Star Winds

There were, Amschel proceeded to say, a number of ways in which the elements could combine. First and most important there was “blending,” in which elements coalesced in various ratios, and the substances formed in this way were the true compounds. But there were also “mixes,” in which elements, or blends of elements, compiled and interpenetrated in laminations, platelets, rods and slivers, crystals, raveled tendrils, simple coagulations and so forth, all on the microscopic level. The diversity and complexity of structures so obtained was limitless, accounting for the endless range of properties to be found in the macrocosm. This, Amschel explained, was also the reason why arcane substances were often named after living organisms or manmade constructions, their inner structures sometimes being almost as elaborate.

“In this way the five elements give rise to the world of multitudinous phenomena,” Amschel said. “But they are not the end of the story, for they themselves were derived, countless ages ago at the beginning of existence, from prima materia, which alone can be called the primal substance. The elements are, so to speak, corruptions of it. Ether was the first derivation; then there followed, in quick succession, fire, air, water and earth. In the prima materia itself there is no differentiation. It is unconditioned, single and absolute, and in it all opposites merge as one. You may have heard it spoken of by other names—hyle, the primordial chaos, and so forth.”

“This I already understand to some degree,” Rachad said. “What bearing does it have on the Stone?”

“The Stone is made of the prima materia,” Amschel answered. “Or rather, the prima materia forms the basis of its substance. The first stage in the production of the Stone is to destroy the elements and reduce them to the primal state. As hylic matter, however, the subject could not be handled, perhaps not even seen—hyle is formless, appearing as a void according to some authorities, as an inchoate black mass according to others. It would soon decay into elements again, and so a second process is needed. This impresses form upon it, fixing its qualities—whereupon it becomes the Stone: the ultimate state of matter!”

“And can this Stone turn lead into gold?” Rachad asked innocently.

Amschel chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “Oh, that is the least of its powers! The possessor of the Stone can work marvels. He can rotate the elements. He can project his will into the macrocosm. By mingling parings of the Stone with elemental substances, he can prepare a whole new range of efficacious agents—for the Tincture is the perfect medicine, the cure for all bodily ills, and the means to prolong life. If desired, the agents known as the white lion and the red can transmute base metals into silver and gold.”

While Rachad pondered this, Amschel rose to his feet. “These operations I have described—reduction to prima materia, and then fashioning this into the Stone—are difficult in the extreme. Let me show you how I have attempted to achieve them.”

He led the way to a section of the vaults Rachad had not visited previously. He lifted the latch of a massive door, made not of adamant but of timber, and pushed it open.

The space within was dominated by cucurbits and retorts of unfamiliar shapes and sizes. Most striking were those that were spherical. These were enormous, the largest of them a monstrous piece of glassware ten feet in diameter. Many of the vessels contained complicated structures of metal, finely wrought into sheets and wires, and their sealed delivery spouts—some cucurbits had as many as half a dozen—were connected not to glass pipes but to infusoratory cables which snaked across the floor.

Two white-smocked assistants bowed as the master alchemist entered. Rachad quickly realized that this was a special laboratory devoted to the use of infusoration. The smell of galvanism was in the air, plus an unmistakable sense of tension which was added to by angry buzzing noises leaking from the metal conductors.

His eye was caught by a bulbous, fairly small cucurbit that seemed to be inwardly alive. It flashed, writhed and bubbled with frenzied light which washed against its walls in waves.

“The mercuric compound within this vessel has experienced a continuous discharge of infusoration for the past three years,” Amschel supplied, noticing his interest. “Shortly I will end the experiment and see what change has come about.”

“Where are the actual infusorators?” Rachad asked. “I see none.”