Reverse Chronicles

Domain of Alchemists

Zealle keeps on touching my cheek as I lay on the bed. It is already late morning and I still have not got out of bed because I stayed up late last night. I can hear people silently walking in and out of the room. I can also hear the faint fluttering sound that the fairies made. They all have come to see Zealle, my familiar, the last ice drake. However, I ignore them all. I doze off as I keep Zealle close to me on the nest that was made for him.

“Hey, are you going to sleep all day?” Keith comes inside the room and startles me. “Even Zealle wants you to wake up.”

“All right,” I pick up Zealle from my face and put him in my lap. I stretch and let out a yawn. “What time is it?”

“The sun is at its highest peak, but you can still rest if you want to,” Franz came in carrying food inside a tray. “Here is lunch, I also brought fish for Zealle.” He gives me the tray.

It is a complete course meal for pretty tired me. I pick the fish plate and put it on Zealle’s nest along with him.

“I memorized the contents of the Dragon Codex,” Keith boasted. “If you have any questions about dragons, you can ask me!”

I finish lunch made my way to the bath. Zealle made noises as I disappeared so I had to make him come with me inside. As I dip in the hot water, he wants to join me, but heat was not for him, so he flew back to his nest. I finish my bath and went to prepare for our journey. I don my outfit, equip Whisperer and Resolute, swing my receptacle around my arm, and carry Zealle’s nest, then went outside.

The villagers are all lined up outside. The moment they laid eyes on Zealle, cheers and awes filled the air.

“We have this made for you,” Amanda approaches carrying a strange-looking headdress. “It is a portable nest that you can wear as your hat. This way you will not have trouble carrying Zealle.”

“Thank you,” I accept the gift. I transfer the drake from the nest to the hat and wore it.

“Be safe on your travels!” the entire village sent us off.

Toulse is a magical city that is miles away from Zeul. We are not going to reach there by the end of the day by just walking so Keith cast Levitate and transported us. Suddenly, we stop our flight mid-air and begin descending down at a great speed.

“Keith, what’s happening?” Franz is alarmed.

“I don’t know, my magic is not working.” Keith shouts.

“Stop joking, cast the spell again!” Franz shouts back.

“I’m trying,” Keith answers.

We are about to hit the ground, when suddenly Keith regains control and casts Levitate.

“What just happened?” I wonder.

“My magic stopped working in mid-air. Now it works here in the ground. Let me try again.” Keith cast Levitate and tried to fly up but he was only ground level.

Suddenly, Zealle cried out. I remove the hat to see what the matter was. He looks fine. I feed him a piece of fish, but he did not touch it. I check his wings and body for injuries, but he is in great shape.

What is it, Zealle?

“I think there is a barrier from this point on,” Keith inspects the air above us. “A barrier that nullifies all magical effects. Perhaps, Zealle detects it and is trying to tell us all about it.”

“The city is right there, after all.” Franz points to buildings on the horizon. “We can walk there, if we are fast enough, we can reach the city by the end of the day.”

We walk as fast as our feet could carry us. By the time, the sun hid under the horizon, we reached the city.

The last Caldian city before reaching Mysinda is Toulse. It is the easternmost Caldian city and is greatly known for its connections with the magical nation. In Toulse, a great concentration of materials and magic has built up since its establishment. Since then, commerce and spells go hand-in-hand in the city, making it the largest producer of potions, magical items, enchanted equipment, and augmenting jewels.

Unlike Lyane and Arbre, Toulse does not have a wall nor a gate. It only has a barrier that nullifies all advanced magic spells and all tiers above it. The city is filled with mages, sages, elementalists, merchants, and adventurers. But what stood out was the sheer number of alchemists. They are everywhere, from the outer parts of the city, until we reached the middle part. They all wear the symbol of the philosopher’s stone on their hats, which distinguishes them from other magic classes.

“We have to find an inn,” Franz suggests, looking all around for a place to stay.

“Excuse me do you know an inn close by?” I ask a stranger.

“The only inn in this city is by the institute,” the stranger answers.

“Where is the institute?” Keith follows up.

“It’s the largest building in the middle of the city, you won’t miss it.” The stranger points to the palace-like structure in the middle of the city. We follow his directions and finally checks in.

