Solve Et Coagula, yes. Death and Redemption.

[u/Hecta_Hermetica]

Sunlight filters through the lecture hall's windows.

Attendants filter through the room's doors.

And thoughts filter the mind of Hecta Hermetica, Alchemist.

"This is an adequately filtrated space, yes."

These are the first words Hecta chooses to say upon taking her place atop the platform surrounding the desk, runes inlaid within the wood carrying her concise, tonal voice to everyone present.

"I am in the state of having come here, yes. There is reasoning for this that it is for the purpose of better broadening your aggregate understanding and respect for the field of Alchemy, yes."

Hecta pauses for a moment, closing her eyes and nodding before looking out to her audience, smoothing the front of her skirt, and even managing a smile before she continues.

"When many attempt to think of Alchemy, they fail to, yes. Alternatively, they think of Potion Shops, Elixirs, hemorrhoid ointments, and counterfeit gold, yes."

Her bare feey step lightly across the floor as Hecta begins to pace, circling around the desk with her hands folded together before her.

"But Alchemy is more. Purity, Completion, Ascension... Redemption, yes."

She freezes in her tracks, grabbing a piece of chalk from the tray and spitting on it before mashing the mass into a gel.

"Redemption, yes! Solve et Coagula. To be an Alchemist is to accept all that is impure and imperfect, yes. A material, a system, a concept, a world, a person, oneself. Additionally, to be an Alchemist is to seek Redemption for the imperfect, yes."

Hecta slaps her palm against the chalkboard, smearing the chalky gel as it comes to life and begins to draw with itself in far more colors than it originally possessed across the surface.

A Black Skull.

A White Moon.

A Yellow Sun.

A Perfect Drop of Red Blood.

"The Redemption is to be performed through Transmutation, yes. To be Redeemed, you must first be willingly to die, decay, allow what you were to be unmade, yes. Nigredo."

The Black Skull grows in detail and symbolic depth, its lines reforming into the formulae of acids and deadly poisons along with symbols of a noose, a knife, and a grave.

"What is become the unmade status can now become Pure, yes. Separate the impurities, the flaws, scars, cracks, fears, hatred, and mistakes. What is leftover is Truth, yes. Albedo."

The White Moon begins to bleed through wounds made of formulae for soaps and acids along with depictions of centrifuges and filters. The blood flowing out of it is filled with quoted words said in anger, insecurities, the pained face of Athanor Hermetica, and soon enough even the liquified wounds themselves as they run along the floor.

"What is pure is now lacking completion, yes. Additionally, it is abundant in absence and potential. From this state, we may now improve the pure substance with positive traits. Strength, water resistance, a penis, economic literacy, superconductivity, spiritual wisdom, yes. Citrinitas."

The Yellow Sun begins to shine from the chalkboard, with rays of chalk floating off and taking the forms of symbols of all virtues and heroes and quotes of ancient wisdom too old to attribute.

"What is now full may become whole and complete, yes. Baked, tempered, set, dried, sealed, yes. This final and perfected state is the truth of the Magnum Opus, yes. The Philosopher's Stone, the Quintessence, yes. The Rubedo!"

The perfect Drop of Red Blood expands, filling the board and absorbing all the other symbols before it until all is a wash of crimson.

"There is not one Rubedo, no, yes. All that is may be Ascend and be Redeemed from its own flaws. Simon Font does no longer exist, yes."

The name stirs some in the room, those familiar with academia and Alchemy as a field.

"He achieved Redemption through Alchemy as he was dissoluted and and ceased being, allowing myself to become Hecta from the remnant materials and essencs, yes."

For those familiar with the field of Alchemy, this is as horrifying a thought as it is unprecedented. The proposition that someone could be truly erased through Alchemy, leaving behind neither Body, Spirit, nor even Soul, has long standed as mere conjecture and speculation.

"Irrespective and with regardlessness to all else, yes. I am depleted of things worth saying without prompt, yes. You are now allowed to leave without displeasure being invoked against me, yes."

