Albeit it's Alchemy (Private, Pre-Veil & GF'd)

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Season of Summer, Era XIV
Second brightening of Melora

Modeled after Darian’s Alchemy Thread

“It’s called a transmutation, actually, Mister Mael’tharias, but that was a good guess,” the young lighthearted tone, definitely feminine, originated from the right side of the small laboratory. It was quickly followed by the flash of a smile and a quick sweep of her pretty brown curls as she navigated her way around the stone table and came to stand by her pupil.

The pair were at the Ahm’ronasti University, the School of the Eldars as it was sometimes referred to, and one of the last bastions of Elfin knowledge that stood within the confines of the Empire’s boundaries. Syl’rosya was, truly, the last real Elfhame of the elves whom had originated from Trelore, and its grand majestic architecture and natural beauty flaunted it. Natura ran a close second, but lacked the real population and distinctive flare of culture that the woodlands existing outside of the Imperial stockade boasted.

More specifically, the pair were located in one of the stone side buildings dug out next to the university’s south wall and added in after the campus grounds had been completed. Alchemy had not always been a preferred method of study, but as time grew on and centuries passed, the Elves had gleaned forth enough knowledge and enough of their own individual advancements apart from the tutelage of humans to truly dedicate courses to it. The building was like several others, small and square-like, simple in design yet still boasting the overhanging wooden rafters that combed the edges of the roof. Although it wasn’t based off the effeminate aesthetically pleasing beauty most Syl’rosyians strove for in their architecture, it did consist of some natural touches supplementing a basic design meant to keep whatever mishaps occurred inside… well, inside.

Erenthril moved over to make room for Arwen Yer’luthillien, otherwise known as Mistress Llorai. She was one of Syl’rosya’s leading experts in the field of alchemy, and a rather proficient teacher as well. Most unusual, however, was her relative youthfulness in comparison to some of the other professors employed by Ahm’ronasti. She was slightly younger than Erenthril, which was startling to say the least, and although she had slightly edged pass her first century of life, she possessed an invigorating idealism that carried her far in terms of personality. She was something of a prodigy, cultivated very carefully by the most tactical educators within the Combine, and their efforts had paid off. What stood alongside the Heru Mael’tharias now was none other than a bouncy, bright, amber-eyed gorgeous looking lady a good three or four decades his younger yet far beyond his comprehension in terms of the subject they were now discussing. If he had half a mind to actually pay attention.

Her lips were moving, he could quite plainly see, but words weren’t escaping them.

“Ow!” “Pay attention!”

She watched him rub his shoulder where she had jabbed at him before crossing her arms and repeating herself. “A transmutation occurs when various components or materials are combined to produce results the objects did not produce individually prior to the transmutation,” she explained in a roundabout way, twirling one of the errant chocolate locks and studying the Elflord before her.

He certainly was going to be an interesting one to teach, that was certain.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Mistress Llorai offered a small smile to her student before candidly nodding her head and continuing onwards as if nothing had occurred. She was used to teaching older people, and this one, although a little different in terms of attitude and sheer personality (he was rather unelven like, after all) she suspected he’d be no different. Not really, at least.

“Alright then. Now, aside from the logical definition revolving around the transmutation of one substance into another, alchemy is so much more than that. There are several definitions being tossed about enough to make one’s head spin, but we’ll stick to the ones you need to know. Aside from transmutation, alchemy also sports a more technical definition: it’s the study of the transformative processes involved in the perfection, or evolution of matter. You remember what that is, don’tcha?”

Eren coughed briefly and grinned, clearing his throat. “Everything around us?” he took a stab in the dark, the definition a bit fuzzy from his schola days.

“That’s right. Now, more to the point, when you perform alchemy you are speeding up natural processes and resurrecting the spiritual essence that is trapped in matter. That’s the transmutation bit, see. But Alchemy’s a bit more than that. It’s also the transmutation of mind and body… or psychological and physiological changes as well. You don’t need to be concerned about any of that for this class but-”

“It’s one of those things that’s good to know?” he finished off her sentence with a query, charming smile accompanying.

