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imagine a world where you could change
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lead into gold discover the secret of
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eternal life and understand the very
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fabric of the universe
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now take a step back and realize this is
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not purely the realm of fantasy this is
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alchemy the predecessor to Modern
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Chemistry steeped in mystical in
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philosophical traditions today we're
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delving into that rich tapestry of
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alchemical magic from the elixir of life
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to the Philosopher's Stone we'll explore
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the ways you can bring this historic
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practice into your fantasy world
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building not merely as a science but as
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a profoundly symbolic and transformative
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art
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hello adventurers of the fantastic and
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The Seekers of Arcane and welcome back
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to another episode of just in time
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worlds with your host Marie mullaney
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just before we get started this video
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has been available to members of my
00:01:06
channel for some time now if you want to
00:01:08
help me make more content and gain early
00:01:10
access to my videos you can pick up a
00:01:13
wood membership to my channel for a mere
00:01:15
seven seven euros a month and a shout
00:01:17
out to the members of my channel who
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enable my journey through this Fantasy
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World building
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right enough of that grab your Olympic
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and mortar prepare your crucibles and
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let's step into the enigmatic world of
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our chemical Magic
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we're going to start as we normally do
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on this channel with historical Alchemy
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in our world
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and the journey of alchemy begins in the
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Sands of Hellenistic Egypt a place where
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the Arcane and scientific merged the
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term Alchemy itself stems from the
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Arabic o kimniya meaning the art of
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transformation rooted in Metallurgy
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medicine and mysticism the discipline
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was a melding of practical and
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theoretical tangible and divine
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Alchemists of the time weren't just
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proto-chemists confined to their labs
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they were philosophers Physicians
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astronomers and the astronomers and
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Mystics who sought understanding of the
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universe through the intermingling of
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science art and spirituality an example
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from this era is zosimos of panopoly
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considered by many as one of the first
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true Alchemists born in Egypt zosimos
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wrote numerous texts which combined
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practical alchemical knowledge with
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Mystic philosophy and are considered the
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oldest known works on Alchemy his books
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which he called Che Rock mieta a Greek
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word meaning things made by hand guide
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us into the mind of ancient Alchemists
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who viewed their work as much as a
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spiritual journey as a physical process
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in the world they inhabited science was
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not divorced from spirituality but
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deeply entwined with it we can see that
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in the way that zosimus wrote about
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alchemy in the book of Sophie here is a
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quote from that book there are two
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sciences and two wisdoms that of the
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Egyptians and that of the Hebrews
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which later is confirmed by Divine
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Justice the science and wisdom of the
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most excellent dominate the one and the
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other
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he goes on to say as the sun is so to
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speak a flower of the fire and
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simultaneously the Heavenly Sun the
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right eye of the world so copper when it
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blooms that is when it takes the color
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of gold through purification becomes a
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terrestrial sun which is King of the
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earth as the son is King Of Heaven
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and this is important if you're going to
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use alchemy in your world much like any
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of the Greek philosophies it's not just
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a science there is a strong spiritual
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aspect that underlies Alchemy and if you
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ignore that part and just use the
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chemistry you're missing out on a very
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rich aspect of using Alchemy in your
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world
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but the story of alchemy isn't just the
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chronicle of philosophical musings as we
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can see from zosimos's writing Alchemy
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had a definitive goal the transmutation
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of Base Metals into gold this was the
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alchemical dream that defined much of
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the discipline's history this wasn't
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just about creating wealth it was a
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symbolic representation of the quest to
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perfect the imperfect through
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transmutation
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Alchemists saw base Metals as raw and
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unrefined and gold as the epitome of
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Purity and Perfection the transformation
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process was therefore a metaphor for the
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human spiritual Evolution reflecting the
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aspiration to achieve a better purer
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state of existence
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on a physical level the work of
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Alchemists involved a host of chemical
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experimentation that sowed the seeds for
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modern chemistry
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and I attempted to unravel the mysteries
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of the material world dabbling in
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distillation fermentation and
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sublimation seeking The elusive
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Philosopher's Stone that could catalyze
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the transmute that could catalyze any
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transmutation this kind of dabbling in
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science
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created some great scientific
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discoveries and here are some notable
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examples of Alchemists who made
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scientific discoveries of great
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importance
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was an 8th Century Arab Alchemist often
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considered the father of chemistry yabir
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made significant contributions to the
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field and he introduced experimental
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methodology into Alchemy and discovered
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many chemical substances such as such as
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sulfuric and nitric acid
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his work laid the foundation for the
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later development of pharmacology
