Rainy Day Dreams

Second lore post! No illustrations with this one, sadly 🙁 I ended up being very busy last week between pre-order promotion on social media and wedding planning (just bought a dress as of writing this!). Because of this, I’m going to actually be cutting the lore posts short a week. But that means that instead, next week you’ll get the start of Chapter 18 😀

Speaking of, pre-orders are still open on gumroad! There’s still time to order your copy of a physical book or a pdf copy if you’d prefer not to have a physical object. The pdf is still going to be great because it will be higher resolution than what I post here and it will have a little mini lore section in the back. So if you like all this lore… *eyebrow waggle*

Here is the image text!

Modern alchemy refers to the mixing of magical arts, like spellcrafting, with science to create hybrid innovations. Examples of modern alchemy can also be found in many everyday objects. For example, it’s standard practice for technological gadgets, such as cell phones, to have some combination of water, fall damage, and identification wards built into them.

Classical alchemy refers to the traditional meaning of the word; the transformation and transfiguration of matter via a scientific process that is powered by aetheric transference. While simple forms of classical alchemy are legal for public practice, such as turning salt into sugar or using alchemy for building and crafting, more complex forms of classical alchemy are outlawed for use by the general public. These outlawed transmutations are allowed to take place within the Order’s Second Circle, but their use is still heavily regulated. Forbidden uses of classical alchemy include the creation of precious materials, attempted creation of homunculi, resurrection the dead, or creation of a Philosopher’s Stone.

These forms of alchemy are forbidden for a mixture of practical and ethical reasons. From a practical standpoint, the intended results of these transmutations can usually only achievable under strict, near void-like, ideal lab conditions. Due to the amount of aetheric power required to perform, failed attempts are highly volatile. As such, they have been outlawed in an attempt to keep over ambitious alchemists from blowing themselves up (and those unlucky enough to be nearby). From an ethical standpoint, these transmutations require components that are only obtainable through illegal means or sources (i.e. murder, black market dealings, grave robbery, abduction, etc.). Additionally, success could have drastic consequences for Nameless World society. This depends on how the alchemist chooses to use their results and to what scale. For example, a tailor alchemist who transmutes wool into golden thread they use in crafting clothing to sell has less of an impact on the overall economy than an alchemist who directly creates gold coins. Both are still a crime, but creating a small amount of gold thread harder to trace and doesn’t have as large of an economic effect than making new money.

Essential, in the eyes of the law, transforming low value materials into other low value materials or into small quantities of high value materials for mostly personal use, like bay leaves into saffron for personal baking, is fine. Intention behind action is the most important thing a Sentinel considers when dealing with a case of illegal alchemy. For example, an alchemist who succeeds in creating a homunculus to be their child or revives a dead loved one has different societal consequences and intentions than an alchemist who creates an army of homunculi or raises an entire graveyard to serve as reanimated slaves.