Etta anxiously tapped her foot and fiddled with her cardigan as more students filled the room. Closely observing classmates walking in, a familiar face lit up her large doe eyes! It was her dorm mate Sloane. Etta released a sigh of pure relief when Sloane took a spot next to her and returned her dorm mate’s nod.
THANK MERLIN.
Good. Good. Good!
The foot tapping stopped but the fiddling continued. Her anxiety was quite prevalent but being around someone she deems safe eased her mind. Then another dorm mate, Florence, took a seat next to them at their table and the youngling felt even more relieved. Etta gave her a nod as well. This was turning out to be a good day, so far.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
Etta took a deep breath just as her professor advised her. ”Yes.” Etta sheepishly smiled at Professor Liu and nodded in understanding.
Go. Go. Go.
Henrietta bravely pushed herself off her seat and nervously made her way to desserts. When she got there she took another deep breath and packed a few cookies in a napkin to bring to her table, for her and her dorm mates to enjoy as well. She also tucked a Latin book under her arm for today’s lesson.
Good job, Etta.
Her chest tightened, not from anxiety (well slightly) but from how proud she was feeling about herself at this moment. Thank you, Professor Liu.
Henrietta helped herself to a cookie whilst she listened to Professor Liu’s lesson and instructions. Now, Latin was not something the youngling was too familiar with. However, she did understand what the language meant in regards to how spells and charms are created.
Opening the book she took a paper and pencil to first plan out the theme of the root she was aiming for, then write down the charm and spells that go with it. Followed by creating a few of her own. As she read through a few Latin root words, phonetically they sounded true to the spell or charm derived from them and their abilities. Etta used her love for nature as her theme and wrote down the word: Herb.
Pretty self explanatory, she then wrote down: Herbivicus. Why? Well this was her foster grandmother’s charm of choice as it made the plants in her garden grow faster. Now she had her theme and her root with a charm. But she wanted to go a step further and create a charm of her own. Studying the book closely she had a clear vision of what the charm was intended to do: heal, so she looked up the root for cure: cūra. Etta tapped her chin:
herb + cūra
Etta wrote down the name: herbicurio. It might sound silly but it was hers and her charm would heal the body.
Her thoughts took a curious turn and she found the Latin word for poison: vena...mentally creating the name: herbivenum. It would be the opposite of herbicurio. Obviously. Not wanting to draw any sort of attention to herself (or an investigation), Etta kept that charm locked in the chamber of her mind.
A small smirk formed on her lips.
Now for the tree. Etta began sketching a cherry blossom tree. Her favorite (besides bonsai trees). The word herb beautifully intertwined in the roots of the tree and the branches filled with the blossoms, respectively intertwined with Herbivicus and Herbicurio. Brainstorming continued as she drew more branches and blossoms. |