• Solo • Yellow Glass

[Doran]

Ashan 27, Arc 721

He had, the son of Ziell considered, as he opened the door and stepped through it, never practiced alchemy in an extra-dimensional space before. He had worked in an underground laboratory in Etzos, and high above ground in Viden, and he had even brewed a potion in Emea with Llyr once, although he had decided not to drink any of it (He had been worried that a potion made that was from reagents that had just appeared in his dreamscape would affect him negatively.), but prior to coming to Faldrass he had never been in a place like this one.

A part of him could not help but wonder what it would be like to have an ability just like the one that Arlo Creede possessed, to create a camp that warded any dangerous creatures away and where a warm fire burnt all evening long. There had been a time when he had been perfectly happy in his laboratory or the library, brooding over books and making new inventions, but there was a certain curiosity about the world within him now, a curiosity that had started with an unexpected love story, and magic. He had no interest in being isolated and existing apart from mortalkind anymore, like he had done in the past.

For a moment, as he set his domain bag down on the floor and removed his alchemical tools from it, he allowed himself to think of a future where there would be no war anymore, and he would take a leave of absence from his work, travel the world of Idalos and try to uncover all of its mysteries, staying in a place just like this one, warm, comfortable and safe.

A moment later, he abruptly banished those thoughts – he had never been particularly wont to daydream, and he would not start to do so now – and decided to focus on the task at hand once more. There was a conflict that had to be resolved first, and there was a beacon that had to be built. The trial before, Xiur had visited Vega Creede and him and told them about a ship full of former slaves from Rharne that would arrive soon and that they needed to construct a beacon in order to guide them to the island safely.

He had proposed glass imbued with yellow sand for their beacon as it glowed in the dark and would enhance the light of the fire that burnt on top of the beacon further. A couple of arcs earlier, when he had still been a professor in Rynmere, he had invented a type of phosphorescent paint. He had used crystals back then, but sand worked just as well, maybe even better, and it was freely available. People just had to pick it up at the beach.

The sand was what he got next. Vega’s cousins had been asked to collect different kinds of sand a while earlier which was a fortunate coincidence. The bags of sand – and the large wooden tub that he had put them in and that he needed for his work – were heavy, or they would have been for most other people. He carried them into the camp that he had been allowed to use for the duration of his stay on the island with ease, although he had to admit that the tub was a bit unwieldy. Finally, he retrieved the most important part, apart from the sand – the glass panes that Vega’s cousins had acquired in Egilrun.

He carefully set them down and looked them over, inspected them for any cracks and other flaws, before he checked his tools and the rest of his materials and wiped the inside of the tub with a clean piece of cloth, thoroughly. He did not think that a grain of dirt or two would affect the result of his alchemy negatively, but he would not take any chances. This here was too important. The former slaves deserved a bit of safety, and hope.

Finally, he put on his protective gloves.

[Doran]

Previously, when he had used a type of phosphorescent crystal in order to make his paint, the son of Ziell had ground said crystals into a powder using a mortar and pestle; this time, using a mortar and pestle would not be necessary though as the sand was already rather fine. Instead, he grasped a metal sieve with countless openings that only allowed particles that were of a certain size or smaller to pass through, in order to produce a more uniform kind of sand, remove larger particles and ultimately purify the sand.

It was a somewhat time-consuming process due to how much sand he needed; he remained utterly focused on the task at hand though. He discarded the particles that had been caught in the sieve in a separate container, shook the sieve and proceeded to sift the sand a second time, and ultimately a third time before he finally put the sieve away again.

Contamination could affect the alchemical process negatively; it could lead to unforeseen side-effects or render the item in question useless, for example. Such would not be the case this time due to the nature of the reagents that he planned on using; there might be gaps in the effect though. The beacon would likely still fulfill its purpose; he did not want to carry out Xiur’s task in an imperfect manner though, and neither did he want to guide the ship to Faldrass’ shores with a light that left something to be desired.

For his crystal-based paint, Doran had used alcohol as the crystal powder that he had used had had a lower density than water. Due to that, it would just have floated on top and have been hard or impossible to disperse in water. Sand had a greater density than water though; it would sink to the bottom. For that reason, using water to make the alchemical paint would be entirely sufficient. Doing so also had another convenient side-effect: Water was cheaper and easier to come by than alcohol.

