[MUD-Dev] Virtual Chemistry

[Marian Griffith]

On Mon 14 Jul, Chris Gray wrote:

> Well, maybe. I have one here, entitled "The Lure and Romance of
> Alchemy", by C.J.S. Thompson. He covers people, history, equipment,
> secret alphabets, formulae, etc., all in light detail. I haven't read
> the book, but have browsed it. It seems to be a lot of hogwash, designed
> to fool people. Probably was. The alchemists did come up with a lot of
> useful processes, equipment and knowledge that has lead to modern
> chemistry, but things like the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixer of Life,
> etc. are likely stories made up to get funding from rich folks. It looks
> like a lot of the workers made things up as they went along, so there
> often wasn't much in the way of a usable theory. They traded info on
> processes and materials, however, and that's how chemistry was born.

I'm not sure if you are not equating alchemy with chemistry here. Part of
what makes alchemy is the connection to the mysticism and things like the
philosopher's stone belong to that, as do the theories. They are attempts
to explain things the alchemist discovered with their experiments but not
scientific theories. That doesn't mean you can't -make- them true in your
game.

Anyway. Here is my attempt at a personal theory of alchemy.

I've based this alchemy on the four elements, mostly because everybody is
already familiar with that and this means there is no need to go into any
detail with that.

--------------------------
Everything in alchemy  is based on the balance of life and decay.  Life is
what binds and shapes things and allows them to be and affect other things.
In this respect a rock is an expression of life also, even though it is not
alive.  Decay on the other hand is what unbinds and releases  the posibili-
ties bound by life.
This doesn't mean the two are mutually exclusive. In fact quite the opposi-
te is true. One can't exist without the other. E.g. in a swamp, where there
is a lot of decay, you can also find a high degree of life.  And in jungles
where there is much life active you will equally find much decay to balance
it. The balance is what actually makes the world possible and it is carried
by the spirit.  The spirit of the world or the spirit of an individual tree
or human.  Every spirit attempts to balance life and decay within itself to
continue to be.

In the world life and decay are expressed in the four elements water, fire,
earth and air. These too are in balance with their opposite elements. Water
opposites fire and earth opposites air. For each element there is one oppo-
site  that is always on the other side of the scale,  and two elements that
may be on the same side of the balance or may be on the opposite side.  The
natural allies of an element. They may also be indifferent and can be found
on neither side of a particular balance.
Each element can be expressing the aspect of life and decay. Usually it will
only strongly express one of them  but this need not be the case  and within
the body different parts will often aspect both;  e.g. fire of life and fire
of decay at the same time. This also means that disease isn't decay.  Exist-
ence requires balance  of the aspects of life and decay,  not the absence of
either. Disease is an inbalance somewhere and the medical application of al-
chemy attempts to remedy that inbalance.  Or to assist the spirit in restor-
ing balance.
Of course alchemy can also be used to disturb the balance to disease somebo-
dy.  The true application of alchemy is to not alter the body,  but to alter
balance in the world.

Basic principle is as follows.  An alchemist needs to find materials (herbs,
animals, gems and sometimes rocks or earths)  that have a natural ability to
hold the life, or the decay aspect of a certain element.  Then the alchemist
must create an environment  in which the desired balance  is established and
use his or her spirit in binding the balance to the mix. This means that al-
chemy is partly a matter of finding the right ingredients to bind the proper
aspects of life and decay for each element and partly a matter of rituals to
establish the desired balance.  The result may be a potion, staff, amulet or
anything.  It will, when applied, release the balance stored in it. When the
alchemy is strong enough it will affect everything around it and force it to
adopt that balance. Things will therefor change when the potion or amulet is
applied because their balance will be shifted in the direction the alchemist
established when creating it.

