Fermenting: The Waiting Game

"Some magicks are impatient. Some require years to wake up."

Fermenting is the slowest of all alchemical processes, often taking weeks, months, or even years to reach its full potential. It is a method that relies on time, natural decay, and controlled rot to extract unique properties from ingredients. The most common fermented products include restorative draughts, tonic wines, and elixirs that grow stronger the longer they are left to mature. Some of the rarest potions in the world are made through fermentation, their ingredients breaking down over centuries into something truly potent. The risk of fermentation is its unpredictability. Some mixtures grow more effective over time; others sour, twist, and become lethal. A poorly aged potion can rot the stomach before it heals a wound. Worse still, there are cases where improperly fermented elixirs have become sentient, taking on properties beyond what was ever intended.