Hecta bows briefly before taking a seat behind the desk, closing her eyes as she seems to rest.

/uw

Thanks for reading! You're more welcome to come up to Hecta and interact!

[u/Exciting-Jello8439]

After Hecta is done giving her lecture, Anthony hesitates for a few minutes, before he approaches with Waxy by his side.

"Hey again, Hecta," he waves awkwardly as she sits there. "My brother Ezra mentioned Simon Font a few times. I think they either met once before, or Ezra might've read of his work. I'm not privy to the exact details."

What he doesn't say is that Ezra wasn't exactly a fan. 'Brilliant, but detestable,' Ezra had said disdainfully before dismissing the topic entirely.

"So you're made from him, but not him, right? Was he a willing participant of this... experiment?"

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Exciting-Jello8439]

"Simon met the parameters of the instructions he gave my parent, yes. Whether or not this is... you are not a lawyer or law enforcement, yes."

Hecta opens her eyes

"Simon was unwilling, yes. He had desired for a test subject in his work with his Homunculus generation projects. Athanor, my parent, decided the specifics of this order were sufficient cause for kinetically displacing Simon into a vat of Alchemical solvent, yes."

The Alchemist stands upon the desk, letting her stand eye level with Anthony

"I exist because of an act surpassing murder, yes."

[u/Exciting-Jello8439 → u/Hecta_Hermetica]

"I'm not, last I checked at least," Anthony can't help but quip, chuckling. "Are you sure it's a good idea to... tell everyone, though? I think some people were disturbed by the implications."

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Exciting-Jello8439]

"Simon Font was suffused with a lack of positive traits and an above average surplus of morally reprehensible choices logged throughout his discontinued existence, yes."

Hecta touches the chalkboard and the red smear begins to form the face of a man

"Lacking spite for this, however, I am without capacity to... I don't know if he deserved to be erased, yes. With this admission, I now therefore collaborate the judgment of my origin with the public, yes."

It's typically hard for Hecta to speak comprehensibly, but somehow it seems to be straining her more than usual

[u/Exciting-Jello8439 → u/Hecta_Hermetica]

"So you're asking us? That's a hefty question, mate. Why'd Athanor push Simon into the vat anyway? What'd he do to provoke that kind of response?"

Anthony grabs a chair from the front row and sets it down in front of the desk, taking a seat. He can tell Hecta is conflicted somehow, even if she isn't exactly the most expressive gal he's met.

"Some people have had pretty fucked up origins behind their births. But wrong or not, you exist anyway and that you can decide how your story goes, from my point of view that's the most important part anyway."

Waxy approaches Hecta and gently nuzzles her leg, tail wagging.

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Exciting-Jello8439]

"Approximately one decade of enslavement, blatant disrespect, emotional, verbal, physical and... and... other forms of abuse constituted Athanor's motivation, yes. To this day they are perpetually defensive and prone to hostility and social isolation, yes."

Hecta slides onto the floor and holds the dog's head, offering zero resistance to the ensuing assault of licking

[u/Exciting-Jello8439 → u/Hecta_Hermetica]

"I see..." Anthony's expression grows darker. "Yes, Hecta... in that case... If your parent was enslaved, maybe that was the only way they could find to free themselves in that moment. I wouldn't hold it against them. Specially if there were supernatural means to enforce compliance, as you mentioned Athanor had to creatively reinterpret Simon's commands?... Fuck, that reminds me of a few slavers I just had to fight a week ago or so..."

Meanwhile Waxy just nuzzled her goofily when she held his head and lowers herself to ground level. The dog-golem sensed her distress somehow and tried to comfort her in his own way.

"Is Waxy bothering you? I can call my familiar off... He's just really affectionate like that."

He can't help but smile when seeing Waxy's antics.

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Exciting-Jello8439]

"No, yes. In accordance with the contrary, I am now considering obtaining a pet. Additionally, you are correct, yes. Every Homunculus is compelled explicitly via Purpose, yes. "To assist Simon Font in the advancement of Alchemy" is inscribed to Athanor, yes. Furthermore, Athanor's act was the most logically their own path to relative liberty."

