77th of Searing, 121 AS
The space was very small, and very empty. Plane stone walls, a high ceiling with oak beams that supported the floor above, and polished tile flooring that gleamed in the harsh magic light of the lantern which hung from a hook at the center of the room. There were a few pieces of furniture, including a rickety table that wobbled when any weight was applied, and two chairs that were as far from the table as was physically possible. The rest of the lab space, or what passed as a lap space, was barren save for the odd scroll or stack of books.
As Lyra stared around the room with a frown on her lips, the man beside her almost vibrated with excitement.
"The lab was a gift from the circle, and came equipped with glyphs to link with larger Dragonshard repositories the Circle has provided for the building's use." The man, or rather boy, smiled so widely that Lyra worried his face would split. Ever since they had arrived he had never ceased to prattle on and on about the wonders of this new lab of his, how grateful he was to the order to have been given such a luxury. He had spoken at length about his plans for the space, and all the while Lyra had quietly listened while studying the room with a critical eye.
Mr. Bartus here seems quite excited. Naila observed. Even she, a mercenary untrained in the finer arts of world magic, could tell that the room was barely more than a storage area. Lyra had noticed the supposed amenities the Circle had provided, and most of the glyphs were worn or badly constructed. There was no protections in place, the ambient Aether would quickly begin to spill out into neighboring labs if left unchecked, and if Lyra was correct at least one of the glyphs would cause a chain reaction and likely catch half the room on fire if Bartus were to actually try to connect his pictographs to the Dragonshard repository.
Still, Lyra could not help a small smile at Bartus' expense. He was a young, fresh wizard who still held that spark of optimism that most jaded professionals simply lacked.
A wizard earning his first lab is a momentous occasion. Lyra said to the Mercenary. She ignored Bartus who was still talking, and instead knelt down to study a few of the pictographs running along the base of the wall, For this child this small empty rooms represents the start of his path, and it shows that his work has been acknowledged by those above him.
Indeed, Bartus was in fact a very gifted alchemist. The upper echelon of the Circle seemed to be very interested in investing in the boy's future, thus why they had hired Lyra. Her prices were not cheap, and she had earned a reputation for doing efficient work with limited materials.
"What is it you will be researching here Mr. Bartus?" Lyra interrupted the man, who sputtered to a clumsy halt and stared blankly at Lyra for a moment as if processing the question. When at last he did his eyes brightened once more.
"Aether crystalization." As he said the words he really did shiver in excitement as he drew uncomfortably close, "Alchemy as a world magic produces by products, excess left over once the reaction is complete. Usually alchemist try to minimize this waste, or at least try to use as much of the original reagent as possible, but I think there is a better way." He raised a finger and tapped the side of his nose knowingly, "I think alchemy biproducts can be repurposed."
"Repurposed?" Lyra asked, encouraging the boy to continue as she traced another like of pictographs up to the ceiling where they connected together in a spiraling focus.
Bartus nodded, "Yes, exactly. Most Alchemist take a material and extract just the trait or property they desire from it, and then simply waste the rest or let it form into unstable compounds to be used for fodder later on. Consider this though, that extracted waste does, in fact, still contain all of the OTHER properties that material had originally. Those other properties can be useful in later projects, but the act of refining out and crystalizing individual aetheric traits is time and resource intensive. Thus most alchemist simply try to reduce the waste they generate."
A silence settled between them as Lyra worked, and after several long seconds she looked up at saw Bartus staring at her expectantly. So with a sigh she asked, "And what is it that can be done instead?"
"Simple!" Bartus practically shouted the word, making Lyra draw back and Nail flinch, "Instead of letting all those properties go to waste, instead we freeze them, halt them in a stable crystalized structure that we can then later go back and refine further. What's more this aetheric crystallization I believe could be used to add additional traits to that same crystal later, eventually letting an alchemist create a crystalized stock of combined properties!
Rubbing her ear, which was now ringing, Lyra frowned, "That sounds much like how Viserite is described in the art of runeforging."
"That was where I got the original idea." Bartus nodded, crossing his arms, "Over time though crystalized aether will steadily decay and become unstable, but it would mean that Alchemy could be made to use less waste over time. That would help reduce the cost further, and even more importantly saves time later on."
So he wants to recycle magic?
In essence, yes. Lyra studied Bartus as he began another deluge of words discussing the intricacies of his ideas. It was so odd to Lyra, looking at this child. Magic had changed so very much since her time among the scholars in ages past, yet those who practiced magic seemed to have changed very little. The boy's eagerness, exuberant nature made Lyra remember times long long past, and again she smiled despite herself. With a shake of her head Lyra returned her mind to the task at hand.
