Ayden Derocha's Alchemical Equipment

[Guest]

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CASE FILE: Transmutation Equipment

"Your tears are all the company I need..."
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NAME:
→ Respiratory Alchemy
→ Bloodbomb Alchemy
→ Pain Alchemy
→ Necrosis Alkahestry
→ Toxic Laughter Alchemy

TYPE:
→ Alchemy: Biochemical
→ Alchemy: Biochemical
→ Alchemy: Exobioelectrical
→ Alkahestry: Body Formation
→ Alchemy: Chemical

LEVEL:
→ ∞

FORM:
→ One of the many revolvers Ayden owns is engraved with the Respiratory Alchemy transmutation circle. It's a Smith and Wesson Model 29 long-barrel six-shot revolver, named 'Fleshbane', chambered in .44. The circle is also tattooed onto the pads of both index fingers. :'D
→ For his first second-tier level of alchemy, Bloodbomb, Ayden gains a second, near-identical revolver, chambered, as the last, in .44, and identical in appearance to a long-barrelled Colt Anaconda. Dubbed 'Soulshredder'. The circle is tattooed onto the underside of his left palm.
→ A set of six, small, engraved weight-adjusted throwing knives, although Ayden has spares at home should he lose one. Ayden dubs them the 'Talons of Despair'. Strapped to two sheath-like bandoliers which run diagonally up his vest. The circle is also tattooed onto the underside of his right palm. The knives themselves are actually tailored perfectly to Ayden's fighting style, and he's deadly efficient with them at just about any range, meaning that they function fairly well as close-range last resorts, as well.
→ The Necrosis array is engraved onto a composite crossbow Ayden has recently come into possession of. The array itself is slightly modified, centering around the bolt in the middle, and concentrating on the feeder/tip of the mechanism. When activated, energy moves upwards through the assassin's body and flows into the bolt, which is then launched. The array is also tattooed onto the underside of each forearm, with tendrils trailing up to the base of the palms, although not touching the other transmutation circles.
→ The Toxic Laughter array is tattooed full-body onto Ayden's back, arms (up to the elbows), legs, and neck. At its epicentre lie a pair of transmutation circles; similarly, this array and these two circles are engraved onto the Harbinger, a unique double-ended spear collected by Ayden upon his travels. The weapon itself is forged of unique titanium alloys for the blade, and the handle is completely carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer. Considering this, it weighs, at best, a kilogram, and is a welcome and near-perfect addition to Ayden's versatile arsenal, considering his unorthodox - yet rather efficient - style of fighting at close-range.

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BRIEFING:
→ The most basic and staple form of Ayden's alchemy is simple. It concentrates on biochemical reactions, using the transmutation circle to locate and isolate haemoglobin that hasn't yet been oxygenated. It cycles around the entire circulatory system in a flash, simply scouting and marking said molecules, before sweeping the entire body with a plague.

Requiring a direct contact to the bloodstream to use (as of level 2, this can be done simply skin-to-skin) Ayden basically transmutes, from faded carbon molecules in the body - the human anatomy consists of about 20% carbon - synthesised carbon molecules. In place of the oxygen that should typically attach to the haemoglobin, these carbon molecules step up as placeholders, and, one-by-one, molecule by molecule, they actually eliminate the supply of oxygen that the body can use, cycle, and transfer.

At slow levels this will simply cause shortness of breath and exhaustion. The process itself takes about twenty seconds to initiate fully to ensure death; anything between five to twenty will cause incapacitation, and, along the higher end, probably serious bodily damage. The longer contact is maintained, the more effects can crop up; muscular pains, atrophying, organ failure, de-oxygenated brain cells and eventually, unconsciousness and suffocation.

It's pretty damn painful, and slow-working, so it won't get you in a few minutes, like drowning. The events come all-too-close together after Ayden's left his target dropped to the floor, and, eventually, their body goes crazy attempting to simply force its reflex arcs into doing something, but nothing at all will happen. Eventually, they'll just spiral into oblivion and die.

It's most affective use on the battlefield is as disabling alchemy. In a war of attrition where Ayden has to keep his head down (as little as it does happen at higher levels) if he fires a round towards one of the enemies and transmits the effects, shielding himself whilst it takes hold will cause fear to spread like wildfire.