“Exactly,” she nodded again, before gesturing for him to turn around and look at the back wall of the lab. It was filled to the brim with various supplies. Walking over, she opened up all the cupboards and all the cabinets so he could get a full, appreciative view of just what alchemy entailed. Even if he got a good glimpse of her derriere in the process…

“What’s that?” Eren asked, pointing to a small emblem quite literally emblazoned into almost every cupboard, every cabinet, hell, even every flask. It was a small symbol, yet seemed to be the norm on almost every piece of alchemical equipment the university owned. It was the picture of a small snake eating its own tail, in the shape of a figure eight.

“That, Heru Mael’tharias, is the Oroboros… it’s the symbol of the alchemist. The figure eight represents the circle of the universe and life, that all things are continuous… that life is eternal, and when something ends something else begins anew,” she smiled, running a hand through her hair to try and get out of some of the frizz before adjusting her lab coat.

“Now, we have several things to look at Heru Mael’tharias, so roll up those sleeves of yours and give me a hand over here,” she tossed a glance over her shoulder before turning back to the cabinet and picking up a set of scales. Erenthril navigated around the table to come help her out, easily taking the weight off her hands and turning his head, eyebrows raised slightly in inquiry. “Scales?” he asked.

“Ah! You’re smarter than I gave you credit for Heru Mael’tharias!” Mistress Llorai exclaimed with a dramatic eyeroll, gesturing for him to put them down on the center table. He bit his lip and did so. “Those are scales, and these” she reached for a small metal container that jingled inside, “are counterweights. They’re made of lead, and are meant to offshoot the balance of vials and containers you store liquids and the like in. Each has a numeric value attached to them. Now, if you pay attention to the scale,” she put down the box alongside the entity in question and placed a finger on the arrow on the center. “This arrow will stand in the middle mark when the scales are balanced. When the scales are balanced, you have the weight you want. Fairly simple, right? I’m sure they taught you this in collegio,” she flashed him a teasing smile before turning around and collecting some glass flasks and vials.

“Now these Heru Mael’tharis, are flasks which will contain liquids. They are used for two primary purposes: storing and stirring. Fairly easy to remember, no?” a small chuckle, “You see that small metal stick poking out of this one? That’s a stir rod. They come in different materials, glass, wood, etc… but essentially all do the same thing. You can mix and stir the fluids together with them, fairly simple concept.

“Now… you’ll notice the openings in the round ones. Those can be fitted to tubing which in turn lets us mix everything in the flask together without ever touching the fluid. When you’re dealing with corrosive mixtures or acids, for example. When we need to seal a flask to store a substance, we simply apply some grease,” she pointed to a small tin pail that had quite a bit of it stowed away for future use, then shrugged her shoulders.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

The pair had succeeded in dragging one of each object over to the middle table. Some of them had been relatively small, trivial things – or so Eren thought, whilst others were much more heavier, and larger than expected. Some, of course, were too large to maneuver over – and Mistress Llorai made designs to go over these first.

“Now, we’ll be talking about objects that involve the usage of heat. Heat, as you should know, is one of the most common operations of transmutation – more specifically, it’s called Calcination. It is one of the seven Major Operations of Alchemy. Calcination is the heating of substances until the matter is literally nothing more than ash and dust. It’s represented by sulphuric acid in the Arcanum Experiment-” she caught sight of Eren’s raised eyebrows and opening lips and quickly waved her hand, “-which I will get into later. Of the seven metals, Calcination corresponds to lead. No questions now, just wait. Now, like alchemy, Calcination has its own symbolic, psychological, and physiological definitions as well. Psychologically, it is the destruction of ego and the urge for material items. Physiologically, Calcination represents the burning of excesses, the metabolism… as it were,” she paused to let the information sink in. It was a lot to learn at once.

“Further along with this philosophy,” she began again after a moment, “Calcination represents the trial an Alchemist endures. The ashes represent death of the old, and the probability for new growth. It’s also associated with the Element of Fire…for natural reasons,” she smiled softly. [b]“Calcination on a more metaphorical level represents those who would overthrow the status quo – the revolutionary sort you hear about in Jaedaxia these days. Not a fun bunch. Now…

“What is that?” she asked.

