From Prima Materia, the universe was born. All of its elements and all of its properties evolved from this primordial state. As eons passed, these elements evolved and developed better definitions. When mankind came along, it fell to him as the earth's sentient guardian to care for all those elements, living and non-living. And by taking care of the world, man took care of himself. Unfortunately, not everyone was ready to accept this responsibility. Only a few were gifted with the higher intellect and worldly comprehension of the Awakened. And the cream of that crop was always the Solificati. Alchemists pursued a perfect world and perfect selves, putting paltry ambitions aside for the greater good. Aidan accepts this origin and duty to the bottom of his heart.
He gladly helps the Children of Knowledge pursue their grand goal of Unity. Everyone on the planet must be Awakened, a Great Awakening, and Aidan is ready to play his part in this difficult if not impossible plan. All of his alchemical experiments and creations are geared towards the gradual Unity of all humanity. Great care and forethought is put into all of his alchemies; there is nothing whimsical or imprudent about Aidan's Arts. He considers well and measures accurately every concoction he creates. Indeed, Aidan's "magick" is much more scientific than it is mystical. Of course, alchemy is just "antiquated" chemistry. But as far as Aidan's concerned, alchemy didn't evolve into chemistry. Chemistry devolved from alchemy, becoming a poor man's crutch to define elemental properties one really didn't understand. In short, mere chemists just grasp at the straws people like Aidan can formulate with comparatively common ease.
And Aidan is proud of the Solificati's tradition. Despite his relative youth, he rejects the call of the "renewalists" to invade the consciousnesses of modern Sleepers through hallucinogenic drugs like LSD. Yet Aidan also refuses to hole himself up in a laboratory like some of the stuffy old Solificati masters. No, Aidan walks a wiser middle ground. He pursues the old banners of alchemy, but reaches out to young minds all the same -- as a high school teacher of the "lesser art", chemistry. Regardless of his methodologies, however, Aidan suffers the same drawback all of his Craft do. Because of their fettering beliefs in the metaphysical science of alchemy, all Solificati can never abandon their foci. Aidan will always find all his foci to be necessary.
Of course, his foci are simple across the board: alchemy. Aidan distills the equations and compound designs down into a universal agent termed "elixir". And there are several kinds of elixirs, many of which Aidan is skilled in the creation of. Spheres are not bound to specific sorts of elixirs, however. For at the root of all elemental equations of alchemy, the four classic elements -- fire, water, wind, earth -- balance the common properties of materials into higher designs. Elixir classes are based on those elements. And elements define individual rotes, not Spheres. When the correct elixir class is enhanced with an appropriate degree of the classic element, it is enhanced to alchemical levels. An inert concoction can become a draught of great power! But if the elixir is mistakenly made with the opposing element, it will ruin the components. If exposed to that element after formulation, it can suffer the same fate.
The four basic classes of elixirs are potions, associated with water (opposed to fire); powders, associated with earth (opposed to wind); pastilles, associated with fire (opposed to water); and unguents, associated with air (and opposed to earth). Potions are liquids that one drinks. Powders are sprinkled on their subject. Pastilles are small tablets that are burnt and the smoke releases the alchemical properties. And unguents are jellies that are spread on the subject and last about a month. The elements represent a number of mystical and metaphysical qualities, too. Fire represents change and dynamism, vigor and raw force. Earth depicts stability and order, stasis and strength. Water illustrates depth and mystery, flow and primality. And wind describes motion and wisdom, current yet chaos. All of these metaphysical factors play into Aidan's alchemical designs. The classic element he adds to the components of an elixir must reflect the intent of the rote.
For example, Aidan might craft a pastille that when ignited and the fumes inhaled, improves his sense of smell to a canine level. Thus, it enables him to maneuver in the dark as if he could see clearly (* Forces). Or he might create a love philtre and sneak it to the target of his romantic interest, causing her to sink into infatuation with him in return (** Mind). He might sprinkle a transparent powder over his car's windshield, rendering it completely bulletproof (*** Matter), or craft a potion that when sprayed on a victim, can eat through the flesh like a corrosive (*** Life). He might devise an unguent that when spread on a bloody knife, reveals the psychic impressions that a murderer left (** Mind/* Prime). The possibilities are boundless, limited only by the imagination and genius of the alchemist.
