Today will be our third and final day in the fragrant subterranean waters of planet Thror’s Scent Lab. The Napoleon’s Starship Kickstarter campaign is in full bloom, at 43% with 22 days to go and our noses are already thirsting for the sweet aroma of victory.

In the meantime, the Throrian Council of Scientists has allowed me to give you a privileged glimpse of some of their most prized scent-making tools and techniques. One of the most popular ingredients processed by the Scent Lab is essential oil of winged lizard egg.

This seemingly humble ingredient had profound symbolic value to the ancient Stratinites of planet Thror. The pure essence of the winged lizard egg was seen as a symbol of fertility and procreation and is still very popular for wedding perfumes and as a birthday gift for young Throrian ladies entering marriageable age. Understandably, there is a very high demand for this component and Throrian Scientists produce gallons of it every day.

The preferred method for obtaining essence of winged lizard egg is distillation – a process commonly used on Earth for plant-based material. The material to be distilled is placed in a massive water-filled cauldron-like contraption called a still and heated at a temperature just below boiling point. The vapors created by this process rise through cooled pipes where they condense back into liquid form. The resulting fragrant oil is collected in a flask.

The whole thing is enormously exciting in theory of course, but the process can take up to twenty-four hours depending on the substance being distilled. Hence, unfortunate Apprentice scent-makers are left alone in the dark with no companion but a steaming metal barrel while true Scientists go off to hone their exquisite senses over a nice lunch. And this goes on for days. Behold the grisly images that haunt the young apprentices’ nightmares:

The instant they dare close their eyes, they are violently jolted awake by the blood-curdling thought that the burbling still has overheated by fraction of a degree or that an errant tongue of flame has licked the bottom of the tank tainting the entire batch with with a burnt odor.

Turns out scent making is about more than delicate rose petals and provocatively-shaped bottles. It’s about blood, sweat and tears (just don’t get any of that into your freshly-distilled essential oils.)

Is your nose hungering to inhale yet more of the redolent secrets of planet Thror and get exclusive insights into how my background in animation influenced the creation of Napoleon’s Starship? You’re in luck! Join the Wayward Ravens and I on the Get In Toon! podcast LIVE today (July 31) at 9pm EDT. (That’s 4am August 1st if you’re with me in Egypt)

Napoleon’s Starship is burbling just as vibrantly through the cauldron of the Kickstarter still. Our Early Bird rewards are now officially gone, but there are still plenty of ways you can get involved. Rewards start at just $15 for a complete, full-color digital copy of the book and you can pledge as little as $1 for the reward of our eternal gratitude. If you’ve already pledged or can’t afford to do so but still want to see Napoleon’s Starship take flight, you can still jump aboard by sharing our link with everyone you know and helping us get the word out!

May your name be ever fragrant to the noses of Thror. Drop your scent notes into our perfume of victory by clicking the link below: