"Alchemy is a new pursuit of wisdom," Idris announced, voice carrying over the clinic courtyard and into every Void Terminal tuned to the Grand Sage's channel. "Refine common and rare herbs together, and their properties compound. Beyond ingredients, you need technique—measured flame, steady breath, exact timing. To keep that technique coherent instead of rumor, I'm opening a new discipline in the Akademiya: the Department of Alchemy."
He spoke cleanly, almost offhand, as if adding a seventh Darshan were as ordinary as adding tea to water.
"Sumeru has always been rich in medicinal flora. We're built for this. From today, the Akademiya's six become seven. If you enroll now, you'll be the first class. And you'll meet teachers you don't expect."
He tapped the Void Terminal; the speech published instantly. Given the day's very public cures, the effect was immediate—notifications bloomed across the city like rukkhashava spores after rain.
With the message seeded, Idris turned to go. "You don't owe me thanks," he told the room, almost bored. "I needed test subjects; you were available. That's all."
His escorts formed up and guided him back toward the great boughs of the holy tree.
Collei, sitting upright on her cot, watched his back recede and flushed to her ears. "Grand Sage Idris… he really might be the most brilliant Grand Sage Sumeru's had in five hundred years."
Tighnari arched a brow. "Funny. Your history marks aren't brilliant. Since when do you track five centuries of sages?"
"Um—" Collei's blush deepened. "I just… can't imagine anyone surpassing him. Not after today."
"Mm. I'm inclined to agree," Dunyarzad said softly from the next bed, color returned to her cheeks and a new steadiness in her breathing. The day still felt like a dream, except her body—finally—insisted she was awake.
Even Nilou, who had carried her misgivings like a veil, found herself nodding. Dehya folded her arms and said nothing—but she didn't argue.
Collei drew in a breath. "Since he took office, he's worked himself ragged for Sumeru. He must be exhausted. Master… aside from our patrols and keeping the rainforest safe, how can we help him?"
There was something new in her eyes—more than gratitude. Tighnari noticed, decided not to poke, and thought aloud. "When he moves to found this Department of Alchemy, people will try to block it to protect their slices of the pie. We can't swing politics… but we can swing public support. Spread the word, give clinics basic training, write clear field notes. Noise helps."
He knew the Akademiya's underbelly well enough: if principle didn't move certain elders, pressure might.
"In that case," Dunyarzad said, swinging her legs off the bed, "let's help him make noise. If tomorrow even more people rally behind the new department, they won't be able to stop it."
She shared a quick look with Nilou—an unspoken plan already forming around theater steps and market squares, around songs and stories that travel faster than memos.
It was, on paper, a small betrayal. Devotees of the Little Lord Kusanali throwing their weight behind the very Grand Sage they'd once opposed? Upside-down. Improper.
Dunyarzad smiled anyway. "Then let it be improper. I'm switching sides."
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