Alchemy

Alchemy is the art of potion making across the world. It can refer to ordinary solutions made by day to day herbalists, or it can refer to the powerful potions that are created by magi and involve supernatural means to brew. The more advanced potions are complicated, sometimes involving several stages and days to make.

Beginnings in alchemy involve learning how to forage and identify ingredients. By distilling and harnessing certain aspects of the procured materials, a number of desired effects can be produced in the combinations. Something as slight as a minor increase in brewing time or quantity might sabotage and change the desired outcome. Extraction, mixing, heating and cooling in a carefully staged process by skilled hands will produce a concoction ready to be bottled and sold.

The Alchemist's Code

Traditional Alchemists are secretive and protective in the knowledge they've uncovered, often only sharing it with close companions in various leagues. It is, often, their life's work. When the initial experiments and the base of alchemy was founded, it was said that a vow was made to pursue the three ideals, though where and when this happened is unknown despite the tradition still being maintained in more serious scholarly establishments.

i. The discovery of a universal cure for all disease. Freedom from fragility.

ii. A means of indefinitely prolonging life. Immortality without personal consequence.

iii. The perfect transmutation of metal, such as lead to gold. An end to inequality.

The morality of these pursuits and their effects on humanity as a whole is often debated. Considered the pinnacle of the Alchemist's journey, any one person or group that manages to advance an area is likely to be heralded, even if they might fiercely defend the actual recipe with their life. This has made proving and confirming achievements difficult with notable alchemists oft being the subject of folklore.