#real alchemy

[spiralhouseshop]

New in the Spiral House Shop!

September 29, 2023

The Long Hidden Friend by John George Hohman Edited and Illustrated by Gemma Gary

Magic: A History: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present by Chris Gosden

The White Deer: Ecospirituality and the Mythic by Melinda Reidinger

Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical Alchemy by Robert Allen Bartlet

Visual Alchemy: A Witch's Guide to Sigils, Art, and Magic by Laura Tempest Zakroff

How to Deal: Tarot for Everyday Life by Sami Main

Small Magics: Practical Secrets from am Appalachian Village Witch by H Byron Ballard

The Seed & Sickle Oracle Deck by Fez Inkwright

Crafting a Daily Practice: A Simple Course on Self-Commitment by T Thorne Coyle

The Gorgon's Guide To Magical Resistance edited by Laura Tempest Zakroff

[nightcatssketchbook]

I was hitting some art block so I felt like drawing some fanart of @abd-illustrates’ Heartless characters!

I realized I never actually watched the final installment of the Concept Corner series, so that’s what I had playing when sketching these. It’s just so fun listening to the brainstorming and cool character connections

[judespoets]

the alchemy | jude bellingham

summary: “where’s the trophy? he just comes running over to me”

paining: jude bellingham x fem!reader

category: fluff

warnings: not proofread

the day was finally here. the day you have been waiting for your entire life.

you were sitting in the stands together with denise and mark, your parents in law almost and jobe, your little brother, well the one you never had yourself.

all of you were sitting on the edges of your seats in wembley stadium, watching one person and one person only, jude.

it would be selfish of you to say it’s the day you’ve always dreamt of, but it kind of was. since jude and you were kids, the two of you would watch the champions league final together, recreate the best moments and dream of jude playing in it one day.

and now, after all those years of dreaming, the day was here.

you were sure he would win, but dortmund put up such a good fight, during the first half you weren’t sure of that anymore.

but in no time it was the 98th minute and real madrid was currently winning 2:0.

you were so excited, you were only watching jude walking and running around the field, you could see him trying to hide his smile.

it was bittersweet, just a year ago you were packing all your stuff into boxes to move from dortmund to madrid, now he was playing against them in the champions league final, everything was unbelievable at this moment, surreal even.

and then something snapped you out of your thoughts, the final whistle, you were never this excited about hearing that whistle in your entire life.

you stood up, throwing your hands up in the air, immediately making your way down a little bit to stand at the barricade to have a better look at your boyfriend who just won the championship league.

you watched him closely as he fell down to his knees, hiding his face in his hands and his friends approaching as they all tried to lift him up, wanting to throw him up in the air, you couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off your face.

but jude shook his head, he looked like he needed to do something else before anything else as he suddenly started running, sprinting almost.

and there he was, the man you loved, running towards you before even celebrating the biggest day of his career.

it all went by so fast and the next thing you know is having him in your arms, hugging him tighter than you probably ever did before, hiding your face in his neck.

“i love you so much, thank you for coming, baby” you heard him say in your ear.

“gosh, jude, i’m so happy, look what you just did, i love you so so much.” you answered, completely unaware of all your emotions. you were just so happy and proud.

as jude let go of you he took your head in his hands, kissing all over your face just before planting his lips onto yours, pulling you into a passionate kiss.

“i love you, please come to the pitch after the trophy ceremony, okay?” he said before recognizing the calls of his teammates and returning to the pitch to clap all the other players.

“of course, my love.” you answered as you waited, watching your boyfriend lift the proudest achievement of his career so far.

you had dreamed of this for so long and now it was even more magical than you imagined.

[cosmicportal]

[joznii]

walk of shame (they decided to go to bleak falls barrow by themselves to impress camilla,, it went,, poorly.)

[ivysos2001]

Ok this might be such a random stupid take but I just noticed that post-catws we literally never see Steve and Natasha touch each other at all

Like in catws he’s literally grabbing her and carrying her around in battle and pushing her up against a wall and holding her up when she’s injured and she’s throwing herself into his lap to avoid gunfire and kissing him on the cheek and kissing him (!!!!) to act like a couple to blend in while they’re undercover

They’re shown to be very comfortable/not shy about touching each other (especially in a fight) so idk now that I’ve noticed it the lack of *any* physical contact between them in the other movies it kinda feels like we’re seeing a really restrained version of them from then on

I mean tell me if I’m wrong but I think the closest thing we get post-catws is them sharing the shield back and forth in aou even tho that’s not really the same thing (they were just too powerful a duo I guess lol)

Idk if this was intentional (maybe after catws they thought having them touch at all would feel too charged or something bc they saw the same chemistry that rest of us did lol) but at this point I’m kinda just laughing picturing the directors running around like chaperones at a middle school dance on all the sets screaming at Chris and Scarlett to get away from each other lmao

Ok edit I posted this and immediately remembered that hug in cacw but my point still stands bc that’s literally the only exception lol

[valeovalairs]

Okay so why are there three real scientists in tmagp now. obviously there’s Isaac newton, who discovered the laws of gravity and motion (and other things but that’s what we all know him from). You know, no big deal.

But there’s also Robert Boyle, who the letter is addressed to, and my first thought was, wait this can’t be Boyle’s Law Boyle right. It is. This is the guy that made that gas law we have to learn about in chemistry (p1v1=p2v2).

And then the guy writing the letter, Robert Hooke. I didn’t know who this was but knowing the other two are very real I assumed this guy probably is too. Upon research I’ve found out that he did a bunch of stuff and is kind of big deal, being one of the first scientists to look at living things under a microscope and he’s the guy credited with the “earliest recorded observation of a microorganism, the microfungus Mucor” and also coined the term “cell”. So uh, he’s pretty important.

They’re all natural philosophers among other things. Both Newton and Boyle were alchemists.

So some pretty important people in the horror podcast.

[haunted-girlyy]

A completely different and new theory:

what if the symbols for the elements don't actually represent the ghouls being different elements, like water ghoul, fire ghoul and so on? The symbols are symbols from alchemy.

What if the ghouls actually bear these symbols because they are creatures created from a series of experiments in search of eternal life? Hellish creatures, that have first gone through stages of decay and purification, that combine opposing qualities. Creatures, whose blood flows through their veins without a beating heart in their chest.

Forever condemned to serve, but blessed with free will.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

so interesting thing I'm thinking about currently. the reason I'm leaning toward being OK with the occult-esque imagery of certain details in FMA, but will (sadly) not be reading Dying Inside basically comes down to: Dying Inside is set in the real world, with real-life uses and implications of what's probably witchcraft. FMA is an alternate universe fantasy where the author drew on real-world historical alchemy and "magic circles" (unfortunately including some pentagram type imagery) to create the way the fictional, alternate universe things look. there's a big difference between the two

[sillygerblin]

I really like varigo Drop clean hurt/comfort fics PLEASE

(my digital art stuff is broken humor meeee)

[northern-passage]

I'm literally just in the beginning part of the rewrite and i just had to tell you that that the text when you choose Afro textured hair is so cute! "I have perfected the art of tucking it neatly into my hood." idk why i found that so cute LMAO. Can't wait to play the rest!

thank you! that was unchanged from the original, i actually didn't mess with the hair options at all but i'm always open to feedback on those specifically. i try to give enough options for everyone while also not offering too much (or hairstyles that wouldn't make sense for the hunter to have). i don't really describe the hunter's hair very often, but that variable allows me to add extra little flavor text in some places, especially later on when it comes to their relationship with Rodrick :-)

[elle-p]

I wrote a bit about how the 7 blocks of Tartarus(including Eretz excluding Monad) correspond to the 7 alchemical planets/metals, but I accidentally deleted it and have Zero motivation to write it again. I think what's making me the most crazy about it is the way that while it works SO well it also works both ways??? Like Harabah is Garden of the Scorched and is red in the menu, so it's Mars. But Yabbashah is played through the summer when it's hot so it's also Mars.

[youdontneedhenry]

Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me

Gifs by @awesometothe3rd

[ananke-xiii]

I’ve ended my post about Mary as a symbolic gift by saying that there wasn’t real space in the show for a Mary who was “not just a mom” but, truth be told, I think there wasn’t real space in the show for any character whose story wasn’t connected to Sam and Dean. As far as I’ve understood the show, the obsessive focus on Sam and Dean is both its main strength and its main weakness and I think that the finale showed it.

It’s not news that in SPN every side character who stops being useful to the plot dies. Or they die because their death is instrumental to the plot and/or the emotional arc of either Sam or Dean. Or both. This is true of every era and, I believe, it’s a rather foundational aspect of the show. This is the reason why, from a general narrative pov, I often compare the brothers to two cosmogonic forces because they are the ones creating their world which is THE world where everything and everyone depend on their story. There’s even an episode, “Weekend at Bobby’s”, where Sam and Dean sort of get called out because they only seem to care about themselves. Which isn’t true (well, more or less I'd argue, lol) but it is true that the show is exceedingly concerned with them and them alone. This extreme focus on the main character(s) is something that I haven’t found in any other show, to be quite frank with you.

