Alchemy

Known as "Muadrineth" in the Letheni tongue, alchemy is a science used to understand the component elements that make up all things in the world. This system was developed in the late Age of Creation by the Letheni of central Arak. It defines all things as being made of combinations of one or more elements, with there being ten elements in total. Each element has an opposite, and they are grouped into two spectra; "Afra" (hot) and "Mala" (cold) elements.

The Elements

The elements as defined by alchemy, as well as their opposites, are:

Afra	Mala
Light	Dark
Fire	Water
Air	Sand
Lightning	Earth
Blood	Bone

Elemental Properties

Each element is associated with certain properties of objects.

• Light is associated with illumination, order, time, and revelation. It is the domain of Astix.
• Dark is associated with darkness, obfuscation, concealment, and erasure. It is the domain of Umos.
• Fire is associated with flames, heat, energy, consuming, transformation, and purification. It is the domain of Astix.
• Water is associated with liquid, cold, flow, condensation, adaptation, and stillness. It is the domain of Quen.
• Air is associated with atmosphere, motion, diffusion, chaos, and sound. It is the domain of Quen.
• Sand is associated with particles, abrasion, erosion, entropy, and memory. It is the domain of Estrea.
• Lightning is associated with electricity, impulse, force, current, and activity. It is the domain of Aellor.
• Earth is associated with soil, rock, metal, weight, pressure, and endurance. It is the domain of Aellor.
• Blood is associated with vitality, corruption, contagion, poison, and identity. It is the domain of Maven.
• Bone is associated with structure, permanence, death, and decay. It is the domain of Estrea.

Depending on how these elements are combined, they form various materials; some of which may have unique interactions with other materials or creatures. These combinations are expressed through elemental formulas; the most basic of which being simply (A + B), where A and B are chemical symbols representing the component elements to combine. There are many possible materials that may all share the same elemental formula.

Laws

There are a number of laws that govern the way elements can be combined.

• Law of Balance - For a special interaction to occur, there must be at least one Afra and one Mala element. Elemental formulas expressing two Afra or two Mala elements result in mundane materials. These special properties emerge from elemental balance.
• Law of Opposites - Each element has an opposing element; Fire has Water, Light has Dark, and so on. The only way to introduce both Afra and Mala into an elemental formula together is by refinement, which subdues their properties, strengthening the others.
• Law of Stability - Materials can be stabilized by binding other elements which are not the inverse of any of the elements in the elemental formula.

Processes

There are a number of alchemical processes by which elements can be combined to form materials. Below are a list of alchemical processes and examples of how they modify an elemental formula, as well as examples of real combinations that can be achieved.

Refinement

Refinement is the most basic process, which involves strengthening one element in an elemental formula, while subduing the other, in order to cause the properties of one element to be expressed more strongly. This is abstracted as adding the inverse of the element to be subdued in order to weaken it. For example, adding Fire to a formula containing Water will subdue the Water element, strenthening the other element/s in the formula.

Refinement can be achieved by processes such as distillation, filtration, and decanting.

Example

Formula: ((A + B) + ~A) = (-A + B)

Porcelain: (Water + Earth) = Clay -> ((Water + Earth) + Fire) -> (-Water + Earth) = Porcelain

Excitation

Excitation is a basic process in which one element is strengthened by adding more of it to the elemental formula. This process modifies the material temporarily, but makes it unstable. Exciting a material and then introducing the excited element's opposite will create a violent reaction.

Excitation can be achieved by processes such as heating, aeration, and agitation.

Example

Formula: ((A + B) + !A) = ([A] + B)

Molten Glass: ((Fire + Sand) + Fire) = ([Fire] + Sand) -> (Fire + Sand)

For the above example, adding Water to the elemental formula while Fire is strengthened will result in a violent reaction. In the case of Molten Glass, the rapid cooling of the molten glass will cause it to explode. This unstable reaction is represented in an elemental formula as "[R]".

Molten Glass: ((Fire + Sand) + Fire) = (([Fire] + Sand) + Water) = ([R] + Sand) -> (Sand)

Mediation

Meditation is the process of introducing an element into an elemental formula that causes the inverse of that element to become bound to the material.

Meditation can be achieved by processes such as condensation, sublimation, and cooling.

Example

Formula: ()

Inversion

Inversion involves the replacement of an element in an elemental formula with one on the opposite spectrum, which typically stabilizes a material; but also results in a mundane material with no special properties.

Inversion can be achieved by processes such as fermentation, oxidation, and carbonization.

Example

Formula: ()

Binding

Binding involves introducing a third element into an elemental formula that is not the inverse of the others in the formula. This typically stabilizes a material and can lead to more exotic interactions.

Binding can be achieved by processes such as alloying, sintering, and curing.

Example

Formula: ()

Reaction

Reactions occur when you introduce the opposite of one element in an elemental formula in such a way as to de-stabilize that element. Reactions typically do not occur in stabilized materials.

Reactions can be achieved by processes such as slaking, combustion, and neutralization.

Example

Formula: ()

Special Materials

Aellorah has many materials that to the untrained eye may appear mundane, but which have special properties that interact with others in strange and unique ways, as a result of the component elements of the material and the deities associated with the elements contained within. These special properties are difficult to discern without significant study.

Material	Formula	Interaction
Aluminum	(Wind + Earth)	Can be shaped when heated; but after cooling, the metal rapidly returns to its original shape when damaged or reshaped.
Copper	(Fire + Earth)	Forms a green patina over time by passively absorbing static Flow. Patina releases static Flow when burned. Can be used to store Flow for dead zones.
Basalt	(Fire + Earth)	Impervious to heat or fire.
Fulgurite	(Lightning + Sand)	Blocks emission of animate Flow. Divination spells cannot detect animate Flow blocked by Fulgurite.
Glass	(Fire + Sand)	Blocks spectral Flow. Spirits cannot pass through glass. Weapons made of glass may harm them.
Gold	(Light + Earth)	Proximity to other materials containing both an Afra and Mala element causes those materials to give off a soft glow. Range and intensity of glow depend on the size of the gold object and its purity. Gold coins made small and out of impure gold to prevent this effect.
Platinum	(Light + Earth)	Stores light when in direct sunlight, and releases stored sunlight when struck against something. Amount that can be stored dependent on size and purity of object. A small chunk left in the sun for a week can cause a blinding flash.
Quartz	(Lightning + Bone)	Generates electricity when struck. When shattered with sudden force, can create a burst of electricity.
Quicklime	(Fire + Earth)	Reacts violently to water, desiccating and producing exothermic reaction.
Silver	(Light + Earth)	Small silver veins formed whenever a person is born with a strong connection to your animate Flow. It is said that finding silver mined from your vein that was formed on the day of your birth will bring you great fortune and allow you to rewrite your fate. Can be used in rituals as a link to a person's animate Flow.