“That’s a…furnace. Right? We had those in the stone sculpting classroom,” Erenthril answered, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly as he grinned at his instructor.

“Precisely. I imagined they might. Now then, I expect you know what a furnace does then. Just for precedent’s sake, though, I think it’ll make sense to go over all aspects of it. It’s important to note what makes a furnace a furnace and what… well, doesn’t. You’ll see here that this furnace is sealed on all sides, right?” she asked, bouncing on her tiptoes a bit without waiting for a response. “Good. You’ll notice the side of the furnace has an opening lid that can be added in or removed. Do you know what that’s for?”

Eren contemplated for a moment, thinking back to his stone sculpting class. They’d put the statues in the furnace, then increase the heat with… “The bellows.”

“My oh my, you are bright. Yes, the bellows are used to pump the flames and increase the heat. Now, you’ll notice in the back right hand corner there are some ducts attached, near the chimney. We use those to cool things like sulphur. There’s another means of heating materials, though it’s rather primitive and,” she lowered her tone to a whisper, glancing suspiciously about in mock secrecy, “terribly outdated. They’re fire pits, and… well. You know,” she winked.

“Alongside the fire pit is this. I suspect you might have used it in your stone sculpting class as well… do you know what it is?” she asked, walking around the table and coming to rest along a large stone container that had no openings at all, save for the lid. Erenthril recognized it at once.

“That’s a kiln. You use it to heat things to incredible temperatures in the absence of air. The vent on the side is what makes it possible,” he pointed, walking around the table himself and joining her as she opened the lid and glanced inside. Grinning at his chance to show off some knowledge, and possibly evade being teased for it, Eren pointed out the objects inside. “That small thing there is a crucible. It’s ceramic, thick enough to resist heat without breaking. You place it in the thing it’s held in right now… a tripod. And that bowl there is… well…”

“A calcinations bowl. Nice try, though, Heru. A common use for a kiln is to make charcoal from wood… the bowl is used for burning objects to ash and collecting it. The crucible, for metals. After you have the metal in the crucible – which you would pick up with these [i[tongs[/i],” she demonstrated, though there was no heat to begin with, and set the crucible on the large wooden table nearby. “You can shape the molten metal into ingots which can, in turn, be shaped into various sizes. As I’m sure you well know… right?” she asked, before placing the crucible and tripod back into the kiln and closing the lid, handing over the tongs to Eren to put up on the rack alongside the wall behind him.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Eren eyed the petite frame of Mistress Llorai for a moment before shaking his head and sidestepping to some of the other items. “What are these?” he asked her, piercing emerald eyes glancing up and meeting hers as one of his fingers tapped along some glass equipment.

“Well now, I’m sure you didn’t think that all you needed to do to produce Calcination reactions was a simple furnace and kiln, did you? Let’s test your knowledge of the world. What happens when you boil fire?” she asked testing him.

It was an easy question for an Elementalist. “It begins to evaporate into steam.”

“Good. Now, water is one of the five elements-”

“There are four.”

“No… there’s five.” she frowned, somewhat alarmed at this rejection.

“I’m sure there is four. Fire, water, earth, and air. Trust me, I’m intimate with all of them,” Eren offered a lighthearted smile, though was perplexed by her reasoning.

“Ah, I see you’re stubborn and naïve,” she spoke, dismissing the matter and shrugging her shoulders – although it felt rather weird having someone younger than him call him such. Weird, and definitely out of place. Just as he was about to protest this backhanded insult she started speaking again, “There are five elements, Heru Mael’tharias. They are fire, water, earth, air, and the element of ether – or spirit. Everything revolves around the various combination you produce with them. But for now, let us say that each element has two qualities. Water is cold and wet, whereas fire is hot and dry. Simple, yes?”

Eren blanched.

“When you combine the two properly you get the para-element of steam, which is hot and wet. So you see, you can take traits of one and combine them with traits of the other to produce something entirely different. Transmutation.”