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then we've got a Swiss Alchemist
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paraclesis from the 16th century
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paraclesis is known for his
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contributions to the field of medicine
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he advocated the use of chemicals and
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minerals in medicine and is credited for
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the naming of the element zinc he was
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also the first to use the term
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unconscious in a physiological context a
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concept later expanded on by the
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philosopher Carl Jung
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and then Maria the jewess was one of the
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earliest known female Alchemists and she
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is credited with the invention of
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several types of chemical apparatus
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including the double boiler the Bain
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Marie and is considered one of the
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founders of experimental Alchemy I also
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did speak about alchemy's contribution
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to porcelain Manufacturing in Europe
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which you can check out in my video on
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ceramics
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in the information card now so these
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historical Alchemists were Trailblazers
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in their own right these spiritual
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aspirations paired with their Relentless
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experimentation were early testimonies
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to the integrated nature of scientific
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and spiritual inquiry for Alchemists
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and as we can see from these examples
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Alchemy spread from its cradle in Egypt
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through the Islamic world where it
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flourished under Scholars like yabir IBN
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Yaman and al-razzi then it was carried
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on into Europe and there especially
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during the Renaissance it metamorphosed
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again integrating with Christian
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mysticism and contributing significantly
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to the birth of modern Western science
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and philosophy even Newton dabbled in
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alchemy although he made no significant
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advances there so that was Alchemy in
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our world but what about your world what
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if Alchemy didn't just include the
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physical but could also be used as a
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magic system
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if you enjoyed this brief overview of
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alchemical History hit the thumbs up
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button and let's talk about alchemy in
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popular fantasy the Japanese series Full
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Metal Alchemist draws heavily from
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alchemical law its fundamental principle
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The Law of Equivalent Exchange Echoes
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the alchemical pursuit of balance and
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reciprocity
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humankind cannot gain anything without
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first giving something in return
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to obtain something something of equal
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value must be lost
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this is what the series proclaims this
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is a modern reinterpretation of the
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alchemical process where the extraction
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of one element
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necessitated the balancing input of
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another
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this the show also brings the homunculus
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to the fore a creation of alchemy to
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life as an artificial humans each named
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after one of the seven deadly sins and
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this further plays on the concept of
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transformation albated darker and more
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Twisted transformation
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the renowned novel The Alchemist by
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Paula Cooley is another prime example of
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alchemy symbolic presence in literature
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this book uses the concept of alchemy to
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signify personal growth and
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self-discovery the protagonist's journey
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in search of physical treasure Guided by
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an alchemist gradually transforms into a
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spiritual quest for self-fulfillment
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in this context the Philosopher's Stone
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and the elixir of Life become metaphors
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for personal Enlightenment and
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actualization
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illustrating the philosophical facets of
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alchemy
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and finally in the world of gentleman
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bastards a series by Scott Lynch
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this world is teeming with alchemical
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wonders in the city-state of camur
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alchemy is a practical and often deadly
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science integrated with a daily life and
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the underworld in which most of the
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story takes place wraith stone for
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instance is an alchemical substance used
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to render a person unconscious or even
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dead depending on the dose ambulance
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fire another example is a potent
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explosive substance commonly used for
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sabotage and further demonstrating
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alchemist's transformative power the
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gentleman bastards uses a concoction
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known as
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sortilage wine to manipulate memories
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and emotions transforming perception
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itself
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Alchemy in this context is far from
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esoteric its Dynamic impactful and an
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often terrifying tool so you can see
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that these are three interesting and
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very different types of alchemy from The
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Balancing mechanic of Full Metal
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Alchemist
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to
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the much more spiritual aspect of The
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Alchemist to the Practical more sciency
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aspect of the gentleman bastard series
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you can see the clear difference in
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implementation of alchemy in these
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worlds so if you enjoyed this little
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exploration of alchemy in fiction
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consider giving this video a super
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thanks and let's talk about how to use
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alchemy in your world
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at the heart of any enchanting fantasy
00:12:11
world lies your magic system an Alchemy
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with its Fusion of tangible and ethereal
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makes a pretty compelling choice for
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that underlying basis
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the principles of alchemy that lend
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themselves to an engaging magic system
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are transformation Equivalent Exchange
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and the intricate dance between science
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and mysticism transformation is perhaps
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the most enthralling aspect of alchemy
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Alchemists aim to change one substance
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into another led into gold sickness into
