14. Seb
SEB
“Let’s get down to it—list for me some elements needed to begin the alchemical process.
” Professor Chant stood at the blackboard as if he hadn’t spent the first fifteen minutes of class telling people to stop asking him about the Elumnara.
Whether he’d volunteered for the advisory position or it had been thrust upon him, he looked like he was considering another line of work.
“Prima Materia,” offered someone.
“Yes,” said Chant, “that which is to be transformed.”
“A crucible,” said another.
“An ordered process.”
“An alchemist,” said Seb, from the same desk he’d occupied the previous class.
“Excellent. And what is the primary role of the alchemist in this equation?” Hands shot up around the classroom. Chant ignored them. “Lily? Any thoughts on the role of the alchemist?”
Seb had only been vaguely aware that Lily was even there until he heard her speak. With great effort he quashed the urge to turn and look at her.
“I…transformation?” When she opened her mouth, she sounded nothing like she had the night before; she was neither sardonic nor sure of herself.
“Nothing material can be transformed without internal transformation—‘as without, so within.’ It requires a willing soul.” She paused.
“At least that’s what the reading says.”
Chant narrowed his eyes at her last statement but moved on. “Beautifully put, thank you.”
When he finally turned to look at her it was as if she melted out from the shadows and brought them with her. Beneath the haze of her curse aura, she looked like she wanted to die. A current of laughter spread through the class, and Tori sighed heavily, rolling her eyes as Lily’s voice frogged.
A note appeared on his page: How the hell is she in our class?
Seb ignored it, as well as the impulse to defend her. As Chant walked them through the main alchemical processes it took more of his self-control than he wanted to admit to keep himself from staring into the dim light at the back of the classroom. He threw himself into his note-taking:
Calcinatio – Fire – Burning
Solutio – Water – Dissolving
Coagulatio – Earth – Solidifying
Sublimatio – Air – Distilling
Putrefactio – Nigredo – Rotting
Mortificatio – Nigredo – Death
Separatio – Dividing
Conjunctio – Marriage/Balancing
“Of course, as you found in the reading, there is neither a set nor an exact number of alchemical procedures that one must follow. You’ll find that since alchemists were both solitary and highly secretive, many operations and images will overlap from text to text.”
Violet Bellarius, the only potential heir to the vast fortune of House Bellarius, raised her hand. Violet was always headed to, or just arriving from, the stables. The only thing that could match her general disregard for other humans was her love of designer equestrian wear.
“Then how are we supposed to know which ones are the real ones?” she asked in her slightly nasal voice. She was, unfortunately, terrifically allergic to hay, or so Tori had told him.
Chant laughed, gently. “They’re all real.
The language of alchemy is in the interpretation of mythological and AEtheric symbolism.
In this class you’ll enter a chaotic thicket of sumptuous branching and tangled imagery.
But leave the sword at home, because the only way through is to dance, to become one with it. ”
At that, Seb’s neck went red, and he swore he could feel Lily’s eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.
The class tittered at Chant’s words. Cardiff Braithwhite III of the Nantucket Braithwhites—who went by “Tripp”—put his head in his hands, as if he deeply regretted the decision to sign up for this class.
His presence was indeed a shock, for being, in Seb’s opinion, offensively stupid.
The most notable thing about him was that of all the many rich douchebags on campus with rich douchebag names—Seb generously included himself in this assessment—he had the douchebaggiest.
Asher, doodling next to him, accidentally jogged him with his elbow.
He had drawn a crow exploding out of a thorn bush.
Seb wasn’t entirely sure it was done consciously.
Either way, it was a very good doodle. He sighed inwardly.
Asher was one of those hugely annoying people who seemed to have a million interesting hobbies and a natural talent for everything he attempted.
If Seb weren’t the beneficiary of so many of Asher’s avocations, he would probably hate him.
Chant shushed them all with his hands. “If it seems like I’m setting you up for an impossible task, don’t worry.
” A collective exhale. “I am.” A collective stopping of hearts.
“Traditionally, the alchemical process takes place over years, a lifetime. We’re only going to scratch the surface here.
To that end, while alchemy is typically a solitary endeavor, any engagement with complicated, internal, and theoretical work benefits from the ability to weigh ideas and anchor our experiences outwardly. ”
Asher and Seb exchanged minute shrugs.
“Therefore, while much work will be done individually, you will also work with a partner for the duration of the class.”