In order to effectively use the alchemy, Ayden has to know the rough percentage of oxygenated and de-oxygenated haemoglobin molecules in the body at any time, and generally has to come to terms with the speed above. He also needs to know where to focus his alchemy to make death all the quicker to be inflicted, and, finally, which muscles and organs will fail first - so he can indeed ascertain, more or less, the prime amount time to have his way with them for.

→ 70% of the human body's anatomy is water-based. A good majority of this 70% is in the blood, that which pumps around the circulatory system, fuels the muscles, and, in general, keeps us alive. Shed too much of it, and as we all know from experience, you quickly become delirious and die.

However, water itself has a rather intriguing chemical make-up. Split apart, it consists of two hydrogen molecules and a single oxygen. Hydrogen is most famous, aside from being the staple in a hell of a lot of other compounds and chemicals, for actually being the world's most basic and commonly-used explosive. Now, just think about how much hydrogen there is in the human body...

Ayden has, of course, caught on to this. He figures that if he can split the atomic bonds in blood, isolate the hydrogen molecules, collect them all together in a part of the body, and detonate them, he can actually literally turn his enemies' bodies against itself. So elementary and yet so effective.

The circle itself is based upon one Solf J. Kimblee's, but Ayden's taken a turn for the unusual with it. It's far more extravagant, and, to add to his personal symmetrical touch, has also been engraved (a form, at least) upon a single revolver in his arsenal; fire the gun, let the round hit, and watch the ensuing chaos.

Ayden's thus far restricted to a full litre of blood (as of level 3, he's expanded his alchemical ability far enough to be able to use any realistic quantity of blood) and needs to know a decent bit when it comes to statistics (70% of the body is blood, 33% of that 70% is hydrogen, etc etc).

Alongside this, he needs to know the focal points of where the most blood flows through over a regular basis. Arteries. Jugular and femoral work best; nothing like grabbing an enemy by the throat and watching gallon after gallon of his lifeblood explode from within.

→ Pain Alchemy. You'd think that anything to do with the body's nervous system would have to fall under alkahestry's domain, right?

Wrong. Simply enough, this controls not sheer biology, but the bioelectrical system of a human being. Nerves and stimuli are controlled completely using electrical impulses and the occasional synapse gap; everything you feel is dominated by sparks of electricity. Every single neurone, relay, sensory, or motor registers, translates, and transmits each of these.

This alchemy is very much simple. Ayden can touch someone, skin-to-skin, and unleash a deadly shock at a bioelectrical level which can be maintained for up to five minutes as it spreads throughout their being, frying both their body and mind with the sheer amount of pain it puts them in. See, the shock is tweaked to be absolutely and completely devastating; by overwhelming the body's bioelectrical system, only the hardiest of warriors can endure pain of such a magnitude. This shock is not generated inside the bodily system, but outside, on the surface of the victim's skin using alchemical discharge generated from tectonic movement - where, essentially, energy for all alchemy stems from.

It sweeps, devastating across every nerve, making the victim feel as if their every hair, every millimetre of their skin, every single damn cell is on fire. The body's sent into critical overload, and with the pain beginning as a simple itching but progressing to the likes of which even torture can't compare... eventually, their heart has enough, and they lapse into unconsciousness and eventually either awaken, traumatised, or die.

Unlike regular electrical shocks, this is a tweaked, controlled electrical discharge caused as a byproduct of alchemy. It flows through every single nerve in the body over time, meaning that you can't escape or find solace in any single part of your body. It will overwhelm, and, given enough time without a reprieve, permanently damage and kill. Ayden usually stays away from the brain's electrical transmission system because of this alchemy's primary use as torture and an interrogation tactic.

Ayden has to know the intricacies of the body's neurone mapping. He has to know the most sensitive areas of the body, and he has to be able to know a shock of which magnitude will kill, and which will simply toy with the target long enough to solicit information from them.

Ayden also has to know how to direct and control the magnitude of the alchemy; without this skill, everything will quickly fall to pieces and he'll be totally unable to gauge it at all.

→ Necrosis is arguably one of the most devastating byproducts of venom or disease in the entire world of medicine. Defined as the withering and eventual death of any cell, of course, it would appeal to a sadist and master of the grotesque like Ayden.

Finally coming to dabble in alkahestry, the silver-haired assassin's calling card is indeed necrosis itself. It's not exactly the most effective and fast-working variant he could've come up with, but it works - and, damn, does it work well. Basically enough, it sweeps over the skin after being initiated and deals a range of damaging effects all dependent on the amount of time contact is held for (documented below under 'special abilities).