He poured the water into a measuring container first in order to make sure that he had exactly the right amount before he poured it into his tub. The sand was measured with a scale before he added it to the tub as well and began to stir it using a large wooden spatula until it had been dispersed completely. Finally, he added a certain amount of binder, a binder that was based on linseed oil. The binder would not only ensure that the various reagents did not negate each other; it would also keep the paint in place after everything had dried.

An enhancement that just fell off the moment that you moved the item in question a bit or touched it a bit too much would be useless, he thought with a somewhat grim smile as he measured and ultimately added the last reagent that he would need for his paint, the metabolizer that would strengthen the alchemical effect. He had decided on finely ground pepper which was a type of natural metabolizer. He had also, briefly, considered using dried Iffloil flowers instead; they were ultimately more suitable for potions in his opinion though.

Finally, he moved on to what would be last step before the actual enhancement. He treated the glass panes with a primer, a type of liquid mixed with resin, which was necessary in order to prepare them for receiving the enhancement. That aside, his alchemical paint would likely not stick to the smooth surface of the glass easily if he used it on the glass as is. The primer would help in that regard as well and prevent gaps in the effect just as much as sifting the sand beforehand.

[Doran]

While he waited for the glass panes that had been treated with the primer to dry on a simple drying rack, Doran took off his gloves, ate and drink a bit and momentarily stepped outside. He stood right in front of the doorway, breathing in the clear Ashan air before he went inside again, sat down on the floor and inhaled and exhaled deeply and evenly, one hand placed on his chest, right above Daia’s mark that took the shape of a flaming heart.

Meditation helped him clear his mind, relax and focus just as much as fresh air – or a short walk – did. When he had first started to meditate on a regular basis, shortly after his initiation into Transmutation, it had taken him a seeming eternity to achieve that state of calm and clarity, and unbidden thoughts had constantly returned to the forefront of his mind.

Nowadays, he was capable of reaching that pleasant state where he was more aware, and yet relatively unbothered by the things happening around him, compared to before, within moments though – and without the techniques that had once been necessary, although he made use of them anyway. There was something about focusing on his breathing and his heartbeat that he was normally barely aware of that appealed to him.

Finally, he said a prayer to the Immortals that had marked him, both Xiur and Daia, for hope, and companionship and prosperity, for those in need. He would never just rely on prayers when a situation was dire, or when someone was in need – in his opinion, hope was something that you should and could actively work on and for. He saw prayer as an act of devotion, and as a way to commune with the Immortals and honor them; and besides, he couldn’t not pray to them, at least not nowadays.

The glass panes were finally dry – he had checked them, carefully. He put on a clean pair of gloves – he would not reuse his old ones – and grasped the glass panes, submerging each one in the alchemical mixture, individually, and letting it rest for exactly ten bits. Once he had done that, he inserted the glass panes into the same wooden drying rack as before – he had cleaned it of any excess primer beforehand – and finally tidied up the camp, cleaned his equipment and put that and the leftover reagents away.

Evening had begun to fall when the glass panes had finally dried, and the Mortalborn took one of them and carried it outside in order to see if the effect worked as it should. They had been charged by the light of the fire inside his camp; now that twilight had begun to descend on the island, they emitted a yellow glow. He was pleased. They could continue to work on their beacon and ponder their next steps now.

He would let Vega know.

[Pig Boy]

Player Name: Doran

Points awarded: 10
Magic xp: none

Knowledge:

Alchemy: x 2
Chemistry: x 2
Meditation: x 2

Renown: 0
Loot: Many enhanced glowing glass panes for the beacon.
Injuries/Overstepping: None
Wealth Points: None
Consequences: None

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: I appreciate the way you opened up this sequence, with Doran's heavy musing and borderline daydreaming about a day when there would be no war. I also appreciate the short tip of the hat to an unexpected romance that had changed him in ways he hadn't forseen.

Otherwise, this was a very detailed and nicely written crafting thread. I enjoyed the description of the process, although alchemy still confuses me, you make it look easy to write it!

Well done and enjoy the rewards.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!