It is and it isn't, the laws of equivalent trade has been used a lot, how ever if this is a fiction story then very few things are a "MUST". also, even though this rule is quoted in most alchemical texts it is rarely followed in fictional stories and is open to interpretation For all we know the story line could be set in a completely different space/time/reality. so no rules made by this world apply. i always think its risky saying YOU MUST DO THIS, its too constraining. and let be truthful, we write to imagine a place where the only constraints are made by us.
Alchemy was seen as a science even 'respectable' scientists of their age have practised both astrology and alchemy. I don't see why in a fantasy book you can't have a Profesor of Alchemy and make it believable. With a story especially a fantasy one making something believable does not mean it has to be realistic. My characters can be half bird, they morph into birds, make plates using elemental magic, live for centuries. None of it is realistic but in my world it is plausible.
Well think basics. What does the character need? Detailed background story to be revealed at some later date. a motivation appeal What does an evil character need? The above He has to be evil, but he also has to be relatable to. "The path to darkness is a journey not a light switch". What makes him human? I like the idea of a professor of chemistry that secretly practices alchemy because he lost a loved one and he is trying to find a way to bring them back. Its fiction, and the evil person is evil. He doesnt have to actually make sense. He wants his loved one back ,he thinks alchemy can do it. = motivation. Then you can make him evil because he sacrificed some of his humanity to practice the type of alchemy he is practicing. -- Think Yu-gi-oh Pegasis. Peg. seems evil but he has a hidden motivation to see his dead lover again. Yada yada yada. Once the kids realize hes not all bad he is portrayed as a more likable character. If you really want to make him a professor, make him a secret professor. He is a chemistry professor who has - insert secret motivation - and moonlights as an alchemist. He secretly teaches a promising core of his chemistry students basic alchemy in an effort to leach off their success. Of course if you are writing a harry potter style wizard school deal u can toss most of this out. He needs to be a snape-like character who is an alchemy professor, and who has a secret motivation that drives him to be the way he is.
True. But by taking away this fundamental rule, it probably cannot be called alchemy anymore. You can still call a black, winged, violent creature a unicorn, but not many people will accept it. Better to call it something else at that point.
Not necessarily. The Dresden Files is proof that vampires can break the mold and still be - *very* good - vampires. Red court - Blood sucking vampire. Looks perfectly normal. BUT - Wears a flesh mask. Can change the flesh mask at will to appear as someone else. Grotesque underneath. Looks nothing like a human in this form. white court - incubus - feed on feelings(most often sexual feelings). otherworldly attractive. They are born not turned. They are not actually dead. Supernaturally strong and fast. black court - lich-like spell-castors. In his book vampires can travel into the light. Not much hurts them except pure belief. He uses silver but only in the sense that his silver object - an heirloom from his mother - is shaped to represent the one thing he believes in utterly. White magic, structured magic. In the face of this belief - not light - vampires could be injured. Also short of getting their heads cut off and drained of too much blood they could survive anything - let alone a twig in their chest. Most often times, if the writings good, it doesn't matter if you stray from the mold. Have a purple unicorn that can teleport or vampires that sparkle in the sun, if you give a good enough reason it will work. In most modern tv shows the supernatural creature says "Na silver is just a myth we spread so they don't know our real weaknesses." or "Our blood has healing properties we just don't advertise it to the general public for obvious reasons." or even "By spreading all these false facts we can hide the real information." In supernatural the only way to kill a vampire was to cut off its head. They could be hurt by dead-mans-blood. They had none of the other weaknesses advertised in the media. They mate for life. Light is irritating but they don't burn and they can deal with it. They just prefer the night.
Thank you! Glad it helped. If he's a Professor, there's all kinds of doors to open. Maybe he has something that's horrible for the students up his sleeve. Or a plan to attack the administration (however, if the administration sucks or infringes on students' rights, he'd be a protag -- make the admin more Dumbledore-esque if you go this route). Maybe his entire job as a Prof. is an undercover ploy, and he's only doing it so he can have access to something (or someone) he needs within the school.
She-Ra managed a flying unicorn quite successfully - personally I'd accept a black one after all it is a horse with a horn and not sure why evil is a problem in a good story.
I forgot to mention this before but I'm also working with characters who use alchemy, but they're not humans, they're a special breed of werewolves. Even though they're alchemy may seem "far out" they actually follow the first law of alchemy. In example, Syok (a young werewolf with land-based alchemy) HAS to use the land around him in order for him to work alchemy and a transmutation circle. Whereas his sister, who is one of the strongest alchemist of her time, isn't restricted. In order for her to use her alchemy though she almost always uses a base object, i.e a tree or a stone. Unlike Syok though, she can use alchemy by clapping her hands (yes I know its a FMA move). The only reason she can do so though is because her mother died in childbirth. As for my earlier comment about it seeming "far out" it's mostly because Silver (strong sister alchemist) can turn daggers into staffs, and create a bomb by using her life force. (The only reason for this is because she learns later on in the series that werewolf alchemy is also enfused with an ancient magic that also governs demons, vampires, dark angels, etc. etc.) All in all though, try to keep it to the general idea, but never be afraid to give it your own twist. And as Annûniel said, you take away the law of alchemy, you kinda take away the thing that governs it's entire meaning, so keep that in mind.
Too many "musts" in this thread. The only thing the author really needs to do, writing fantasy, is to tell a good story and tell it well, and make sure the world is internally-consistent (which is part of telling the story well). Want to have a Professor of Alchemy? Fine. Open, or secret? Fine, you can do it either way. Want to keep the rule of exchange that says you have to give something of equal value, then great. Want to toss that rule out the window and do your own thing? That's fine too. Don't let anyone tell you you HAVE to do X, Y, or Z in terms of how your story works in order to write it right way. You decide what's right for your story. It is YOUR story after all. Technical criticisms are fine; things related to the craft of writing. But when people start telling you substantive things that you have to do with your plot or story, be wary. You'll end up writing their story and not your own. When you're dealing with things like alchemy, magic, etc. you just need an internally-consistent framework, in my view, so the reader doesn't feel cheated or that you're making it up as you go along. Apart from that, you are limited only by your imagination. Write a good story, and write it well, and you can go any direction you want on all these issues.
I entirely agree with Steepike - almost anything written well can be made to work and seem believeable. I like the idea of a hot Professor Snape - maybe he could reallly be a woman lol
Alchemy Read the Angelique series of novels by Sergeanne Golon. Alchemy in the mid seventeenth centuary in France. Gives you a good insight into the way early science, (alchemy,) was viewed. How the church and the crown tried to destroy Alchemists because of their powers. Great reads. Good luck with the novel. Tai.
