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Alchemy
Alchemy
By: Cole Harwood
By: Cole Harwood
It was a dim and depressing day in Ylemont, like many others before it. The city of Ylemont had gone to war with a city named Kheles which was hundreds of miles away. The mass production of weapons, armor, and other items to aid in the war polluted the skies, making it impossible to see the sun. Many believed that the use of magical items and spells could help in the war and help the polluted skies. But most did not know how to use them. There were a select few from the city who knew, one of which named Flynn Bastian, who aspired to become an alchemist and aid in the war effort. But sadly, he knew no one who could be his master and teach him their ways. All he could do was help his father’s business while he was off at war.
It was a dim and depressing day in Ylemont, like many others before it. The city of Ylemont had gone to war with a city named Kheles which was hundreds of miles away. The mass production of weapons, armor, and other items to aid in the war polluted the skies, making it impossible to see the sun. Many believed that the use of magical items and spells could help in the war and help the polluted skies. But most did not know how to use them. There were a select few from the city who knew, one of which named Flynn Bastian, who aspired to become an alchemist and aid in the war effort. But sadly, he knew no one who could be his master and teach him their ways. All he could do was help his father’s business while he was off at war.
“Welcome to Billy’s Butcher Shop, how can I help you?” Flynn said enthusiastically to a cloaked figure who entered the shop
”One boar’s head please,” said the cloaked individual
”Sorry, we don't sell that here.”
”Chicken feet?”
”Nope.”
”You have to have cow hooves.”
”Actually, now that you mention it, we don't.”
"Well, worth a try, I’ll see you.”
”See ya... wait...you forgot this,” Flynn said, running with the man’s card in hand. But by the time he was outside, the man had disappeared.
Flynn looked at the card and saw that it read “The Mysterious Alchemy Emporium.” The site of the word “Alchemy” caught Flynn’s attention almost immediately, but he couldn’t go; he had to tend to his father’s shop. All day, Flynn looked at this card, staring at it, imagining what would happen if he went. After closing up shop, he went to his local library and borrowed three books, one about mystical arts and the others about the art of Alchemy.
That night, he couldn’t sleep; he only read. He couldn’t stop, everything about the creation of living creatures and spells kept getting him more and more interested. All he could think about before going to bed was that man’s card. How if he had the slightest amount of time, he would dash to that shop and plead to teach him. So, not being able to get it off his mind, he packed some clothing and books and set off to the alchemy shop. While on the road toward the shop, he asked many fairies and gnomes for directions. He did this until he came to a fork in the road, having no one to ask which way. Then, suddenly, there was a noise coming from one of the bushes.
”Hello, if there's someone in there, do you know which way to go to get to ‘The Mysterious Alchemy Emporium’?”
A giggling came from the bush as a leprechaun jumped out, “Of course I do, kiddo, but it ain’t gonna be free.”
”First off, can I know your name before I give you any money?” Flynn asked.
”Me name is Seán Niall Patrick Decan James Liam Rian III, but most only call me Seán.”
”Ok, Seán, how much will it be?”
”Fifty gold.”
”WHAT?! That's ridiculous!”
”Well, you don’t wanna get lost, do ya?”
”I guess, what about thirty?”
”Nope, fifty’s my only offer.”
”I mean, I guess it’ll be worth it,” Flynn said looking into his wallet, filled with exactly fifty gold.
”Splendid,” Seán said while opening his hand, “Well, do ya have it?”
“Here you go.”
”Wow, this is real deal gold, most travelers give me chocolate coins or somethin' of the sort. Thank you, kid! Now you gotta go down this left trail, take a right when you see it, and then you’ll be on the right track.”
”So, I’d just be going down the right path.”
”Exactly.”
”Then why’d I give you the money?”
”Couldn’t tell ya. I'll see you later, kid,” the leprechaun said while scurrying away.
”HEY! GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK! Crap.”
As Flynn, in disappointment, made his way down the trail, he could feel some sort of presentence walking behind him. When he turned around, all he could see was a pair of eyes a few yards down the trail. He could only stare in fear as they waited for him to move. Only a few seconds later, the eyes started moving toward him. So, Flynn whipped his head around to sprint toward a small glink of the exit. As he was running, the air around him started to pull him backwards toward the creature. Flynn could barely keep his balance, but he pushed through toward the light and ended up at the end of the dark trail.
Immediately after pushing for the end of the trail, Flynn fell to the ground and looked toward the path. But all that was there was a pile of leaves being blown away.
When he turned back around, all Flynn saw was a run-down shack with a sort of magical aura to it. A massive sign stood on the top of the building with many of its letters missing, but Flynn could figure out what it said. The sign said “T e Mys eri us Al h my E p r um,” but he knew he was in the right place. The house was illuminated by an empty hole in the tree’s lining, revealing that it was made of a kind of crimson wood and the letters on the sign were made of a variety of gems and stones. Some of the letters were ruby, others were amethyst, even more being lapiz. He went up to the door, but he couldn’t seem to see a handle.
