Back when Sornieth was still young, after the gods had placed their various marks upon it, there was an alchemist by the name of
Chofiniel. He was the studious sort since he could remember, with an unusual ability at sourcing elements in their many forms. When others were learning the skills in tradecrafts, he was busy experimenting. Combining new base form together, he would create new compounds to repeat the process over again with.
Reveal me your secrets,
regardless if it’s many and few,
let me light up the night
with your brilliant and varied hues.
Though he did not have many friends, he was almost always in company of one lovely lady. Her name was Makatiel. She had the lightest of laughs and softest smiles that warmed one to the soul. They met by happenstance when he was out searching for elements to replenish his work stock. He had found a specific bloom that would distill into what he needed. As he reached for it, another hand brushed his and drew his attention upward to her face, which blushed immediately. She was a florist by trade and was harvesting for the day.
Despite their differing fields, which delightfully overlapped to some small degree, he made a point to find any reason to see her. She was dreadfully shy, but had the lightest of laughs and softest smiles that warmed one to the soul. She slowly opened up more as they spent more time another. On the day that he readied himself to propose to her, their town was overrun by a rabid pack of Cursed beasts.
The creatures destroyed anything and everything in their way, leaving little in their wake. Though most of them were killed by the town guard and any who had fighting skills, a few escaped into the countryside. Majority of the town inhabitants had safely hid, but a few had been caught in the path of The Cursed. One of them was Makatiel and while her injuries were not as terrible as others, she had been bitten and was slowly succumbing to the infection. A high fever ate away at her and kept her in a state of delusion when she was not asleep. Anger seethed in Chofiniel’s heart and he joined the medical team in their attempts to cure the various forms of the curse that affected the injured. The curse was known to finalize with the rise of the full moon and they were already two days past the night of the new moon. Time was ticking.
A hunting team was dispatched to find the escaped Cursed creatures so that they did not do this to another town or village. They were gone for three days and four nights before arriving with the dead bodies in the town square. There were protests when he tore open the cadavers to harvests organs and blood to test on, but no one stopped him as he strode away to his laboratory. Day in, day out, he rested little and only took breaks to eat or visit Makatiel. He would find a cure for her no matter the cost.
He developed temporary salves for the infection, but nothing that could rid the infection entirely. There was less than a week left before the full moon would be upon them, the infected were quarantined in the old jailhouse at the outskirts of the township. While many were hopeful of a cure, the reinforced walls would provide a safeguard should they fail and the infected fully transformed into The Cursed. Of the seven infected, two had died from their aged bodies being unable to withstand the stages of infection and three took their own lives unable to deal with the possibility of becoming a Cursed.
Of the two remaining, Makatiel was still on and off with fever and the other just sat reclusively in a corner. Time seemed to just fall away faster and faster, Chofiniel could not find any way to break the infection and, when morning prior to the full moon came, he destroyed his own laboratory in a fit of rage and frustration. Sitting in the middle of the chaotic room with his head in his hands, he heard suddenly footsteps padding about.
Combining and mixing,
form a new revelation,
splitting and fixing,
let this creation be
my next step for salvation.
Believing it to be something from his sleep-deprived mind, he paid it no mind until another set sounded separately. Looking up, he was startled to find two strange being regarding him quietly. Their skin shone like metal, but one had a precious stones imbedded in its flesh while the other had belly of substance-filled glass. The one of stoned flesh tilted its head, “Aurum Regis of Stone.”
“Aqua Regia of Fluid,” replied the other. Aurum Regis gestured with a clawed hand, “We were nothing and we are now something.”
“We are summoned,” continued Aqua Regia, “You have request?”
“What are you?” Chofiniel rubbed his eyes and shook his head. This could not be real.
Aqua Regia replied, “We are elemental compounded to life. We shall grant aid.”
“I need a cure.” There was no hesitation as he was not going to waste an opportunity right now. Not when the full moon was so close at hand. He continued as he rose to his feet and walked over to where the samples from the Cursed cadavers were sealed in preservatives. “A curse infects two of our people and we need to cure them before the full moon tonight. Please help us save them!”
Aurum Regis and Aqua Regia shared a look after seeing the floating parts in glass jars and containers. “We cannot help these. Show us the living.”
Chofiniel lead the way to the quarantine. He pulled out his keys to unlock the door when they simply phased through the wall and barred door to the people inside. Makatiel was asleep, her breathing rapid and irregular. The other townsman was wary to the newcomers, but sat still as they looked him over. Aqua Regia padded her way back to the door, “One savable, but at a price.”
“What is it?” he implored, though his gut instinct told him that he would not like the answer. Aqua Regia regarded him for a moment, her eyes and expression unreadable as she simply replied, “The other’s life.”
“What does it mean by that?” It was the townsman. “What does it mean by that?!”
“A life for a life,” replied Aurum Regis. “The rule of balance must maintain. Cheat it and fail.”
Before he could voice his decision, Aurum Regis and Aqua Regia turned to the townsman. An intricate alchemic circle appeared on the ground beneath the man. One moment, he was panicked and alive. The next, gone. Chofiniel, jaw agape, stammered, “What happened?”
“It is done.” The two parted and in the circle was Makatiel, though she did not quite look herself. He realized that it was late into the night already. How much time has passed? A quick glance at his watch and he realized that it was already way past moon rise. Quickly opening the door, he moved quickly to her side and held her, “Makatiel.”
She roused, but remained unconscious. It was then he noticed that her platinum blonde hair and sky blue eyes had changed to dark brown with hints of red highlights and dark red eyes. He looked up at the two elementals, “What is wrong with her?”
They shared a glance between them before Aurum Regis replied, “We saved her mind, but not her body. You gave us little time to save her entirely.”
“Is there a way to?” Chofiniel knew he would love Makatiel regardless, but he wasn’t sure how she would take to being something…different.
“With time, maybe,” Aqua Regia returned with a tilt of her head. “We do not know. We stopped the Curse from consuming her sanity, but she will still be at whim to its needs.”
“Then, will you help me find a cure for her?” He had never felt so helpless before. He could not figure out a cure before and attempting to do so without these two’s help would be even harder. As though sensing his feelings, the two knelt down before him.
“We will lend our aid on the condition that we are allowed to bring others like us into the world to help others.”
“Agreed then,” stated Chofiniel as he shook both of their hands. The deal has been struck and legacy of the Alchemist’s Tools shall come.