Talk:Antiapaya
Alchemy?
New Questions
Alchemy as steam power... and/or stored energy:
- perhaps the sails of the sunships can give Rastram alchemy something it might need for some processes. I mean: perhaps to get directly to the power of the ravimarga instead of solar energy (same thing? -- I could be misunderstanding) they need to be in the stream, yet further away from a sun. And then they need the solar sails to collect enough energy to "distill" and process.
- the result of this sunship alchemy creates a unique ...something. These "solar eggs" (or whatever.. you mentioned dragon eggs, and "philosopher's egg" is a thing in alchemy) that are the product of these sunship alchemy labs (and only those type of labs) might either mimick some aspect of dragon eggs.. or be a store energy, that can be used as a power source, as well as an explosive.
- that in turn creates:
- potentially vulnerable alchemy labs in space; while having either valuable eggs, or at least valuable raw materials and equipment.
- these ships might rig a thrust in addition to the sails, giving them a speed bonus.. this can take a while to set up and get going -- like steam
- an industry for solar eggs
- a potential for steam-like tech ...yet I'd go different, a weak nuclear energy, you fill in the blanks.
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Alchemy! What alchemy?!
Do they refine solar energy? Stills/alembics full of phosphorescent vapor.
Is it esoteric knowledge, passed down from master to apprentice? Or is more akin to every-day chemistry/practical science? If esoteric, did it originally come from.. dunno.. like, dragons? Esoteric symbolism?
Is there a solar version of the philosopher's stone? With certain recipes and methods -- yet no one has personally attained it. (but everyone knows trustworthy accounts) Like a mythical "Sun-Stone" made of crystalized refined solar energy. I would have some ideas if you needed details on recipes, etc.
Alchemical glass vessels would look awesome with your description of glass :)
In alchemy there were often in-between stages that were important in making sure one was in the right track. Isaac Newton wrote of the 'peacock's tail'. For instance. The "green dragon" was another one. These in between steps to a mythical "sun-stone" could also have practical function. Perhaps one can alchemically create a solar powder (pixie dust comes to mind, haha) ...which would also be a precursor to the stone. Potable sun-energy would obviously be a big one. The elixir being another step to the stone.
I could ramble about alchemy all day, so I'll wait until you fill in a bit more :) Also, I'm just thinking out loud, delete any of this that isn't helpful to keep the page tidy (it's your page)
Alchemy! What alchemy?!
Do they refine solar energy? Stills/alembics full of phosphorescent vapor.
Is it esoteric knowledge, passed down from master to apprentice? Or is more akin to every-day chemistry/practical science? If esoteric, did it originally come from.. dunno.. like, dragons? Esoteric symbolism?
Is there a solar version of the philosopher's stone? With certain recipes and methods -- yet no one has personally attained it. (but everyone knows trustworthy accounts) Like a mythical "Sun-Stone" made of crystalized refined solar energy. I would have some ideas if you needed details on recipes, etc.
Alchemical glass vessels would look awesome with your description of glass :)
In alchemy there were often in-between stages that were important in making sure one was in the right track. Isaac Newton wrote of the 'peacock's tail'. For instance. The "green dragon" was another one. These in between steps to a mythical "sun-stone" could also have practical function. Perhaps one can alchemically create a solar powder (pixie dust comes to mind, haha) ...which would also be a precursor to the stone. Potable sun-energy would obviously be a big one. The elixir being another step to the stone.
I could ramble about alchemy all day, so I'll wait until you fill in a bit more :) Also, I'm just thinking out loud, delete any of this that isn't helpful to keep the page tidy (it's your page)
Joe's Responses
- Oh man. I can see you've already sussed out a lot of the thoughts I had for this. :)
- It *is* esoteric knowledge, but it is put to industrial/chemistry use. It is taught in the great learning centers, but many of those who graduate then still go on to study under the Masters, who all develop alchemy in interesting and different ways.
- The core of alchemy is that the Sun Changes Things.
- Most of the cultures (particularly the Frost Sun and Dragon Sun systems) developed alchemy of a sort.
- Frost Sun alchemy involves liquids and substances being brought to freezing points, then shaping those bits of ice down into lenses, and those lenses being used to focus sunlight onto other substances. This "ice alchemy" is how ever-frost was created, for instance.
- In contrast, dragons use the shells of their own eggs, powdered down. About a third-to-a-quarter of all dragon eggs fail to develop, so the dragons render these eggs down to a soupy liquid goop that is an alchemical reactive: when other substances are added to it, it transforms.
- Rastram alchemy is considered the most-developed, as it uses sunlight directly in its processes.
- As you intuited, all of its containers are wrought of qamani glass, and the differing colors (because qamani is every color except totally clear) have different effects. Red qamani might instill heat and fury into something, creating a (for example) substance that generates heat when applied, or starts fires or something. Etc.
- I do like the idea of a mythical "philosopher's stone" of some sort.
- The esoteric philosophy I've been working with incorporates the notion that the source of all life is the sun, and the human soul is considered to be the "sun" of the individual (standard microcosm/macrocosm stuff).
- I really dig the idea of some kind of stone that alchemists believe can be created that embodies the power of the sun so greatly that - when ingested or surgically embedded in the actual heart of a person - the human sun (the soul) becomes aligned with the sun of that system, and so the soul continues to grant life for as long as that sun does - thus, immortality, of a solar variety. This "soul of unity" is probably apocryphal, attributed with granting all kinds of powers, and is probably a favorite plot device of various operas (the way Taoist immortality/magic is a favorite source of magic in Peking operas and wuxia films)
