It was the final round and when the deity of knowledge led them to the workshop, Myouga found herself in alchemy heaven. Reagents and materials stretched as far as the eye could see. Anything and everything a practitioner of the arcane arts could ever want for an experiment was here, right before her. She spent a few minutes staring at it all with a goofy grin plastered on her face and a faraway look in her eye. How long had it been since she was allowed to be within a ten meter radius of potentially volatile arcane materials?
Snapping out of her moment of rapture, she realized everyone else was beginning to work on their pieces. Right, she had to craft something this time to impress the judges. Looking at the wide assortment of ingredients, she muttered: “…Well drat. I have no idea what I want to make.” Back when the first stage of the contest had started, her head was swimming with ideas should she ever have the chance of making it to the very end. But now she was actually here, all of her ideas had flown out the window.
The little mage slapped her cheeks with her hands and took a deep breath. She had to get a hold of herself. Now was not the time for panicking. Their objective this time was to make an enchanted item, something that they would use themselves. So as long as she made something that she herself would use, then it would meet the requirements. Exhaling through pursed lips, she sighed. “This is going to take a while. Well no time like the present, let’s dive right in!”
Flying by the seat of her pants like always, Myouga charged headfirst into the fray. She began grabbing handfuls of whatever ingredients caught her eye. She took a few gold ores here, some silver ores there, some lacriamium, a couple pieces of snowy-white jade and ammolite, some bright red cord for tassels, handfuls of dragons scales, and a little bit of everything from the alchemy reagent piles. Last but not least, she snagged a flute.Taking everything she had collected, she dumped them into a pile on the floor and began drawing magic circles.
While she had been grabbing whatever she could in sight, the small oni’s brain was running a mile a minute. By the time she was done with drawing her arcane set up of sigils and runes, she figured out what she wanted to do. Originally she had been thinking of replicating her goldfish plant experiments in a show for the judges, but since they were making items and not chimeras—that idea was scrapped.
The arcane array consisted of five magic circles, all linked to each other. There were four smaller circles in each corner with lines linking to a larger, central circle. In that central circle she placed the flute. In the other four she dropped a lacriamium ingot into one, the gold and silver ores in another, and the jade and ammolite pieces in their own separate circles. Taking out her wand, she began to chant while channeling her power into the magic circles. One by one the runes and sigils on the ground began to activate and initiate the fusion process. The reagents in the four outer circles glowed, and turned into energy that traveled down the lines converging at the central circle. The flute glowed brilliantly, transforming and changing shape until the process was complete.When the rite was finished, a shiny new flute laid in the center. It was a far cry from the simple reed instrument that had been placed minutes earlier. It was now plated in lacriamium, accented with gold and silver floral embellishment, and had a jade mouthpiece. The ammolites had become fused with the lacriamium metal, creating an iridescent sheen in some places. It was an instrument worthy for royalty, just by appearance alone. But Myouga wasn’t going to stop there.
Taking the red cord she made some simple tassels to add the finishing touch to the instrument. The bright crimson contrasted beautifully against the silvery-blue luster of the lacriamium plating. Proud of her handiwork through the wonders of magical fusion, she began to bring over the alchemy ingredients. To make this item extraordinary, she planned to infuse it with the essences of the elements. No expense would be spared as she planned to go all-out.
Throwing sundrops, dragon scales, and some ammolites into a pot she did a little dance while she synthesized a seraphim feather. She piled dragon scales and a wyvern heart in one circle, a seraphim feather in the second, ectoplasm and a shrunken head in the third, and in the fourth a big chunk of opal petrified wood with one sarut de noapte. She had to use telekinesis to move that one, as the flower was incredibly toxic.
Her eyes started to glow a bright viridian green as she infused the power of the items into the flute, which began to emit motes of light. Her second step was finished, and she had one more left before her masterpiece was complete. Placing the last of her alchemical reagents, she took a swig from a mana potion to ensure she wouldn’t burn out the rest of her power before the process was finished. A nevermelting icicle, conch shell, shard of fulgurite, and a single pristine quatl feather were set in the four circles. Activating the magical circles one last time, she imbued the last remaining items into the fully-enchanted flute.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she went over and gingerly picked up her work of art. Raising it high above her head she cheered in triumph, and went to present it to the judges.
Skipping over to Adraejen, she held the flute up for all to see. “Boy, I sure had a hard time deciding what to choose. But rest assured sir, you won’t be disappointed! Behold! A magic flute! However it’s not just any magic flute—people with any level of musical ability can play it without hitting a sour note!” The mage eagerly continued her explanation on the item’s properties.
“As you can see, this once-ordinary woodwind instrument has been plated with lacriamium to resist the elements. The gold, silver, and ammolites have been fused with the lacriamium to create a decorative finish that would make kings gape in awe. The white jade mouthpiece and bright red tassels are the finishing touches to this gem. That’s not the only thing that makes this little beauty special though! I infused it with the essence of all the elements, with as many alchemical reagents and parts of creatures as possible. Adding to the protective lacriamium plating, the enchantments allow the player to hold sway over all beings—living and dead… aside from deities, of course.”
Putting the flute to her lips, she began to play a sprightly tune and marched in a circle. At once, those in the audience within earshot began to dance in rhythm with the music. Euphoria and tranquility filled the atmosphere as the arcanist demonstrated the flute’s true power. When she stopped, the enchantment was broken and the dancing stopped as well.
Beaming, she declared: “I christen this flute–Mikazuki’s Kagurabue! Named after a hero from an Ataiyan folktale who tamed the demons plaguing a city with the sound of his divine flute, this instrument will allow you to do the same! You can use it for almost anything–as a distraction, to buy yourself time for a quick getaway, or just for fun!”
Mikazuki's Kagurabue:An enchanted transverse flute which causes all beings within hearing range to enter a music-induced trance, causing them to dance continuously until the music ends.
Materials:- 1 flute
- 2 gold ore
- 2 silver ore
- 1 lacriamium
- 2 ammolites
- 2 jade
- 2 leather straps (substitute for red-corded tassels)
- 1 wyvern heart
- 2 dragon scales
- 1 quatl feather
- 1 ectoplasm
- 1 Opal petrified wood
- 1 Shrunken head
- 1 Sarut de Noapte
- 1 Seraphim Feather (5 sundrops, 2 dragon scales, 2 ammolites)
- 1 Nevermelting icicle
- 1 Conch Shell
- 1 Fulgurite