Because the world itself is a spirit maintaining a balance it will influence
any attempt to practice alchemy. E.g. the sun is a representation of the li-
fe aspects, especially of fire,  and any alchemy attempting to increase life
aspects  must be performed during the daytime.  If other elements in the po-
tion  require a strengthening of the decay aspects of other elements  it may
be necessary to perform the ritual at sunset instead.  Similarly the moon is
a representation of the decay aspects. The strongest alchemy to affect decay
aspects must be performed during new moon.  Moon is not exclusively a repre-
sentation of decay  because the full moon is similar in strength of life  as
sunset.  The seasons of the year also affect alchemy.  Spring and Autumn are
the seasons when the world is in disbalance. In spring life is strengthening
but decay is still weak.  In autumn it is life that is weakening while decay
is still strong.  Summer and winter are the balanced seasons. In summer both
life and decay are strong but at winter they are both weak. Depending on the
required effect of the alchemy  it might be essential  to perform the ritual
during a certain season, at an exact time of the day, under a specific phase
of the moon for the strongest effect.
It also explains why women are in generally stronger witches. Their body re-
flects  the state of their spirit more strongly  than is the case  with men.
While they are having their flows they are strong in the aspect of decay and
when they are pregnant they're very strong in the aspect of life. Men on the
other hand have in general a stronger spirit  because less of it  is tied to
their body.  They will be able to perform the most complicated rituals  that
women likely  will lack the strength of spirit for.  Male and female rituals
differ because of this difference.
Virginity is a strong aspect of life, while sacrifice is an act to create an
extreme aspect of decay. A sacrifice does'nt need to be the killing of a li-
ving being.  Maiming or destruction of an artifact is also sacrificial. Cer-
tain rituals require an aspect of life  that is so strong that they can only
be performed by a virgin, or even by an innocent child but those rituals are
rare and not attempted often.

Preparation of ingredients. With floral components there are many aspects to
consider. What part of the plant to choose.  Roots generally are tied to the
element earth, leaves are tied to air, flowers to fire  and fruits to water.
There are many exceptions to this general rule however. The natural environ-
ment will also strongly affect  which elements it is strong in and which as-
pect of life and decay  the plant is capable of tying into a ritual.  Plants
growing  in swamps or  in the shadows are often expressions of decay aspects
and will more easily bind that aspect.  Other plants express aspects of life
and it is not uncommon  to have certain parts of a plant be better suited to
bind decay aspects while other parts bind life aspects.  And most plants are
not particularly suited to be used in alchemy. how to prepare plants depends
on which element must be extracted from it. For the element of water a tinc-
ture must be made;  using slow dissolution to prepare for decay while usage
of alcohol is more suited for life aspects.  To extract  the element of fire
burning is often the best way after which the ashes must be applied.  Grind-
ing is  the preferred way for earth elements,  and drying is best suited for
the element of air.  Combinations of preparations may be necessary to reduce
unwanted elements  before reaching the desired stage.  E.g roots with a high
degree of water may require initial drying  (allying earth with air)  before
the final grinding  may be performed.  This will reduce the effectiveness of
the final ingredient though.
With animal components much the same considerations apply. The difference is
that in animals bodyparts usually apply to more than one elements. The heart
e.g. is of both elements earth and fire. Also, when creating healing alchemy
the effective element may differ  depending on the bodypart or limb  that is
going to be healed.  Legs are of element earth and require a healing alchemy
that is strong in that element  while a similar disease or injury to an arm,
which is strongest in the element air, will require a different application.
Inanimate substances are often disbalanced aspects of life, where all possi-
bilities have been tied into the shape.  Gems, for amulets,  or grounded for
potions are often strong components of a ritual and sacrificing a gem in the
process of a ritual is a reliable way to increase the aspect of decay. Which
gem stands for which element is usually obvious.

Finally when creating healing alchemy  it is important to realise that diag-
nosing ailments in bodies is difficult  and can easily be misleading.  Fever
is a sign of a disbalance in the element of fire throughout the entire body.
But is this because the life aspect of fire is too strong or because the de-
cay aspect is too weak? Or perhaps the water element is disbalanced, causing
fire to rage out of control.  Or perhaps earth or air have allied  with fire
and make it overpower the balancing effect of water? The obvious reaction to
a fever would be to apply a potion that strengthens the life aspect of water
but this may initially reduce the fever,  but turn out to be worse  than the
initial disbalance. By increasing the life and decay aspects of the body an-
other disbalance is created.  This may not immediately be apparent, but will
in the long run  wear out the spirit  attempting to control the high levels.
The victim will at first seem to be healed of the fever, and may be more li-
vely than before. In the feverish activity one can still recognise the fever
that has been suppressed but not been healed.

True Healing in this alchemy is the ability of one spirit to actively change
the balance maintained by another spirit, without the need to resort to
alchemy.

Marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey