week 0

[productions]

murder manor week zero



friday

[You wake in an unfamiliar bedroom, with no memory of how you came to be there and a sensation that something you once had is gone. The room you're in is luxurious and comfortable, but there is a musty feeling of disuse and decay in the air. Still, you've provided with new wardrobe perfectly tailored for you, a key ring that will unlock your bedroom door, so surely you're welcome to explore the manor?

Have a look around and make yourselves at home. You'll soon find you're not alone, but if any among you knows the secrets of this place, they aren't speaking.]

This is an open mingle log for arrival at the manor. Please put your character's name, location, and the time in the header of their comments. Characters are welcome to explore the manor and get to know one another; nothing else will be revealed to them today.

Setting
Cast

Comments

[aozaki]

It sounds like alchemy's quite influential, wherever you're from.

[She chuckles at that.]

I know a few things about it, but I wouldn't qualify as one. You sound quite enthusiastic, though. Were you studying it?

[pandacea]

In Xing, alkahestry is used mainly for medical purposes. But in Amestris, the country I had been visiting before I was brought here, alchemy seems to be a major part of their government. That there aren't any mentions of it in these books must mean we're no longer there.

[She nods.] I had been hoping to learn more about other forms of alchemy to find a way of attaining immortality, but it doesn't look like I'll be having any luck in this strange house.

[aozaki]

I see. But if this is somehow another part of the world altogether where alchemy isn't practiced, it'd be normal if there wasn't any books about them.

[Keyword being 'if'; there are other possibilities, but they're a little too convoluted to entertain, really.]

Immortality? [Blinking once, because hmm, that's pretty ambitious!] It is one of the more common goals for a magus to strive towards, but looking here... [Pulling back from May, Touko steps up to give the library a more thorough glance before starting to pace around the shelves.]

Aristotle, Descartes, Poe... It's a rich library, but these are all normal classics. Dated at that, though it could be to stay in theme with the decor. [she'll proceed to pull a random book out where those of Greek origins seem to be. One of Plato's Dialogues, as luck would have it, which she'll proceed to give a quick skim. ...Fairly standard, yep...]

[pandacea]

That's true...I have heard that there are some smaller countries where alchemy isn't practiced at all. [which is still super weird to her, but oh well! they are probably just in some hillbilly town in the middle of nowhere then.]

Classics? [she frowns, looking over the books] I am not familiar with any of these authors, but it could be just that my studies have focused more on Xingese writings or subjects relating to alkahestry.

[aozaki]

[sounds legit

but now she's getting the "different alternate reality" vibe altogether...]

That's a little unusual, but it's possible, yes. [...] Could you show me how you do alchemy and alkahestry, if that's alright? I'm a little curious now, I admit!

[she's tempted to talk about thaumaturgy in general now... but would probably be good to exert at least a little more caution, given the state of things.]

[pandacea]

Ah - normally I would be happy to, but it seems whoever abducted me here also took my kunai, and it is harder to build a structural array without them. But I can still show you how the process works, even if I can't demonstrate the act itself!

[She pushes the books to the side and pulls out a piece of chalk, drawing a star within a circle, then places a paperweight sitting nearby within it.]

Here is my structural matrix. If I had my kunai, I would place one of them at each of the points. Then I simply conduct the energy that runs through the earth in order to deconstruct and reconstruct the object within. By understanding the components the object is made of, I can not only alter the shape, but also change it into a different form of matter. The mass stays the same no matter what however, hence the term 'equivalent exchange'.

The details get more complex than that, but those are the basics!

[aozaki]

That's fine! [Cupping her chin in a hand, she listens attentively because - well, even if she's given up on all that, this is still the sort of stuff she always worked with and poured over for several years in her life. A magus is a magus, hermit or not.]

That's what I thought. It's the basic of alchemy, although I first thought of the alchemists of the Atlas Academy when you first said the term. They don't manipulate matter, they study and strive to manipulate probability. Have you heard of alchemists like that, where you're from?