Medicinal herbs are a critical part of the kingdoms surrounding Pinefalls, and winter’s breath is one of the most common bases for medicinal tinctures and tonics. On Earth, mentha is commonly used for teas, cold remedies, and flavoring for beverages and food. In the world of Pinefalls, winter’s breath is much like mentha but with a twist; it grows at the tail end of winter just as the snows begin to melt and flourish in early spring with the bush dying back in the summer and the fall.
Winter’s breath is a critical pollinator, and it is revered as the harbinger of the harvest. Herbalists begin harvesting winter’s breath when the plants begin to flower, enabling the plants to spread. Seeds are harvested for indoor growth for year round concocting of medications, requiring special charms to maintain the conditions required for the plants to thrive.
Those who have mastered the art of domesticating winter’s breath are held in high regard.
The most basic winter’s breath tonic is made as follows:
In a cleaned mortar, crush three fresh winter’s breath leaves into a fine paste. Douse with steaming water, add a pinch of sweet cane (raw sugar), and stir the mixture in the mortar with the pestle before pouring into a vessel before topping off with more steaming water.
Allow to cool for two to three minutes before consuming while still warm.
The leaf is to be consumed when made from fresh winter’s breath.
For dried leaves, place the leaves into fine cheesecloth before crushing with a pestle and steeping in a vessel with steaming water until cool enough to drink.
The winter’s breath satchel may be used twice, with the second steeping being of lower potency than the first.
The satchel is then emptied, where the cheesecloth is cleaned and prepared for use once more.
This tonic is commonly used in the later winter at the start of picking season to ward off spring illnesses.
Boiling water is not used to steep winter’s breath; the herb’s potency is diminished should the temperature be too high when making the tonic.