Adirelle
Herbalist
Alchemist
I had discovered, early in my researches, that their doctrine was no mere chemical fantasy, but a philosophy they applied to the world, to the elements, and to man himself.
~W. B. Yeats, Rosa Alchemica
Adirelle
Herbalist
Alchemist
I had discovered, early in my researches, that their doctrine was no mere chemical fantasy, but a philosophy they applied to the world, to the elements, and to man himself.
~W. B. Yeats, Rosa Alchemica
Adirelle, a human girl, barely twenty, making her way in the world as an herbalist. Newly released from her apprenticeship, she has moved from her hometown to make a new living and a place for herself, where she will be both needed and wanted. Yet she desires more than that...
This is a gift I have, a foolish extravagant spirit, full of forms, figures, shapes, ideas, apprehensions, motions, revolutions, these are begot in the ventricle of memory...
~William Shakespeare
Having settled into her new home and occupation, and at last having a steady income, she is free to pursue an old interest. Her passion for healing has long been her love, and the study of alchemy, the pursuit of a panacea, has obsessed her for years. And, at last, she is free to work upon her great remedy at last...to heal not one, but all.
The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource, adding color and suspense to our lives. ~Daniel J. Boorstin
Adirelle's work has potentially dangerous consequences, however, and although her motives are clean, not all can see that. And there are some who live for the purpose of distracting the adventurous away from their dangerous quests: the leannan sidhe. One is dispatched to distract Adirelle away from her cure. And if Terion Sarun cannot distract her, he must take a more permanent course of action...simply, kill her.
And though no one's to blame,
It's a crime and a shame,
But it's true all the same,
It's a dangerous game.
~Leslie Bricusse, Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical Thriller
Adirelle is ensnared swiftly by the sidhe's charms, yet cannot be swayed from her intention to create her cure. Terion, realizing that she means only good, finds it hard to carry out the directions he was given. The hearts and minds of both tangle together...and who can say how it will end?
It's like being lost in the wood. Everything and nothing points the way toward home. Every path is tangled; neither sun nor moon shed any light on the matter.
~Patricia McKillip, Winter Rose
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