Alchemical Note Paper · Quest documents

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Silas's Notes

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Straw and clay were simple enough to fashion, but replacing sinew and bone proved much more troublesome. Thus far, my greatest success hath been the reanimation of a young cutpurse, hanged but a day prior, his flesh still gripped by rigor mortis. Into his heart I drew the anima of a fluttering bird, and to quicken his limbs, I sacrificed a small hare. To my astonishment, he walked – albeit stiffly – for three days, ere collapsing in a fit of spasms. Still, a far better outcome than with the old skeleton I exhumed a week before.

From this, I glean two conclusions:

First, the fresher the corpse, the more likely that my inscriptions shall take effect.

Second, it is strangely easier to animate the inanimate, such as a straw doll, than to wrest motion from a human cadaver. Perhaps the body yet clings to the soul that once dwelt within, and thus rejects a foreign spirit?

This leads me to ponder further: might the most potent form of resurrection lie in binding a soul to its own flesh at the very moment of death? A curious thought… though what would be the purpose of slaying a man, only to revive him but a breath later?

No matter. I shall next attempt to work on some animals – and thereafter, perhaps, a beggar none would mourn.

Lastly, I do believe I’ve amassed sufficient knowledge to begin composing a proper treatise, rather than these scattered notes which I always misplace.