Alchemy Theory

Theory and Applications of Alchemy in the Present Brightening
Collected, Researched, and Penned by Embersnot Denegcheald

(A Supplemental to the General Concordance on Alchemy.)

Throughout its long history, alchemy has always been a solitary science, both by choice as well as by necessity. The general public simply does not understand the workings of the inquisitive mind. They are not ready to question what they see, nor do they even want to. Why? Because it takes a special brand of intelligence to painstakingly mark every small advance and every tiny observation in order to compile a collection of knowledge that just barely touches all that there is too know. Very few will become alchemists because of inability and lack of desire.

Now, however, I, Embersnot Denegcheald, Alchemist Extraordinaire of Jaedaxia and yours truly, is taking the knowledge gathered by those scientists hiding in their basements and putting it into this treatise, to give all of the Empire a sense of what has been accomplished under their very eyes. This oh-so-secretive school of wisdom will drop its shroud of darkness so that it can gain the prestige it deserves as the only pursuit truly concerned with understanding how things are.

The Character, Properties, and Identity of Matter:

To an alchemist, only two things exist – Matter, and Aether. Since we cannot touch Aether it is difficult to study, so we direct most of our attention to Matter. We are not magicians; we do not care about Ara and Vis and all that nonsense. Matter is what we know. At its core, alchemy seeks to observe and therefore understand and therefore manipulate Matter in such a way as would be beneficial to the mortal races.

Matter itself is what every object is composed of. It encompasses all the physical properties that we can experience and describe. For example, a rock is Matter with the properties of being hard, of being a certain color, and of being a particular shape and size. In alchemy, we are concerned with how the Matter properties of an object will affect its manipulation. An Alchemist is not a collector. We are not interested in raw materials. Instead, we are interested in making those raw materials become something else.

Matter has three recorded forms: solid, aqua, and caos. All things in the Material Plane must be one of these forms.

Solid. Solid is the easiest to understand. I am in solid form. When I am hit, I will fall down. You cannot walk through me. You can cut me into smaller pieces, even grind me into a dust that flies through the air, but I will still be solid until you perform some Alchemy process on me. I am stiff, rigid, and hold my shape, all properties of solid. You can grab me and hold me. I have a weight.

Aqua. Aqua is what we recognize as the normal form of the seas. When you dip your hand into the ocean, you can feel the water on your skin but you cannot grasp it in your hand. It slips through your fingers. If I were to throw water at you, you would probably not fall down; you would only be wet. Aqua is free and can bend and reshape itself. If I pour something in the aqua form into a circular bowl, and then a square bowl, it will change shape. Things in the aqua also have weight, but this isn’t as obvious as it was for solid since aqua must be in a container. If you were to swim to the bottom of a lake, however, you would feel the weight of the aqua above you on your chest. This is how we know there must be weight.

Caos. Caos is the least understood form of Matter as you cannot see it nor grasp it. While solid you can see and grasp and aqua you can see, caos you can do neither. It is the Matter that blows past your cheek with a breeze. It is the Matter that carries the heat from a boiling pot of water to your hand far above. We cannot see caos so we cannot study it, but we know it must exist, something must transfer these things.

Matter can often changes forms, whether without intervention or with. It is important to note, however, that changing forms is also a result of an Alchemy process, whether it is performed in a laboratory or in nature itself.

Melting turns a solid into aqua. Its opposite is Freezing, turning aqua into solid.

Sublimation is when solid goes to caos. Its opposite is Deposition, where a caos becomes a solid.

Evaporation transforms aqua into caos. Its opposite is Condensation, when caos becomes aqua.

It is important to note that although every thing consisting of Matter must take one of the three forms, having the same form does not mean the objects are the same. For example, aqua regia is aqua and so is water. But if you were to pour water on gold, nothing would happen, while the aqua regia would dissolve it. So the form the Matter takes describes basic principles about the object, but it does not describe everything.

A Note on Aether:

While I mentioned before that we, as Alchemists, did not spend much time studying Aether as we cannot see it, it is important to remember that it does exist, and it is as much a part of the universe as Matter. Whole treatises could be devoted to the characterization and understanding of Aether, but I will not do such a thing here, as I intend to focus mainly on the description and elaboration of Matter and its Alchemical properties and transformations. Perhaps later, with the indulgence of my dear reader, I will put pen to paper with my understandings of Aether and its importance to an Alchemist.

On the Two Universal, Untouchable Laws:

For the past hundred patterns, Alchemists have known the Two Laws. They were originally proposed by a Kemite man named Stratyet Whys, and then later added to by another Suld Werdc. They are as follows.

Law One: The transformation of material requires the performance of a process of Alchemy.

Law Two: When an Alchemical process is performed on material, the amount of resulting material must be equal to the amount of starting.

Law One is obvious. This rock in my hand will not become something else unless I do something to it. I will not become something else unless I do something to it. Once I do perform an Alchemy process on an object, however, it will be transformed. It is important to note that every process leads to a transformation, whether this is observable or not. When an Alchemist performs a process on the object, it is transformed, though this may or may not be immediately evident. This leads into the second law.

