“That should at least be a small relief then“, the Mortalborn remarked as Balthazar told him that having a large anchor didn’t make a ghost more powerful, but just harder to destroy. When the other mage informed him that a ghost’s power came from their age and deterioration, he furrowed his brow fractionally. He was already, to some extent, aware of the fact that ghosts tended to deteriorate after a while, of course. He could not help but wonder why they deteriorated though, and if said process could be prevented, stopped or even reversed.
There were other questions that were on his mind as well though. Matters of life and death and the state of those that had moved to the world beyond interested him, even though it was highly unlikely that he would die in the near future due to the longevity that his divine blood afforded him – or maybe because of his extraordinarily long lifespan and the fact that he would still be there when the entire city of Viden had turned to dust, if was careful.
He looked at Balthazar thoughtfully for a few moments, hands folded atop his desk, wondering, before he posed a single question, the one that he considered to be the most important one that would hopefully allow him to find the rest of the answers by himself, in time.
“Do you know how the process of deterioration starts, Mister Black? Does it start the moment that a ghost comes to be?” That seemed logical to him – the process of becoming a ghost was without a doubt a traumatizing experience, and something that could break even the strongest people – but he had learned that the answer was not always that simple. There might be more to it, certain important details that he was still unaware of.
“Chemistry is”, he began when Balthazar asked him what chemistry was and smiled slightly for a moment as the other mage had just asked him to explain one of his favourite topics before he spoke in a matter of fact tone, “Everything. Chemistry is called the central science for a reason. It plays an important role in connecting other sciences, from physics and medicine over astronomy to engineering. Without chemistry, they would not exist, at least not in the form that we are familiar with.”
“Chemistry tells us of the properties of different substances, how they interact with each other and how they change, among other things. An alchemist who does not have a background in chemistry and thus does not know those things, will frequently see their creations fail – or be faced with worse consequences. So, in short, chemistry would help you a lot with alchemy”, he finished in a somewhat dry tone of voice.
“As for the demonstration”, he remarked, adjusting to the change in topic effortlessly. “I could actually conduct a demonstration for you right here and right now if you want me to. We don’t necessarily have to go to a different room or outside. Something straight-forward might be better for a first demonstration anyway”, he decided. He’d initially wanted something more challenging and elaborate, but he’d begun to reconsider.
Apart from that, demonstrating a magic item at the Academy would require him to inform his colleagues and his superiors. There would, likely, not be any issues, it would just be somewhat time-consuming, although he would probably test the blindfold more extensively at a later date anyway, either at the Academy or the Fitness Centre which had been his initial plan.
“The only question that remains is how we will do it”, he admitted and stroke his chin somewhat thoughtfully before he looked at the other man questioningly. “What would you suggest, Mister Black? Shall I try to find something without using my eyes, or do you have a different idea?”