Necrosis Alkahestry will tear through just about any cell, and as it does so, gives the appearance that the cells nearby are rotting for an instant before it spreads, giving the affected area the appearance of a maggot-ridden gangrenous wound; grotesque and sickening, as well as emanating a strong stench of simply decaying flesh.

The alkahestry will tear through any organic form of armour; say, a chimera's hide or skin, and a tree's bark, just taking a little longer. Guard and palisade cells will be eviscerated simply enough, and in an instant, the entire structure of a creature, be it plant, avian, mammal, reptile, or even human, will decay, wither, and, eventually, die.

It's a very depressing process, and Ayden needs to know a decent amount for it; the timings registered below under special abilities, first and foremost, and which to use balanced with common sense, and time. Generally he's brutal and the alkahestry remains debilitating as he can almost always make up for lost time, but survivors are going to be either crippled or traumatised either way.

Finally, he needs to know the cell structure of an advanced typical human and animal cell, as well as, to a lesser extent, those of plants. Note that reinforced structures such as bones and exoskeletons (for insectoids) will take longer to tear through, but are still vulnerable all the same. No member of the animal or plant kingdoms are safe from Ayden's wrath.

→ Toxic Laughter Alchemy. The very pinnacle of Ayden's scientific discoveries; both brilliantly simple and deviously complex, simultaneously, it relies on two elements in the air: nitrogen, and oxygen, of which of both there is an abundance - it's not as if Ayden's going to run out. This alchemical branch, it should be noted, is both suitable for combat and recreational use.

Normally, nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the air leave well enough alone; however, by manipulating Van der Waals forces, Ayden can create synthetic covalent bonds between nitrogen and oxygen particles, creating nitrous oxide. This is the simplicity of it, really; there's nothing else, at this stage. It's beautifully basic and well-planned, as well as the array being tweaked so that, simply enough, Ayden can dilute the concentration of oxygen to nitrogen in the compounds he creates.

The alkahestric array tattooed onto his body then kicks in. Whilst mainly for aesthetic value at this point, the array itself kicks in; once the inner transmutation circles have fashioned themselves a large enough amount of nitrous oxide, and Ayden stops the inner transmutation, the array uses Range Enhancement techniques to disperse the gas passively, forcing nitrous oxide outwards into the atmosphere.

However, alternatively, as he once could with his Respiratory Alchemy, and, indeed,s till does, Ayden can transfer the nitrous oxide directly, by touching an enemy and transmuting the inhaled air to induce the effects at a much quicker rate - the Harbinger increases this ever further, opening wounds to allow the synthetic nitrous oxide to seep into the bloodstream at an alarming rate.

Ayden has to know the lethal concentration of nitrous oxide, and, if he's using it recreationally, as he occasionally chooses to, he needs to know the less-than-lethal concentration of nitrous oxide. He also needs to memorise the percentages of oxygen and nitrogen in the air (79% and 20% at any given time, respectively) and, finally, the makeup of his range enhancement array.

PICTURE:
→

Respiratory Alchemy Circle:

→

Bloodbomb Alchemy Circle:

→

Pain Alchemy Circle:

→

Necrosis Alkahestry Array:

→

Toxic Laughter Alchemy Array:

→

Fleshbane:

→

Soulshredder:

→

Talons of Despair:

→

Void's Touch:

→

The Harbinger:

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SPECIAL ABILITIES:
→ Systematic Respiratory Malfunction - Very basically, Ayden, as stated above, can sweep the circulatory system with synthesised carbon molecules which then bond to the haemoglobin in the bloodstream. This can choke an enemy at frightening speeds.

Also engraved upon Ayden's revolver, Fleshbane - which packs a decent enough punch with just the rounds - the alchemy's actually effective and more-than-useful as a tactic of psychological warfare. It instils fear like just about nothing else, as is the real focus of Ayden's alchemy. Why kill them all when you can kill one and watch the others squirm?

Fear causes the ranks to split apart and become disorganised. Even the most hardy of soldiers have their breaking points; kill a man and he dies, but kill a man's brother and he'll run for his very life. And when he comes back? His judgment will be clouded with anger, rage, thoughts of vengeance held in his heart... and his movements will be slow, and oh-so-predictable. It's typically manipulative of the silver-haired assassin, but, yes, if anything, he is a fighter on both the mental front as well as the physical.

