50 Exploring Alchemy (2)

Jien picked up the book and started to read where he had left off during lunch prior to being presented the rest of his gifts. The first couple of pages were some inspirational words written by the author, making sure to impart that alchemy was both an art and a science, once one would come to understand the science behind the practice, they would be able to stretch it into an art form unique to the alchemist. The words were to assist aspiring alchemists to not give up just because the science could be daunting at times, but to strive for the time that the student would be able to pave their own path. This philosophy resonated with Jien deeply. He enjoyed reading and learning not only as a path to learning the paths that currently exist but to know that he would have the base knowledge to build onto that foundation and make something of his own.

It was after this short prologue that the book began to state the basics of alchemy, such as the understanding that one couldn't just throw several herbs together and expect to create something extraordinary. In fact there was specifically a warning against that given that a mistake could create something that would not only kill the alchemist but everything and everyone in their vicinity. It stated that ingredients should be tested for their different effects separately before even considering a mixture. If you lacked an understanding of the individual ingredients, you wouldn't be able to predict how they may blend or react to one another.

There were a number of ways to test different ingredients but one of the most common was to take the ingredient and either grind it down to a paste or to take small shavings. You could then mix it with purified water to gain a basic mixture. From this point the ways to test the properties varied depending on the alchemist. The most common practice would be using a variety of nature-based spells to try and identify and extract the essence of the ingredient. If successful one could meditate with the essence of the ingredient without much danger, since the essence itself would be ethereal in nature. However, there would be rare cases where this was not the safest practice, often with parts of more powerful magic beasts. If a magic beast would become powerful enough a part of its soul would bind with its body. Taking the essence of such a material would be the equivalent of summoning a spirit, which if not handled correctly could lead to mortal danger.

It was advised for alchemists to use a formation to help bind any essence extracted from the ingredient. Doing so would generally be good enough to manage such scenarios since the spirit would be rather weak. Using such a containment formation would also preserve the essence for further study. If one successfully could extract the essence of an ingredient, they would be able to observe the reaction of that essence to different interactions to better understand how it could be used. For instance, if you were to extract the essence of ignis stone you might find that it warms the space around it slightly. That would give you a hint that it has a fire affinity and could be used as such. If one wanted to use ignis stone as a part of concoction for fire resistance you would then use your mana to create a scenario whereby the essence would absorb surrounding heat rather than producing it. Once you found the correct interaction you would search for at least one other ingredient that follows a similar pattern to what your mana had created.

The process itself could take quite some time if you had not researched a large number of ingredients and often times alchemists would have to blend ingredients in steps to create the correct reaction before mixing with a main ingredient, leading to long and arduous concoction processes. However, luckily for alchemists of this age much of the research on a vast number of ingredients had already been completed and recipes created with refined instructions. Some of which were present in the later chapters of the book he was reading.

The author heavily espoused a scientific approach to researching any new or unknown ingredients. There were many alchemists even in the current age who would follow crueler paths such as testing ingredients on the living to check their qualities. While the practice could provide a faster result the author referenced that not only was the practice inhumane, but the results could also be misleading depending on the live subject. Jien took this to heart, knowing that his preference would always be the scientific approach of extracting essences and testing their properties. He found the thought of testing on others to be barbaric in nature, though he understood that it was likely the path taken prior to gaining knowledge of how to extract the essence of a material.

After the introduction regarding the process of testing ingredients came an index of many basic ingredients. This included pictures of what the ingredients should look like, the environments that they were known to grow in. Some of the specific identifiers were noted in the pictures as well. Following the pictures and description of the ingredients came a list of some of the varying beginner level potions that they could be used in. This way of indexing was handy but also a bit confusing. Jien could read about an ingredient, it's qualities and its uses but it was hard to make out the make of the various potions by looking at the ingredient index. Of course, he knew that there were likely recipes in the book that would list out the ingredients and how to handle them but having to flip back and forth from the recipe to the ingredient instructions would be a bit of a pain.

With that in mind he decided to set aside the small pile of books left for adding to his Personal Library and chose this book as his next target. If he could memorize it all then he would be able to recall a variety of information on the ingredients as he worked through the recipe itself. He put his idea of experimentation on hold and returned to his bed with a serious expression. It may take him a few days to record a book as seemingly complex as this one, but he felt that it would definitely be worth it.