"There's something else that you probably should know as well. It doesn't effect you much now since you aren't allowed to go past the garden. But in the future, you might have the opportunity to do so, so it would be a good thing for you to be aware of."
Ari'sora finished checking the cloth squares, which had taken on a light purple color. Then she turned to her mother curiously. It wasn't like her to willingly volunteer information about the outside world like this, and Ari'sora was very curious about what she had to say.
"Your sister bought these mulberries at Petyr's Pots & Potions. You can also grow a lot of things in a garden if you know how to do so. But a lot of people gather the plants they need to make dyes and herbal remedies from the wild. If the plant you need grows in your area, and it happens to be in season when you need it, it is often cheaper to do just that. Especially if the plant in question is expensive. Gathering your own will also allow you to sell any extra to earn some nels."
Ari'sora nodded to show that she was listening. She checked the cloth squares again, then turned back to her mother.
"If you do ever get the chance to forage for your own dye making plants and herbs, it is very important that you are careful when doing so. Don't ever take more than two thirds of what you find out in the wild. By leaving some behind, you ensure that it will grow back so that there will be more in the future."
Her mother hesitated.
"You might be part...of him..." she said, shuddering with hatred, and revulsion mixed with more than a little fear.
"But you are part Sev'ryn as well. And the Sev'ryn love nature. We cherish it. We love the forests especially, of course, but we cherish all life. I think...I hope that you can feel at least a part of that even though you are his child.
Ari'sora nodded. She knew that she loved nature, She always had for as long as she could remember. It was good to know where she had gotten that intense love of nature from.
"I want you to promise me that you will never do anything that might hurt something connected to nature without need."
"I promise, mother." Ari'sora said softly.
"Good. I will hold you to that. Now get back to work." her mother said gruffly.
Ari'sora jumped to obey. The squares of cloth were a darker shade now, but she didn't think they were quite ready yet. Not if they were going to get lighter as they dried.
"If you're going to make a living in making and dying fabrics when you get older, you are going to need to know more than just how to make and use the dyes."
Ari'sora gave her a curious look, but said nothing. Her mother's expression warned that she didn't want to be interrupted right now.
"So. The value of a dye hinges on how rare it is. The more common a dye is, the less it is worth, and in turn, it adds less value to the article of clothing that is dyed in it."
Ari'sora nodded. It only made sense that the harder it was to get something, the more money it would be worth.
"Gold dye is the most expensive dye you can have. That is followed by red, purple, orange, yellow, green, blue, brown, black, and finally beige, which is the cheapest. Then you have the custom dyes. Those can be tricky to put a value on, but they usually tend to be on the more expensive side."
Ari'sora blinked in confusion. She had understood part of what her mother had said, but not all of it since her mother had fallen into speaking Xanthea again. Her mother frowned when she realized that her daughter hadn't understood. But she knew it wasn't her fault, so she didn't punish her for it. Instead, she simply repeated herself in a language her daughter would understand. Ari'sora thanked her, and repeated the color names that she had just learned in Xanthean in the hopes of saying them correctly, and getting them fixed in her mind so she would remember them.
"The most expensive dyes...they're expensive because they are more rare, right?"
Her mother nodded.
"Custom dyes, gold dyes, red dyes, and purple dyes are all considered to be rare."
Ari'sora glanced at the pot of dye thoughtfully.
"So the dye I made out of mulberries is a rare dye?"
Her mother nodded again.
"It is if the dye is made well, and if the item that is being dyed takes the color well. Experience plays a big part in it, too. The efforts of someone like you who is just starting to learn about dyes aren't going to be worth much."
That made sense to Ari'sora, so she nodded. Then she checked the cloth squares again. They looked a little darker than what she thought her mother wanted, so she carefully fished them out of the pot.
"I think these are ready now. Did I do it right?" she asked hopefully.
Her mother eyed them with a critical eye.
"Well, you remembered that they will be lighter when they dry, at least. It's not exactly the shade that I wanted, but it's close enough for a first try. You've earned your reading time."
Ari'sora wanted to jump and cheer with excitement at the thought of being able to read. But making any kind of a fuss was the quickest way of losing the reward she had just been granted. So she simply thanked her mother sincerely. Then she cleaned up the mess before racing off to read.
"Speech"