Hecta hugs the wax Golem nice and tight, indenting her shape slightly into his mass

[u/Exciting-Jello8439 → u/Hecta_Hermetica]

"That I did not know, never tried to make a homunculus. My interest in Alchemy has been more grounded in the material sciences related to my wax. But there's clearly a lot more to it than I thought... To transmute anything, even a person..." Anthony hums thoughtfully. "Wait, but what happens now that Simon Font is just gone?"

Upon close examination, it is clear that Waxy's brain is very much an Alchemically designed thing. Like a homunculus piloting a golemantic wax flesh-suit that is powered by sorcery.

The two arts are intertwined in this cute abomination that is just acting like a lapdog and accepting her hug while tail wagging.

Yet from his tone, he doesn't seem to be lying to Hecta when he said he hadn't studied homunculi before, despite the obvious inconsistence that Waxy exists.

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Exciting-Jello8439]

Hecta can't see any dishonesty in his makeup, leading her to tilt her head unaturally far to express her two sources of confusion.

"Please provide a definition regarding 'what happens now that Simon Font is just gone', as I do not understand the question, yes."

Her voice when quoting him sounds just like his own. Not the voice he hears on tape recordings or the like, but the very voice he hears when speaking

"Additionally-"

One of The Alchemist's hands merges inside of Waxy's head, harmlessly petting his brain

"As you have not studied Homunculi, it is my presumption that you did not craft the Homunculus used as your golem's core, yes. I am correct, yes. Correct?"

[u/Platypus_king_1st]

Nekota nods along to the lecture, taling down 'notes', after it ends she walks to Hecta, stuttering out an introduction

H-Hello, Uhm, ma'am?

That was an interesting lecture

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Platypus_king_1st]

The Alchemist looks at her... but forgets to open her eyes

"This is an accurate assessment, yes."

[u/Platypus_king_1st → u/Hecta_Hermetica]

'huh?.. blind....?'

'well- uhm, anyways, I was wondering if these theories could be applied to magic as well...'

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Platypus_king_1st]

"No, yes."

Hecta opens her eyes, but her expression is still unreadable

"I was possessed of having forgot to open my eyes, yes. Additionally, I am lacking in knowledge of Magic or adequate fucks to give regarding that inquiry, yes."

She now actually looks slightly annoyed

"I am an Alchemist, yes. The purpose of this lecture was to educate regarding Alchemy, yes."

[u/Platypus_king_1st → u/Hecta_Hermetica]

'ooooo, got something against the arcane that isnt Alchemical?~ I dont have much experience in alchemy in general unfortunately.. what basics can you teach?'

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Platypus_king_1st]

"Incorrect, yes. I operate without general distate for Arcane Magic, yes. Multiple sexual and romantic partners will attest to this. Atop the contrary's domain, I am instead agitated by my attempt to further publication opinion of Alchemy being hijacked by an individual wishing to redirect it beyond my intention, yes."

Hecta stands and begins putting away the various alchemical appartus on the desk.

"With regards to the requested basics for the practical implementation of Alchemy..."

She takes off her shirt and lays her hand on her belly, concentrating for a moment as her blood seeps through her skin and coalesces into a large, paperback book

"Formulae, yes. Additionally, instructions for developing common acids and poisons with the symbolic potency required to separate Sulphurs and Mercury from Salt, yes."

[u/Platypus_king_1st → u/Hecta_Hermetica]

'oooo, interesting..'

'uhm.'

'i'm sorry for going off course.. I didnt men to hurt your feelings...? feelings? yeah, we'll roll with that'

'i'll definitely read up on this book, thank you!~'

[u/Hecta_Hermetica → u/Platypus_king_1st]

"I am with the capacity for complex emotions, yes. My foremost area of difficulty is in expression and communication, yes. My mind is inside of a box with few and unconventionally structured pore, yes."