There are six disciplines taught at the Seminary of Magic on Androva: Combat, Remedies, History, Living Magic, Physical and Manipulation. Today's post is about Remedies.

I'm going to leave it to one of my characters to explain more, (see early extract from book six below), but the most straightforward definition of Remedies is that they are spells in a bottle. Their primary purpose is medicinal, and a skilled Remedax is able to create sophisticated combinations to treat all manner of illnesses and injuries. However, they can also be used to entertain and confuse, for good reasons and bad, depending on the circumstances and the magician.

Here is what Galen thinks about Remedies when he begins to learn them at the Seminary of Magic:

Remedies took me a long time to learn. I could create the spells, I just couldn’t turn them into remedies.
Spell projection, in the traditional way, was much easier. I could use one or both hands, I could increase or decrease the intensity, I could start and stop as I wished. I tended to adjust spells as I went along, according to how my force field was responding.
However, all remedies, from the most basic to the most complicated, required a completely standardised output of magical energy.
Twenty drops per small bottle, and each drop had to be identical, falling from our fingertips like glittering tears. Different colours according to whichever remedy we were creating.
“No,” said Professor Minra for about the hundredth time. How she managed not to raise her voice, I don’t know. I was close to yelling with frustration.
“This is not an intuitive spell, Galen.” She sighed, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind one ear. “It is learnt and then followed precisely. Any remedy you produce will be dangerous unless you can distill your magic properly.”
Evander had a whole row of different coloured bottles next to him, freshly filled with Headache, Fever, Sleep and Portal Remedies. He gave me a slightly smug smile.
“Professor’s pet,” I grumbled.
“Hilarious,” he countered, “coming from you. You do realise you’re top of the class in everything else?”
Well, on balance, I suppose I didn’t think that particular insult through.
I couldn’t come up with a reply, and he grinned.

If you could design your own remedy, what would you create? Something practical or perhaps something more fun? I hope you enjoyed today's post and thank you for reading!