On the Nature of Chimerical Alchemy
a treatise by
Artisan Yelk Wickneeder
and Master Alchemist Rybn Wandernew
edited by Lady Elandra nic Dougal for broader readership
Everything in the world is made up of two opposing principles. One is fluid, unfixed, and changing, and we call it Thought. The other is solid, fixed, and static, and we call it Form. Anything which has physical existence is a conjunction of the Thought of the object and the Form that it inhabits. To join Thought to Form requires Creation (or as some argue, Will), which is the catalyst that brings these two principles together.
Thought in its purified state is referred to by many metaphors, including the Moon, the Moon's Tears, the Moon Queen, the White Rose, the White Swan, and Philosophic Mercury (a term preferred by clueless mortal alchemist-wannabees). Form in its purified state is called the Sun, the Sun's Blood, the Sun King, the Red Rose, the Red Phoenix (not to be confused with the Eldara Phoenix), and Philosophic Sulfur (again, a mortal term). Sometimes Thought and Form are called the White Queen and the Red King, leading some to speculate that alchemy is actually a fomorian plot to destroy us all, but the Morbon Chimerical Conference of 1181 conclusively proved that fae who believe this are crackpots.
The joining of Thought to Form is always imperfect. Certain learned alchemists, most notably Master Alchemist Mimimeer Starlick, believe that this truth lies at the root of the inability of our kith to ever make something without a flaw in it: all creation has such flaws, but nockers' greater understanding of the act of creation makes these flaws more apparent. Other kiths merely live in the sad, unenlightened delusion that their creations don't have any problems.
Plato -- who wasn't such a bad sort, for an idiot mortal -- once described a realm of Ideal Forms, where all Thought is perfectly expressed in Form. This perfection is the goal of alchemy. The concept popularly known as the Philosopher's Stone is a metaphor for this perfect conjunction of the two opposing principles through the catalyst of Creation; therefore the study of alchemy is the study of creation itself, and a quest for the flawless expression of Thought in Form.
Only by understanding the opposing principles of all matter can one hope to achieve the Philosopher's Stone, since it can only be created by the conjunction of purified Thought and purified Form. Such perfection has only been attained in legend, but it is widely believed to grant transcendence, immortality, and other nice stuff.
There are seven metals fundamental to alchemy, these being gold, silver, copper, mercury, iron, tin, and lead. In the alchemical traditions of Albion, Cymru, Caledonia, and Hibernia, these seven metals are symbolized by the seven "chieftain" or "sacred" trees, which are, respectively, apple, willow, birch, hazel, alder, oak, and holly. The fae of other lands have developed alternative associations.
The seven metals are variously argued to represent stages of perfection on the way from base matter to the Philosopher's Stone -- which led to the misguided and pathetic obsession of mortal alchemists with the transmutation of lead to gold (a trivial parlor trick perfected before the Shattering) -- or facets of Thought expressed in the Form of trees.
Experiments to distill the Thought represented by each tree apart from its physical Form in centuries past proved highly dangerous and were outlawed by the Bes Din of the four island realms, lest they weaken the sacred trees themselves.
Though the principles of Thought and Form are widely accepted, various differing interpretations of them have sprung up over time.
One of the most common schools of theory is that Thought and Form are expressed in the dual nature of every fae. Within this, there are two contradictory camps. One says that the Seelie, being allied with Summer (a season of growth and change), represent Thought, while the Unseelie, being allied with Winter (a season of death and stasis), represent Form. The other is that the Unseelie, as the more chaotic of the two Courts, are the expression of Thought, while the more honor-bound and orderly Seelie are the expression of Form. Many experiments have been conducted on both sides, with no firm proof either way, but there seems to be good support for this interpretation in general, as fae who successfully balance out their two natures are said to achieve immortality.
A far more fringe theory allies Thought with Glamour and Form with Banality. Alchemists in this camp have pursued dreadful experiments involving chimera (as expressions of Glamour) and cold iron tools (as expressions of Banality); for further information on the atrocities that have resulted, consult the Nurembomber Trials of 1983. Most fae who have followed this path have quickly become Dauntain.
A third interpretation, intermittently fashionable since the eighteenth century, views Life as the expression of Thought and Death as the expression of Form. These theories became popular when European colonization efforts brought Kithain into contact with the fae of Africa, including eshu practitioners of voodoo. The main argument in support of this interpretation is the belief that the Philosopher's Stone brings immortality, but so far no voodoo-alchemist has achieved anything more successful than zombies.