The inn is deserted. There are no merchants and adventurers hanging out on their reception area as we entered. We are the only guests that they have. All the rooms are empty except for the one we are in.

“Excuse me, why are your rooms empty?” I question the receptionist.

“It has always been like this,” she sighs. “Toulse is a city that never sleeps. There are spells and liquids that make the tourists go on without sleeping. Thus, they have no need for an inn.”

We continue to our room, where there was a breathtaking view of the city. From the window, a lot of people pass by. I observe that they are all caught up in what they are doing. They are all reading books, tomes, or writing something on a scroll. I do not notice a family going out, a student taking a break, or a couple spending some time. It is all work and looking at it made me tired.

“Guys, that talk about spells and liquids in the reception made me curious. I should go and learn some alchemy,” Keith opens the door.

“I’ll go with you, that has gotten me interested as well,” I follow him. “Franz can you keep an eye out for Zealle? I’ll promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“No problem, you can leave ice drake with me,” he smiles.

We leave the inn. We notice that every person reading a book or tome or writing something is headed towards the institute.

“We should enter their magic institute. It’s bigger than the one Jyria’s and it looks classier too!” Keith recommends, grabbing my hand as we went.

Inside is a large body of scholars and students. They all listen to an alchemist lecturing near the entrance. There are numerous doors and stairs that lead to the various sectors of alchemy. We sit and listen to the alchemist giving the lecture.

“Potion crafting requires three essential ingredients: water, potent herbs, and the caster. We use the water as the medium of our potion. The herbs are the source of the potion’s healing properties. And the caster imbues the mixture with magic, activating the healing factor in the herbs,” the alchemist demonstrates. He put green herbs in a pot full of water and imbues it with magic power. “The potency of the potion depends on the kind of herbs used and the amount and kind of magic that was imbued.”

“Take for example, this antidote.” He grabs a vial filled with a blue liquid. “To make an antidote, you need to use Summerbleu herbs and imbue it with water-element magic. There are a lot of combinations that you can use. They are all in this book that I have written. You can purchase this for only 12 gold.”

Keith buys the book and steps forward. “What if we use another medium?” he asks. “What if we use a potion, instead of water, to make a potion?”

“Well,” the alchemist scratches his head, “we still have not thought of that possibility. Perhaps, we will try that combination.”

“Another thing, what is this liquid that I keep hearing about that makes people less tired?” he adds.

“You mean the Tonic of Energy,” the alchemist grabs a bottle of a bright yellow-orange liquid. “This is synthesized from processed herbs and is cooked for days. This is a trade secret of the institute, thus I’m afraid I cannot share any more information.”

That looks like an energy drink.

“Excuse me, can I buy that?” I step forward and purchase the Tonic of Energy. I drink and my hunch is right.

It is an energy drink!

As I take my first gulp, a stranger grabs the bottle and drinks the rest of the tonic. Soon after, the listeners and the spectators cry for more of the tonic. They began rampaging and I am caught in the middle of it.

Keith grabs me from the middle of the crowd. The entire reception hall of the Alchemy Institute of Toulse becomes the witness of a crowd of rampaging scholars and students, begging to have a drink of the Tonic of Energy.

“Silence!” a long-bearded man on top of the stairwell shouts. He raises his staff and bottles of the Tonic of Energy flew towards the berserk crowd. “You will find comfort here, my children. Now go and spread the teachings of alchemy. Toulse should be and only be for alchemy!”

“Long live Headmaster Mathieuss!” the crowd shouts. “Long live Headmster Mathieuss!” They all worship the man who gave them the tonic.

Keith suddenly grabs my hand. We exit the institute and walk back to the inn. He looks shocked and appalled with the scene he just witnessed.

“That tonic,” he looks at the book that he purchased, “it’s controlling the scholars.”

“It is a mind-control device!” I conclude. “Anyone who consumes it for long enough will get addicted to it. And that addiction will make them worship the one who creates the tonic!”

“We must do something!” Franz joins the conversation. “Addicted or not, these people need our help.”

“Keith, what should we do?” I turn to him. He looks at the window and silence descend in the room. Suddenly, he turns back with his eyes illuminated.