Application from epinephrine

[epinephrine]

*Noticing the door ajar, epinephrine tries to slip quietly into the recruiter's office, but in his nervousness drops a potion from one of the recesses of his cloak.*

 

Oops, I hope that doesn't stain.., or turn into anything...

 

 

(Please consider the following story of a time in my past as an application to join your most excellent band of contributers.)

 

 

 

Mixture number 79

 

 

I knew as soon as I saw it that the only outcome could be pain.

 

My name is, well it is too hard to write in this language, so I adopt the name of the body’s own drugs, sometimes epinephrine, sometimes serotonin. But I am an alchemist and some would say even a good one. I studied many years at many great places of learning. I have read law, science and the arts. Indeed study is my passion, perhaps even my obsession. I seek out new people with new ideas and mix them in the cauldron of my brain to simmer. It was in one of these quests for new knowledge that I had learnt of an old master of mine in the east who claimed that he had discovered the secret of turning base metals into gold. And now he was dying painfully, with a mixture of old age and too many mercury fumes.

 

I travelled six weeks to find him, this humble purveyor of potions who claimed he had at last discovered the holy grail of alchemy. “A subtle change in the process” he claimed, made “all the difference”. But now, as he held this faintly glowing ochre solution in his hand there could be no mistaking. Master Mesata of Acacia had indeed turned sulphur and mercury in gold. There would be no living with him now.

 

And so I had spent the following weeks learning the concoction that would eventually destroy the art of the alchemist. Who would continue on the quest to find the perfect method, if now someone had discovered it already? Not I, that was certain. The hopes of fame and glory, of unspeakable wealth, and of instant legend were gone. All that remained was to learn the secret of which I had spent my life, my wealth, and my dreams, in desperate search. And now in doing so it was so simple. Just mix the base elements at such a temperature for such a time and add the…But telling you would render that night in vain.

 

Of course there was one alternative, of which I am not proud. The cold steel that slipped so gently behind his third rib seemed to have certain irony for a mixer of metals. And as I watched all his notes and books, the works of a lifetime, burn, it was not lost on me what I had done. Fame and all that came with it were mine now, but I turned from them. What pleasure could I derive from claiming the discovery of all time? If it was after all not mine but his? Instead I mixed a gentle potion to forget and left, destined to continue my search for the way, the means; the method of corrupting base metals to gold.

 

And somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I am sure I already know. But to remember could only lead to one thing..

 

 

*Finding the room empty he quitely places his application on the rather large and crowded desk. turning around he finds a chair and decides to wait. Here is just as good a place as any to mix a nice relaxing potion or two..*

 

 

-epinephrine

[musicevangelist]

*Musicevangelist wanders by and offers a selection of tasty musical delights to wile away the time*

[Mynx]

Wandering by, Mynx pokes her head in the doorway to see if anything new has exploded. Her senses picked up a new but familier scent, and she went in further to find epinephrine sitting in a corner.

Smiling at her new firend, she comes in and conjures up a chair to sit next to him.

With a wave of her paw, she summons his application to read, before replacing it once more on the overcrowded desk with a grin.

 

"Very nice. I think there is more to you than you let on my friend. I would like to know more."

 

Waving her paw, she summons a small coffee table, laden with ingrediants. She grins at the alchemist as she sets about making herself a drink.

 

"Coffee?"

[epinephrine]

Mumbling something about not getting splashed with neon, epinephrine accepts a coffee and relaxes back into his chair.

 

"Of course there is more to me than I let on. But I'm not one to drink coffee and tell all. Although I do have a potion for that somewhere here...Never mind. It is nice to have some company in this scary office however so perhaps a little intro to keep you entertained."

 

"I am a student. Not in that all too familiar worldly 'I go to school' sense. I am far too old for that. Rather in an always trying to learn something new kinda way. Doesn't even have to be a serious thing. I am a big fan of humour. I bet there are lots of cool people to meet at the pen and many things to learn. And who knows maybe I might even have a few things worth contributing?"

 

Seeing that Mynx is slowly falling asleep at his rambling (despite the excellent coffe), epinephrine shuts up and sits back to wait...

[cryptomancer]

A large black raven (with what looks suspiciously like treacle in his feathers) lands on the back of the chair.

 

Sitting still looking at Epinephrine, and glancing at the application on the table, the raven seems to grin. "Best part of the application process is the cobwebs, just wait, the spiders in here are worse than Australian ones."

 

[Tanuchan]

A small note can be seen over the table next to the application.

 

I enjoyed your tale, and I hope you enjoy being with us also. Welcome!

 

There's no name, just a wolf's paw printed at the end of the note.

 

[Gryphon]

A string of glowing lights parade into the recruiters office and start drifting randomly all over the place...

 

Several of them alight on the applicant and his visitors turning the air around them golden with a soft radiance somewhat similar to that of geld when struck by a light source.

