elixir

A princess of the gods. True and pleasant as that may had sound, Andromeda did not feel like one. Even the simple question made her wonder why she was chosen to ascend her father’s throne when everything, especially up to this point, has been so vague. She was the eldest of Boljimir’s many children but there were others more worthy of the title, of the responsibility for ruling over the heavens. At least, that’s what she believed. “It sounds rather silly and mythical, does it not?” Andromeda replied, sad amusement hinted in her voice. She lifted herself to lounge upright on her side. As she did so, a sharp pain rolled across her forehead and caused one of her eyes to twitch. Andromeda rubbed the side of her temple with a lone finger, barely catching Kestrel’s other question. An important question it was because the nymph found herself drawing a blank on the Order she was referred to. Did she mean the Karael League? No, this was the Order after Lailah’s fall, was it not? Who exactly was after? Furthermore, why couldn’t she remember at this critical time? Andromeda furrowed her brows as another pain washed over her, and she hummed in discontent. “I… cannot recall who is after me,” she hesitantly said. “Did I make any mention of them earlier today?” Andromeda looks down, placing her hand on the lush grass and the planet sang in return. However, something was amiss and ate at her memories. Perhaps the poison was more potent than she realized – but who poisoned her? She couldn’t remember that either. Maybe she need to recuperate longer and mediate underneath the stars' guidance. All she wanted was to be with her sister and father. They were the guidance she needed. Despite this, Andromeda knew Kestrel asked out of concern for their well-being. It was a wise inquiry and it weighed the aspects if they had time to sit around, continuing at their slight leisure or if they had to be on their constant guard. “I can tell that you are worried,” she articulated. “It does not help that I cannot remember who…” Andromeda trailed off and sighed. “I would say that we have nothing to worry about as long as I can hear the universe’s melodies but I do not believe I’m at my full capacity yet,” she perked an eyebrow at Kestrel. “Yet, if you are worried, perhaps I can teach you a few things that I know to aid us.” The same brow dropped into another furrow. “You are a mage and the sun is your muse. It disappoints the star that you cannot hear its calls when it speaks highly of you, as if you’re blocking it off,” commented the nymph. “What I may teach you is very ancient and it will only listen to you if you listen to it. When you’re ready to listen to it, that is.”

Honestly, Lavinia was rather surprised that the commander agreed to her little activity so easily. She was ready to feast on his complaints about playing a childish game such as hide-and-seek, ready to tear out his throat but as Andross started to ascend the nearby tree, amusement bubbled within. Perhaps he would be an obedient student after all, and an even better instrument of destruction – at least, that’s all she could daydream about at the moment. She admired the view whilst he climbed the colossal tree. Muscles rippled underneath his ensemble but moreover, she was impressed with his posture and careful footing against the branches. What would happen if he lost his footing, she wondered? It definitely wouldn’t be as humorous as that time she kicked a certain damsel off a cliff, that’s for sure. Lavinia pondered about his family and the helpless souls underneath his command then. If he fell from the tree, Andross would certainly have a few broken bones, or worse a broken neck, and she was sure that his family would weep over him, tend at him. His soldiers… well, there were many possibilities they could take advantage of due to his injuries or death. Lavinia remembered what she witnessed he could do at her initial arrival and glanced back up at him. Surely, there was more to him that he let on. Something attractively magical and not ordinary. She would know his secrets not before long, if he succeeded in her game. Lavinia caught his own glances directed back at her and winked a few times whenever their gazes connected. “Break a leg, handsome!” she would cheer, half-joking and half-serious. Eventually, she looked straight ahead. Listening to the force and voice of the planet, the deity entered a meditative state and waited for whichever outcome. Meanwhile, Minerva lounged in the treetop of another tree. Its snake-tail ceased to hiss but swayed to and fro. Beady eyes watched Andross climb and flickered its tongue from its mouth. All the while, Minerva remained invisible, camouflaging itself brilliantly with the surrounding canopies. It smiled wickedly and spoke in the man’s tongue. “Andross, Andross,” it said, his name echoing within the forest so it wouldn’t be easily discovered. Minerva's voice sounded as if a dozen people screeched at once. “I do hope you taste as good as you smell. Perhaps once you lose, my master can let me feed on your family as well!” The lion-like body moved across branches instinctively like a predator stalking its prey but disrupted some leaves in the process. It halted instantly before using its muscles to pounced onto another branch of a tree. “Are you really set on finding me?” Minerva continued. Although it was further away from Andross, its voice stroked the shell of his ears as if it was breathing right next to him. “Do you really think you can be an underling to the goddess of destruction?”

ABOVE: LAVINIA IN REGAL ATTIRE. PORTRAIT BY A.M. Work in Progress. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce non neque pulvinar, tincidunt augue a, cursus lorem. Donec tristique tempus felis, quis bibendum lectus sodales sit amet. Fusce rutrum, nisi at egestas faucibus, orci lacus feugiat mauris, quis congue ante mi sed erat. Etiam nisl neque, accumsan sed arcu id, dignissim commodo ex. Nunc rutrum tincidunt ligula. Vestibulum dignissim velit at urna pharetra mattis. Nullam cursus gravida laoreet. Nulla non aliquam magna. Pellentesque placerat ipsum tristique, hendrerit massa ac, maximus odio. Praesent at ante tempor, ullamcorper libero sit amet, semper nisi. Nulla facilisi. Vivamus non dui mauris. Mauris semper sed erat ac eleifend. Nullam vitae turpis mattis, vulputate velit vel, luctus tellus. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Quisque sollicitudin erat orci, nec egestas lorem euismod in. Playing around with Csl's code.

My gut is telling me that once we figure out the crossword puzzle, and all the letters match with numbers accordingly, we need to merge the corresponding letter-numbers to form a word. This sounded better in my head.

Can you... see it now? I'm embarrassed. Edit: Wait, I'm really stupid today. Ignore me. WHAT'S GOING ON

I tried to get into it but there's something about it that isn't tickling my plebeian fancy. However, episode two was hilarious. I'll give you that.

My S/O introduced this beautiful series to me last weekend and I haven't stopped laughing at this particular one. Please appreciate it.

I know @OBELUS posted more goodies for us to solve, but I'm not sure if anyone here knew that. Granted, I've been busy and under the weather lately to really contribute. But, their lil' "let's start again with something simple" is provoking me to throw my noggin at them.

"Don't you know this, that words are doctors to a diseased temperament?" - Aeschylus

Wait. Am I missing something?

So, Elucidation and Cajal Limit was mentioned in that CYOA thread y'all was in. However, nothing came up when I searched 'Dielucidation' on here.