Simply too Inexperienced to be an Alchemist!

I live in a flourishing country full of alchemists, botanists, chefs and fishermen. The diverse geography of Terrainia, one-third grassland, one-third swampland and one-third mountainous land by sea provide a variety of jobs for people all over the world.

I want to be an alchemist. Alchemists channel the energy, or life source, from one item into another. The energy then combines and forms into something magically new. Sometimes the mixtures don’t take very well and they turn into a foul-smelling mush, but for alchemists who practice hard, they come up with the grandest of creations. The head alchemist’s granddaughter, Sullivan Reed-Weather, is one such alchemist!

She’s only fourteen, but she can craft the most amazing potions. Her potions are made from only the rarest and finest ingredients, hand-picked by only the most famous botanists around the world. Her natural talent for alchemy is exemplified by her training at the Alchemical Academy, which she has attended since the age of five! Her grandfather, Sir Scully Reed-Water, established the academy over thirty years ago, turning Terrainia into the bustling country it is today. Although I’d love to explore the rest of the world, I can’t really see myself leaving Terrainia for long. My little home in Sweetwell is too dear to me. I could never leave my home, or my mother, for too long.

Sweetwell is a beautiful small town on the far outskirts of the swampy lands of Exoeco. While many would think living on, or near, swampland would be disgusting and smelly, it’s actually brimming with intelligent and clean wildlife. Much of the wildlife within Exoeco live within the swamp and the swamp contains so much bacteria that the creatures grow immunity to most diseases. Because the residents often run in contact with the creatures, they have developed immunity as well. The swampy marshlands only become dangerous to those who have not visited them often. I visit often, so I’m resistant to many natural illnesses.

The swamp itself carries a pungent odor, but not one that reaches our noses in Sweetwell. We are positioned close enough to the West, closer to the grasslands of Wilden, that the air is very fresh. On the mornings when mom feels good and opens the windows, fresh bread baking in the oven, that’s the only time the air smells even better.

My dream of becoming an alchemist has long been on hold. Quite honestly, I’ve had to work really hard not to give up on my dream. When I was ten, right at the age when one who was found to have alchemical aptitude left for the academy, mom fell ill. It wasn’t the swampland which made her sick. She just suddenly grew ill one day, so weak and exhausted she couldn’t get out of bed. I think it had to do with dad’s passing.

Dad was a good man who worked for a mining company in Landlake, the mountain-sea region east of Exoeco. He would often leave home for months at a time, but he always came back with surprises and enough money to keep our little home afloat. I can still see him now, sandy-haired and eyes crinkled with joy, walking through our door with little packages bursting from his satchel.

When I was nine, mom got a visit from a lord of Landlake, one who owned the company Dad worked at. He handed her dad’s satchel and a wad of cash. Then he left without a word. I didn’t like the way the man left, his back bent and his eyes downcast. He hadn’t had one good thing to say about dad. He simply gave us the last items that father had carried and was on his way.

Mom was devastated. She tried to continue her usual work at the botany shop, arranging beautiful floral bouquets, but she couldn’t keep up the pace. Exoeco demanded flowers from both Wilden and Lordlake to beautify their marshy lands. With Sweetwell being in such close proximity to both countries, we got a lot of orders. Soon, mom’s speed, or lack thereof, was noticed and she was gently dismissed.

Mom couldn’t get out of bed very much after that, so I had to find a way to make money. I started gathering herbs, fruits and nuts I found within our town and selling them to the local botany shop. We made enough to eat, as long as I kept working hard.