89th Zi'da, 717
Tei'serin winced as she limped slowly into her living room, and selected a book to read before easing herself into the chair beside her desk. After what Thorin did to her the trial before, she couldn't even breathe without pain, never mind move. It felt as though her bruises had bruises. Her mother wasn't much better off. And it was all because he had gotten angry when Meiarin had had a nightmare. Keiaris had woken them up when her younger sister was too scared to go back to sleep. Tei'serin and her mother had taken turns holding the young child while they both sang to her quietly. Unfortunately, it hadn't been quietly enough. Their voices had woken Thorin, and he wasn't happy over having his rest disturbed. When he wasn't happy, no one was.
Going into the village for school was impossible. Tei'serin didn't think she would be able to mount her horse much less ride all the way to the village. She had had no other choice but to ask Sorin to ride into Treth for her, and let them know that she was too "sick" to teach this trial, and would likely be for the next several trials. Sorin was happy to have something he could do to help, so he jumped at the chance. He even sought the doctor out, and let him know that Tei'serin wasn't going to be able to treat her patients for a while.
Since Tei'serin was unable to leave the house until she had recovered from her injuries, she was going to make the most of her situation. And that meant getting as much studying in as she possibly could. Learning about new herbs could only serve to improve her skills as an herbalist, so why not do it when she couldn't be out treating her patients? It wasn't the rest her mother wanted her to get, but Tei'serin knew that she would go mad if she was forced to spend all of her time in bed. With that thought in mind, she made herself as comfortable as she could manage, and began to read.
Herbal infusions and herbal decoctions are similar in many ways. At the most basic level, both remedies are made by boiling herbs in liquid. That liquid is usually water, but that isn't always the case. But where an herbal infusion involves the soft parts of a plant such as leaves, and flowers, an herbal decoction uses the hard or woody plant parts such as roots, bark, seeds, berries, and mushrooms. Since this is the case, longer brewing times are required for making a decoction.
To make one, you add a handful of the root, herb, or mushroom you wish to make a decoction out of to several cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn the heat down and allow it to simmer for at least thirty bits. This extracts the useful benefits of the desired herb and adds them to the water you are brewing with. The longer the herbs simmer, the stronger the resulting decoction will be. For this reason, allowing the herbs to simmer for five or six breaks rather than the minimum amount of time required will result in a much stronger, more beneficial decoction.
Tei'serin took careful notes on what she was reading. She realized that she had been making decoctions in the past without ever realizing that she had been doing so. But the new information, such as the fact that they needed to simmer rather than boil, and that five or six breaks was an ideal simmering time for them would be very useful to her.
The truly skilled herbalist knows that while teas, infusions, and decoctions are all very useful, there are times when they are not enough. Some herbs lose their healing benefits when exposed to heat. Lemon balm, St. John's Wort, and nettle are all good examples of this type of herb. When these herbs are needed, a cold infusion is a better choice by far than an herbal tea or infusion.
Cold infusions are made quite simply. Take a cup of the desired herb, and grind or crush them. Then place them in a quart sized jar. If desired, you can add a teaspoon of flavoring such as sugar, wine vinegar or honey to sweeten the infusion. But since exposing the infusion to the cold will bring out the natural sweetness of the herbs you are using, additional sweeteners may not be needed. Fill the jar with water, but make certain that you leave an inch and a half of room at the top. If the liquid freezes, that room will be needed as the liquid expands. Shake the jar well, and label it. Once this is done, you simply expose the infusion to the cold. In Zi'da and Cylus, all you have to do is place the jar outside, but in warmer seasons, an ice box or ice shed will be needed.
Tei'serin paused in her reading and made a mental note to save up for an ice box. They were expensive, and the ice would need to be replaced at least once a season, but if it would allow her to better help her patients, the expense would be well worth it.
There are two methods to making a cold infusion. Freezing the infusion is the faster of the two methods. Once the liquid is solid, allow it to defrost gently before you strain out the herbs. If you do not want to freeze it, or do not have access to an ice box, you can leave the jar outside overnight during the cold seasons. After the first night, shake the infusion and taste it to see if it is strong enough for your needs. If it is not, leave it out overnight for another night. When the infusion is ready, strain out the herbs.
Cold infusions can be stored in liquid form for up to three trials safely. Keeping them frozen until you need them will extend their shelf life considerably. When frozen, they will last up to one hundred and eighty trials.
When she had finished taking notes, Tei'serin went back to reread everything she had just read so she would understand it better. She didn't want to risk missing something by not reading everything through more than once. That could lead to mistakes that would hurt her patients.
