In a Glass Darkly, v. 2/3

The story opens in the spring of 1815, when a young Englishman fresh from the Waterloo victories sets off for Paris with a modest fortune and a taste for adventure. Along the busy highways he hears rumors of ancient potions—Vinum letiferum, Beatifica, Somnus Angelorum—relics of a medieval treatise on death and dreams. These whispered references to forgotten alchemy and secret brotherhoods nudge his curiosity, promising a puzzle that stretches from Egyptian verses to European taverns. As the continent hums with post‑war optimism, he finds himself drawn into a world where scholarship and superstition mingle.

His journey stalls near a tiny border town when a carriage overturned in the dusk, its occupants a veiled lady and a mute, swaddled gentleman. He lifts the stricken travelers, noting a striking red stork perched on a shield—an emblem of vigilance that seems to mark a hidden order. The encounter hints at a deeper conspiracy surrounding those elusive elixirs, pulling him into a labyrinth of intrigue that promises danger and revelation.