Oblivion: Analysis of Hist Sap

It appears that Hist Sap's effects are severely diminished by heating, so it is not practicable to separate the active ingredients by distillation, except for the most volatile, over the lowest of flames. It is therefore necessary to separate fractions by freezing instead, which can only be achieved with a good frost spell. I have managed to gather six distinct fractions from the sap in this manner.

The first of these is an oily liquid that remains after everything else has frozen. It has a strange bitter-sweet taste, and acts in a similar way to a poison of drain speed, except that the subject is also calmed. It will be useful in my experiments with the Minotaur if he gets too excited. I should also attempt to refine it by precipitations and other reactions to see if I can separate the effects.

At the opposite extreme is a thin liquid which evaporates from the mixture over the lowest heat. It does not appear to be a simple alcohol, or ether, but causes hallucinations of sparkling lights as well as a feeling of lightness and euphoria, with even a slight exposure to the vapor. This is again likely to be a composite that I should attempt to separate by reaction with standard reagents.

Light cooling will freeze out a crystalline greenish substance, which quickly melts again at normal temperatures to a bluish liquid. It has a salty taste and does not appear to produce much effect, but that is because it acts slowly to clear the mind. This enables greater concentration, but can also make one forget things more easily, so it is not yet something I can use. Again, more refinement may separate the effects and provide the clarity without the loss of memory, (and vice versa)

Harder to separate is a reddish oily liquid that stings the tongue, before sending one to sleep. It is also a laxative, which causes one to wake again quickly. More refinement needed here too. Since neither effect is present in the original mixture, there must be other parts that suppress these.

The two remaining fractions stubbornly form a slushy mixture at almost any temperature, and it is only be repeatedly freezing and filtering that reasonably pure samples can be obtained of either. Both are colorless, and they have opposite effects. One drains intelligence, and the other restores it. It is this latter fraction that will be the basis of most of my ongoing research.

I have taken samples of each fraction and combined them with known reagents to see if the usual reinforcement of effect applies. So far, the known rules of Alchemy appear to apply, but odd additional effects are showing up from time to time. Some of these are potentially useful, and I will note these as I come across them.

Potion #9 is a sign from the gods that my research is blessed! While its main effect is a regular Fortify Endurance, it appears to be a very specific kind. Upon giving it to the test subject, he exhibited an immediate erection, and sustained it for even longer than usual! I need to make more of this potion, as I know I can finance my entire project from the gold this will bring in!

In many cases, the expected Damage Health effect manifests by causing vomiting or nausea, but one particular mixture (Potion #16) where the main effect is Cure Disease, combines Damage Health and Silence at low levels to cure the hiccups. Since this is not a true disease, such a potion would not normally do this! I need to try some similar variations to see if I can find a hangover cure, too.

Many of the potions I have made are quite disappointing, being either indistinguishable from ordinary potions, or even weaker in some instances. Since I know that heat diminishes the effect of the original sap, this may be due to the use of heat in refing the potions. I need to repeat some of the mixtures using freeze-separation instead of distillation, to see if that is indeed the case.

I must keep reminding myself that it is only necessary to test each batch of potion #9 once. If I do too much testing I won't get any research completed!

Another two mixtures are showing promise. The first was a disappointment at first, a weak potion of Dispel that tasted really aweful, but then I discovered that as well as tasting like soap, it works like it, but even better! Another mixture that could bring in some gold.
The second variant had no taste, and doesn't work like soap either, but it's very slippery and I'm sure there's a use for that! If I can add a Cure Disease effect without losing its other properties, I have another one for Tsarrina to try.

I'm getting quite a few good results, although nothing is quite what I'm looking for, and it's getting hard to remember which potion does what. Since #9 is such a striking blue color, I think I'll add dyes to the others to make it easier to tell them apart - then perhaps I won't try to drink the soapy one!

I really need to decide on a logical scheme for the colors, but for now, just making them different will do. That, and putting a label on the bottle!

More progress: although it's not as much as I'd hoped for. Boo can now speak! The last potion has freed his tongue so he can now communicate, but it will be some time before he really masters speech. Now he can ask for what he needs.

It's good to know that he wants the same things I do. I don't feel so bad about making him drink all those potions now, as he's as eager to find the one that unlocks his mind as I am. He tells me that some of the potions that taste bad to me are quite pleasant to him, and vice versa. That must have something to do with why they often affect him in different ways, too. (Potion #9 does nothing when I drink it)

That reminds me that I should make sure that it works on men and mer, and not just Minotaurs! I don't feel comfortable going out and finding another test subject, which is strange for a Dunmer, but I know just how to get those tests done, and if I send some to Falanu, she'll test it in ways others wouldn't!

Some other interesting results have come up. The skin lotion one should be another good seller, but I'm not getting any closer to what I need for Boo.

I think I'll need some other ingredients with new effects, and I've heard rumors that travelers to the Shivering Isles have returned with some. Since anyone who goes there comes back mad, I can't trust the reports, but if anything is to be found that affects the mind, it surely will be present there.