Partial exceptions are Jody, Donna and the rest of the Wayward Sisters but that’s just because they wanted to use those characters for a spin-off. In reality we never know what happens to them after “Inherit the Earth”, what happens to Eileen, to AU!Bobby, to AU!Charlie, hell even to human Chuck. A good opportunity to show them one last time and tell us what happened to them would’ve been at Dean’s funeral. A funeral where nobody shows up. I know it was because of COVID restrictions but they still filmed and left that scene. So they wanted to tell us something with that, wanted us to see it. And we saw it, which I take as a way for the show to tell us that the story was really over and Dean’s death was final. I don’t want to go into the big “family is hell” vs “found family” debate but wherever you are on the two sides of the argument you kinda have to admit that it was very sad and quite cruel to show us that nobody attended Dean’s funeral.

The other exceptions are Crowley, Rowena and Castiel, three characters that have their own individual storylines that, to the surprise of no one, end when they get inextricably linked with that of the Winchesters. Crowley dies slowly and painfully of the Winchester Derangement Syndrome, whereas Rowena is revealed to be united with Sam in death. Her death. Castiel is the only character who escapes this narrative destiny right until 15x18 where he says that the reason he cared about the world was because of Dean. And then he also dies.

Perhaps the association between “worlds” and the “brothers” is at its most blatant in S13 where the Alternate Universe is a universe without Sam and Dean and, therefore, a boring universe, imo. And when I say “without Sam and Dean” I don’t mean in the sense that they were never born there but that they never even stepped foot there until, like, the last three episodes (and, by the way, they made them act like total dicks bossing around people in a war-zone.). This is not to say that, for example, Original Bobby (since I’ve mentioned him before) doesn’t have his own story, quite something else. This is to say that the vast majority of side characters in SPN have their own stories but their own stories only serve to “mirror and parallel” Sam and Dean’s. In other words, other characters’ stories are, apart from the above exceptions, always functional to the cosmogonic brothers. Case in point is that episode in S15 where Chuck eliminates all other worlds/drafts because what he cares about are “our” Sam and Dean. Sure, that was a jab at all the failed SPN spin-off but, again, this proves my point: people, much like Chuck, are interested in Sam and Dean and Sam and Dean alone (Big hello to those two Sam and Dean hopefully living a good life in Brazil, cheers! Or did Jack fix that as well? Who knows!).

The reason why Sam and Dean are absent in the Alternate Universe is not because they’re dead or were never supposed to be there but because Mary didn’t deal with Azazel. This interests me a lot because the cosmogonic aspect here is Mary’s choice: Mary is, de facto, a creator of worlds. Two to be precise but still, not bad. Now this would actually be an interesting spin-off, right? A series where Mary is one of the main characters and we get to focus on her? Oh wait, there is a spin-off about that. Or at least I think this is partly what “The Winchesters” is about because I haven’t watched it yet. It was, sadly, canceled and I don’t know why (these days they cancel shows according to the mood of the day apparently) but I’ll have to go with the current obscure ways of making profit in the media industry (as far as I know, people have no access to data to understand why certain decisions are made). This is, after all, the real world and in the real world god is profit and not a writer.

The centrality of Mary’s choice in S13 is not part of the original story that, on the contrary, was based on the notion that everything was predetermined and the struggle of our main characters was exactly this: will they or won’t they be able to exercise free will? However S13 reframes the original story because now what is deemed to be relevant is whether or not Mary is just a mother or… “not just a mom”. To use an image that’s become dear to me, the main weight put on one scale was still imagined motherhood: Mary as a character could only compare&contrast against that, against herself (as originally conceived by the narrative) and how she had imagined herself to be. She is therefore never fully free from being Sam and Dean’s mother because she’s never fully free from her own imagined motherhood. Which means she’s never fully free from her Special Heaven where she’s fake-happy with two fake-babies in a fake-perfect house and with who must be a fictional, imagined version of John. Which means that she’s not complete.

