[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Mistress Llorai returned the next brightening to find Erenthril Mael’tharias patiently awaiting her arrival outside the door into the laboratory, bearing with him a written manuscript that depicted a few sloppy (and to be truthfully honest here, rather poor) sketches of various lab equipment and small scribbling loopy text further elaborating on the depictions. A triumphant grin was plastered across his face as if he were a small child holding out his hand for a golden star, and after tucking away the papyrus with an embarrassed flush of his cheeks at her unimpressed reaction, stepped aside so she could unlock the door.

The room was quite as they had left it, the equipment stored in the back hidden within cabinets and atop countertops, the center large burly table still taking up the majority of room inside the stone structure. Erenthril closed the door behind him as Mistress Llorai lit several candles for illumination. He smiled as she maneuvered over to the side of the room and opened up a glass cabinet boasting a frightful repertoire of tiny little glass vials. He could have sworn he saw one with a skull and crossbones pasted atop it.

“Let’s not waste any time than, shall we?” she spoke, turning around and carrying the vials carefully to the table. She gestured for the Elementalist to come closer and get a better look, before holding up a small flask.

“Today we’ll be reviewing the chemical components that are essentially the foundation of Alchemy. You’ll want to pay attention, maybe take a few notes if you brought a quill,” she rose an eyebrow as he pulled one out of his pocket, complete with a small container of ink. “Perfect. Now, what do you see here?” she asked, holding the glass container up for him to see.

Erenthril studied it for a moment. “I see a clear liquid? Umm..”

“Correct. It’s clear. It’s called Ethanol, Heru Mael’tharias, and is also referred to as Spirit of Wine. It’s used to purify decoctions… or fluids you have to spend time draining the water out of to increase the potency.”

“Like distilling them?”

“Yes, exactly. Ethanol, subsequently, is made from distilling liquor. You’ll find it in wine, rum-”

“…and brandy,” Erenthril finished her sentence, thinking of Milo and wondering if the Regent would find this particular tidbit of information interesting.

“Yes and brandy, don’t interrupt me again,” she snapped, before placing the flask down and holding up another with a white powder inside. It reminded Eren vaguely of… well, let’s not go there. “This is called Quicklime, and is one of the more reactive substances you’ll be experimenting with. Most use it for desiccation, a technique done by combining this with a fluid and draining the water out of it. The water in one substance –usually- transfers into the Quicklime because the Quicklime is more absorbent than the initial substance. With me so far?” she spoke, letting him nod before continuing, “There aren’t very many things Quicklime won’t absorb. Care to tell me why?”

Erenthril studied it for a second, taking the glass out of her land and examining it. He shook his head no.

“There aren’t many things drier than Quicklime. It’s fairly simple to obtain, too. All you have to do is burn limestone, or even chalk. Same basic properties,” she grinned. “When you combine it with water it creates a slaked lime concoction…hence the name. When that form of it is produced, you’ll know it’s taken in all the water it’s going to be able to hold,” she smiled again, before turning around and placing it back on the shelf.