This is a particularly well loved copy of Practical Botany of Coerthas, volume two.
Inside the book are several additions, be they
slips of paper that have been added onto existing pages, or notes
scribbled into the margins either correcting, adding into, or omitting
the information written in favor of what the writers viewed to be more
accurate. There are three sets of handwriting, two that are initialed --
LG and CNG --, and one that is not. While the first two's penmanship
are standard affair for nobles, the third's is rather shaky, as if the
writer had trouble holding onto a quill.
The notes between the
first two detail a rather charming back and forth between father and
son, discussing what wild plants to crossbreed into their domesticated
strains to improve crop yield or some such. Though it is worth
mentioning some notes are simple observations, such as noting a favorite
flower of someone else in their family, or a plant that is good for
fevers.
The book itself looks like it has been read cover to cover
for an eternity, pages rough and warped from water exposure. An inhale
leaves the taste of age and ash on the tongue, though some effort has
been made to press newer flowers into the pages to see if the scents can
be pulled out from it. It is clear that the deep faded blue cover is a
personalized one, emblazed with what is presumably a family crest that
has long since fallen to decay. On the back cover is the crest in full,
printed in stubborn ink, and a small chain of names. The crest is of a
scythe being held by an arm from behind a knight's helm, a blending of
agriculture and heroics.
The names are as follows:
Lonato to Christophe to Ashleigh
to long harvests and bright summers, dedicated to you.
This is volume two of a once popular botanical atlas that covered all of the known flora of the Coerthan region of Ishgard. It has a particular focus on the Coerthas Western Highlands and parts of Dravanian Forelands, narrowing in on different types of flowers and herbs that can be used for cooking, medical, and farming applications.