyebrow at Pro.
"Well... yes," Pro says sheepishly
"Looks like you had a bit more than a dozen. They'll be helpful if we encounter goblins." Fredric hands Pro his piece of the fish. They both sit down by the campfire, the sun already set over the horizon.
"Can you tell me a story?" Pro asked, looking at Fredric.
"A story?" Fredric looked back at Pro, thinking to himself for a moment. "How about... the founding of the empire?"
There was once a foolish king in these lands, a tyrant whose cruelty knew no bounds. His very name was seen as an ill omen, for this man was no king; he was a concurer of the wars he waged, ending countless lives, both his allies and enemies alike met their end in his campaigns. But one day, that man had a son after only having three daughters until then. Before the king could celebrate his new heir, an oracle came. The oracle said that "you have made enemies with every race on this continent, there is none who wishes you well, and many who wish you dead by their hand, but out of all the people in your life that you have or will anger, the one who will kill you is your only son and the last child you will father."
Inside Lugxerius' halls, servants run from place to place finishing the last preparations for today's event. In the lobby, important and influential figures of the empire gather for today is the day the 15-year-old prince is officially recognized as the next in line for the throne. Today, he will make a promise to the gods about how he will rule as king. But for now, two servants gather around the young man, getting him ready for the event.