Page 63 of The Ascended
Alchemy
This wing had been lockedduring all my previous explorations of the castle. Now, as I followed Xül through the arched passage, I wondered why he'd finally decided to grant me access to whatever lay beyond those heavy doors.
But then we entered the chamber, and my heart skipped.
It was enormous and perfectly circular, dominated by tables covered in glass equipment I'd never seen before. Strange beakers connected by twisting tubes, scales that looked far more delicate than anything we'd used for weighing oysters, and rows of vials filled with various liquids.
But it was the domed ceiling that truly captivated me—intricate panels that looked almost like they could...
"Can you open that?" I asked, my voice betraying my awe.
"This room doubles as an observatory." Xül moved to a lever embedded in the wall, and with a soft grinding of gears, the panels began to retract.
The night sky revealed itself in all its glory—stars scattered, low-hanging clouds drifting pastthe moon.
I was still staring upward when something soft hit my chest. Leather gloves.
"Have to protect that delicate mortal skin," Xül said, already moving through the room with purposeful strides, collecting supplies.
I slipped on the gloves and moved to stand beside the table. His movements were fluid, confident—utterly different from the bored Aesymar who’d been conducting my combat training. No, he was interested in this, and experienced, if his expression was any indication.
"Are we performing a ritual?" I asked, watching him measure out crystalline powder.
"We're doing alchemy, Thais. Keep up." His tone carried an edge, but there was something else there too. Enthusiasm, maybe. Like he was finally doing something he actually wanted to do.
I remained wary—everything with him was a trap or a test or both—but curiosity won out over caution. It always did with me, unfortunately. "What exactly are we setting up here?"
"I thought we'd start small." He gestured to the array of ingredients spread across the table. "Tonight, we're making a repulsion ward."
"Well,thatsounds fun."
Impatience flickered across his features, but he continued organizing his supplies. "Alchemy is based on three fundamental principles," he said. “Sympathetic resonance—like attracts like. Harmonic frequency—all materials vibrate at specific levels that must be matched or complemented for stable reactions. And a living binding agent—a catalyst that creates permanent fusion between ingredients and their user.”
I picked up one of the vials, watching the silver liquid inside swirl. "So it's not just following a recipe."
"Hardly. Any fool can mix ingredients together. True alchemy requires understanding the nature of what you're working with." Hetook the vial from my hands, our fingers brushing briefly. "Every ingredient serves a purpose."
"Like how different types of bait catch different fish," I said, before really thinking about it.
Xül paused, looking genuinely surprised. "That's... actually quite accurate."
"I'm not completely hopeless, you know." I picked up another vial, this one filled with something that looked like crushed pearls. "We might not have had fancy equipment in Saltcrest, but we understood how things worked together. Which tides brought which fish, how moon phases affected the oyster beds, why certain combinations of salt and smoke preserved meat better than others."
"I hadn't considered that." He studied me with new interest. "Your understanding of natural processes would translate well to alchemical work."
The approval in his voice sent an unexpected warmth through my chest. "So what makes this different from what mortals do?"
"Scale and permanence, mostly. Along with access to magical materials that simply don't exist in Elaren. A mortal might create a healing salve that works for a few days. With proper alchemical techniques, you can create something that lasts indefinitely." He began arranging ingredients. "The more powerful the alchemist, the more dramatic the results."
"You seem to know a lot about this."
"I do." No false modesty there. "I've been studying alchemy since I was a child. My father has extensive texts on the subject."
His tone made me curious. "You sound like you spent a lot of time in those libraries."
"More than was probably healthy." A shadow crossed his face. "But books don't share the judgement of the living."
I remembered what Aelix had told me. "I'd imagine it was difficult for you growing up in Voldaris. Half mortal, half Aesymar."
