Alchemic Quill

Alchemic quills are a common tool used by alchemists to control the properties of alchemic processes. Alchemists utilize these quills to write out the desired effects of whatever material they're imbuing with a process. For example, the masks used in the underwater settlements contain a alchemic filter that converts emissions into oxygen contain a metal piece that has been inscribed by one of these quills in order to function.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Alchemic Quills use no ink, but directly inscribe whatever is being written on to imbue it with alchemic properties. The living wall is one of the few exceptions. Since the method to creating these barriers has been lost, alchemists can only edit the properties by writing on the field itself. Other items, such as the lamps used to create better living conditions for those uderwater are inscribed at their base.

Manufacturing process

While the method is lost to the current world, the old process to create the quills was actually relatively simple. A standard, unused quill would be treated in a bucket of alchemic water. The problem in recent years is that alchemic water must be created with naturally fresh water and with the rising of the seas, true fresh water has become more of a rarity. Fresh water would be placed in an inscribed clay bowl to pass those qualities to the water itself, then the quills would be placed in the clay bowl and the properties would be passed from bowl to quill.

Rarity

The quills are a fairly common tool used by the Alchemic Academy. New alchemists are given a single quill and these are returned to the Academy upon an alchemist's death. While a large number of these quills currently exist, the process to create new ones has been lost. So with every passing year, the quill itself becomes more rare. For this reason, the Academy is very strict about who is allowed to possess one and if someone who is not supposed to have one is found to carry one, it is a punishable offence.