“Hello, Flynn,” said a mysteriously deep voice
”Hi, um, are you the one who left the card at the butcher shop?” Flynn said nervously.
”Indeed, I am, have you come to learn the mystical arts?”
”Kinda.”
”You’ve come to learn Alchemy, have you not?”
”Yeah, how’d you know that?”
”I know many things, Flynn Bastian. You’re the son of Billy and Mary Bastian. Your father was recruited like many others to fight in the current war and mother has had to help run his business alongside you. But I sense a desire, a desire for more than running a butcher shop. You want to fight, not physically, but you still want to help our soldiers. That’s why you came here.”
”Who are you, and how do you know all this?” Flynn asked, looking for the origin of the voice.
”You may not know me, many don’t. But there are some who do. People as interested in Alchemy as you know me.”
“What do you mean?”
Flynn looked at the door and saw that it had opened. He looked through the door frame to see the same figure as in the butcher shop. The dark figure lifted the hood he was wearing to reveal his true identity.
”Oh my God! YOU'RE BENJAMIN HAWTHORNE! YOU’RE HIM!” Flynn said, excited to meet the man who inspired him, “I’ve read all your books; I actually brought one with me.”
”Come in first, I have much to show you. Also, don't call me ‘Benjamin,’ call me ‘Ben.’”
“Ok, Ben,” Flynn said with a massive grin on his face.
As Flynn entered the shop, he saw many magical items. The first one he saw was a wand on display with a warning that read, “DO NOT USE IN STORE!”
”The Master’s Wand, huh?” Ben said as Flynn was examining it, “Had to put a warning on it ‘cause some snobby rich fellow decided to burn a hole through my wall, massive amount of property damage.”
He and Ben continued to walk until Flynn heard someone scream. Flynn moved quickly toward the noise to see a small dog crate with a tiny person inside. The person looked like a human but much different. It had very slim, lanky arms with humongous hands. It had a twig-sized neck but big eyes and an even bigger mouth. The creature had a relatively normal-shaped torso, but it was around the length of Flynn’s hand.
”Oi, George, keep it down, would ya’? We have a guest over,” Ben said to the creature. All the creature responded with was screams and yelling.
”I understand you're hungry, but could you just keep your voice down a little?”
”Wait, you understood that?” Flynn asked.
”Yeah, I drank a potion one time where I could have the ability to understand whatever any creature says. But it's not fun when they always SCREAM AT YOU,” Ben said while yelling at the person, “How rude of me, I never introduced you to him. This is George the homunculus.”
”What the heck is a ‘homunculus’?”
When Flynn said that, George leaped to the side of the cage to try and grab or attack him. ”Woah, hey there man, he didn’t mean to insult ya’ mate,” Ben said to George, “So a homunculus is a human being, like you and me, but they are a lot smaller. They're made in a bottle and take a couple years to develop, and this is pretty much how big they get.”
”Can they not speak our language?”
”I’ve tried to teach him, but he can’t pick it up for some reason. They only communicate in screams, that’s why I took the potion a while back.”
”Do you have another potion for me to take, so I can understand him?”
”Trust me, kid, you don’t wanna hear what he’s got to say.”
”Fine, well, when am I gonna start learning Alchemy?”
”Well, lesson number one, makin’ living creatures outta raw materials,” Ben said while pointing at George. “This fella’s made of stone, some pig’s blood, and a piece of me hair.”
”Why’d it need your hair?”
”Human DNA is needed to make another human; I thought you read my books?”
”I don't remember any of your books having the word ‘homunculus’ in it.”
”Well, it’s part of my newest one; they haven’t published it to any libraries yet. So, when it does eventually come out, make sure to pick it up,” Ben said while walking toward the back of the store.
Throughout the shop, there were many artifacts and creatures to be seen. Taxidermied heads of many monsters were on display, a hydra’s, a dragon’s, and an owl bear’s head could be seen on the walls. He could see a sword on a mantle with a name tag saying, “Excalibur.”
”No way, is that the real Excalibur?”
”Of course not, why would I have Excalibur?”
”Well, that's what it says.”
”Is it? Wait, no, it says Xcaliber.”
”What’s the difference?”
”One’s from a magical stone, and the other is here.”
”Is everything in here fake?”
”No, well, most of it is, but it gives off the right vibe.”
”What's that?”
”It gives you the sense that this place is magical. But it’s not; it's pretty much just a lab for my experiments.”
“I thought you used magic in Alchemy?”
“Nope. Pretty much all science.”
”Oh, well, how do you make living creatures without magic?”
”Basic Biology. Cells multiply and eventually make things.”
”Huh, I always thought it was magic.”
”Well then, you never understood my books then.”
”Why are you being so rude?”
”Am I being rude? I don’t mean to be; I just haven’t had this much social interaction since...” Ben said while counting on his fingers. He got to ten, and then stopped, “Fourteen years ago, when my wife left.”
”Sorry to hear about that.”
”It’s alright. People leave when they can’t see anything left to love,” Ben said, an awkward silence following after as they continued to the back of the store.
”Sooooo, where are we going?”
”To the basement.”