I mean, I'm surely not the only one who sees the illogicality here: Mary represents a myth about motherhood and safety and this myth takes the form of a nuclear family living in suburbia with the infamous white picket fence. Okay. She comes back to life to debunk this myth and we see that she's actually very different from how she was portrayed because she's adventurous and wild and taciturn but also leader-like, cold and secretly very sweet. Again, okay. But then she dies and we're told she's complete but we're also told (we don't see it, we're told) she's in a Special Heaven with John which, by the way, sounds very suspisciously close to Heaven's Prison. Fine, alright, okay! BUT THEN what is Mary's heaven (and, later on, everybody's heaven)? A myth about family and safety in the form of a nuclear family living in a sort of overexposed country-side. Like, what???

As I see it, what was needed to deconstruct Mary’s myth was for her to come to terms not only with the fact that her sacrifice was made in vain because there’s (apparently) no escape from the hunting world, but that she had deceived herself. For example, she might have discovered that she kinda doesn’t like leading the imagined life she used to dream about or perhaps her dream was always tainted in real life by what happened with Azazel so she never felt safe anyway, thus removing the one thing she ever wanted by getting out of the huntig world. I could go on and on but what I want to say is that it’s not enough, for me at least, to know that Mary likes to fuck and used to feed her children store-bought meals. This is cool but accessory. Do not show me the conflicted emotions of a character re: her past choices by giving me a WORLD where that character doesn’t make said choice (and therefore feels better about it). Let me see her as she realizes she was also going after a myth, let me see her as she realizes that the man she loved went basically half-mad with grief after her death, let me see her as she realizes how sorrowful her sons’ lives have been. Let me see her interact and generally be around the main characters/focus of the show.

As I’ve said, she couldn’t be free from her own myth because the narrative still needed her for Dean to be free from his own myth. To be honest I think it was a very cool idea and the two things could’ve been done together (I think it’s clear by now that I feel sorry for Mary as a character but that doesn’t mean that debunking the image of a parent isn’t a cool concept to write about). However, it totally was a retcon because S11 Amara, as much as I adore her, didn’t have the experience nor the emotional tools to understand such a deep human concept. She understood that humans need to experience/feel unconditional love and that this love can take the form of parental love from a time when humans are babies that need to be nurtured and cared for. So she saw a picture of Dean and Mary and, by virtue of her bond with Dean, she thought: oh now I get it! And she was right!!! But, like, human relationships are OF COURSE more intricate than this and there’s no way she could’ve understood all this in S11. If she had really understood it she would’ve never brought back a person just for another person to learn a lesson.

This ultimately also proves my point: Mary couldn’t be anything else than a mother in the show because the show itself is focused on Sam and Dean and everybody else depend on them to stay or not in their story. Mine is not necessarily a criticism, on the contrary, the show strikes a real chord with the mythical parent vs real one. But it didn’t let us see it because they decided that bringing back Mary just for her to be a mom would be awful. And they were correct! but, again, you can’t just bring back a central character like her and then spend the rest of THREE seasons writing her OUT of her sons’ story just for her to re-appear on time for her scheduled appointment with the fridge.

But they couldn’t do it because to have Mary back as a real fucking person would have meant, at some inevitable point in time, for the show to have her and her sons sit down and seriously talk about what the fuck happened since her death. To talk about John, to talk about the abuse, to talk about the demon blood, Hell, the Cage, the mark of Cain and, oh by the way we killed grandpa! Which means the show would have had to directly deal with trauma and they clearly didn’t want to go there. Only parallels and mirrors, mirrors and parallels. Mary never left that fridge.

[evolutionsvoid]

The Church of Divine Wealth is, without a doubt, the ruling body of these lands. The reach of the Ichor faith has spread far and wide across the continent, and there is no denying who calls the shots around here. It was not always like this, the Church wasn't always the dominant religion, but those who came before are mere dust now. Those who did not join the growing faith of gold were thoroughly crushed, or left in such a small pathetic state that they can do little but pray in the forgotten shadows. To those who revel in this religion, the Church is second to none and has no equal. They are an empire that has held sway over these lands for a very long time. To even oppose them seems impossible, as the Church is absolute. Yet, even though no other stands at their level, they are not unopposed...

Every follower of the Ichor knows of the Academy of Veritas Mundus, it is a name they practically spit out. An institution that refused to perish with the others, and has stubbornly held on despite being in a land that despises them. How the Academy was able to survive for so long, and even grow to such proportions, is a mystery to all. Rumor claims that the Academy way back when was slated to become a pillar of the Church, the organization showing enough promise that the divine wished to welcome them into the fold. Yet, this offer was rejected or taken back, depending on who you ask. Regardless of who denied the other, the reason seems obvious. Those who aligned with the Academy had no need for faith. They don't want belief or comfort, they want answers.