The lab space itself did indeed have links to a large Dargonshard repository located somewhere deeper in the building. Every wizard with a space in the building was allocated a certain amount of aether at certain times, which had to be scheduled. Tracking the connecting glyph back to where the link glyph connected back to the main network Lyra saw the pictographs all would require touchups. They were also unguarded, and could be easily disrupted by either Bartus' own actions or by those in neighboring labs if their aether outputs grew out of control. As her eyes scanned the walls Lyra saw only the most basic levels of protection, mostly glyphs that seemed link to some form of negation that would let Brtus dampen sounds coming in and going out. There were pathways leading to sconces which could be connected to dragonshard lamps, though the pictographs were also in poor shape.
"You will need additional layers or pictographs to help with aether dispersion." Lyra said as she turned in a circle. Bartus paused in his rambling to listen, "You might not produce much ambient aether, but there is at least one runeforger on this floor and you will need to insulate this lab from its interference, as well as add precautions in the event your own experiments... fail."
Magic, even world magic, was exceptionally dangerous. Alchemist tended to keep most of their limbs while performing their craft, but if Bartus was planning to refine a process of crystalizing unstable alchemical waste components then it was likely he would face more than a few setbacks. He had apparently already lost one eyebrow in such an experiment this season.
"Map out the space." Lyra said, walking over to the table and pulling from her back a scroll, quill and ink. She waved Bartus over and pointed around the room as she spoke, "You will need to designate areas for preparations and for experimentation. If you plan to keep stocks of reagents and other supplies that will also need to be outlined and protected. I can speak with a contact to have lighting put in place, and I can connect the glyphs that power the sound dampening and the lighting to a singular control panel. If you have a preference for where that should go then note it down here."
Her hand began to make quick scribbling motions, drawing out a rough sketch of her suggestions for the rooms layout, and as she finished she handed the scroll over to Bartus who studied it intently. He rubbed his chin and glanced at Lyra, "I was told you were thorough, but this is more than I expected. Can you really make it so that I can control the rooms glyphs from one place?"
"I can, and more if that is your desire. You have been approved for 72 hours of my time, and additional resources will be paid for in installments from your check to the Circle." Lyra motioned to the scroll, "I would suggest taking this opportunity to prepare everything to your specifications. The right environment makes all the differences for the success of your projects."
Bartus nodded, and went back to studying the scroll. As she waited Lyra considered her own words. It was important that a mage have the right environment to be successful. What did that say about her own situation?
The space was very small, and very empty. Plane stone walls, a high ceiling with oak beams that supported the floor above, and polished tile flooring that gleamed in the harsh magic light of the lantern which hung from a hook at the center of the room. There were a few pieces of furniture, including a rickety table that wobbled when any weight was applied, and two chairs that were as far from the table as was physically possible. The rest of the lab space, or what passed as a lap space, was barren save for the odd scroll or stack of books.
As Lyra stared around the room with a frown on her lips, the man beside her almost vibrated with excitement.
"The lab was a gift from the circle, and came equipped with glyphs to link with larger Dragonshard repositories the Circle has provided for the building's use." The man, or rather boy, smiled so widely that Lyra worried his face would split. Ever since they had arrived he had never ceased to prattle on and on about the wonders of this new lab of his, how grateful he was to the order to have been given such a luxury. He had spoken at length about his plans for the space, and all the while Lyra had quietly listened while studying the room with a critical eye.
Mr. Bartus here seems quite excited. Naila observed. Even she, a mercenary untrained in the finer arts of world magic, could tell that the room was barely more than a storage area. Lyra had noticed the supposed amenities the Circle had provided, and most of the glyphs were worn or badly constructed. There was no protections in place, the ambient Aether would quickly begin to spill out into neighboring labs if left unchecked, and if Lyra was correct at least one of the glyphs would cause a chain reaction and likely catch half the room on fire if Bartus were to actually try to connect his pictographs to the Dragonshard repository.
Still, Lyra could not help a small smile at Bartus' expense. He was a young, fresh wizard who still held that spark of optimism that most jaded professionals simply lacked.
A wizard earning his first lab is a momentous occasion. Lyra said to the Mercenary. She ignored Bartus who was still talking, and instead knelt down to study a few of the pictographs running along the base of the wall, For this child this small empty rooms represents the start of his path, and it shows that his work has been acknowledged by those above him.
Indeed, Bartus was in fact a very gifted alchemist. The upper echelon of the Circle seemed to be very interested in investing in the boy's future, thus why they had hired Lyra. Her prices were not cheap, and she had earned a reputation for doing efficient work with limited materials.
"What is it you will be researching here Mr. Bartus?" Lyra interrupted the man, who sputtered to a clumsy halt and stared blankly at Lyra for a moment as if processing the question. When at last he did his eyes brightened once more.
