The air hissed around River and he flinched a little. Hot air and water were erupting from a geyser near him and his ears twitched as a reaction to the unfamiliar noise.
“This is the last time I’m doing Cinder any favors”, he muttered and carefully made his way across the walkway that meandered its way through the toxic wasteland that was Zevjia.
Hot springs, fumaroles and the already mentioned geysers formed a bizarre landscape around him and the purple elnin didn’t enjoy his trip one bit - but he had promised Cinder to take a look and collect a sample of a rare plant that could sometimes be found in the hot springs in this area. He did refuse bringing a kittom with him though - he could barely manage to keep himself from tumbling down into a watery grave, the last thing he needed was a hyperactive kittom that wanted nothing more than face plant directly into the next hot spring.
River carefully observed his surroundings and looked for hints that the plant was growing nearby. In one of the hot springs, he got lucky.
“Gotcha~”, he grinned. The voice of Cinder was echoing through his head, as he slowly made his way off the beaten path and onto the rocky terrain.
“It’s called Emberleaf Algae. It can actually live in the hostile habitat of the hot springs. Look out for what seems like a delicate network of thin, translucent fronds, that shimmer in a faint reddish-orange hue. Its thin and see-through structure allows it to very efficiently capture sunlight for photosynthesis, while its thick membrane protects it from the corrosive effects of the spring's harsh chemicals.
If you take a closer look, you’ll notice that the fronds are very textured in order to filter and absorb every little bit of minerals and nutrients from the toxic waters, and essentially utilizing them to fuel its growth and metabolism. The fronds of mature plants stretch and intertwine over time to form a dense carpet-like layer on top of the springs ."
As River got closer to the hot spring he had spotted in the distance, he recognized the Emberleaf Algae in the water. The algaes' coloration was indeed a striking feature and Cinder had severely understated how colorful it would be amongst the waters - with hues reminiscent of smoldering embers at dusk, shades of fiery reds and oranges dominate its palette. It looked so very different from what River was used to. The colors seemed to shift and blend as light broke through the water, casting ever-changing patterns of iridescence upon the algaes surface. and making the tiny golden dots sprinkled throughout sparkle.
Almost alienating.
Then again, this was a feeling he had every time he traveled through Zevjia. Everything looked different to what he was used to, it was so foreign and strange, even though it was a part of Eyre, just like every other region.
The elnin carefully took out some tools and gloves; the plant was highly toxic of course - given its natural environment, it filtered the toxins from the hot springs and amped up the concentration inside its own cells. It was a highly potent ingredient in certain potions, but the harvest had to be done quite carefully. No skin contact was allowed whatsoever, especially with the algae that had already formed a carpet on the hot spring, since these were older plants and the toxin concentration in them was even higher.
River carefully cut through the plant, which was thankfully quite easy. With silver tongs, he grabbed samples of the plant and placed them inside glass vials he had filled with hot spring water. Cinder had requested a live sample for further studies, and River huffed quietly.
“That fluffy bastard definitely got the better deal out of this…”
