Alchemy

Alchemy is a field of Practice, focused on the production of potions and similar consumable items. Those who primarily utilize Alchemy are known as Alchemists.<ref name=":0" />

Methodology

Alchemy is a school based on the lore of the material, and delves deeper into the nature of things than most magic, at the cost of requiring a lot of expensive materials and pre-existing research. It grants its practitioners great versatility, giving them access to things at the limit of many other fields of magic; including the creation of life and the destruction of the otherwise indestructible.<ref name=":0">Lore Schools
[...]
Material: Alchemy
Produces draughts and potions, among other (generally temporary/consumable) items. Alchemists have incredible versatility, with the ability to create life (homonculi), alter it, heal, destroy even things that cannot typically be destroyed, and otherwise do things at the extreme reach of other schools and practices. The catch is that alchemy, which delves deeper into the search for answers than nearly any other practice, oft sets a high bar for the pre-existing researches already done and for materials used. - Pact Dice: The Practice - Wbow Version </ref>

Some Heartless alchemists known as Viscera ingest herbal potions to transmute themselves.<ref>A man dons an animal skin and stalks a forest trail.  Another drinks an alchemical admixture, and becomes a beast of another sort. [...] The Sixberry admixture is the basic ritual for the Viscera approach, and paves the way for future progression.  A simple and flexible herbal concoction, softening those parts of the Self that are firm, and scouring away that which is disposable.  Taken as a triple dose, one might soften their own bones and features enough to mold them, but should expect up to a month of aches and pains after the admixture’s effect wears off, as the body fights to return to normal. - Quasi, quoted in Bonus Material: Bedtime Reading. </ref><ref name=":1">Four basic rituals are listed, in order, as per the Viscera (Otherness stemming from within),  Mien (Otherness starting at the outside), Calendar (Otherness at set intervals), and Unfettered (Otherness from detachment) categories. - Quasi, quoted in Bonus Material: Bedtime Reading.</ref> This type of magic can even be employed by the unawakened, but risks eroding the Self to the point you could collapse and be left a Vestige.<ref>“Dreg is a vestige.  Was Aware enough to dip into some Jekyll and Hyde type alchemy, eroded away a good chunk of his Self.  Only a fragment of the person was left, other stuff took up residence.” “I was almost a doctor,” Dreg said.  “A sip of this, a drab of that, to bring out the sharpness of my mind and my attention to details and diagnosis.  I was an angel to hundreds of people who had nothing.  But the same drug made me frail, and some people broke me to pieces so they could take my stash of herbs and chemicals.  Then I had only the frailty, a shattered body, an old self I’d forgotten, and dashed dreams of what might have been.” - excerpt from Leaving a Mark 4.6 </ref>

Alchemical Items:

Elemental canisters:

• Verona creates several of these filled with condensed smoke, condensed air, vacuum and cold fire using her alchemical setup
• When opened, they immediately fill the air with smoke or suck in all air in their vicinity depending on the type

Brass heart:<ref>Left in the Dust - 16.6</ref>

• salvaged from the corpse of the clockwork girl Other killed by the Girl by Candlelight
• realistic-looking brass heart with a valve and screw-on attachment for pipes
• improves alchemy in its vicinity, acts as power source when hooked up to an alchemical setup
• has a cursed aura that makes an exposed person fail at even the simplest kinds of normal chemistry by giving them suggestive hallucinations

Potions:

• healing potions appear to be basic alchemical tools<ref>Gone and Done It - 17.X</ref>, less refined ones have fewer side effects<ref>“If it’s Anthem, I don’t think you’ll get much of a chance.  I’m taking the opportunity to stop in and give you some help.  Healing potion?”

“What’s the side effect?  Verona’s stuff doesn’t seem as refined as what my father used to have.”

“Uhhh, she didn’t say.”

“If the effect is me not dying, I suppose I don’t care much.” - Excerpt from Gone and Done It 17.4</ref>

• young Abraham Musser gives his roommate an alchemical concoction that makes his body eject knowledge spirits<ref>Gone and Done It 17.z</ref>

Notable Users

• Thorburn Family was known to have a few texts, such as an alchemical glossary.<ref>Ty reached around, grabbing a book, and placed it so it sat open,

standing up, blocking his view of Evan’s cards.  He did the same for me,

dealing the two cards face up, behind the books.  It looked like he’d 

done it before.
Nothing interesting in the book.  A glossary of alchemical symbols, it looked like.
He doled out what looked like copper coins from another nationality.
- excerpt from Malfeasance 11.1 </ref><ref>Twenty large, fat coins.  I couldn’t make head or tails of the language on the coin’s faces.  I was careful as I moved them aside, wary

of the guard I couldn’t see or hear.

Two books.  One on alchemy, more like a dictionary than any kind of spellbook, filled with tables and measurements and Latin words.  Aqua Regia, Aurum Regia, Aqua Justatium, Lapis Philosophorum, and so on.  Each chapter was prefaced with the sort of stuff that started with ‘Evidenced herein’ and spent more time referring

to other parts of the text than it did actually saying anything. - excerpt from Malfeasance 11.2

</ref><ref>“Yeah, the Duchamps have a lot of practitioners.  Equates to an awful lot of homonculi, apparently,” I said.
“I believe you on that count,” Rose said.  “Ty thought about making some a week or so ago.  But my point is, I hope you can understand if I say I’m not about to turn down help.” - excerpt from Execution 13.1</ref>

• One of the Duchamp husbands<ref>“Homonculi

from Sandra’s extended circle.  Anyone who loses a fight to one deserves to die.”
Homonculi.  Right.
- excerpt from Duress 12.2 </ref>

• Briar Girl (possibly)<ref>“Briar-”
  

A bird landed in front of me, a storm of wings and feathers.
Black and white, instead of a beak, it had a very human face on a tall head, pale, with features reminiscent of one of the statues on Easter Island.  Exaggerated, stern, any eyes hidden beneath the shadows of a heavy brow.
“Thank you for answering,” I said.
“What are you doing, calling me?” the thing asked, speaking in her voice.
“I want to deal,” I said.  “I know what you want, you know what I want.  We’re going to talk sooner or later, so let’s talk.”
“Follow the homunculus,” she replied.  The bird-thing turned to prepare to fly away.
[...]
I trudged through the snow, while the homunculus-bird circled back to keep me in sight, allowing me to follow. 
[...]
Rose continued, “The homunculus, I recognize that word.  Manufactured life.  You made it.  A lot of these Others are tools, aren’t they?  Hand

crafted Others?  They’re weapons as much as that hatchet is.” - excerpt from Breach 3.1

</ref>

• Verona Hayward
• Graubard family
• Leos family

Associated Others

• Jabber is an alchemical doll
• Unnamed girl with the clockwork heart
• Gilkey is the distillation of an alchemical poison

References

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