"The shepherd of Vamindale was the start of it all. This boy shepherd used to walk down the mountains and watch his sheep graze in the bountiful plains as he used to while away his time sitting on the little rock bed he had found, fantasising as little boys are known to do. A blade of leaf in his mouth, to inspire a poor imitation of a pipe, he used to lie on this natural bed looking up occasionally at the faint blue sky whenever the sheep allowed him respite," said Sir Triston, hands behind his back, instructing the twenty people in front of him. Wilbur had gathered the best of the Order here and their squires (if they had one), but he could not make out how this tale connected to the study of alchemy. He realised the fastest way remained to listen, which he did with intent.

"So accustomed had he grown to the whole ritual that even when he had no sheep to graze on rainy days, he would come down to these plains. He would sleep and stare at the stormy clouds above, letting his imagination take reign, as little children are most adept at doing.

"One of the days, he imagined himself floating up the clouds high in the air as the rock below him acted as a means of transport and led him places both known and unknown. So vividly was he imagining the scene that it took some time before he finally realised; the rock was actually floating up and carrying him up the clouds. The flight did not last long, but the boy's mirth did. He ran to his parents telling them about the miracle that had just transpired. Mother instantly recommended that the boy see a Priest, who may guide his diverted mind down the right path. The father being the greater sceptic of the two, suggested a good doctor might be more suited to put his mind in appropriate place. Both the doctor and the priest agreed that the fastest remedy remained to prove the boy's theory wrong by presenting him with a rock solid contradiction. So his parents, the doctor and the priest asked the boy to pull off the miracle a second time in supervision.

"And to their surprise the boy did! The rock glowed a faint white as it floated, carrying the boy with it up in the sky. The Priest is known to remark, "By the glory of Gladin!" upon witnessing the miracle the boy promised thus. So was discovered the metal Gladinstone and that is how the name came to be. Now, one may rightfully inquire, is Gladinstone really a metal blessed by Gladin?" Sir Triston looked around at the twenty before answering his own question, "No more than any other metal is.

"The little shepherd boy was not only the first to discover and use Gladinstone, in fact he was the first ever man to use alchemy in the recorded history of mankind."

Wilbur remained confused and shocked at the repercussions of the statement.

Is using Gladinstone also a part of performing alchemy? Have I been using alchemy all this time without knowing it?

Sir Triston, as if sensing Wilbur's chain of thought, smiled and continued, "The rock the boy sat on, was further researched, and it was found to be a Gladinstone ore, which is now named, Gladinium, one of the rarest ores out here. Then questions were asked, the correct ones. Can this power of will be exerted over Gladinstone also extend to other elements given specific conditions? If yes, to what extent? What are the conditions? It instantly took the inquisitive minds, researchers, scientists and explorers by a whirl. Numerous recorded and unrecorded experiments were conducted on various materials available. And thus took the form of this science of alchemy." Sir Triston paused studying his gloved right hand, flexing his fingers.

"And thus began the age of wonder, the epoch of imagination, the wind of creation, but none can be found without the shadow of their counterparts," Sir Triston who seemed to have drifted into a reverie as he explained. He folded his hands behind his back, to focus on the topic at hand.

"So, Gladinstone was found to be an element of extremes. There is a particular term known as 'bonding time', quite literally the time a human takes to bond with an element, before it starts reacting to your will. Gladinstone has an absurdly huge bonding time that can span hours. While earth, dirt, stone, rocks and other such substances have quite a low to negligible bonding time, allowing you to instantly manipulate them. How long did you take Wilbur?"

Wilbur recalled how he had to move his fingers over the flat of the blade to attempt summoning it again and again before it finally worked, "Over five hours." Sir Triston nodded, having proved his point. He said, "And yet you will not be able to manipulate any other Gladinstone blade, without passing the bonding phase." That Wilbur knew; what he didn't know was that manipulating Gladinstone came under alchemy.

"Then is, how much energy must one exert to bend the substance to our will? Here Gladinstone requires very little, in fact least among elements known to us, it practically vibrates with energy at the fluctuations in its wielders temperament. You must have noticed how the blade starts behaving violently whenever Wilbur is angry or disturbed?" Wilbur nodded, recalling the time when Priest Ferdinand's proposals had angered him, and how his sword seemed to agree with him by clanging against the table.

Sir Triston continued, "While stone and dirt require a much greater energy and concentration, and it is very difficult to make them float in thin air like Gladinstone. In fact, no alchemist of present day can achieve the feat. But it is possible; alchemists of old have accomplished it. You must have heard of the fable 'Dragon of Dragrin', where a woman, who was the head of the village and thus a noble, saves her village from a hostile attack by praying and praying to Dragrin for days. Finally Dragrin sends an immortal earth dragon to her that slays all the offenders without taking any damage in return. The mighty creature returns to earth as the threat passes. Another simple interpretation of the story is that the woman hones her concentration and energy to an unprecedented level, by slipping into meditation in Dragrin's name. As the threat comes she uses her now advanced skill to defend her family and village, consequently giving rise to the Dragon of Dragrin, a new application of alchemy. See, there are hints all around us buried in the sea of history, fable and rumour. Truth manages to hide in plain sight."

Violet cut him, "But how can you say for sure this technique actually exists? And what is this energy?"

Sir Triston smiled, "And those are the questions you must ask! 'Dragon of Dragrin' was a very popular application of alchemy; in fact I found a book dedicated to that single technique in the Royal Library, discussing how a trained alchemist can further hone his skills to that level and what the other applications are. But it requires a more than basic level of knowledge about alchemy to understand or apply the techniques mentioned in the book, so it is beyond general folk, and most in present day either don't know about the technique or deem it impossible. Most of the things I have told you and will tell you, will be either from books long lost and restored, sources rare or from my own research. For instance, no alchemist of the present times knows about the little tale of the inception of alchemy I told you. Attempts were made to destroy it completely, three hundred years ago, for they could not hide the fact that Gladinstone can be manipulated by anyone. So most documents related to that metal are but lost not in the recesses of time but greed of humans.

"And as for your second question, we will simply call the human force that helps us performing alchemy, 'energy' or 'will', for not enough is known about this, at least not much is found in records written or passed down. It is one of my topics under research."

Author's Note: This is a part of chapter 18, I will publish the second half soon(in a day or two), that completes this particular chapter. It is slightly longer than the usual TWC chapters. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Thank you you for reading!