In the beginning there was everything, and then the rest became visible. Younger alchemists are told from a very early age that the sun means a lot. The moon means almost as much, but the best of them is actually a distant planet yet to be discovered. It just makes sense to channel whatever mana we're getting, from whatever source it is deemed.
I, Malixa the 3rd, am a direct descendant of the first alchemist, who ended up discovering consciousness and then the numbers between zeroes.
I am not the best alchemist alive, indeed, I can only boast two out of three of these attributes. My father left me his magic toolbox and several ingots of recyclable gold (alchemist's secret), and I have been getting by pretty well.
For the most part.
I am being chased. Hard. It is not in the nature of a reclusive student of alchemy to be thieving and plotting, but as with most chemical reactions, a little catalyst is all it takes to turn the world on its heel.
The seventy-fifth element was not supposed to exist. I knew this. The Society of Alchemists knew this. The world knew this. But I found it. I found it in the most unlikely of places, and I found it in the most unlikely of ways.
I dreamed of it before it dreamed of me, that's for sure. I had woken up today in order to get several things done, chief among which was getting a nice nap in. I had been working on a new spell, and it was taking a lot out of me. I had been working on it for a few weeks now, and I was getting close to a breakthrough. I could feel it.
I could feel it. Feeling is a strange phenomena. Magicians have long believed it to be rather stupid that an audience is necessary for magic. True magic happens when nobody's watching, nobody's listening. Truly, it's how everything started in the first place.
Anyway, once I realized I was feeling it, it was time to bolt. But then even as my robes swished around my lithe frame, it occurred to me that the left inner pocket of my very practical garment was much heavier than usual.
We were taught to not touch objects unless we can see them. This is quite important not only in the alchemy business but also in the manufacture of high-sensitivity mousetraps. I had to see what was in my pocket, but I couldn't stop running. I had to keep running, but I couldn't stop thinking about what was in my pocket.
Wait. Why am I running?