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Health mortality into everlasting life
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in a fantasy setting this principle can
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be expanded dramatically consider an
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alchemist who can transform wood into
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fire water into wine or even thoughts
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into physical manifestations
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such Transformations bring an element of
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unpredictability and surprise adding
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depth to the narrative the principle of
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Equivalent Exchange especially as
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portrayed in the Full Metal Alchemist
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provides a powerful framework for
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balance and sacrifice
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the concept of in order to obtain or
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create something something of an equal
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value must be lost or destroyed adds a
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moral and ethical Dimension to the magic
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system
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Alchemists must weigh the cost of their
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actions providing a fertile ground for
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dilemmas and dramatic tensions you
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require this massive spell what will you
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sacrifice
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what won't you sacrifice
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but this also brings up some fascinating
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questions like what is equivalent value
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in whose eyes the Alchemists the world
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some kind of third-party Force answering
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those questions can make your world and
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your magic system even richer
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the interplay between science and
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mysticism gives Alchemy its unique
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character it allows for a system where
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logical reasoning coexists with
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spiritual or Supernatural elements
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Alchemists can be Scholars who study
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ancient texts and perform rigorous
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experiments while also pursuing a
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mystical path of inner transformation
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and enlightenment you can even have some
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tension between the spiritual and
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scientific care after all the more
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science learns the more it might remove
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the mystery from the world that might
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put the more practical science-based
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Alchemists at odds with a more
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philosophical and spiritual Alchemists
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who are interested in the inner Journey
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and so you could have like tension
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between your practical application and
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your physical and your spiritual
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enlightenment through Alchemy
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but those are the principles of a magic
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system
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what about application are we talking
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potions science how would this actually
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work so let's talk about that Alchemy in
00:15:22
a fantasy magic system can take a myriad
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of forms Alchemists might draw intricate
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transmutation circles to channel their
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power with each symbol and line holding
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specific meanings this would require a
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form of ritual magic check out my ritual
00:15:38
magic thoughts in the info card to
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create alchemical devices or effect
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transformation formation on a person or
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a thing
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you could use the alchemical symbols
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from our world and have each symbol mean
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something like an alphabet to write
00:15:53
spells with you could increase the
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complexity by having the symbols mean
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different things if they're combined
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with their elements for example the
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symbol for lead when written on a lead
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sheet might mean something impure where
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is the symbol for lead written on a gold
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sheet might be something being purified
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and that could make for a nicely
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complicated written magic system and
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check out the information card for my
00:16:23
thought on writing as magic potions are
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of course an option with Alchemy and
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alchemical Potions could serve a variety
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of purposes from healing wounds to
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controlling the elements or even
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manipulating time the creation of these
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potions could require specific recipes
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that are jealously guarded you could
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have different schools of alchemy that
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all protect their knowledge fiercely
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giving rise to individual Espionage
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between the schools as a plot device
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it could even be that potions require
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specific ritual Beyond just the chemical
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mixing of elements which could add
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further interesting twists to the magic
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system the study of Arcane alchemical
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texts could lead to forgotten knowledge
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new recipes or even forbidden practices
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and this could be a driving quest for
00:17:18
your characters a goal that they have a
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motivation for them to go and be part of
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the plot
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potions are of course a great consumable
00:17:28
magic and you can check out the
00:17:30
information card from my thoughts on
00:17:32
consumable magic items in general and
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how to use them of course every magic
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system needs its limitations to maintain
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balance the practice of alchemy could
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take a physical toll on the practitioner
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draining their life energy or even aging
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them prematurely
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the creation of powerful potions or
00:17:52
transmutations might require rare and
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dangerous ingredients forcing Alchemists
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into perilous quests or morally dubious
00:18:01
acquisitions
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that kind of acquisition of components
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could be an adventure all by itself and
00:18:09
could consume most of the story as the
00:18:13
Alchemist needs to find the flippity
00:18:15
gibbet in the forests of mildly
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terrifying monsters or whatnot lastly
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the time and study needed to master
00:18:23
Alchemy ensures not everyone can wield
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its power lightly it could take years
00:18:29
even decades to learn and perfect
00:18:31
keeping the power of alchemy from
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becoming a simple solve it all tool in
00:18:36
your world
00:18:37
I think Alchemy is an undervalued tool
00:18:40
in Fantasy World building
00:18:42
mostly when it is used people seem to
00:18:45
make it just a chemical tool but it can
00:18:48
be so much more than that it can be the
00:18:51
ritual aspect of your magic system it
00:18:53
can make potions it can be a
00:18:56
transformation based magic system that
00:19:00
also has strong spiritual and character
00:19:03
growth elements and yes it can be a
00:19:06
chemical tool
00:19:08
in short Alchemy can provide fantasy
00:19:12
worlds with a unique blend of Science
00:19:15
and mysticism transformation and
00:19:18
sacrifice giving rise to a riveting
00:19:21
narrative and complex character
00:19:23
development
00:19:24
and those are my thoughts on Alchemy as
00:19:26
a magic system as you leave the building
00:19:28
do check out my books on the way out and
00:19:31
if you enjoyed this video you might also
00:19:32
enjoy my video on using onomancy or the
00:19:35
magic of names in fantasy worlds and I
00:19:37
will see you soon for another episode of
00:19:40
just in time worlds