“What’s in the basement?”
”You’ll see."
As Ben and Flynn made their way to the back of the store, Flynn could see a wooden door, one with locks running along the side of it. Ben had to individually open every lock in various ways, some being a simple key, others being a passcode or a pad with four buttons you needed to press in order. after all twenty of the locks were undone, the two of them walked down a mossy set of spiral stairs.
”So, going back to before, what happened with your wife?”
”None of your business. She just left.”
”Alright, rough subject, I guess,” Flynn said under his breath.
”Ya think? We’re here. Are you ready?
”Sure.”
As they got to the end of the staircase, all Flynn saw was a set of towering metal armour. It wasn’t just metal armour, it seemed to have no cracks separating the pieces. It was one huge piece of armour that looked as if it would seal to your skin. In the middle of the torso, there were five gems placed in a circle.
”This is my greatest creation,” Ben said, looking at the metal man intently.
”What is it?”
”It’s a set of armour for the war. I’m just like you, kid, I wanna use Alchemy for the better of humanity.”
”What does it do?”
”Well, it is the most durable piece of armour the military could use. It has no cracks for people to stab through, and it’s made of Gythopian metal.”
”What’s Gythopian metal?”
”It’s the most rare metal on Earth, it isn’t affected by any magic. It actually absorbs it and uses it as energy using the stones in the middle. They’re the Elementals found around the world. They hold limited power and represent the main elements in this world: fire, water, ice, air, earth, and darkness. But they need to take the elements used in magic to power themselves and the armour.”
”Damn, is it ready to use?”
”Yes, I just needed someone to use it. That’s where you come in. Your ambition to help is perfect for it.”
”What do you mean? I just came to learn from you.”
”You will learn. I just need you to test it, and then I can teach you.”
”Are you sure I need to do it?”
”Yes, it needs to be you. Who else could do it?”
”A soldier could.”
”We can’t risk any soldiers leaving their posts with the oncoming threat. It needs to be you. You're old enough for it to be accurate data but young enough to be able to use it.”
”Fine, how do I get in?”
”There are two doors in the back, open them both and hop in.”
”Alright.”
Flynn made his way to the back of the metal suit, feeling uneasy about the whole situation. As he got to the metal doors, Flynn realized that there were no hinges for him to open them. It was just a big piece of metal with cuts that resembled doors, but there were two handles.
”What are you waiting for? Open the doors.”
”There's no hinges! I can’t open it without breaking them off.”
”I forgot to tell you, Gythopian metal is very flexible and rarely breaks. So you're good, just pull on the handles.”
”Okay,” Flynn said nervously.
As Flynn got himself in the suit, he felt the metal bend and unbend depending on his movements. He could feel the suit almost touch his skin, but when he put his head into the suit, he could feel some sort of prongs surrounding it.
”Hey, is there supposed to be something near my he...,” Flynn said as Ben slammed the doors behind the metal doors.
”I’m sorry it had to end this way, kid, but this is the only way.”
”What are you talking about? Let me out! PLEASE JUST LET ME OUT! I DON'T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE!” Flynn screamed.
”I always knew that there was a missing piece to my work. I spent years trying to figure it out. Then, my wife left. She didn’t believe I could help this world. I always worked and worked and worked on this big suit and couldn’t figure out what piece was missing.”
”Please, Ben, if you let me out, I can help you find the missing piece.”
”That’s exactly it, though, you already did. You showed me what was missing. A soul. That’s what was missing. I didn’t want to put some sort of animal in this kind of suit— that wouldn’t work. I needed someone who had the strength and ambition to be able to protect this world. That’s you, Flynn. I knew you were the one when I walked into your butcher shop. I read your mind and saw how ambitious you were. To test your strength, I used the little magic I knew in the path.”
”That was you?!”
”Yes, it was. I needed to see if you were the one, and you passed the test.”
”Wait, please, I don't wanna do this anymore, please, just let me out, PLEASE!”
”You’ve sealed your fate, kid, you can't leave that suit. Soon you’ll be one with it,” Ben said as he pushed one of the stones in the middle of the metal torso that had an orangish hue.
“What do you mean by that? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BEN?!”
Before Ben could answer, Flynn could feel the suit warming up. When Flynn looked back toward Ben, he wasn't there anymore. Soon after, he started to feel the pongs dig into the base of his skull. Suddenly, he heard a loud cracking sound as the pongs snapped through his skull and into his brain. The basement was too deep for anyone to hear his agonizing screams for help. The suit got hotter and hotter over time, and his skin began melting and boiling. Then, Flynn saw Ben in front of him press a different stone, the one with a light blue hue. He could feel the suit cool down, but it kept getting colder. Flynn felt the suit get tighter as the suit got colder. As the suit got tighter, his melted skin attached to the metal. Before Flynn knew it, he was one with the suit. He couldn't move his body without feeling excruciating pain. Even if he did feel that pain, he couldn’t scream—the prongs must’ve hit the part of his brain that controls his speech. All he could do was stand in the suit and wait for it all to end. But it never did, all he did was delay the inevitable.
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