The Academy of Veritas Mundus is an institute that is determined in finding the answers to every one of the world's mysteries. They see the strange ways of the lands, the wondrous powers of the humors and vow to achieve perfect understanding. They wish to unlock the secrets of the past, while harnessing the future. They seek answers from the bowels of the dark ocean to the starry sky above. Be it the gods that fall upon this land or the ancient remains of those long past below, they will happily dissect all. The Academy worships progress, knowledge and ability. They are not satisfied with vague faith and hopeful belief. The realm of gods and their vast gifts are not ones we should pray to, they are ones we should be reaching up to seize for ourselves.

It is said the Church denounced the Academy when it realized that they held no faith for the Ichor and Humors. Though the Academy does indeed recognize their power and potential, they have little care for worship or offerings. To them, the fluids are mysterious ingredients, avenues of research and study. They should be run through experiments and utilized to their utmost potential, not left to sit in stagnant pools while fools bleated scripture at them. Ichor is no exception, as the blood of the gods should be studied and wielded. The Academy has no reverence for these things, and thus had no place with the Church. If let into their temples, no doubt the Academy would see these vast displays as a supply closet more than an image of divinity.

So thus the Academy and Church became foes, and have continued to be bitter rivals to this day. Despite the Church labeling them as an enemy and an institute of heretics, the Academy of Veritas Mundus has grown to an impressive size. Though they have no place equal to the holy city, they possess many defended campuses and research halls. Fortresses of experimentation and study, marvelous designs that would be admired if the Church had not vilified them. Throughout the lands are scatterings of laboratories and study halls, each heavily fortified and ready for invading swarms of ravenous believers. Even though they are despised and seen as a cruel blasphemous organization, the Academy has its own fair share of followers. The farther one goes away from the holy city, the weaker the Church's grip gets, and the Academy has learned how to woo those that are far from the blessings of gold. They may not have comforting beliefs and prayer to offer, but they do possess valuable medicine and incredible inventions. For some folk, the religion they believe in is the one that cures their village of a plague, and the Academy fits the bill. Some of their armored research halls have sprouted towns outside their walls, as folk come in hopes of being blessed with their ingenuity and craftiness. And when war and chaos are running rampant, any safe place is worth worshiping.

While to the outside eye of a believer, the Academy is just an organization of obsessive scholars and researchers who will do anything for a breakthrough. In truth, the Academy of Veritas Mundus is a vast institute with many different groups found within their walls. All of them do swear themselves to the Academy as a whole, but each has their niche they eagerly fill, caring for little else. Like the Antiquaries who are fascinated by dragons and the ancient age of Eitr, or the Astrologers who look to the dripping heavens and wonder about the Pwdre Ser that rains down. These “arms” of the Academy take these subjects and dissect them down to smallest pieces, determined to solve these vast riddles and unlock the path for humanity to evolve. Here in these great halls, these many professions and obsessions can come together, bringing forth many breakthroughs and theories that fuel others in their hunt for answers. Though seen as heretical, there is no denying that the Academy is responsible for many life-changing inventions, some that even make their way into golden temples despite the Church calling such things “evil” and “blasphemous.” Such detraction only lasts until the Church finds their own use for these creations.   

Of all the different arms of the Academy, the most common and well known amongst them are the Alchemists. They are the ones who are devoted to learning the secrets of the Humors and Godly Fluids, always experimenting and creating new elixirs. Alchemists seem to have an endless amount of theories and avenues to explore, be it discovering fantastical recipes, transforming substances, figuring out how to birth new life and so forth. Each member seems to have their own subject to pursue, their personal magnum opus to achieve. Their devotion to this is why they share the same reputation as the Academy of being cold, distant and uncaring towards others. It is because they are obsessed with their work and reputation, they need to be proven right and seen as a genius. Everything outside of their research and experiments is unnecessary and frivolous. However, if you were to engage them about their work, that is where you will see their emotion and passion. They can ramble for hours about their theories, and try experiments over and over for weeks without tiring or growing bored. Their research is their life, which is why an Alchemist wouldn’t flinch to see someone cut down, but would throw themselves in front of a bolt if it was headed towards their elixir or one of their beloved homunculi.

