Alie's Enchanted Shield Brew

In the hottest days of summer, I was packing my suitcase to go on vacation to Egypt. A small fan in the room was trying to cool my forehead, damp with sweat.

One day from now, I would be swimming in the sea. It was worth the hassle of packing. Once I was sure I had packed everything, I decided to call Alie to see if she was available to take care of my keys. She said she had just made coffee, so I happily went to her.

Passing through the cool shade of branches cutting through the summer sun, I reached the veranda and found her in her usual spot. Smiling behind her glasses, she said, "Welcome. Come, it's cool here. Let's have a coffee before you hit the road."

After chatting for a while, she mentioned she had prepared something for me inside. She returned with a blue-colored spray bottle made of glass. "If you spray this, no pests or mosquitoes will come near you." Once again, she had saved the day. Pesky insects had ruined many of my holidays. A rolled-up paper was hanging around the neck of the bottle. "If you find a convenient time on your journey, you can read the note. It's about a woman whose footprints you might see in Egypt... Anyway, go catch your flight. Have a wonderful vacation!"

I packed the bottle into my suitcase and set off. When I arrived at the hotel in Egypt, I hadn't thought about Alie's note until I unpacked my suitcase. I settled under the shade of one of the large umbrellas lined up on the hotel's beach and began to read.

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Many significant names left their mark on Egyptian history. One of them was Hypatia. Born around 370 BC, this woman was the daughter of Theon, a successful mathematician at the time and a pagan queen. She was the first female mathematician, astronomer, and scientist in ancient Alexandria. She also had an interest in occult sciences and enjoyed studying her mother's pagan teachings. Her mother lived away from the city with her aunts. Hypatia regularly visited them, sometimes staying to participate in rituals, and then returning to her studies at the school.

At that time, Christianity was just beginning to spread. Hypatia believed in religious freedom, did not intrude into others' domains, and expected the same respect in return. However, the opposing side not only failed to show this respect but also wanted to eliminate this strong woman.

Nevertheless, Hypatia managed to protect herself and her teachings for years. She had students from distant cities and taught them what she knew. She worked in the Library of Alexandria, where thousands of parchments were mixed with the dusty pages of history, until she fell into a trap...

A week ago, when she went to see her mother and aunts, she sensed something strange. At sunset, she reached the house near the forest and caught the three elderly women murmuring a hymn among the trees, holding hands. A marble dish stood on the pedestal between them. The fresh water inside it moved subtly in the breeze blowing through the lips that played faintly, showing something to the focused eyes. When the ritual ended and the murmurs ceased, her mother, eyes filled with fear, took Hypatia by the arm and guided her home. She told her that she was in great danger now and must stay away from the city, staying here with her.

But Hypatia couldn't accept that. She couldn't leave her students and her work to escape a few bigoted men. Her mother knew she couldn't convince her daughter. Destiny had written this. She could see it in her determined eyes. Still, if she could stay with her one more day, she wanted to prepare a mixture for her. She instructed her to apply this mixture to her body every day. She hoped this mixture would protect her daughter from villains; wizards, poisons, and pests. But the only way to change what was written in fate was to convince her to stay with her.

That evening, Hypatia celebrated the summer solstice with her mother and aunts. Her mother arranged the essential oils and other ingredients she would use in the mixture: Citronella oil, basil oil, eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil, thyme oil, clove oil, and lemongrass essence.

She prepared the mixture in a dark-colored bottle to protect it from sunlight. She added each oil according to its intensity of scent and mixed a total of 50 drops of oil mixture into lemongrass essence to make a body lotion.

If anyone with malicious intent approached her daughter, this scent would deceive them and send them far away. On her way back home, Hypatia applied the lotion.

A her first stop she came across a snake that startled her horse on the road. As soon as she got off her horse, the snake disappeared among the rocks ran away with the scent of the lotion. Then she saw the flies gathered in the scorching heat of the sun and reached out her hand. All the flies quickly disappeared into the forest. Hypatia quickly set off again on her way. After a while, she met missionaries on the road. These men were cruel, bigoted, and hated Hypatia. They decided not to stop her when they saw her with her horse, they didn’t even recognise her.

Thanks to the amazing mixture her mother prepared, she was almost invisible. But this contradicted her outlook on life. Living hidden and hiding behind this charm... Keeping silent in fear.

She had been smart and hardworking since childhood among her peers. From her twenties, she was seen as a wise person consulted and had long surpassed her father in fields such as mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. In her thirties, she was respected as both a teacher and a scientist. Therefore, she had a determined and confident character. She also had her mother's expertise in plants and the ability to use the magic of nature. Nevertheless, fairness was always her priority. She could never stand injustice. Therefore, apart from researching natural magic and conducting personal studies, she never used it on other people.

Weeks passed. Hypatia now only saw fear and torture in the streets of what was once a place where songs were sung, philosophical discussions were held, science and art crafted. Her mother's mixture was almost running out. She was a warrior, perhaps, but believed in the power of words. Maybe the time had come. The missionaries who were watching for her absence soon infiltrated her classes and then entered the minds of her students. People confused fear and love, compassion and compliments. Unfortunately, the mixture her mother prepared couldn't resist these people whose brains were washed. Hypatia decided to take her books and important parchments to her mother. She couldn't allow this treasure to be burned in any attack. Reports of arson and attacks had become frequent in various parts of the city. She loaded her horse early one morning and set off at full speed through the stone streets of Alexandria. She passed through the crowd without being seen and silently left the city. Her mother knew why her daughter had come. She tried again to convince her to hold her and stay, but her daughter responded to her words with love and only wanted to ensure the safety of her belongings. After that, her mother took Hypatia to a remote cave, where no one except herself knew. Together they hid her books, parchment, and notebooks in this cave. Then they performed a ritual to seal the door.

Unfortunately, Hypatia wasn't alone in doing all this. As soon as she left home, the assassins of the missionaries went to her mother's house to find evidence to take to the bishop.

They brutally attacked the house and killed her entire family. They also took the strange objects they found in the poor woman's house as evidence and returned to the city.

The evidence was enough to label Hypatia as a witch and infidel. When she was teaching in the school that day, one of her students suddenly attacked her with aggressive words and actions. This rise was followed by a murmur and then chaos in the class. Hypatia, who didn't resist much was dragged out of the classroom by two big students. She lost the battle on the only front where she fought, against bigotry. Then she was ruthlessly thrown into the street and tortured with sharp seashells and killed. They were so afraid of her that they burned the remaining pieces of her.

But Hypatia managed to hide all the pages she passed on to her wisdom in the cave for centuries. No missionary, soldier, or fire seal ever broke it.

                                                                                  

I also prepared a protective lotion for you. Of course, mine was made to work against insects, but you know I never leave without a magical touch.

Let it be your shield during your adventures!