I’ll never forget those first words that Dr. Silvooster first uttered to me,

“Kit, goo cayan de taysks. Noo!”

Nor will I ever understand them.

It’s been six years since that day – now it’s 945, and a brisk day at that. I’ve made a career out of being a humble assistant to Dr. Miedik Silvooster. For a scientist that was considered a laughing stock and a degenerate from a far away land at the Eisenkastell, to a respected guru in his homeland of Bulkhai, he has come far.

We’ve also been through a lot of assistants as well.

But today, Louis Baste-Leonard, Denniel Buischisse, Joachim Detally, and the 8th one all were assisting us on this most auspicious day. Today was when the work finally came to fruition!

Dr. Silvooster had been working to this moment for his entire life: he took an interest in Dragonpowder as a boy, and managed to get into the Eisenkastell as a young lad. He had to spend long nights learning Handelsprecht, and long days trying to work his way into at least the middle of his class. He didn’t fare too well at either.

He did manage to graduate with a doctorate in Higher Alchemy, though, but to add insult to injury Higher Alchemy was considered to be a dead-end science. Until now.

He came back to Bulkhai, and after a decade of ruminations and theorizations, he had begun to work to prove his thoughts. I pored over the equations he wrote, the designs he produced. Each one seemed somehow madder and more rational than the last.

After hundreds of failures and redesigns, but a key handful, a precious handful of successes, we had finally come to this day.

“TOONKEEOO! Prime de taystabizayr keeambayr!”

Prime the Destabilizer Chamber. Got it. At once, Louis Baste-Leonard filled the brass aludel with dragonpowder, enriched with added igneus last night to the Doctor’s specifications. I prepared the valves for the next step.

From his perch, the doctor called out, “Noo, injayct de flooks!”

Inject the flux. I released the valves, letting the specially-prepared source powder seep into the dragonpowder in the chamber. A mere sizzle was produced. A good sign. The 8th apprentice breathed a sigh of relief, as he knew what happened to the 7th just a short while ago.

“Soospaynt! Soospaynt!”

Liquid was poured through another set of valves, an antacid of some sort. Denniel and Joachim knew the details, as they had the chemical burns to prove it. The Sizzle turned into a growl of the machine, as it vented the pressure. It held, though. Thank the Dragons, the most dangerous part was over. Now we can really do some alchemy.

We poured the fluid through countless alembics and distilleries. We boiled it, mashed it, stewed it. It took the better part of the afternoon, but finally, we came to the final step.

“Noo! Lats! Ee moosd egzalt it!”

Exalt it?

Only the Doctor knew this critical final step, and I let him take command. Me and the other assistants could only watch.

A twist of a dial here. A pull of a lever. Heating, cooling, a fair amount of swearing (I think). But there was one last step I couldn’t quite make out what he was doing.

But finally, he waved us over. Joachim brought forth a special container, he’d spent a week making it.

Doctor Silvooster stuck the nozzle of the machine into it, and a blast of hot air hit me. The special ceramic container held, though it glowed an eerie red. A red that shown against the good doctor’s toothy smile.

“Vooila! Ignooiz Egzaltade!”

Igneus Exaltate.

The purest, most magical essence of heat.

It was beautiful.

The doctor immediately set us to work cleaning grey goop out of the final apparatus, as he set to work documenting his discovery. But I could not help but think of what I could do if I could put magic in a bottle. Perhaps I’d sell it and buy a manse in Novoporto with the wealth I made. Perhaps I’d make a plethora of other miraculous discoveries. Perhaps I could warm the world, so that none would go to bed cold.

Or perhaps I’d stare at it at all hours of the day, and wonder what other miracles could be made by men of great knowledge.

[M]: BULKHAI INVENTS MAGICAL EXALTATION!

It's a convoluted and lengthy process (and produces an extremely weird byproduct), but basically it allows you to extract the essence (the "exaltate") from any prime element (or perhaps even more...?) Essenses of magic? You got them! Hopefully this will make magical discoveries more flexible in the future. You're welcome, world!