She smiled winningly before continuing.

“So, in majority, everything connected to the element of water is cold and wet. There is a distinction between fluid water, however, and the element of water. Steam, or the para element of water that is both hot and wet, is a type of gas. Anything that is a fluid and subjected to Calcination will become a gas. Simple enough?” she did not bother waiting for a response, subtly annoyed as she was with his initial rejection. Briefly, she pointed out to a spiral of glass set in a small tub of water. “This makes sure the water in this tub stays cold. It’s called a Condenser. The rubber stoppers on it make it impossible for the gasses to escape through it – but also induce pressure. You can use the rubber stoppers to connect pieces of glass tubing together. They’re very handy. By using a Condenser, you can cool the gas that is within these glass spirals so that it becomes water again… or wet and cold. You can return steam back into its liquid form. They’re interchangeable, see. All done via Calcination.”

She pointed to a ‘T’ shaped glass tube in the water, off to the side of the pump. It had circulation moving through it, obviously in work. “That right there is a water pump, and does exactly what it sounds like. It pumps the water through the two tubes you see there. How do you think it’s doing this?” she asked, encouraging participation.

Eren thought for a moment.

“Umm… well. Pressure? I would think?” he asked, comparing it to how his Masterpiece worked. He used pressure to propel movement… so why should this miniature apparatus be any different?

“Pressure precisely. The pressure pushes the fluid upwards, making it easier to move liquids from one container to another via the tubes. You can build sets of pipes that go upwards and around, like those over there,” she pointed at an empty set of intricate pipes connected to various baubles and flasks that would store liquids or gases at some later time.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Mistress Llorai retrieved a few more items from the wooden cabinets and set them on top of the center wooden table. Adjusting the white lab coat she was sporting, she turned to Eren and smiled before gesturing across the wide variety of items they had already covered so far, then turning her attention to these newcomers.

“There are only a few more pieces the atypical Alchemist will use. This particular apparatus here,” she selected a glass tube that was twisted and serpent-like. It was essentially a round bottom flask with three apertures, one being much more narrower than the others, and was surprisingly long. The third aperture to the right extended out and into a U-bend before the terminal tube at the posterior of the apparatus ended in a bulb, followed by another. “Is called a fermentation tube. The third aperture, this one,” she pointed at it, “is filled with water while the other two are filled with fluids or gases. You use it to block air from interfering with your work… pretty much the norm when dealing with substances such as phosphorus and the like, which ignites when it comes into contact with air,” she grinned. Frighteningly so.

Eren nodded his head and took a closer look.

“The other two apertures can be sealed, but not the third. When it’s filled, and only partially so with water so gases can leave, it will keep air from entering. The entire apparatus is meant to keep the air from coming into contact with whatever substance you add into the first and second apertures. Simple enough if you pay it some thought,” she stopped and moved along to the opposite side of the table, pausing just long enough for the information to sink in more thoroughly for her learning student.

“Now this last item we’ll cover is a tad bit simpler, but don’t get your hopes up,” she spoke, waving at the round flask with a downward drooping end. A small aperture was located at the top of the flask, sealed with a rubber stopper. A small opening could be discerned in the drooping end as well, where liquids probably spilled out. “We use this to collect vapors and gases from the fluids you boil via Calcination. The vapors collect and condense in the top, where they escape the heat and cool off before eventually returning to their fluid form b dripping from this aperture. Hopefully into a flask, though I’ve had a few nasty mishaps of forgetting to place one there. There’s no greater shock in the world than to return to a lab set only to find the wood being eaten by a corrosive acid you’d formerly evaporated,” she offered a brief teasing smile, though the story definitely seemed substantial enough.

“It’s called a retort, and between that and the fermentation tube, will be the most advanced objects any Alchemical lab will boast. Some Alchemists create their own constructions, of course, for varying methods and purposes, but the ones we have covered are the standards found in every lab. Every decent lab, at least,” she grinned again, and instantly Eren was reminded of her joke of the fire pits.

