Levels of Red
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Shirou was the last one to arrive for the first Alchemy Class. With how excited Hermione had been all day, she had probably arrived an hour early.
Rin, of course, would not be seen as anything other than punctual, and had probably arrived about ten minutes early.
He walked up to the front of the lecture style classroom they were using and joined his friends in the front row.
Less than a minute later, Profess—Sella walked into the room and took her position at the front.
"Good evening, class." She smiled at the assembled group. "I'm glad to have such an enthusiastic group to work with." Her mouth thinned to a line as she took on a more stern air. "With such a small group of students, we should expect to move along the material at quite a blistering pace. I expect you to keep up to the best of your abilities, and of course to come to me with any questions, or if you feel that you are falling behind."
Rin and Hermione shared a quick competative look between them. Each one challenging the other to keep up with the ferocious learning clip they were planning to set for this class.
Shirou smirked over at them. Back in his own world, Rin had only really had Luvia as a rival, and that hadn't been a very healthy relationship to say the least. It was comforting to see the friendly competition Hermione and the Rin of this world had set up as they wagged a silent war for the top grades in every class.
He did wish they wouldn't drive the pace of this class up though. While he was interested in any and all magics of this world, he did have a number of side projects going on. Most of which had nothing to do with alchemy. He could go without the additional work they would generate by speeding this class up.
"Homework," Sella continued, "will be primarily research and essays about materials we cover in class. You will not be expected to do any alchemical projects outside of class time, nor should you attempt to do so without supervision by myself or Leys."
Her eyes scanned the group and she raised a finger up for emphasis.
"Alchemy is a science, but also a branch of magic. If you understand the process, you should have no issues achieving the desired results, but if you err in your actions, the results can be disastrous and potentially deadly.
"Many mistakes in potions can be resolved by drinking the correct set of counter-potions within a specific time span. If your arm dissolves because you weren't careful handling certain alchemical solvents, no amount of magic will get your arm back, and you can consider yourself lucky that you are still alive and none of the solvent made it into your bloodstream, dissolving your heart."
She paused to let that information sink in.
"No experiments are to happen outside of strict supervision. Do I make myself clear?"
The assembled students nodded dutifully, though Hermione looked like she might be a little sick at the teacher's graphic example.
"Then, let's get down to the basics." She clapped her hands together and made her way back to the room's chalkboard.
She began to write out information on the board, and the sound of chalk was quickly matched by the scratch of quills as the students worked to keep up.
"Alchemy is, in many ways, the progenitor of the muggle concept of Chemistry, and without the application of magic, will only allow mundane results... Ignoring Alchemical Philosophy, but we won't be touching that this year."
She coughed and glanced over what she had been writing to recover her line of thought.
"But, as we have seen by the amazing results of muggle chemists, the mundane version of this art is not to be ignored."
She underlined the word 'Chemistry' on the board multiple times and turned a sharp eye to the class.
"Alchemy is a science, and anyone who would disregard verifiable scientific advancements because of the source of those results is a fool."
When no one argued back, she nodded resolutely and turned back to the board.
"There are many different types of alchemy, some which aren't even practiced by humans. For example, the process that occurs in a dragon's stomach which allows them to build organic structures from the metals they digest is believed to be an alchemical process.
"However, most of these types can be broadly categorized into branches of alchemical study."
"Alchemy is divided into a four major steps. Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo; or Black, White, Yellow, and Red. Each of these steps can be subdivided and analyzed to a great degree, which is why, in the modern age of alchemy, there are branches of alchemy dedicated to the study of these individual steps. I will be briefly touching on all steps and their associated branches today. We will get further in depth of each branch in future lessons.
"Nigredo, or Black, is the step focusing on putrefaction and decomposition. In order for something to be made anew, it must first be broken down into its base materials and cooked until it is free of impurities. It is the step during which the original materials are broken down and considered for their use in the next steps.
"The Black branch of Alchemy has to do with the study of decomposition. The ultimate goal of this branch is discovering a solvent capable of breaking any form of matter down to Prime Materials, or a substance from which any substance can be made.
"There have been many times in the past where Alchemists have thought to have achieved success at this goal, but Muggle sciences have always proven them wrong. Surpassing the Greek understanding elements was lauded until a finer understanding of what 'elements' were ended with the Periodic Table of Elements, and an understanding of protons, neutrons, and electrons."
