SERMONES ALCHYMIALES vol. I | An Introduction to Alchemical Theory

[esotericas 1555]

✩ FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ALCHEMIST: ✩

✩ AN INTRODUCTION TO ALCHEMICAL THEORY ✩

VOL. I

 

 

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Spoiler

 

 

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PUBLISHED

ON THE 2nd OF The Deep Cold, 1947.

 

BEING, BY NATURE OF ITS NAME AND WRITING, A RECORDED DIALOGUE BETWEEN TEACHER AND STUDENT ON THE BASICS OF ALCHEMICAL THEORY, PUBLISHED FOR THE PURPOSE OF INTRODUCING THE CONCEPTS AND IDEAS HEREIN TO A WIDER AUDIENCE.

 

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[!] THIS DOCUMENT CAN NOT BE USED TO TEACH ALCHEMY TO THOSE WITHOUT A VALID [FA]. IT IS PURELY FOR FLAVOR WHEN TEACHING. [!]

 

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MAGISTRA: What is Alchemy?

 

DISCIPULUS: If I recall, it is to the material world as the magic is to the divine. And not conquered - navigated.

 

M: One, no, two, yes. Magic is taking divine power and using it in the material or emotional worlds. Alchemy is transforming the material into the emotional, and using those pieces to create something material again. It is fundamentally transformative. It does not add or remove matter or energy from the universe. Magic, however, often does, because the Void, and the Aengudaemons are not from within our universe. They are external - divine. Yes?

 

D: Yes. Transformative rather than additive.

 

M: Good! The fundamental goal of Alchemy, do you remember what it's called? Magnum Opus, or Azoth. The Magnum Opus takes a different shape for every soul who pursues it, but at its fundament, the goal is the same: To surpass Alchemy, by means of Alchemy. To fundamentally create, or to fundamentally destroy. It is impossible, and yet its impossibility is what makes it so desirable. It is not so much a literal goal, as it is a metaphorical one - transformation of the soul. Regardless, that sort of thing comes much later down the line. But I want you to keep it in mind, as you learn.

 

D: Intangible objective: kept in mind.

 

M: Why do you want to learn Alchemy?

 

D: I suppose just for the sake of knowing, really.

 

M: Knowledge is power. Why do you want power?

 

D: It’s in Descendant nature. Life short. Do much.

 

M: Dig further. Why do much, when do little easier?

 

D: Nobody remembers those who do little. And to be remembered might be to live a little longer, even after death.

 

M: Precisely. Compared to the Creator, or the Universe, or all of Time, our lives are infinitely short, and infinitely meaningless. Even Elven ones. It is the fundamental desire of all Descendantkind to be remembered. Now, we have established why you want to learn this. There are two kinds of Alchemists. Have I spoken on this before?

 

D: I don’t believe so.

 

M: There are Potioncrafters, and there are Alchemical Philosophers. I don't need to tell you which one I am. Potioncrafters are concerned with the physical acts of Alchemy. The making of potions, salves, salts, et cetera. Alchemical Philosophers are concerned with the theoretical. I couldn't care less about herbs and bottles. It is Alchemical thinking that I care for. Nobody, to your earlier point, is going to be remembered for brewing Tanglefoot.

 

D: Cookbooks are cheap. Teachers are a rarity.

 

M: So, we carry on. The processes of Alchemy parallel the traits of the two halves of the Magnum Opus. First, you must destroy. You must break your reagents down into their component parts. That is what we will begin with. Consider every reagent like a structure made of bricks. It is whole, but if you take it apart, you may re-use the bricks for another purpose. These bricks are called Symbols. The bricks come in five colors, and thirty-eight shapes. The colors are called Signs. The thirty-eight shapes are each of the various Symbols. 'Balance,' for example.

 

D: That’s a lot of bricks.

 

M: Yes. You do not need to learn them all right away. It comes with time. The shapes correspond to the specific function of each Symbol. They can function both metaphorically or literally. Light may make something glow, or it make enlighten someone. Yes?

 

D: Metaphorical and literal. It’s language! 

 

M: Exactly. The colors, the Signs, are correlated to the five elements. Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Aether. If the Symbols themselves are the words, the Signs are the intonation. They change the meaning in more abstract, vaguer ways. When you're trying to figure out what Symbols you may get from a certain reagent, the general pattern is that the Sign will be determined by its environment, and the Symbols will be determined by the reagent’s functions. A reagent will generally contain anywhere from two to four different Symbols, in varying amounts.

 

D: Environment to the Sign, Symbols to the function. Generally.

 

M: Generally. When speaking about specific Symbols, the Sign is treated like an adjective. For example- Earth: Vigour, or Aether: Swiftness. The process of taking the reagent apart is called Extraction. There are five methods of Extraction, depending on the Sign you wish to produce: Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Mundane. Aether does have its own means of Extraction as well, but it's almost exactly the same as Mundane. For any given reagent, it can be Extracted either according to its Sign, or by the Mundane method. Using the Mundane method will remove the Signs from the Symbols.

 

D: Mundane or elemental, got it.

 

M: Most recipes use primarily or entirely Mundane Symbols. But you may encounter elemental ones, so I'll teach you all the Extractions. They are all different, but they all serve the same purpose: to purify the reagent. They break it down into its separate parts, and the Alchemist sorts the Symbols out from the waste. The wheat from the chaff. In the later steps of brewing, these pieces are reassembled into something new. Next time, we'll learn Extractions. For now, I will leave you with your first homework assignment.

 

D: Homework, excellent.

 

M: Find as many Alchemical reagents as you can - at least three - and try to figure out what Symbols they might contain. Make sure you know why you think they are what they are. You do not need to be correct. The thinking is more important here.

 

D: Justify the work, even if I’m not sure of the answer.

 

M: Don't justify. Just be sure you're able to recount your thinking, like we did with why you wanted to learn Alchemy. You are not trying to convince me. Just to observe your own thought process.

 

D: Do the work for the sake of figuring out how I do the work.

 

M: It will be difficult. But once you learn to think like an Alchemist, there is nothing else like it.

 

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BRIEF NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

 

This homework assignment is useful to minds of all sorts, and can be adapted to work outside the Alchemical classroom. It is purely to urge the student to examine the world around them in detail, and to investigate their own modes of thinking. 

 

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✩ SCIENTIA POTENTIA EST ✩

✩ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER ✩

 

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Spoiler

Obviously some of the concepts here (like environment -> Sign and function -> Symbol) are not actually written into Alchemy redlines. We’re here for flavor, not for lore.

 

Signed,

 

MARISTELA “LADY ALCHEMY” FIYEM’LIYU, 

Lady of Deguis, Celestial Trustee, the Star Lord,

 

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✩ WHAT WRITES HISTORY IS THE POWER OF IDEAS. AND EVERY MOMENT OFFERS THE POTENTIAL TO WRITE SOMETHING NEW ✩

[AnimeWolf0080 1493]

A elf would read the paper "I'll have to start implementing some of this into my teachings."