The Alchemist's Apprentice

The Eyes of Akasha

In the Alchemy tower, Lilly sank down, exhausted. In truth, the weeks had been hard. She’d worked at almost nothing but the practical side of alchemy, following Alkahest’s instructions as closely as she possibly could. As Alkahest explained, he’d prefer to start with theory, but they needed some instant results to bait the royalty. With his own lab, possibly, utterly destroyed and no other alchemy institution in the kingdom, the plan of her presenting a bunch of relatively ordinary alchemical products as the results of just a day of experimentation would surely catch their eye. Even if the items themselves were lacking, by deceiving them into thinking they took just a day instead of two weeks, heh, they’d surely be fooled into overestimating her talent, and pour resources into developing her. 

Alkahest felt rather satisfied with how successful their scheme had been. They’d develop with the kingdom’s help, and then when they were prepared, they’d spread their wings and fly from the birdcage before it could snap shut. 

“Alkahest…. Why are the things alchemy makes so ordinary?”

Lilly had one of the recipe books open and was staring at the stirring pattern index. 

“Kuak! Ordinary- Of course not! We’re making shoddy homewares simply because that’s about all that stick and cauldron are good for right now. Before we make magical items, I have much to teach you about the theory of alchemy, which will help you understand your actions, solidify your foundation and so on.”

“Ok. So teach me. Why did I need to cut the end off the stirring stick?”

Lilly held a short length of yellow wood in her hand. The polished finish was marred by the fact that one end had been inexpertly sawed in order to remove it from the meter and a half stirring stick that she’d been using when she was attempting to make soap. 

“It’s incredibly simple. In reality, one doesn’t need to stir the liquid all that much, rather, during the fusion process, the reagents, catalysts and sacrificial materials will release energy. A rod is made to conduct that energy. Stirring patterns are what distinguishes alchemy as a field, because they shape the energy released by the process and direct it back to influence the final outcome.”

“I think I get it. So the energy is that white mist that forms on the surface of the cauldron?”

“Yes. That ‘mist’ is constantly rising from within, which is why you need to repeat the stirring pattern over and over. However, only the most basic of basic alchemy would ever use but a single pattern. There are two ways of having multiple patterns. Either you blend them, alternating between one pattern and another on the top surface of the liquid. Or, you operate synchronously, stirring different patterns below and above the liquid at the same time- or at multiple layers for large cauldrons. Fortunately for you, I’ll be assisting you in that until we can get you proper tools.”

As it happened, although Alkahest had no physical body, he’d discovered that he could influence the insubstantial energies released during fusion. By concentrating his consciousness on his fingertips, he could substitute for a conductive rod. It had to be said, Alkahest had absolutely zero talent when it came to magic before he died, but now he’d lost his physical self, he felt he’d gained a certain degree of awareness that he’d once lacked. 

“So what’re making now?”

“A pair of spectacles. I’ll take the leading role in this synthesis- it’s a little too difficult for the current you, though entirely necessary.”

“Ok. Isn’t that another ordinary thing though?”

Alkahest let out a hollow laugh. 

“Alchemists are beings that fundamentally rely on tools. There is no shame in using the right tool for the right task. We’re going to make you a tool that will help you grow like no other.”

When Blain arrived at the tower, it was with some trepidation for his new mission. Letting himself be known intentionally went against instincts developed over years of dedicated skulking. But orders were orders. 

When he knocked on the door of the tower’s top floor, his nose twitched at the bitter and otherworldly odour. Purple smoke was leaking underneath the door.

How to address this?

“Milady Fenn?” 

The door opened and thick purple smoke billowed out. 

“Here. Bring me these, I’m onto something.” 

In an instant Lilly pushed a note into Blain’s hands and then disappeared back inside the tower. 

He checked the list, written, as you’d expect, on the beautiful white paper she’d produced earlier.

“…. What the hell? Were these written in the books?” No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t a list of ingredients that should’ve been picked out by a young girl. The eye of an Ettin, rainbow slime gelatine, Ravenclaws- where was he supposed to get this stuff? Could he buy it? But wouldn’t that just scream to the world the castle had a new alchemist?