She glanced back at the class. Shirou followed her glance and saw the confusion evident on Hermione and Rin's faces.
"Which I see are unfamiliar concepts to most of you. I will add basic chemistry concepts to the syllabus. Since getting into a more granular understanding would only be confusing at the moment, we will move on."
"Albedo, or white, is the step focused recombining materials into a new product. Without magic, this can be a simple chemical reaction, but when magic is applied, the true powers of this step can be seen, as you can create a greater whole that the sum of the parts. This is the step during which the base materials come together into a reflection of the true end product."
She tapped the board a few times with the chalk and raised the index finger of her other hand to tap on her chin.
"The ultimate goal of White Alchemy is commonly considered to be the creation of the Panacea," she underlined the word several times, "the ultimate cure for all illness, disease, and injury. A milestone which has not yet been reached, even by the owner of the Philosopher's Stone.
"However, the Panacea is only a byproduct of the true goal of this branch. The White Step ends with a reflection of the final product. White Alchemists focus on that reflection, and on what it means for the product of this step if it can be considered to be a product that is the conceptual predecessor to a greater, final product.
"White Alchemists are searching for a solvent which is capable of breaking down a substance into its conceptual components."
She turned from the board and waited for the furious scribbling of quills to quiet down.
"Any questions so far?" She asked.
Hermione's hand shot up and Sella motioned for her to speak.
"If White Alchemy can combine things to create a greater whole," Hermione started, "what is stopping someone from creating a Panacea by simply combining different cures and potions?"
"An excellent questions." Sella commented. "Five points for Gryffindor."
She turned back to the board and drew a line from the word 'Panacea' to an empty section of board.
"The answer is two-fold." She explained. "The first is rather straightforward. Most 'cures' as we know them are actually incredibly small doses of things which are actually poisonous. This applies to both mundane and magical 'cures'. Many past attempts at creating a Panacea have resulted in a rather impressive cocktail of poisons, which may have been benign on their own, but turned out to be fatal in combination.
"A clue there for you all to take note of. When working with White Alchemy, always be aware of the details of what you are working with. An unknown component in one of your reagents may become an unwelcome surprise in the product."
"As for the second reason..." She moved to a new, blank section of the board. "I assume you are all aware of the Pepperup Potion." Only Rin nodded. "I see. Then perhaps, Miss Tohsaka, you would care to describe the potion for your companions."
"Pepperup Potion," Rin stood to answer, "is a potion used to cure cold-like symptoms and is well regarded as a cure for the common cold." She sat back down.
"Correct." Sella nodded. "And what is the most notable side effect of the Pepperup Potion?"
"Ah. Steam coming out of your ears." Rin responded.
"Yes. After drinking the potion, it commonly causes the imbiber to become flushed and steam to begin emerging from their ears, which can last for several hours. I'm going to assume that you don't know about firewhiskey, and go ahead to explain that to you."
Sella opened one of the drawers in her desk and brought out a bottle and a small glass cup.
"This is firewhiskey." She indicated the bottle, then opened it up and poured a thimbleful into the glass. "It is an alcoholic beverage; a rather strong one. If properly modified, it can be used as a alchemical solvent with special properties. It can also be used to remedy minor nose, throat, and mouth maladies, as well as jinxes or hexes that affect the same areas.
"Its side effect, and possibly one of the reasons it is so effective at killing illnesses is quite obvious to observe." She brought the glass of firewhiskey to her mouth and took a demure sip.
A light blush built up on her cheeks as she swirled the drink in her mouth and eventually swallowed.
She then pursed her lips and exhaled a stream of fire into the air in front of her.
"So." She placed the cup down and resealed the whiskey, though the blush didn't fade from her cheeks. "We have two mixtures that cure slightly different things. If we were to combine them, we could hypothesize that the resulting potion would act as a cure to both issues.
"But each mixture also comes with its own set of side effects, which may be hard to excise from the solution, or may actually be part of the curative properties. Were you to mix Pepperup Potion and firewhiskey together, you'd be lucky to get a potion that cured you of cold symptoms and throat illnesses, but caused you to breathe fire and for steam to come from your ears.
"If you were unlucky, the side effects would mix in odd ways. Perhaps fire comes from your ears, and then you would need a Hair Growing Potion after all was said and done."
