Alter Aeon The Great Library

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Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  13771
Title: a book entitled "Magika Materia: An Overview of Alchemy"

"Magika Materia: An Overview of Alchemy" by Professors Gisela and Hyde
Aalfhaus

Magic permeates all matter. Certain substances have strong associations
with different kinds of magic. Many of these materials can be used in the
construction of magical devices such as wands and staffs.

In addition, these "spell components" can be brewed into potions that
trigger numerous magical effects, ranging from duplicating known spells to
creating mana deflecting fields and exotic curses. They can also be used in
other ways, as well. Carefully handled, they can be used to brew a variety
of toxins and antidotes. Druids sometimes use spell components to
supplement herbs in the production of tinctures and salves.

Some materials have a strong association to a particular spell or group of
spells, such as elemental fire. Using substances with strong affinities
leads to more predictable results in brewing potions. Skilled alchemists
can use their own knowledge of magic and personal mana to enhance these
affinities when brewing potions.

Spell components with strong affinities can also be used to make inks for
scribing magical scrolls or carefully combined to create various kinds of
explosives. Necromancers preparing corpses to be raised sometimes use spell
components to make their creations more resistant to different kinds of
elemental damage.

Most substances are not sufficiently pure to have spell affinities. Food is
sometimes used in potion brewing, but the effects are not particularly
strong or reliable. Gemstones, possibly due to their rigid crystalline
structure and consistent composition, almost always yield strong spell
affinities. Gemstones with known spell affinities include:

Ruby     - fire
Garnet   - cold
Sapphire - electricity
Emerald  - poison
Diamond  - magic/illusion

Many other materials demonstrate affinities seeming to stem from a loose
association with a particular element. For example, obsidian, coal and many
sulfur compounds tend to have an association with elemental fire. Quartzes
of various kinds and many metals have an affinity for electricity. And it
is well known that venoms extracted from snakes, scorpions and many other
creatures often have affinities for cures or protection from poison.