Alchemy

Legend

“Since dawn of time Alchemists have refined the raw, raised the pure and enhanced” the mundane—until even the Divines took notice.”

“They do not cast spells. They prepare the world to receive them.”

—Skjald Sejrik

 

Description

Alchemy is the discipline of transforming worldly ingredients into potent magical substances. It is both science and art, requiring precision, intuition, and a profound understanding of the elemental and metaphysical properties of materials. Alchemists refine, combine, and transmute ingredients into fuels for spellcasting, crafting, healing, enhancement, and enchantment.

Unlike other schools, Alchemy is inherently experimental. It invites trial and error and rarely risks divine wrath—unless one tampers with sacred ingredients or attempts to replicate divine matter. Alchemists are known for their versatility: they produce healing elixirs, stat-boosting tonics, combat salves, spell-enhancing powders, and even volatile gases for battlefield use.

The discipline also encompasses:

• Harvesting: Identifying and collecting rare ingredients from across the realms.
• Handling: Proper storage and preservation to maintain purity.
• Blending: Combining ingredients according to recipes or improvisational logic.
• Refinement: Increasing purity and potency through distillation, crystallisation, or infusion.

“Alchemy is not about what you mix. It’s about what you unlock.”

—Skjald Kazumix

 

History

Alchemy’s origins are traced to the Boriac, who were observed collecting half-crystallised Magic Shards and refining them into usable forms. Mortals, ever curious, began mimicking this behaviour—first for barter, then for personal empowerment. The earliest alchemists were scavengers and traders, but as their understanding deepened, they became artisans and scholars.

During the Dark Ages, Alchemy matured into a formal discipline. The legendary refinement of Ljostari Void Bronze—a metal so potent it repelled divine presence—is considered one of the school’s greatest achievements. Some claim this refinement triggered the reformation of the Void Gardens into the current world, though gods deny such tales.

The Deep Blue Tsunami disrupted many alchemical traditions, corrupting ingredients and rendering entire branches defunct. Since then, Alchemy has entered a renaissance, with new methods emerging and old ones being rediscovered. With only 1283 years of post-tsunami practice, much remains undocumented.

“The gods do not fear alchemists. They fear what alchemists might become.”

—Skjald Valgrif

 

Up during the ages, and especially here in the Fourth Age, after the cataclysmic Deep Blue Tsunami, with new unravels to figure out to tread for the alchemical school. Has created a large demand for raw materials and resources, in amounts the mages found it convenient that others supplied, so they could focus on studying. Thus, this mana manipulator school has had a tight collaboration with the worldly trade and distribution guilds. A collaboration that has ups and downsides.

Foundational Tension

Mana Manipulators—those who channel, shape, and wield raw magical energy—have traditionally held authority over magical education and regulation. They view magic as a force to be mastered, codified, and centralised.

Alchemy guilds, on the other hand, are decentralised, pragmatic, and profit-driven. They treat magic as a resource to be refined, traded, and applied. Their power lies not in casting spells, but in controlling the flow of magical materials.

This has created a natural tension:

• Manipulators want control over magical knowledge and its use.
• Guilds want control over magical commodities and their economic value.

“One seeks purity of purpose. The other purity of product.”

—Skjald Vinotis

 

This fundamental conflict of interests led to several points of conflict.

• Regulation vs Innovation: Manipulators try to impose strict rules on magical experimentation. Guilds convince a push of boundaries, often skirting ethical lines to discover new blends.
• Market Control: Guilds dominate trade in potions, powders, and enchanted items. Manipulators have come to resent their dependence on guild supplies.
• Education: Schools of magic are run by Manipulators, but Alchemy requires guild certification for purity labelling. Students must navigate both systems, sometimes caught in leadership crossfire.
• Refinement Secrets: Recipes and refinement techniques are closely guarded. Both sides accuse each other of hoarding knowledge that could benefit both.
• Divine Relations: Manipulators maintain magic paths and divine pacts. Guilds have been known to refine matter and align matter to free it—an act some consider sacrilege.

“The Guilds sell what the Manipulators forbid. And the people buy it anyway.”

—Skjald Ulrich

 

Although there is a slight noise in the cooperation between Alchemy schools and their supplying guilds, there’s also a deep and long cooperation, and even a ring within the ring—a society so secret even gods don’t know. These, the Arcane Refiners, are logically supported by Arcane, Mentalist, and Essence manipulators, and only Channelling manipulators dislike them.

• Spell Fuel: Manipulators have come to rely on guild-refined materials to blend, test, and cast.
• Combat Synergy: Guilds and mana manipulators supply ingredients and power to armies.
• Crisis Response: During magical disasters, both factions collaborate.
• Joint Research: Some schools have agents of both; hybridsare  known as Arcane Refiners.

“They bicker in peace. They unite in purpose.”

—Skjald Sigurd

 

The rivalry between alchemy schools and the guilds ripples through the world in various ways:

• Black Markets: Guilds selling forbidden blends.
• The Rogue Hunt: Manipulators hunt rogue alchemists.
• Political Intrigue: Nobles funding guilds to undermine Manipulator influence—or vice versa.
• Guild Wars: Competing guilds sabotage each other’s supply chains, disrupting manipulator work.

“Alchemy is refinement. Greed is corruption. They meet often.”

—Skjald Kazumix