Law Two, at first glance, seems obvious as well. If I put three eggs into this basket, perform a process, I should get the same amount in resulting material as the three eggs. Now, in some processes, this doesn’t seem possible. When a log on a fire is burned, it turns into ash that weighs a great deal less than the original log. I will, however, remind the reader that we, as Alchemists, accept that Aether exists. Thus we know that when a process is performed, whatever material we do not get back in the results must have converted to Aether. This is always true by Law Two.

Now, the inquisitive mind will ask if it is possible to convert Aether back to Matter. This has been observed, notably by one Therv Nyk fifty patterns ago. This event is rare and unpredictable. Aether is a tricky subject, so it is impossible to tell whether a process will produce more Aether or convert Aether back to Matter. What is important for the aspiring Alchemist to understand, however, is the principle of Law Two. The total sum of Matter and Aether must equal at the end of any process, unequivocally.

Observations on the Nature of Alchemy Processes:

Now that my dear reader understands the underlying principles on which Alchemy is built, we can progress to the true heart of Alchemy – observation. It is important to understand that Alchemy is an entirely empirical science. We have based our understanding of Matter and Aether and even the formulation of the Two Laws on what we observe in our laboratories as well as nature itself. We’re not philosophers or priests or theologians. We simply seek to describe what we see and understand it in hopes of manipulating it to other ends.

That said, one of the easiest ways we have to understand Matter and Aether at the core is by performing the processes of Alchemy in various objects and observing the results. It is important for an Alchemist to know when a process has occurred, as some can take candlemarks and others cycles to run to completion. Here I list some basic physical observations an Alchemist can make in order to determine whether a process has been completed.

Form change. When starting material is in one particular form of matter and then transforms into another by the basic relations outlined before, it is quite obvious that an Alchemical process has occurred. Thus any transformation from any of the three fundamental forms of Matter to any other indicates the performance of a process.

Color change. When the color of the starting material changes, it is evidence that an Alchemical process has occurred.

Temperature change. This alternation in nature can be much harder to observe. If, however, an Alchemist can observe steam rising or a dramatic increase or decrease in the hotness or coldness of the apparatus, it is clear that an Alchemical process has occurred. Matter does not change its temperature arbitrarily.

Smell change. When the scent of the starting material changes, it may be concluded that an Alchemical process has occurred.

Loss of Matter. By Law Two, an Alchemist can be assured that resulting material must equal starting material. One also must remember, however, the balance between Matter and Aether. If an Alchemist finds that resulting material is less than starting, it can be concluded that an Alchemical process has occurred that has transformed some Matter into Aether.

The Responsibility of the Alchemist:

Whenever performing a process, it is important for the aspiring Alchemist to remember to carefully record everything done, including starting materials, process performed, and results observed, and any other surrounding conditions. Since Alchemy is entirely an empirical science, it is important to save any and all new knowledge gathered in order to expand the field. This is an Alchemist’s right and responsibility.

Varying from the accepted norm in regards to the performance and study of various Alchemical processes often leads to the most interesting and informative results, but also the most dangerous. I beg to remind the reader that the science of Alchemy is far from precise and carries extreme risks, much like any effort worth doing. Beware of your personal safety when performing Alchemical studies.

A Note on Elixirs:

My dear reader might have suffered through this treatise of information in hopes of finding recipes for magical elixirs to bring them power or prestige or perhaps the woman of their dreams. My dear reader shall, therefore, be disappointed. The secrets of the creation of elixirs are carefully guarded by us Alchemists and are not for publication in a treatise such as this. It suffices to say that elixirs and potions do exist that grant mystical effects when imbibed, whether beneficial or harmful. This store of knowledge of recipes, however, is for the Alchemist alone, and the general public must content themselves with knowing that if they find themselves in need of a love potion, they can easily visit their nearest Alchemist and purchase one.

A Final Conclusion:

It is this humble author’s fondest wish to thank the dear reader for their interest in this treatise. It is my hope that Alchemy will receive greater attention from the general public and, in return, be accepted as a true and viable science.

It is a common misconception that an Alchemist cannot be religious, for their chosen profession precludes any faith in invisible deities. This, my gentle reader, can be no further from the truth. As an Alchemist, my duty is to add to the store of knowledge of the mortal races through my studies and, in that, seek to understand more about this planet that the Gods have created. I believe I speak for all Alchemists when I state that no true scientist can claim to disbelieve in the existence of Aetheria and Aeternia and all immortals there within. If anything, our studies into the order of Telath and the nature of things bring us closer to understanding the greatness of Ioannes and His Pantheon, rather than further away.

I pray that my dear reader has found this treatise enlightening, or at the very least entertaining. Again, I beg that my reader not perform any Alchemical studies without proper training and supervision, but would, instead, seek to know more about the realm of Alchemy as an intellectual pursuit and an empirical, organized science.