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Welcome to Herbology

At the very back of the V.A.L. building lies two doors. One is small and adorned with intricate carvings of tribal and celtic designs. This door lies to your right at the end of the hall. The second door stands at the center of the back wall of VAL's hallway of classrooms. It is a large door, heavy and thick with ornately carved images of nymphs and trees and fields and mountains and streams that all seem to move just at the corner of your eyes, but never while you stare directly at them.

The first entrance leads you to a small office alcove, stone with built in book cases along three sides with one bright window positioned in the middle of the back wall, flanked on all sides by the continuous shelving. Though the room is stone, it is warm and inviting. Various plants can be spied nestled among little nooks and cranies in the room.

There are a multitude of small and large objects of interest throught the room and two small, plush couches with a small coffee table in the middle of the room all sitting upon a most interesting and colorful carpet. This also seems to trick the eye into a sense of movement just beyond direct view.

Beyond this lies a very large wooden desk upon which lay stacks of papers and bottles and other implements. Despite the large collection of objects, everything in the room seems precisely placed and orderly; not cluttered. There are a few tall wooden lampstands in the corners and one smaller candelabra of the same fashion on the desk. This is Seccina's office, perhaps you will find yourself there sometime, perhaps you will not.

On to the second entrance. Once through that enchanting portal, you see a classroom unlike the others. It is a large semicircle of stone. The back wall is covered in large blackboards and detailed drawings of internal anatomy and disections of plants. From the entrance, the walls curve around to meet the back wall and these walls have large stone counters that run along the length and many implements for extracting properties from various elements and wooden stools lined up along these counters for students' use. In the middle of the room there are two rows of desks that follow the curve of the room and face the back wall, where a large wooden desk sits.

The back wall can and does slide into the walls of the V.A.L. building to reveal a large green house filled with plants of all kinds. Some menacing in appearance and some mild. The light from this room floods the stone classroom when open to it and there is a large set of glass doors at the back of the green house that opens to the grounds. The middle of this greenhouse is filled with five broad tables covered in lush green and purple foliaged specimens among others. There are no seats in this room; it is for observation and to assist students in their assignments.

Along the ceilings of your classroom you might notice again the themes seen on the door, only carved in stone...and perhaps you'll spy some of the tiny inhabitants of that rocky world flitting about. Please try to keep your attention on the lesson at hand, however.

After a quick recap of the room, Seccina was sitting at the large wooden desk in her classroom, studiously reading the volume she'd come across in the library earlier that day, waiting for her students to arrive. Her gray-blue hair was pulled up in an intricate plait, but a few strands fell out of place as usual. Her dress was simple, deep red, and her hands held fewer jewels than she was normally used to. Bangles clinked together and against the large gold cuffs on her wrists with every turn of the page and in her ears many a glimmering ring could be seen.

She was a bit anxious and a bit excited. It had been long years since she'd last taught anyone about her craft and now she had several students all at once!

The classroom was in meticulous order; every desk had chair, every stool on the curved wall was equally spaced and all the implements on the counter they faced were precisely placed with care. She never prided herself on her organization, it was just necessary to be successful in healing. You needed to be sure everything was where it should be and clean whenever you might have need of it.

The back wall, with the black boards and reference drawings was only slightly opened; just a crack to let in more light.

Seccina, looking up from her book, watched the first of her students as she arrived and plopped down grumpily in her chair. A small and compassionate smile hinted at the corners of her mouth. This might be a bit more difficult than i remember.... she thought. She studied the girl closely, noting her illusionary devices. It was a bit heartbreaking to see that she didn't feel comfortable to be herself. She would have to tread even more carefully with this one...The fact that she herself was half elf probably wouldn't even phase the girl; there was quite a difference between being half elf and half drow elf in some people's eyes..namely their own.

Glancing at the clock on her desk, she let out her own soft harumph as she noticed that every student except the discomfitted drow at the farthest desk in her room was late!!!

A small sigh of defeat escaped her lips as she rose gracefully from her seat and looked mournfully at the door. Some things never change, she thought, sadly; it was ever a challenge to get anyone interested in her craft, especially youths.... Well, better make the best of it...

She made her way over to her newest--and apparently her only--student so far with that particular glide produced by her full figure and silent movements and smiled down at the girl's very discouraging face. "My name is Professor Kaeline. May i have the pleasure of knowning yours?" And she held out her hand to the girl in salutation.

((Please forgive me...I'm still trying to figure these things out, so if I needed to do something before this, PLEASE tell me. Thanks ^_^))


Hanille had only been in the Marina dormitory briefly, for she feared the consequences if she was late to Herbology.

"Great...just great...I'm going to be so late for this class...and this is my first day..."

While the directions the headmaster had provided for her helped, Hanille still found herself having trouble finding the Herbology classroom. As she continued to wander in what she hoped was the right direction, she still couldn't help but admire the power and beauty that seemed to emanate from this building.

"I just hope the students are as nice as the headmaster seems to be..."

How truly kind was this headmaster though? She barely knew him, and had only talked with the man briefly. Then again, first impressions usually told the tale when it came to determining a personality, and he had shown a very good first impression. Yet, was this any true either? Hanille shook her head, "The headmaster is a good man. I wonder what my teacher is going to be li-..."