In the creation of these elixirs, Aidan uses a great deal of laboratory paraphernalia. He would be hard-pressed to "Macguyver" an alchemical concoction on the spot; it would never be as good as what he could produce in his workshop if he was forced to use secondhand or household-brand chemicals. The equipment he demands includes specially-designed inks that are used to inscribe the correct keywords and instructions on elixirs' containers. Astrological charts and unique geomantic maps are also used. It can be vital to determine the auspiciousness of local "ley lines" -- the intangible river ways of magical energy that mundane scientists are wholly ignorant of. This magical energy, called Quintessence or Prima Vis, underlies all Patterns of existence -- life, energy, and matter -- and Aidan often coordinates the proper flow of ley lines and temporal Junctions of such energies (like during certain eclipses) to create better elixirs.
Overall, Aidan's alchemies demand plenty of time and effort. That's really no different than any other successful mage's approach to the Arts, of course. The difference tends to be how driven the practice of alchemy makes a man. Aidan's perfectionism reaches new pinnacles of achievement -- and disaster -- through his Arts.
Avatar
For Aidan, Ascension is a task to complete with careful measurement and perception. He envisions Unity as a great glass container that he must share with his fill of knowledge of wisdom. His own intellect is found in a much smaller container that he pours into the greater container. When his container is empty, he must fill it back up with new learning. Life is a lesson to learn and teach, after all. And Aidan answers that call vigorously. Of course, he cannot be careless. He pours his knowledge into the greater container that represents the Masses slowly, cautiously, to insure they don't get too much at once. The properties of the universe can be mind-boggling to the Sleeper and Awakened alike. Care must always be observed in the acquisition and transfer of wisdom. If Aidan maintains his caution, he will in fact contribute to the Solificati's goal of the Great Awakening. However, he may instead uncover only a method to Awaken Sleepers in a "limited" fashion -- perhaps stirring latent psychic powers or talent with lesser alchemies (hedge magic).
Resonance
Dynamic (Eureka!)
Aidan always seems to be on the brink of new discovery. It always seems like he's about to uncover some new ingenius secret. A sort of quiet, intellectual excitement lingers about Aidan. In his duties as a teacher, this helps wonderfully, as he finds it easier to reach minds who think they're about to learn something no one else knows. He gains a -3 difficulty to Social rolls in which he's teaching students new subjects. However, because Aidan seems so intellectually "above", some fear he's disconnected and disinterested in more common things -- like any social relationships. So he suffers a +3 difficulty to any Social rolls involving empathic intuition. People think he's just not listening.
Mystickally, Aidan has a harder time with rotes he uses too often. Anytime he wishes to cast the same rote in the same scene, the difficulty for the roll increases by +1. But should he think up a brand new Effect on the spot, such an original creation is a bit easier to cast: -1 difficulty to such Effects' rolls.
Static (Fragile)
Everything has to be perfect. Aidan despises failures and mistakes in himself and others. A sense of precarious harmony lingers about Aidan, always teetering on the edge. One little shove and his whole world seems like it'd come toppling down. Socially, people feel like they have to walk on eggshells around Aidan if they don't want to irritate the man. He suffers a +3 difficulty to Social rolls in situations in which others criticize him or inform him of their or others' mistakes or failures. On the other hand, people learn to respect a perfectionist in this lazy, mediocre age. When he warns others to take care or be cautious, they're more likely to heed his advisories. He gains a -3 difficulty to related Social rolls.
Alchemically, rotes that are based on fragile components are easier to cast. They must be rotes in which the trigger object is breakable, not the instruments that went into the compound's creation (such as glass beakers). This does include most of his common foci -- alchemical elixirs kept in glass bottles or are easily crumbled (like pastilles) are fragile. He gains a -1 difficulty to Effects' rolls when using such items (and they are easily broken and rendered useless, after all). On the other hand, if raw force is involved at all in the rote, Aidan finds it harder to cast such magicks. Raw force easily disturbs his fragile preferences, and this alchemist prefers to work more subtly. Such Effects, which can range from Forces-based fireballs to Life Pattern-ripping acids, are rolled at +1 difficulty.