Lilly poured another box of ingredients into the cauldron and fell back panting. Most of what had been delivered to the tower over the past few days, gone in an instant. Twisted horns, nails, claws, eyes, jars of liquid, lumps of metal, herbs- all of it had gone into the pot. 

She looked to Alkahest

“Excellent work. Now observe, this is the pinnacle of complex transmutation, a height you will one day climb to.” 

Before, when they’d been brewing basic recipes, the white mist had never flown farther than the lip of the cauldron…. But now, it filled almost the entire room- turning purple a few meters away from the cauldron at the epicentre. 

“Now… It’s ready….” Alkahest’s body blurred, as if losing focus- but Lilly remained silent and watched on. 

She had the distinct feeling that the alchemy she’d heard of, and now read about, was a very different sort to the kind that she was now witnessing. As far apart as the stars and the sun.

The mist began to shift. A brilliant galaxy of silver lights appeared, and connected to each-other, forming a dazzlingly complex web of light. 

As her eyes adjusted, she realised that each bright point, seemed to be a circle- a stirring pattern!

It was too much. From two dimensions to three, from the surface of the cauldron to the entire room. 

After three hours, her throat was raw from the smoke that formed on the edge of the transmutation area, but she continued to watch. 

Alkahest’s ghostly body wasn’t even visible anymore, but the formation pulsed like a heartbeat every few seconds, reasserting itself on the energy from the cauldron. The mist thinned but the lines remained, growing brighter, and brighter-

“Synthesis Complete. The Eyes of Akasha are a success!”

Lilly looked at the simple pair of glasses on the table. They rippled visibly every few seconds, changing shape rapidly, as if trying to break free of the form imposed upon them by their creator. Apparently, like a loaf fresh from the oven, the new item needed a little time to ‘settle’.

“It occurred to me after the transmutation, but I am not a very good teacher. Just now, I had you bear witness to several… bad habits.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t wish to burden you with too many details when you are just beginning your training, but the most important one I cannot brush over. Did you notice something about the ingredients we used to synthesise this?”

“Uh. That’s hard, I mean, you put so many things in there? They seemed to just be, well, whatever?”

“Accurate judgement. In truth, alchemy does not need ingredients that are related to the product. Or even valuable or powerful. You could transmute dirt into a holy sword if you had enough dirt. However, there is a side effect… it’s not a clean transmutation. If mismanaged, the overflow- which you would’ve observed as that purple smoke, will eventually erode the fabric of the world and permit the entrance of primal entities. This is why without an advanced filtration facility, you should avoid doing what I just did.”

Lilly, although being quite bright, was still a fairly young girl- a fact which Alkahest tended to forget with his lecturing.

“Um, I don’t get it. Can you say it more simply?”

“Too much purple causes holes full of monsters and horror to appear.”

“That’s bad.”

“It is indeed, quite bad.”

“Will monster holes appear here?”

“Why not put on those spectacles and see for yourself.” 

The glasses had stopped shifting- settling as brass, wire rimmed spectacles. A little hesitant, Lilly put on the glasses. Something like an electric spark jumped between her and the frame, and letters began to scroll across the surface of the glass. 

[Recognising user. Access to Akasha Database granted. Beginning recognition process. 

Activating Self Status. 

Activating Surrounding analysis. 

Activating object identification.]

“Alkahest what does all this mean?”

“Don’t worry, it’s just getting used to you.”

[Checking for updates….. 145 updates pending. Commencing self-modification. This may take some time.]

“Tell it to minimise, and then ask it for a world integrity check.”

“Minimise. World integrity check, please?”

[Current localised integrity, 95 percent. Minimum tear threshold, 71 percent. World integrity.... 79%. Warning. Filter substations are functioning at over capacity. Warning, Warp equalisation facilities functioning at over capacity. Warning. World integrity at critical state. Please contact Alkahest immediately to initiate emergency procedures. Warning.]

“What? What is it? I’m sure that it was only four or five percent here?”

“You’re not wrong, but….”

Alkahest looked like he was going to be sick when she relayed the numbers.

“Sss- SEVENTY! SEVENTY NINE PERCENT, WHAT THE FU-“