"Aether crystalization." As he said the words he really did shiver in excitement as he drew uncomfortably close, "Alchemy as a world magic produces by products, excess left over once the reaction is complete. Usually alchemist try to minimize this waste, or at least try to use as much of the original reagent as possible, but I think there is a better way." He raised a finger and tapped the side of his nose knowingly, "I think alchemy biproducts can be repurposed."
"Repurposed?" Lyra asked, encouraging the boy to continue as she traced another like of pictographs up to the ceiling where they connected together in a spiraling focus.
Bartus nodded, "Yes, exactly. Most Alchemist take a material and extract just the trait or property they desire from it, and then simply waste the rest or let it form into unstable compounds to be used for fodder later on. Consider this though, that extracted waste does, in fact, still contain all of the OTHER properties that material had originally. Those other properties can be useful in later projects, but the act of refining out and crystalizing individual aetheric traits is time and resource intensive. Thus most alchemist simply try to reduce the waste they generate."
A silence settled between them as Lyra worked, and after several long seconds she looked up at saw Bartus staring at her expectantly. So with a sigh she asked, "And what is it that can be done instead?"
"Simple!" Bartus practically shouted the word, making Lyra draw back and Nail flinch, "Instead of letting all those properties go to waste, instead we freeze them, halt them in a stable crystalized structure that we can then later go back and refine further. What's more this aetheric crystallization I believe could be used to add additional traits to that same crystal later, eventually letting an alchemist create a crystalized stock of combined properties!
Rubbing her ear, which was now ringing, Lyra frowned, "That sounds much like how Viserite is described in the art of runeforging."
"That was where I got the original idea." Bartus nodded, crossing his arms, "Over time though crystalized aether will steadily decay and become unstable, but it would mean that Alchemy could be made to use less waste over time. That would help reduce the cost further, and even more importantly saves time later on."
So he wants to recycle magic?
In essence, yes. Lyra studied Bartus as he began another deluge of words discussing the intricacies of his ideas. It was so odd to Lyra, looking at this child. Magic had changed so very much since her time among the scholars in ages past, yet those who practiced magic seemed to have changed very little. The boy's eagerness, exuberant nature made Lyra remember times long long past, and again she smiled despite herself. With a shake of her head Lyra returned her mind to the task at hand.
The lab space itself did indeed have links to a large Dargonshard repository located somewhere deeper in the building. Every wizard with a space in the building was allocated a certain amount of aether at certain times, which had to be scheduled. Tracking the connecting glyph back to where the link glyph connected back to the main network Lyra saw the pictographs all would require touchups. They were also unguarded, and could be easily disrupted by either Bartus' own actions or by those in neighboring labs if their aether outputs grew out of control. As her eyes scanned the walls Lyra saw only the most basic levels of protection, mostly glyphs that seemed link to some form of negation that would let Brtus dampen sounds coming in and going out. There were pathways leading to sconces which could be connected to dragonshard lamps, though the pictographs were also in poor shape.
"You will need additional layers or pictographs to help with aether dispersion." Lyra said as she turned in a circle. Bartus paused in his rambling to listen, "You might not produce much ambient aether, but there is at least one runeforger on this floor and you will need to insulate this lab from its interference, as well as add precautions in the event your own experiments... fail."
Magic, even world magic, was exceptionally dangerous. Alchemist tended to keep most of their limbs while performing their craft, but if Bartus was planning to refine a process of crystalizing unstable alchemical waste components then it was likely he would face more than a few setbacks. He had apparently already lost one eyebrow in such an experiment this season.
"Map out the space." Lyra said, walking over to the table and pulling from her back a scroll, quill and ink. She waved Bartus over and pointed around the room as she spoke, "You will need to designate areas for preparations and for experimentation. If you plan to keep stocks of reagents and other supplies that will also need to be outlined and protected. I can speak with a contact to have lighting put in place, and I can connect the glyphs that power the sound dampening and the lighting to a singular control panel. If you have a preference for where that should go then note it down here."
Her hand began to make quick scribbling motions, drawing out a rough sketch of her suggestions for the rooms layout, and as she finished she handed the scroll over to Bartus who studied it intently. He rubbed his chin and glanced at Lyra, "I was told you were thorough, but this is more than I expected. Can you really make it so that I can control the rooms glyphs from one place?"
"I can, and more if that is your desire. You have been approved for 72 hours of my time, and additional resources will be paid for in installments from your check to the Circle." Lyra motioned to the scroll, "I would suggest taking this opportunity to prepare everything to your specifications. The right environment makes all the differences for the success of your projects."
Bartus nodded, and went back to studying the scroll. As she waited Lyra considered her own words. It was important that a mage have the right environment to be successful. What did that say about her own situation?