Goldenweed Oil

Goldenweed Oil is a very poisonous oil produced from the seeds of the Goldenweed, which can be refined to produce a number of products, the most important of which is a solvent that is a key ingredient in producing the magical inks used by many Magi to record their spells. Other products include a weatherproof wood stain used in the construction of Welkin Gnome structures, lamp oil and, ironically, a popular seasoning.

Processing

Initial preparation

When cut Goldenweed is brought up from below, the first step is to thresh the weeds, separating out the seeds from the long stalks of the weed. The stalks are dried and broken up into fibres, These fibres are then washed in the solvent produced from the oil to extract any oil that might have worked its way into the fibres during the threshing process, before being either twisted into rope or woven into a coarse fabric. Meanwhile, the seeds are heated and then pressed to extract the oil. Typically there are three cycles of heating and then pressing to extract the oil. The solvent/oil mixture used to wash the fibers is periodically added to the pressed oil to be processed the same way.

Poison to Seasoning

The first step of processing the oil requires it to be heated in a bath of boiling water continuously for 72 hours. This causes the more volatile components of the oil, including the poison, to steam off from the oil. This is done in a large modified alembic that keeps the oil bulb in a cauldron of boiling water. After the 72 hours has passed, the volatiles are removed for further processing.
Next, a quicklime is mixed with water to form a paste, then added to the volatiles, forming a precipitate that removes the poison from the mixture. Once it settles out, the remaining mixture is used as one of the ingredients for the wood stain, along with resin collected from the Gossamer Oak. Meanwhile, the precipitate is then transferred to a solution of aqua fortis, which neutralizes the corrosive properties of the lime. Finally, the solution is then heated in a sealed cask to allow the remaining chemicals to react fully, denaturing the poison into a form that is not harmful. Finally, the solution is transferred to another alembic, which is boiled dry. This leaves a salt that can be used as a fertilizer, and a syrup containing modified poison, now a sauce with a strong umami flavour that causes a pleasant tingling on the tongue.

Refining the Oil

After the volatiles are removed, the water bath is also removed to allow the oil itself to be heated for another 72 hours to distill a smokeless flammable lamp oil, leaving a powerful solvent behind. Some of this solvent is used to clean future batches of Goldenweed fibres to ensure none of the raw, poisonous oil is allowed out of the refinery. The majority is used by Magi and others for a variety of purposes, most notably as the base ingredient in producing the magically infused inks needed for several forms of magic.

Taste

Bitter, numbing

Color

Golden yellow

Common State

Liquid