Page 216 of Alchemised
Shiseo and Helena had worked manually using old chymistry techniques to determine, as the other metallurgists had, that it was not a natural compound but a synthetic fusion of lumithium and something that Helena had never encountered.
When Shiseo checked his work several times, his hands trembled.
“I don’t know how they have this,” he finally said. “This should not be here.”
“What is it?”
He was silent for a long time.
“In the East, there is a rare metal found deep in the mountains. It is—rarer than gold. Only the Emperor himself is permitted to possess it. We called it mo’lian’shi. It—creates inertia.”
Helena had never heard of such a thing. There were metals and substances which were inert in their natural, raw state, and there was lumithium and its emanations which could reverse inertia to create resonance. Iron was often inert, but once it was processed into steel, even without emanations, it developed a low resonance.
The Irreversibility of Resonance had been established by Cetus about the nature of alchemy. One of his few principles to stand the test of time and scientific interrogation.
Nothing could be made inert.
“I’ve never heard of that,” Helena said.
He shook his head, his eyebrows drawn together.
“You wouldn’t have. It is a part of the Emperor’s power. As lumithium can create resonance, mo’lian’shi takes it back. What this is—” He looked down and seemed deeply troubled. “This is mo’lian’shi fused with lumithium. The simultaneous effect of both together creates a resonance haze.”
He looked at his notes again. “It is unstable. The fusion is deteriorating, but they may perfect their methods in the future. This was probably only a first attempt. But …” His voice trailed off. “I don’t know how they have this.”
He fell silent and did not elaborate for a long time, but finally said, “When the new Emperor came to power, there were questions, mysteries about how he found the wealth to pay his armies.”
Since working with Shiseo, Helena had heard a few rumours about what had brought him to Paladia. That he’d been a eunuch who’d served the previous Emperor, or the illegitimate child of someone in the court.
Helena stared at Shiseo, wondering just who he was. Exceptionally educated was one thing, but knowledgeable about a secret imperial metal was another.
“Perhaps the Undying bought it from the black market,” she said, but she was already thinking about how Crowther and Ilva would interpret this. If Morrough had an alliance with Hevgoss and secret trade connections with the Eastern Empire, the threat that loomed over Paladia had just grown by magnitudes.
If the new Emperor had obtained his throne selling something of imperial value, that was a violation of his own trade laws.
Shiseo shook his head. “You don’t understand how carefully mo’lian’shi is protected. It is a rare and delicate thing. Once mined, it must be carefully processed to bring out the effects. It is often immediately alloyed to prevent it from degrading. But this—” He touched the vial lightly. “—this was made from pure mo’lian’shi. Only someone of royal birth, with an Emperor’s seal, could access it.”
“And you know of it,” she said slowly.
Shiseo met her eyes briefly before they slid away. “And I know of it.”
Now Helena was silent.
“Did you suspect this?” she finally asked. “Is that why you asked for a chance to analyse it?”
He looked absently around the lab. “When I heard of the struggle the metallurgists had, I thought it was a new variety. But this, I am sure, is the Emperor’s. They would not have an identical refining technique.”
Helena felt as though she stood upon a political landmine. In their hands was proof of a deal not merely between Morrough and another country, but of a treachery between a ruler and his own empire. The information was dangerous and raised more questions than it answered. If the Emperor was in debt, how would Morrough have gotten the money to involve himself?
Shiseo was probably the only person who could have discovered it. When the deal was made, it had most likely been done under the assumption that no one could ever connect it to the East.
“Officially, we can call it a synthetic fused metal, using lumithium and an unknown compound,” she said slowly, trying to gauge his reaction. “In the future, if it seems necessary to reveal the Empire’s potential involvement, perhaps we can—discover it, then.”
Shiseo nodded slowly.
“We will have to tell Ilva and Crowther at least. They’ll need to know about this.”
“KAINE,” HELENA SAID QUIETLY. SHE was seated on the floor, trying to relieve the raw sensation in her resonance. “Do you think the Eternal Flame can win the war?”