Sella returned to the board and began to write again.
"Just as the curative effects of potions will mix and create something new and greater, the unwanted effects can do the same, creating something far more disastrous. This is why the Panacea remains out of reach by means of simple additive Alchemy. This is known as Paracelsus's Directive of Cumulative Supplementary Effects. Or Paracelsus's Second Directive."
She tapped her chalk on the board a few times, then placed the piece down and faced the class.
"We seem to have taken a bit of a tangent, but an informative one. Though, I seem to have run out of board space, so I'll give you all a moment to finish taking notes before I erase this and move on."
She waited patiently while Shirou and the others wrote furiously to catch up. When they were done, she erased the board with a wave of her wand.
"Citrine, or Yellow, is the third step, and is commonly known as the 'awakening step'. It is a transition step, and the step that makes it clear that this is a truly magical art. It is during the Citrine step that the alchemist must use their magic to guide the combined components into a product that is greater than the unified whole.
"Yellow Alchemists are mostly theoretical scholars, as their work is often based on the use of solvents or ingredients that do not exist or have not yet been discovered. Their goal is the most unique of all branches, since they do not seek a solvent. Their ultimate goal is an 'Awakening Spell', or a universal magic that can be used to guide any material into a greater form. What this means for any given material is highly debated, even today."
"Rubido, or Red, is the final step. It is less of a step, and more of a point at which the process is complete."
Sella glanced over her shoulder to make sure that everyone was paying attention.
"It is a rather vague step, and can be hard to understand, but every product of an alchemical process can be given a grade in 'redness' which is a judgement against the 'completeness', 'purity', or 'wholeness' of the product.
"The ultimate goal of Red Alchemy is thus equally vague: To create a solvent or process which can achieve a product of 'True Red'. The two well known examples of products that are believed to be 'True Red' products are the Elixir of Eternal Life, and a means to convert any metal into gold. These are related in that it is believed that both can be achieved by transmuting a specific material into it's most pure form. For example, the most pure form of sustenance would be the elixir, which would be pure vitality; and the most pure form of any metal is believed to be gold.
"These goals have been met by Nicolas Flamel by use of the Philosopher's Stone, but because no one has managed to reproduce the results and Flamel jealously guards his secrets, many alchemists do not consider the goals of Red Alchemy to have actually been met."
"While it has yet to be achieved by alchemists, it should be noted that muggles have actually discovered a means by which to convert lead, mercury, and bismuth into gold. This discovery caused quite a stir among alchemists all over the world, and has driven many, formerly sheltered, witches and wizards into the muggle world for more advanced studies of muggle sciences.
"The muggles managed it by taking advantage of concepts known as Nuclear Fission, where unstable elements decay into more stable elements and Nuclear Fusion, where elements under extreme heat and pressure are converted into different elements. As these two processes are naturally occurring phenomena that take place in all stars in the universe, alchemists colloquially refer to the muggle means by which this is achieved as 'Sidereal Alchemy'."
Sella and Shirou glanced at Rin and Hermione again. Clearly Nuclear Physics hadn't been a subject at their elementary schools.
"That... ahhh... may have been a bit over your heads." Sella commented. "It's not something we'll be discussing much anyway. I just thought it was interesting to note.
"Sidereal Alchemy straddles an interesting line in Alchemy. At first glance, it is not a form of Alchemy at all, since there is no 'Yellow', or awakening, step, and no magic is used. And yet, it is a very clear achievement in line with the long held goals of alchemists.
"This has opened up decades of debate over the true nature of Alchemy and what truly defines the 'Citrine' step, let alone the other steps."
Sella turned away from the board and sighed dreamily, resting her head against her hand.
"Alchemy is such a subject. An eternal struggle to find answers which seem to hang ever out of our grasp, but which, generation to generation, we come closer and closer to reaching."
She coughed and turned back to the board.
Shirou worked furiously to keep up with the teacher. He hadn't heard anything yet that could possibly lead him home, but he wasn't willing to discard any branches of magic, particularly one where the ultimate form of the magic was within his reach, should he need it.
In any case, it should at least prove useful for producing materials for his forge or his other magical research which he otherwise would have trouble obtaining.
In his head, he silently apologized to Sella. He would probably be doing some experiments without teacher supervision.