VAN HELSING'S STUDY

still hangs in the morning air. You walk into your study – wooden floors worn smooth by late-night pacing and contemplation – carrying a piping hot cup of your favorite spiced tea. This you set on the small table next to the still-warm hearth where a glass of bourbon from the night before remained with just a sip; a perfect dichotomy of night and day. You turn around and your eyes skim the books and journals that line the entirety of the wall behind your desk, their spines highlighted by the morning sunlight streaming through the window. You move closer to the old cedar shelves and reach up to strum across the titles before settling on one. You pluck a worn green book titled Folk Medicine from the shelf and with it, go sit in your favorite leather chair to read and review. As you settle in, the subtly sweet aroma of taupe-tinged paper wafts upwards as you thumb through the pages, finding what knowledge you could gleam from their depths. Sipping your tea, you absorb the holistic remedies and what ailments they could cure and mend.