Alchemists spend most of their lives within their research halls, tucked away in personal labs and workshops as they toil away on their project. Few folk see them outside, only in rare cases where no one else will fetch the supplies they need, or they are traveling towards a sponsor to show off their latest discovery. Though the dress and equipment may vary between them, there are a few signifying features of an Alchemist. First is their mask, a featureless slab of ivory that bears eight eyes. They are arranged in the pattern of the Academy’s symbol, which is that of an eight pointed star overlaying a globe. This symbol was said to be born when the Academy’s founder was strolling on the beach to ease their mind. There they witnessed a seastar feasting on a bivalve, and the image of the creature slowly wrenching open this impenetrable obstacle inspired them. The Academy was much like this seastar, slow, methodical and determined. Their many arms reach all, and thus its position over a globe. The world itself is a shell that must be cracked open and its valuable secrets finally exposed. The Academy finds this image inspiring and fitting, while outsiders wonder if the eight pointed star is holding the world or eating it.

 Their affiliation to echinoderms can be seen in their other feature, which is a construct of four tendril arms that is latched onto their backs. These prosthetics grant the Alchemists a total of eight limbs, much like their beloved star. It also allows them to work at an incredible pace, constantly mixing, measuring and fussing. Alchemists grow so used to having these extra limbs, that some folk swear these arms work while the user sleeps. Their pursuit for knowledge is never ending, thus pausing for food and rest is kept to a minimum. These arms work furiously every waking moment, almost moving in a blur. And if they are to be drawn into a needless fight, you can be sure these limbs will aid in lobbing explosive mixtures and wielding deadly weapons.

But perhaps the easiest way to see if one is aligned with the Academy is to look for silver, as it is the ultimate sign of heresy. For much to the Church’s horror, the Academy of Veritas Mundus has taken an interest in the forbidden fluid of Alkahest. The wretched liquid that dissolves almost everything it touches, reducing it to gray sterile powder.  While the Church of Divine Wealth deems it the opposite of Ichor and a blasphemous fluid that must be destroyed, the Academy has embraced it. If this was to snub the Church or for their own interest, no one can say, but it is obvious that they have grown quite attached to it. The Academy is responsible for absconding with Alkahest whenever it is discovered, and some say a few of their buildings are erected overtop buried pools of it. Though it is an extremely dangerous fluid, one of ultimate death itself, the Academy seems to have found a way to tame it. They have crafted special crucibles and glasses that can hold it without melting, and use it just like any other ingredient. They have even found ways to work it into their inventions, “tempering” it so that it can be utilized without destroying the whole contraption. Many bone tools and creations of them will have a grayish hue to them, which is caused by them mixing in the ashen powder into their forges to create a stronger ivory. Their weapons possess a silvery edge to them, which is the result of them turning Alkahest into a solid. This technique is fiercely guarded and supposedly very complicated, but the “quicksilver” blades they forge from it are capable of cutting through anything. Even now, the Alchemists continue to chip away at the mystery of Alkahest, and there is no telling what horrible discoveries and inventions will come from the fluid of death itself.

Now in recent days, it seems their alignment with Alkahest and hatred of the Church has finally come forth in full force, as the Academy has declared war. Though they lack the sheer numbers and resources that the Church of Divine Wealth has, they know very well how to fight smart and take advantage of any situation. It is why they threw in their gauntlet only after the civil war within the Church broke out, as they knew this moment of weakness was their chance. Now the Alchemists in their halls work furiously to create new elixirs to strengthen their troops and doom their enemies. They churn out homunculi to arm their siege weapons and fight their battles. And yet they still fuss over their theories and work, still determined to climb the ranks and become one of the greats. The result of all this is the need for more resources and test subjects, which may prove true the old stories of the Academy abducting folk to use in their cruel tests. While to the common man, this practice of experimenting on living victims seems horrific, to the Academy it is a necessity. In the pursuit of knowledge and answers, one cannot shy away from extremes and the sacrifices needed to advance. To them, it is more of a crime to abandon a fruitful concept at the fear of upsetting morals than it is to force feed prisoners their latest concoction. Such cowardice is a sure way to becoming a Betrüger, and no Alchemist wants such shame. They want answers, progress and their grand magnum opus, nothing else matters. Some wonder if the madness that grips some Alchemists may be the result of them imbibing in too many of their creations…

----------------------

"Alchemist of the Academy"

Hoo buddy is this a long one, but it had to be because we talking about the Academy of Veritas Mundus! The rival to the Church, in the incredibly unsubtle "religion vs science" sorta way. This entry is very long to help establish some groundwork, because boy howdy is there so much more.

[gossamerorigins]

US COSTCO HAS THE JANG UK HONEY BISCUITS!!!