Eren helped her put all the equipment back up on the shelves, followed by the flasks, stir rods, mortar and pestles, condensers, water pumps, and the like. As he put each one up he mentally noted its name and shape, so he could make the distinction if he had to should she call upon him to select one.

“Alright Heru Mael’tharias, I think that’s all we’ll cover for today. I want to grab a bite of eat before teaching my afternoon class. Umm… we’ll meet again tomorrow, same time?” she asked, taking off her white lab coat to reveal a simple burgundy sweater and black pants. Tight pants at that. Eren nodded his head and murmured a polite goodbye.

Walking out the door ahead of him, she stopped at the entryway and turned around, hand resting alongside the wooden doorpost. “Sometimes I find writing down the names and drawing the shapes of the apparatuses helps in memorizing them. It’s a lot to take in on one day, but I think you’ll be fine,” she beamed a smile at him before twirling out of sight.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Mistress Llorai returned the next brightening to find Erenthril Mael’tharias patiently awaiting her arrival outside the door into the laboratory, bearing with him a written manuscript that depicted a few sloppy (and to be truthfully honest here, rather poor) sketches of various lab equipment and small scribbling loopy text further elaborating on the depictions. A triumphant grin was plastered across his face as if he were a small child holding out his hand for a golden star, and after tucking away the papyrus with an embarrassed flush of his cheeks at her unimpressed reaction, stepped aside so she could unlock the door.

The room was quite as they had left it, the equipment stored in the back hidden within cabinets and atop countertops, the center large burly table still taking up the majority of room inside the stone structure. Erenthril closed the door behind him as Mistress Llorai lit several candles for illumination. He smiled as she maneuvered over to the side of the room and opened up a glass cabinet boasting a frightful repertoire of tiny little glass vials. He could have sworn he saw one with a skull and crossbones pasted atop it.

“Let’s not waste any time than, shall we?” she spoke, turning around and carrying the vials carefully to the table. She gestured for the Elementalist to come closer and get a better look, before holding up a small flask.

“Today we’ll be reviewing the chemical components that are essentially the foundation of Alchemy. You’ll want to pay attention, maybe take a few notes if you brought a quill,” she rose an eyebrow as he pulled one out of his pocket, complete with a small container of ink. “Perfect. Now, what do you see here?” she asked, holding the glass container up for him to see.

Erenthril studied it for a moment. “I see a clear liquid? Umm..”

“Correct. It’s clear. It’s called Ethanol, Heru Mael’tharias, and is also referred to as Spirit of Wine. It’s used to purify decoctions… or fluids you have to spend time draining the water out of to increase the potency.”

“Like distilling them?”

“Yes, exactly. Ethanol, subsequently, is made from distilling liquor. You’ll find it in wine, rum-”

“…and brandy,” Erenthril finished her sentence, thinking of Milo and wondering if the Regent would find this particular tidbit of information interesting.

“Yes and brandy, don’t interrupt me again,” she snapped, before placing the flask down and holding up another with a white powder inside. It reminded Eren vaguely of… well, let’s not go there. “This is called Quicklime, and is one of the more reactive substances you’ll be experimenting with. Most use it for desiccation, a technique done by combining this with a fluid and draining the water out of it. The water in one substance –usually- transfers into the Quicklime because the Quicklime is more absorbent than the initial substance. With me so far?” she spoke, letting him nod before continuing, “There aren’t very many things Quicklime won’t absorb. Care to tell me why?”

Erenthril studied it for a second, taking the glass out of her land and examining it. He shook his head no.

“There aren’t many things drier than Quicklime. It’s fairly simple to obtain, too. All you have to do is burn limestone, or even chalk. Same basic properties,” she grinned. “When you combine it with water it creates a slaked lime concoction…hence the name. When that form of it is produced, you’ll know it’s taken in all the water it’s going to be able to hold,” she smiled again, before turning around and placing it back on the shelf.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

“Moving along…” she spoke, selecting a smaller flask, a vial really, and holding it up for him to see.

Erenthril took it gingerly in his hands and studied the label.