The alchemy itself is limited when it comes to tactical application as it can't really be gauged, altered, or controlled on the fly. It just kills. Its use as interrogation is somewhat limited, as if Ayden gets a little too intense in its use, it will eventually lead to impending death - and as we all know, corpses don't really speak a lot.

→ Hydrogen Atom Isolation and Detonation - This is a little more complex. Whilst also being as psychologically effective - if not more so - than the last branch of alchemy, this works very effectively as a tool for disposing large crowds of enemies. Body-bombs, simply put. Grasp someone in the middle of the crowd and blow their friends to shit; tear off limbs, heads, etc etc... any survivors will undoubtedly be traumatised.

As well as this, controlling detonations on a far smaller level, whilst requiring precision and a level head (something that it can be argued about Ayden having) can lead to the lowering or raising of blood pressure. Ironic as it is, Ayden can actually grasp his own arm, and using what is arguably his most messy and destructive form of alchemy, calm himself and lower his own pulse.

Ayden also carries a few additional flasks of blood which he can transmute and turn into makeshift hydrogen grenades. For all intents and purposes, they function as fancy hand grenades, giving off a similar-sized explosion with a distinct crimson tinge, alongside throwing pieces of deadly glass shrapnel every which way. They're pretty fun to use, and Ayden's throwing arm's more than suited to them - chuck 'em in an enemy's mouth, strap them to their chest, you name it. Any sort of depraved method to deploy explosives works pretty much 100%.

Blood's coagulation can also be controlled (more or less) through use of this alchemy. It should be noted that the isolated oxygen atoms in the blood separated from their hydrogen twins also catalyse the explosion and allow it to become pretty much more and more powerful with every explosion - a true masterful use of biochemistry, no?

Alas, though, Ayden can't put a bearing on how long these transmutations leave before the ticker goes boom. It's regularly about three seconds, leaving the silver-haired alchemist to run for cover and dive Bond-style as his quarry blows up behind him, generally leaving naught but rubble and death in his wake.

Definitely one of Ayden's more versatile and useful alchemies, it can be said.

It should be noted that Ayden now has a much more impressive degree of control over this alchemy. He can use over a full litre of blood in each detonation, tearing off limbs and actually using an entire body's blood supply (5-6 litres) for maximum psychological and destructive effect.

→ Total Neurone Control - Arguably Ayden's most versatile of tactics, the ability to control a network of your enemy's neurones can pretty much make you their worst nightmare. Discharging a shock of certain magnitudes into the body can either cripple and destroy a man, and, obviously, this functions once more as perfect torture and interrogation alchemy.

Its psychological effects are not without merit, either. Watching a comrade fall to their knees and gargle in sheer pain as they effectively become a vegetable under the leather-clad militant's oppressive will won't exactly do wonders for your psyche. Ayden knows this alchemy through and through as it's undoubtedly one of the most useful additions to his arsenal.

However, Ayden has been known to use a variant of this alchemy on himself and even comrades. Leaking a tiny, absolutely microscopic electrical shock into every single nerve can cause absolute and complete ecstasy; and, similarly, overwhelming the nervous system all in the right places can cause a temporary feeling of total numbness and immunity to pain (typically for around thirty minutes).

Note however that as overwhelming and powerful as this sounds, an immunity to pain isn't good. This removes all reflex arcs and allows Ayden to become a destructive, unsympathetic machine with seemingly no weak points, removing his limits, but he also won't be able to tell when something possibly severely damaging will hit him. It'll also take its toll as the pain slowly leaks back in after the immunity fades.

The immunity to pain doesn't stop Ayden feeling any bodily damage and actually shows that he'll be more likely to deal damage to himself. This alchemy is at its prime and most perfect form possible and can't and most likely won't be changed or altered at all over coming levels.

→ Organic Cell Decay - Useful primarily as a distraction and psychological tactic, but also functional as a destructive, disabling, and even debilitating method of warfare, Necrosis Alkahestry is versatile if slow-working. Best used on a static target - or one of many static/restrained targets - for interrogation, torture, or sheer pleasure - Ayden's depraved like that.

Five seconds of contact will cause skin to begin to shrivel and emanate a horrible stench. Ten seconds of contact will cause skin and exposed flesh to begin to blacken and appear to bruise. Twenty will begin the decaying process completely and tear through the affected area rapidly.

