Before I begin, let me start off by saying that not all can understand the great scope of Alchemy. Many do not understand the sacrifice and turmoil that many acclaimed researchers undertake.
The science of Alchemy is not for the feeble-minded to mock or look down upon.
This knowledge that is so freely given was the painstaking work of many great men and women that came before you. It is they who have paved the way so that the masses could profit off of their back.
Alchemy is not a tool for quick and petty profit. It is the key to our very understanding of our universe and beyond.
And so, unlike my more naive colleagues, freely giving their hard-earned rewards to the unstudied masses in some asinine attempt to raise society above its means, I give my knowledge in the hopes that the exceptional will use it as a stepping stone to further insight into Alchemy.
Having said that, I understand that to have a greater chance to find such individuals, I will need to have this book be spread across the unsuited masses. So, in a bid to make sure that the right sort are able to utilize my knowledge, and though it pains me to do so, I will endeavor to lower my standards and share knowledge suitable for the less-learned.
Though I expect many who wish to learn from my experience will already be somewhat learned, I understand there will also be those unsuitable for this field of study who will try to force themselves beyond what they can achieve.
In an effort to stave off these groups I will try to explain the very basics of basics of Alchemy
Since the very beginning, Alchemy has been the tool that Magi have used to understand the world around them. From its conception in the heart of Asia through its journey and subsequent growth through Europe, Alchemy has remained a core part of our society.
At its most basic components, it has allowed Magi to shape the world around them for millennia. Whether through medicine, construction, rituals, our quality of life, all the way to even our currency.
Alchemy has had a hand in all.
The science of Alchemy can be divided into many subcategories. The most popular being Potiontology, or the study of Potions and transmutation. From the simple water purification potion to the Philosopher's Stone of Flamel and Hohenheim.
But whether through the power of Regents or Circles, the basis of Alchemy has always been the understanding and changing of substances.
Using Potions as an example for the lesser inclined, Parraviqua(*page 250) a well-known substance used in potion making, breaks down reagents to their basis and combines their magical energy to create new phenomena.
This is different from Transmutation, which can only affect material on the physical plane and is incapable of breaking physical bodies past the atomic level.
Some say, that for that reason that Potions are a higher class than Transmutation, but it is mearly a difference in the paths that they provide.
With the exception of Potions being the more expensive branch of Alchemy.
In the past, alchemists would have to spend astronomical amounts of money to acquire reagents from all across the globe for their experiments.
But thanks to families like the BeaRose and our migration to Eden, troubles of materials have all but faded.
Potion making, one of the earliest forms of Alchemy, has partifuly risen to the forefront of our society in this day and age. And from this new rise in interest, new techniques have given way.
From the creation of pills to the expansion of paintings and Golems, and even into the creation of the Doors.
But, to the skeptic of many, new sciences have risen over the years as we, as a people, expand our understanding of the world around us within the Tower of Last Haven.
These new studies, Genetics and Venedynamics, are currently being spearheaded under the banner of the guilds Promeseus and Homilkov.
And though some people in the academic circle hesitate to add these new fields of study into the fold, whether through their places of origin or by claiming that they are not real Alchemy, I believe that such discovery should be alluded.
Already, potions created under Homilkov have raised the quality in our paintings as well as in our Golems. Reducing the quantity of many delicate ingredients and, in some cases, replacing them entirely.
At the same time, Promeseus's invention of Shards and Distillers has revolutionized the way we as a people utilize magic. Jumping our understanding of magic ahead by decades, if not centuries.
Personally, I believe that we have entered into another Golden Age of Alchemy
Excerpt from Alchemy: The Science of Magic and Life By Marcelimus Accerage (pg 5 of 299) Vol. 1 of 50