“Now, it’s possibly to derive several various substances from the same initial component. It’s… like saying you can travel from point A to point B, C, and D. It’s just a matter of which route you take,” she nodded her head candidly, “You’ll see there Ammonia. Go ahead and unscrew the lid. This here is Sal Ammoniac, and the flask in front of me contains White Phosphorous.”

Eren hardly heard her last statement, because as soon as he unscrewed the lid and the pungent odor wafted to his nose, he nearly dropped the flask he was holding. He startled Mistress Llorai so much that she snatched it out of his hand before he even had the opportunity to do so, wrinkling her nose at the same time. “Ammonia, smells. You can get it from tobacco by leaving it out to dry, or through the more conventional means,” she bottled it back up and took a deep breath of fresher air. “Boiling urine with acid. You’ll end up with this liquid here, and it’s fairly simple and easy to do. I once had a lab teacher make me boil so much urine the entire laboratory stunk for cycles on end. It was terrible,” the look in her eyes didn’t make him doubt her for a second.

“Sal Ammoniac,” she began after gathering herself for a bit, reaching for it and holding it up for Erenthril to examine, “is different than the rest. Can you tell me why?”

“There’s…white…stuff in it. Are those crystals?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly after leaning forward for a better look.

“Indeed they are. Sal Ammoniac is another play off its name – you create it via urine which is rich in ammonia and salt, of all things. But it’s even more unusual than that. When you heat these crystals in a flask, they go directly to a gaseous state. And when it cools, it comes back to this crystallization. It skips the liquid transmutation all together. Rather interesting, don’t you think?” she spoke, staring at it in fascination for a second or two before turning and adding this, also, back to the collection on the shelf.

Erenthril picked up the next one and held it up. “So this is white phosphorous huh?” he asked, examining the whitish clear substance that was quickly followed by a layer of clear fluid atop of it. He wanted to say it was ethanol, but had a feeling that would be wrong.

“Yes, that’s white phosphorous. There are two types: red and white. It’s one of the more dangerous chemicals you’ll be working with, Erenthril. It combusts with air. Instant explosions, and they’re not pretty. You’ll note the tubing at the top,” she gestured, pointing it out with her forefinger. Eren’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ of surprise.

“Yes, better to not fool around with that one. It’s pretty hard to procure, also. And guess what? It’s made of urine too. You have to let it settle and sit for several cycles, until it… well, ferments almost into something gooey like honey. Pretty nasty, personally, but you mix that with charcoal and Calcination via a retort. After that, it’s just a matter of finding the solid white phosphorous in the red phosphorous. The difference between the two is the consistency, really. White phosphorous exhibits a solid-like consistency, whereas the red variation is most definitely a liquid. Albeit a thick one…” she nodded her head, tilting her chin and pausing to let Erenthril absorb all of this. It was a lot of information to be given at one time.

“You can use both though. White phosphorous ignites in the air, whereas red phosphorous is useful for other methods. For painting, and this is just an example, but if you paint with it it’ll actually glow in the dark. It’ll look like something’s burning, but yes… most definitely a glow. Also, if you combine it with Ethanol and let it steep for a day, then pour the pair into some water, you’ll see crackles of lightning and small sparks..” she shrugged again before adding it, also, to the collection on the shelf.

Erenthril was just praying there wouldn’t be a trivia quiz on all the various components he was learning about; he had a feeling someone could very well write a book on them!

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Mistress Llorai grinned at him.

“Hopefully you don’t think everything we use is a byproduct of urine, now, don’t you?” she teased, flipping back an errant strand of her hair and studying her student’s bashful smile for a second before examining the collection of flasks and vials she had at her disposal. It was quite the arsenal, admittedly, and after learning that white phosphorous was explosive when it came into contact with air, Eren was rather acutely curious as to what other means and methods she had at her disposal.

“Good. Because dung is another great resource often overlooked. Look here,” she spoke, holding out a small container that had the word ‘saltpeter’ spelled out on the side of it. Besides the fact it was a rather unusual name, Eren thought it looked a little strange to be made from dung also. It had the consistency of… well, powder. “Now, this is made from a multitude of things, but dung is one of them. You’ll need some soil that’s been fertilized with it, you see, and then the dung itself. Dry it out for a cycle or two, and let it sit outside. That’s important, because a crust will form on the side where the wind’s blowing, on top of the dung. It’s called Nitre, or Saltpeter..which is what you have in here.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Not a chance,” she grinned, placing the bottle down.

“Well…what do you use it for? Besides turning it back into fertilizer?”

“Ah, good question. You need it to make Blackpowder, and also for the more complex alchemical concoctions, like Aqua Regia and Aqua Fortis. But yes.. it’s the primary ingredient for blackpowder – useful for blasting and the like. Aside from that, however, its properties are vaguely useless and rather uninteresting,” she spoke, her lips tugging into something of a frown as she returned the item back atop of the wooden table and gestured for him to turn around.

Behind him were two large crates filled to the brim with charcoal, as if they’d just recently been resupplied. “That’s made by partially burning wood, then tucking it away in a metal container you place in the kiln. Those vents let the gasses escape, and essentially dries the wood out without setting it alight. Fairly simple concept. This one’s more interesting…

“Sulphur.”

She held it up for him to see, and Erenthril took it from her gingerly and scrutinized it appraisingly. It was a yellow liquid that was rather sloshy, and moved about rather easily inside the glass jar.

“Sulphur is commonly a catalyst in most alchemical reactions, and is created by smelting metals. Iron, steel, bronze… it’s all in there. Steel and bronze are alloys, by the way. You get bronze from tin and copper..” she remarked dryly. Eren stared at her. It was hard to believe such a young woman knew so much about… well, life in general. Everything that seemed to make up the world.

“Anyways, Saltpeter, Charcoal, and Sulphur are everything you need to make blackpowder. I’ll let you experiment with the correct ratios – away from here though,” she winked.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Mistress Llorai turned around and began to select random vials, displaying them to Erenthril and informing him of their makeup, components, usability, and effectively their easiness to come by. Most of them seemed rather complicated in his book, and as he paused to take notes frequently, he put tiny asterisks next to those he figured he could come by honestly (quite honestly, depending on just what the ingredient was) and those he’d have to actively pursue if he sought any means of utilizing their particular…aspects.

Mistress Llorai ended up handing him a glass container that possessed a crystalline substance made up of a putrid, sickly yellowish green. “This is called Green Vitriol, Heru Mael’tharias, and comes about from green iron ore. After adding water and distilling it, you’ll end up with this glossy substance. And this,” she spoke quickly, reaching out with her left hand and picking up another glass container, this one with crystals which were a shade of blue, “this is called Blue Vitrol, and is taken from copper ore. You grind down the copper ore, flush it out with water, then distil the solution. It has no effects on the ore when it comes to smelting – you’ll still get the same aspects of iron from each,” she spoke, lifting the two containers for emphasis before setting them down on the table. Her fingers drummed across the wooden edge.

“They each have numerous uses, though Green Vitriol is a bit more practical. You use it to create Spirit of Salt – all it consists of is distilling Green Vitriol with table salt. Fairly simple. Due to the nature of the reaction, it becomes a very strong acid otherwise known as Hydrochloric acid, and is fairly reactive. Due to the nature of this acid, it’ll burn you if you have any open cuts upon your skin when handling it. Don’t rub your eyes afterwards either – in fact, it’s lab etiquette to always wash your hands after dealing with chemicals. Otherwise, the results won’t be pretty,” her tone became flat and dead serious as she paid Erenthril a look that would have stopped most men in their tracks. She evidently had had a rough time with lab etiquette in some shape or form. “Green Vitriol is also used to make Oil of Vitriol. All it requires is a further distillation of the Green Vitriol, and creates a strong mineral based acid. It’s fairly caustic – you would want to wear gloves when handling it,” she gave him a pointed look.

