Long has it been said by my contemporaries that artifice cannot compare to nature. I am to prove that artifice can equal, if not surpass nature and its processes.
—Pseudo-Geber, Summa perfectionis magisterii
Leo Viridis | Common | T3
Description
3rd day of the Grand Harvest, 134th year of the Second Age
Before matter took physical form as we now know it, primal elements aided in the Creation of the Cosmos and all therein. After millennia of communal work by philosophers, scholars, and other seekers of a glimpse beyond the veil, we now represent these elements as the signs and symbols of the Material Alphabet. These primal elements, shaped by the Grand Architect of the Cosmos, are called exhalations.
Upon the coagulation of exhalations into the matter we know of today, they left different structures through every single thing that exists. Some materials have more porous structures than others. For instance, noble metals like gold, platinum, and silver have very dense structures. Coal and wood, on the other hand, have more porous structures. One, too, can discern that the more potent a reagent is, the denser its internal structure becomes, and that more primal exhalation was used in its formation.
Matter can therefore be separated into its fundamental components through various methods of extraction. As these processes penetrate the porous structures, they break the remnants of the exhalations and the alchemical reagents in question. The results are symbols, the fundamental ingredients of Creation.
After much experimentation, Master Albertus Signus and I have discovered a solvent not dissimilar to Hamotori’s alkahest that quickens the processes of extraction. We have named this lesser solvent Leo Viridis.
Leo Viridis is capable of dissolving reagents without altering or destroying their fundamental components. By submerging reagents in this liquid, non-fundamental materials are dissolved and the reagent’s symbols are left behind intact, sitting at the bottom of the vessel.
Master Eckard de Amell
Recipe
Base: Aqua regia
Symbols:
Water | x6 Separation
Water | x3 Swiftness
Earth | x2 Order
Earth | x6 Purity
Fire | x6 Burning
Fire | x6 Heat
Aether | x2 Rage
Creation
In a bowl, place the Order and Purity symbols. Slowly add aqua regia while stirring.
Repeat this process separately with the Swiftness and Separation symbols, adding them in that order.
A separate mixture consisting of the Burning, Heat, and Rage symbols will be stirred to uniformity with an aurum spoon and distilled.
The mixtures from steps one and two will then be incorporated into the distilled mixture from the previous step, stirring slowly.
Finally, pour into a large aurum vessel. This should be sealed with an aurum lid so as to not let any of the seeping fumes escape.
Effects
Naturally, Leo Viridis has a pale blue-green color—similar to corroded copper—and an acrid odor; however, once reagents come in contact with it, the liquid sizzles, foams, and takes several different colors and smells. As reagents are dissolved, Leo Viridis and its container reach boiling-hot temperatures. This container, if touched without heat-resistant gloves, produces first-degree burns.
Over the course of three emotes, reagents submerged in Leo Viridis will dissolve and yield their symbols. During the first emote, the solvent will turn completely black in color and exude a pungent smell, not unlike the stench of death. By the second emote, it will take a milk-white shade and lose its rank aroma. Finally, by the third emote, it will take a blood-red color and begin to cool. Symbols may be extracted using aurum tweezers. After one narrative hour, once it cools to room temperature, Leo Viridis will regain its blue-green color and acrid odor.
Leo Viridis must be stored inside an aurum vessel; otherwise, it will corrode the material in which it is contained before consuming it.
Redlines
Only works on noded herbs and other lore-approved reagents. One cannot, for example, extract any symbols from items such as a Dandelion, Raw Gold, Raw Iron, etc. It also cannot “eat” through earth or living flesh or bones.
As Leo Viridis itself is not consumed while dissolving reagents, once brewed, it can be used an indefinite amount of times.
Direct contact with Leo Viridis causes second-degree burns and blue-green stains in the affected areas. These chemical burns may be healed by mundane, magical, or alchemical means. Additionally, direct contact with the vessel while the concoction is dissolving reagents produces first-degree burns.
Must be signed by a Story Team member.
Credits
@Poor_Fellow (Coauthor)
@Chthonian_ (Coauthor)
Alchemical Legends
Changelog
6/25/2023
—Changed Leo Viridis from rare to common knowledge.