Within thirty seconds, a limb can become unusable, and within a minute, worked down entirely to the bone. Within two, a torso can be entirely shredded and eviscerated by the alchemy save for the skeletal structure - and if Ayden's particularly choosy, he can keep ALL the vital organs in place and functional, and just rot away the flesh around them, like some depraved biology teacher.

The alchemy's general time to work someone down to unconsciousness is around thirty seconds, considering that it's still both very debilitating and painful. Record time for death is around forty-five seconds, average for Ayden stays between fifty and one minute usually; obviously, it's not nearly as applicable as the others in the actual field of battle itself, but very useful - and very appealing to a sociopath and sadist like the good General himself.

→ Nitrous Oxide Ingestion and Poisoning - At low levels, nitrous oxide, the compound Ayden creates using his Toxic Laughter alchemy, induces euphoria, dizziness, lightheadedness, and can act as a slight anaesthetic - a lot of people will recognise it as laughing gas, used in whipped cream, as a propellant, possibly recreationally, used in balloons, or used even in dentistry during tooth extraction.

However, nitrous oxide, especially at the concentrations Ayden can release it at, can be far more dangerous. It is euphoric, yes, and the higher the concentration, the more intense the fits of euphoria and laughter, and the more long-lasting, but the more ingested, the more the gas seeps into your bloodstream, intoxicating and eventually poisoning you. It doesn't take a lot of pure or even high-concentration dilute nitrous oxide to become lethal to humans - this is why Ayden uses the Harbinger, as a method of attacking his enemies' bloodstreams directly, before activating the alchemy a moment later.

This is obviously where the alchemy gains its namesake. Whilst the euphoria is one thing, induced and dispersed by a simple split-second transmutation, if Ayden holds the transmutation for five seconds and disperses the gas, the laughter will become debilitating, causing numbness and a possible inability to keep balance. This will last for around ten minutes, and leave the user with a headache afterwards.

If he holds the transmutation for ten, the concentration of nitrous oxide released is enough to cause permanent brain damage. Holding the alchemy for twenty seconds will incapacitate an enemy after painful fits of laughter, damaging their lungs, and thirty seconds releases lethal dosages of laughing gas at pinpoint points towards his targets, capable of killing them in a matter of minutes. Ayden does occasionally use the ability recreationally, or to lighten up the mood in a room if things are getting a touch dreary.

Using the ability on contact or with the Harbinger causes MUCH faster transferral of the gas, which obviously means faster death, but only affects a single target. Dispersal is silent, and perfect for stealth entries.

Part of the reasoning why Ayden's opted for such a simple and convoluted method of incapacitating and further murdering his enemies is image. Walking through a group of hardened military soldiers reduced to pained, cackling, doubled-over wrecks on the ground with a grin on his face, gives him an image like none other - a walking shadow. A joker in the dark. A maniacal, gleeful, assassin, serial killer, and genocide artist. The psychological connotations of an image like that are immense - Ayden appears as an apparition, a ghost.

The stealth properties are also useful as a secondary, and it's just fun to use. As well as this, if Ayden can stall and create a deadlier nitrous cloud burst, he can use it to escape capture, slipping away near-instantly - it functions as any other sort of poison would, just that it induces laughter.

Finally enough, the nitrous oxide produced is pure enough to also catalyse the reactions of any petroleum engine - with an injection system, similar to the one Ayden possesses for his Audi, the assassin can manufacture limitless amounts of N2O - and it's good at parties, too!

Credit to Shu, Hei, and Kenny for the arrays. Thanks, guys!

[Bronze Degan]

REVISE

1)

Ayden no longer needs to at all use contact to transfer this alchemy. Fastening carbon molecules to the oxygen in the air, he can effectively create carbon monoxide simply by 'touching' one air molecule, and affecting all the others nearby through a simple domino effect. Hello, cloud of deadly, silent, odourless poison gas.

Does Ayden control the rate of this domino effect and the direction it spreads? If not at what speed does the conversion take place and how does it spread from the point of initiation?


2) Though the difference between alchemy and Alkehestry is hard to define and pin down, one thing that is known is that it can and does effect the human body. This combined with the fact that bio electricity is generated and maintained by the human body with little to no outside help im going to have to classify your pain alchemy as pain alkehestry as it deal completely with the human body and its processes. Make the corresponding changes.

All other problems have been addressed privately before the grading of this sheet.

[Bronze Degan]

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