“Another thing worth mentioning: Potassium alum. All alums start at the base: aluminum sulphide. You can prepare an alum by grinding and pulverizing alumna rock, then adding water to it for 40 brightenings and letting it sit. Boil it for two brightenings afterwards with the occasional stir here and there. It’s a binding agent, you see. You use it for dyes, and can even stop bleeding from various wounds. One of the more useful components in Alchemy, and my personal favorite,” she grinned before continuing onwards. “Now this foul smelling nectar is called Aqua Fortis. And funny thing is, you already know how to make it. You create it via distilling the green vitriol we spoke of earlier with saltpeter and alum. The perfect Aqua Fortis is a clear liquid; however, most take on the tint of brown. It will react with practically everything but gold, and is an oxidizing agent….

“Better yet, there’s more. If you were to mix one solution of Aqua Fortis with three or four solutions of Spirit of Salt you would end up with a stronger chemical agent called Aqua Regia, or ‘King’s Water’. Most solutions that have found their way into alchemical textbooks have slang variations, and that’s that one. This concoction is stronger because it can actually dissolve gold. Fairly interesting material,” she spoke, shaking her hair loose and combing it with her fingers for a bit.

[Erenthril Mael'tharias]

Mistress Llorai waited until Erenthril had finished scribbling down everything she’d said before plowing onwards. She tossed him a cheeky grin when he looked up.

“Other basic things for you to know. Come over here,” she spoke, walking around the table to the opposite corner of the room and coming to stand next to a barrel. Erenthril left the papyrus and quill behind to follow her. “You’ll remember me using the term Ethanol earlier, yes? Well, there are more useful things you can create from alcohol, particularly when it comes to wine. You’ll see here,” she spoke, pointing into the dark shadowy barrel at the edges of the inside, “some liquid gooey stuff lining the sides. That’s called tartar. If you get it to react with calcined antimony, you’ll end up with something formally known as Tartar Emetic. It’s a poisonous substance, but often times used anyways – the most difficulties I’ve ever experienced with it was nausea and some vomiting,” she shrugged her shoulders and walked back to where they were stationed.

Eren joined her and penned this information down.

“Now this vial here” she held it up for him to see. “Is called cyanide. Go ahead and smell it – it’s similar to almonds. It’s a rather dangerous poison… dangerous by both inhalation and direct contact. Most alchemists use it to extract gold, silver, and platinum from rocks. You can create it by distilling almonds or clovers after they’ve been ground sufficiently. I suggest you hold off on trying it right away though,” she winked, before returning the vial back to the cabinet. Eren caught a glimpse of the small inked markings on its side; a skull and crossbones. It was the one he had initially seen the day before.

“Of course, not to be outdone, you also have Lye, which is also caustic. Simple to make, just wash wood ash with distilled water and then undergo Calcination via boiling. Used mostly for soaps, though I prefer to buy my own…

“And here we have Distilled Vinegar. You can make this also from wine, though really it’s just vinegar that’s been distilled. It’s a rather decent acid, good for testing things out. Not necessarily caustic, you see, but not a pushover either. Forms a bunch of interesting salts…” she trailed off, peeking over his shoulder as he jotted down the information. Chuckling to herself, she stepped back and began putting items back onto the cabinet. The lesson was almost concluded for the brightening.

“We also have tar here,” she spoke, picking up a rather large glass bowl-like figure filled with the gooey blackness. “You get it from coal and shale deposits. A lot of people use it to patch things up or make sure ships don’t sink… that sort of thing. And here we have Cinnabar, the primary ore mercury is derived from… and which you can derive also if you distill it from metal. The technical name is rather longer I’m afraid, Mercuric sulphide. M-e-r-c-u-r-i-c. That’s correct,” she tapped his paper once, “Its slang term is Vermillion, and it’s mostly used as pigmentation for paints.

“This last one here,” she spoke, lifting the last jar on the table that contained a substance similar to brass. “Is called Marcasite. You dissolve it from iron. Sometimes Bismuth. Doesn’t do anything interesting, really, but it’s a component you’ll use for more advanced reactions. These are all the basic chemicals you’ll need to know Heru Mael’tharias.”

Somewhere within the last few minutes she’d put everything up