lumps of coal began to glow a dull red colour. It was not long before the kettle had boiled, and the water poured into the pot. The flutemaker noticed two immaculately carved wooden chairs near the stove as Derawangi invited him to have a seat. From another drawer he produced two cups. After letting the brew sit awhile Derawangi carefully poured the very dark tea into the cups and handed the one to the flutemaker. The hot drink tasted slightly bitter but not unpleasant. “Interesting brew” he remarked. “Ah yes, my own concoction” replied Derawangi “a choice of herbs to help make things more interesting. Herbs can be good for that, Mr flutemaker. A pinch of jiaogulan, ashitaba and ashwagandha to help bring everything into balance, a little khat, vacha, brahmi and rauwolfia to get those mental juices flowing freely. And of course, a few others that you really don’t need to know about. We could say it’s a nebulous but not too nefarious a nectar. All in all, it should be very relaxing and perhaps it may even help us to see our world a little bit clearer. Possibly we may even perceive the world as it truly is”. Derawangi again laughed as if he had just made a wonderful joke but the flutemaker was too busy worrying about those other unnamed herbs. Though he doubted any names would have meant any more to him than the ones he had just heard. He felt a calmness come over him after the first sip of the tea. As he sipped some more and reclined deeper into the comfortable seat, all his concerns faded to mere background chatter in his mind. He felt the repressed tiredness that had accumulated in his body after all he had been through to arrive in Magentaria. Despite the weariness in his body, his mind felt clear, alert and lucid. Derawangi was obviously also
lumps of coal began to glow a dull red colour. It was not long before the kettle had boiled, and the water poured into the pot. The flutemaker noticed two immaculately carved wooden chairs near the stove as Derawangi invited him to have a seat. From another drawer he produced two cups. After letting the brew sit awhile Derawangi carefully poured the very dark tea into the cups and handed the one to the flutemaker. The hot drink tasted slightly bitter but not unpleasant. “Interesting brew” he remarked. “Ah yes, my own concoction” replied Derawangi “a choice of herbs to help make things more interesting. Herbs can be good for that, Mr flutemaker. A pinch of jiaogulan, ashitaba and ashwagandha to help bring everything into balance, a little khat, vacha, brahmi and rauwolfia to get those mental juices flowing freely. And of course, a few others that you really don’t need to know about. We could say it’s a nebulous but not too nefarious a nectar. All in all, it should be very relaxing and perhaps it may even help us to see our world a little bit clearer. Possibly we may even perceive the world as it truly is”. Derawangi again laughed as if he had just made a wonderful joke but the flutemaker was too busy worrying about those other unnamed herbs. Though he doubted any names would have meant any more to him than the ones he had just heard. He felt a calmness come over him after the first sip of the tea. As he sipped some more and reclined deeper into the comfortable seat, all his concerns faded to mere background chatter in his mind. He felt the repressed tiredness that had accumulated in his body after all he had been through to arrive in Magentaria. Despite the weariness in his body, his mind felt clear, alert and lucid. Derawangi was obviously also