 

One of the lights parades over to epinephrine's application by a circulus route avoiding the piles of paper and candy wrappers that litter Wyvern's office. Once there it hovers, somehow giving the impression of reading with interest the tale being told.

 

Slowly then, the lights start to gather in one location, directly beside Mynx and epinephrine before the light radiating from them starts to increase by an order of magnitude.

 

Shortly thereafter with a soundless explosion of light a Gryphon sits next to the applicant...

 

"Greetings... I've never met an alchemist before. Potions sound fun. Good to have you here joining us"

[Wyvern]

Epinephrine quietly sips from the coffee mug that Mynx had given him and happily glances towards each of the Pen members that had decided to keep him company in the Office, contemplating cryptomancers cobweb statement as he wonders what could be taking the Elder of Initiates such a long time to arrive. The applicant observes the intricate patterns of the spider webs that now occupy the corners of the reptilian Elders desk, and slowly reaches for his alchemist handbook as he considers the potential that cobwebs might have for being an ingredient for gold. His thoughts are interrupted, however, as the delicate cobwebs collapse when the Office door slams open and Wyvern comes barging into the room.

 

Wyvern dashes into the Office only to come to an immediate halt as he's immersed in Gryphons beautiful display of golden lights, his eyes widening in awe at the spectacle as his ears pick up on musicevangelists soothing tunes in the background. Sniffing at the air and smelling the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed coffee, Wyvern scratches his scaly head and slowly walks towards Melbas desk, only to find that the Almost Secretary of Initiates is absent from the Office. On the desktop next to where Melba would normally be seated lies a note written in elegant female handwriting, which seems to detail an admiration for Wyverns "tale/tail" and seems to express a desire for his presence. Wyvern stutters to himself and pockets the note, shaking his head in disbelief as he wanders towards his desk and pausing as he notices epinephrine sitting in an applicant easychair next to it.

 

"Wh-what is?" stammers Wyvern, his eyes growing wider by the minute. "Wh-who are?"

 

"I'm epinephrine." says epinephrine confidentally, extending an arm and shaking one of Wyverns claws. "And I'm an alchemist that has come in the hopes of making your aquian-"

 

"An alchemist?!" declares Wyvern, his head spinning and his jaw going agape. "You mean like someone who can turn ordinary materials into gold?!"

 

"Well, errr" mutters epinephrine. "Yeah, sort of."

 

"I don't believe it!" cries Wyvern ecstatically, catching epinephrine off guard as he suddenly breaks into a merry jig and begins dancing around the Office. "Ozymandias actually came through with every one of my demands! The room is immersed in the color of geld, Pen babes are leaving suggestive notes of admiration on my desktops, the Office is equiped with its own symphony in the background and a diner for freshly brewed coffee... I even have my very own alchemist for all of my geld demands! This is amazing, I wonder where the swimming pool of geld might be located?"

 

Epinephrine, Mynx, cryptomancer, Gryphon, and musicevangelist all stare at Wyvern oddly from their positions as the overgrown lizard hops, skips, and jumps towards the door to his closet, joyfully humming to the tune of "Money, Money, Money" as he unlocks it with his key and shouts:

 

"Xanthus, you are now officially free from my captivity, as Ozymandias has come through and complied with my long list of demands. Now go, make your way to the wonderful freedom of the Pen and enjoy an open social life with the rest of the membership. I want to welcome you once again to the Pen is Mightier than the Sword, and hope that you enjoy your stay outside of its closets."

 

Xanthus grumbles meekly, then slowly crawls out of the prison of the closet. He gradually makes his way across the floor of the Office and has just enough strength to turn the knob of the entrance door, which aids him be easing itself open. Smiling to himself, Xanthus exits into the freedom of the central halls of the Pen as Wyvern continues to dance about happily.

 

"Umm, Wyvern?" says epinephrine, turning towards the lizard and signaling with a hand to get his attention. "Will you be accepting my application now?"

 

Wyvern comes to an abrupt halt in his jig.

 

"Y-your application?"

 

At that moment, Gryphons illusion wears off and the Office becomes normally lit again. Wyvern frowns as he notices that there is no diner built into the Office and that the coffee was made for epinephrine, and goes sullen as musicevangelist stops playing his melodies in the background. Epinephrine cringes slightly as the overgrown lizard spends a long moment tearing the scales off of his head in frustration, then sighs in relief when the reptilian Elder briskly stamps his application ACCEPTED.

 

;-)

 

OOC: An ACCEPTED application, epinephrine, welcome to the Mighty Pen! I'm sorry that it took me such a long time to get to responding to this piece, I've been very busy with papers and projects recently and haven't had too much time to post. I look forward to reading more of your writing, as well as participating with you in several community activities. Be forewarned that Wyverns deep-founded devotion towards geld will probably cause him to follow epinephrine around like a moth to the flame. ;-)