Her pulse quickened as she came to the end of a hall. This was it...she was only a few steps away from Herbology. She found the massive, carved door that led into the classroom to be very unusual. Yet, something about its mystical appearance called for her to approach, and she did not hesitate to do so. Now her heart was beating even faster, and she noticed that her hands were trembling. Hanille closed her eyes tightly, and stepped into her first class, slowly opening them as she did so.

There were two people, women, in one of the corners of the room. One, probably another student, was sitting upon a stool. Hanille had only heard and read about the tales of elves; she had never met or seen one personally. The second woman seemed quite a few years older compared to the other; this was probably her professor. She too was an elf, or at least, somewhat of an elf. Hanille's thoughts shifted through the past to when she had read about elves. So, her professor was half-elven, and one of her peers was a full-blooded elf...or at least, she thought.

Her professor's hair was quite different from the normal, different being grayish blue. Odd, Hanille had never seen hair of THAT color before. Maybe she was losing her mind. Her professor was smaller, by a few inches, and the full-blood was a pinch or two taller. The other student had tanned skin, lovely violet eyes, and luscious black hair.

From what appeared before her, it seemed that Hanille had come at a rather awkward time. Nervous, she let her eyes fall back towards the floor, and made her way to the nearest desk, hoping that the others wouldn't speak to her. Of course, she knew all too well that this would be in vain, because her professor would definitely approach and talk. Hanille took a seat at her desk, and pushed her pale blonde bangs out of her grayish pink eyes. 'Twas then that she noticed another student, a boy. His hair was a very pretty shade of mahogany, and his eyes of deep azure.

Her lips folded into a very faint, small smile, but it quickly faded and she stared down at her desk.

Seccina decided to leave the girl be insofar as her gesture of greeting was concerned. Sometimes it just took a while for one to adjust to new surroundings.

In the mean time, two other students had arrived and she took this opportunity to address the 'class' (as it were) in general. So, stepping back from Niira's desk, she faced the students with a warm and inviting face and spoke to them.

"Well, good day to you! I'm so happy you could all make it. I would like to ask that in the future you could all make a point of being on time, please. I understand there might be extenuating circumstances, but do try and do your best." Her voice was suprisingly deep and melodius with a distinct rythm to it. "Now, my name is Professor Kaeline, and I should very much like to know yours, but first let us begin our lesson." She said, indicating the newest arrivals.

Walking over to the blackboard, she pointed to a list of definitions. "If you would, i'd appreciate it if you could all please copy this down and study it for home work.




"I will give you time later to copy this down. But for now, let us begin with a more interesting application. If you would, please accompany me to the green house." And so saying, she slid the right wall back to reveal the warm, bright room where an array of specimens presided, "Please feel free to explore this green house. Every plant you see is medicinal in nature and you are more than welcome to ask questions and explore for a few moments. Consider this part of the classroom as it will play an integral role in our studies."

Seccina couldn't help but have a particularly worrisome look on her face concerning Hanille; she'd have to do something to help that situation as soon as possible. Her mind began to file away possible assistance routes.

In the mean time, she hoped the vines she had only recently began to grow would offer some measure of aid to the girl. And so considering, she stopped the girl softly and inquired of her name, "My dear, what is your name?" And apologised for any discomfort, vowing that she would do whatever she could to make this class a bit more comfortable and easier for her.

And so saying, watched her students as the entered the green house. This is not going as smoothly as i'd hoped, she thought and berated herself for not familiarizing herself with her students more before today.

Seccina was looking mournfully towards Niira and her obvious lack of enthusiasm. With a faint sigh, she turned towards the back right corner of the class and asked if they would all please follow her.

And there, in a small hide-away spot were three plants of bright-eye. "If you would all please, choose a specimen of this Bright Eye and take it back with you to the class room; i've something interesting to show you." And with that, she waited quietly as they each gathered their plant and headed back to the classroom.

((I'm gonna somewhat fast foward the rp here; let me know if this bothers you))

When they were all seated, she smiled and placed before them each a clear glass mug. "You'll each need to have one of these of your own next class. Now, I want you each to look at your plant and take off two dozen leaves, paying special attention that they are healthy and clean. Place these in your mug and pour the boiling water i shall come by with over them; wait ten minutes. Obviously, we're going to make a common herbal tea, also known as a tistane, but it's applications are not so normal." As she waited for each student to choose their leaves, she went to each desk and placed a small, earthenware tea kettle full of steaming water and a padded cloth to hold the handle with. "Please let me know when you've completed this."

((Sorry for my lack of posting...I can't exactly get on much currently, but that should change very soon. I can't be on for very long, so my apologies for how quickly put-together this may be...))

The timid, slightly confused Hanille gaped at the elf, who seemed to pride herself in being the center of attention, or maybe just a leader; Hanille didn't really know or care.

"So THAT'S how elves work..."

'Twas then that Hanille realized she was in trouble. Biting her lip softly, she raised her hand, "Um...ma'am...I'm sorry but, I don't exactly...have a mug...or anything..."

A light shade of rose began to appear upon her pale cheeks as she looked onward towards her professor expectantly, hoping she wouldn't get her hide tanned, "The arch priest of my temple...Magnus...he couldn't exactly afford...everything I need. Is there..."

Hanille let her words trail off, feeling utterly disgusted with herself.

"Now what...?"