Transmutation

"So it is here, that Mithas, wizard of old and inventor of the school of Transmutation, would in a brief moment of hubris before a great crowd, lose concentration on a spell he demonstrated could turn a lump of iron into gold, to relish the attention of his cheering onlookers, and would by accident transmute himself into the very golden effigy before you instead, still reveling in his irrepricable moment of glory to this day." -Inscription on the Statue of Mithas, Opulence.

Transmutation is the school of magick devoted to altering the very nature of matter, reshaping reality’s bones at the whim of the caster. To most, it is the stuff of myth, turning lead to gold, stone to flesh, or withered limbs to vibrant health. But to those who walk its winding path, Transmutation is not illusion nor miracle, but precision. It is the application of controlled Arcane pressure against the underlying rules of matter itself, manipulating density, composition, and purpose with both art and rigor. Where Evocation blazes and Enchantment beguiles, Transmutation redefines. It is a school obsessed with the what-if, a discipline built on asking what the world could be if only it were not what it is. Of all the magickal schools, Transmutation shares the deepest kinship with alchemy. Both operate on the principle of Intrinsic Exchange, the belief that everything possesses latent potential, and that change requires sacrifice. Nothing becomes something else without relinquishing some portion of what it was. A gold coin made from clay may glitter, but without giving up its base nature, it will not hold its shape.
Principles of Morphic Law:
The central axiom of Transmutation is Morphic Stability, the boundary that defines when a thing remains changed, and when it rebels. Casting transmutation spells without honoring this threshold risks temporary, volatile effects that revert or corrupt over time. True transmuters learn to work with nature’s rules, not against them, pressing gently against the weave of material laws until the desired change settles and accepts itself. To this end, practitioners study the architecture of matter: the softness of skin, the porosity of stone, the breathless void between air and fire. They become part-surgeon, part-sculptor, part-poet. And yet, no matter how precise the formula, intent matters. One cannot shape the world without knowing why they wish to do so. Even the slightest ambiguity of will can lead to grotesque error.
Applications and Manifestations:

• Matter Conversion: The most iconic transmutations. Changing one substance into another, stone to wood, water to wine, iron to silver. Complex and draining. Often resisted by naturally magickal materials such as Mire-Iron or Soul-Glass, which carry resistances tied to their Arcane imprints.
• Fleshsculpting: Used in healing, augmentation, or adaptation. Transmuters can close wounds by reverting flesh to its last stable state, reshape limbs, or bestow gills and claws when necessary. Often practiced alongside biological alchemy and ichorcraft.
• Weight and Density Alteration: A subtle but powerful tool. By adjusting mass, a transmuter may cause armor to feel light as silk, or crush a foe beneath their own collapsing sword.
• Structure Manipulation: Allows for reshaping architecture, redirecting tunnels, or warping traps. A critical technique in excavation, sabotage, or siege warfare. Must be applied carefully, too much change too quickly can cause structural collapse or magickal implosion.
• Elemental Transitioning: Transitioning between states, solid to gas, gas to liquid, etc. without external heat or cold. Used in elemental manipulation or to bypass barriers of conventional physics. Often a bridge between Evocation and Transmutation disciplines.

Ritual Theory – The Alkahest Vow: In many advanced Transmutation circles, the Alkahest Vow represents both a rite of passage and a cautionary tale. Named after the mythical universal solvent said to dissolve any substance without harming the vessel, this ritual seeks to dissolve a single part of the self, memory, sensation, fear, temporarily, to better understand the impermanence of form. Those who succeed gain insights into matter’s plasticity. Those who fail often suffer irreversible personality fractures or dissolve pieces of themselves in ways they never recover.
Historical Legacy: Transmutation was not always a defined school. In early Everwealthian history, it was treated as an offshoot of Evocation or dismissed as hedge magick. It wasn’t until the legendary mishap of Mithas, turning himself into a golden statue in front of a thousand onlookers, that scholars realized the distinct potential and danger of this path. Since the Schism, Transmutation has risen as a vital tool for reconstruction. Whole towns damaged by warfare were reshaped with stone-bending rituals. Alchemical transmutation aided in stabilizing food and water supplies, turning tainted stores into nourishment. In recent times, the Scholar’s Guild has formalized the study of Transmutation alongside alchemical branches, pairing casters with mineralogists and organic surgeons in joint research halls.
Cultural Presence: Transmuters are seen with a mix of awe and suspicion. To the common folk, they are miracle-workers who can heal the sick and conjure gold, but also dangerous meddlers who unmake nature. Many noble families employ a household transmuter not only for healing and crafting, but to verify the authenticity of coins and goods. In criminal underworlds, rogue transmuters create forgeries, smuggle contraband in false forms, or alter appearances to evade capture. Some have gone so far as to rewrite their own biology to evade death, slipping into other bodies or shells of their own design. The Coalition forbids such practices without a soul-tethered identity rune, though enforcement is inconsistent at best.
Controversy and Restrictions: The Arcane Coalition places moderate restrictions on Transmutation, particularly concerning soul transference, gold-creation, and biological identity shifting. While morphic healing is permitted in licensed clinics, unauthorized bodily modification is grounds for arrest. Likewise, attempts to bypass magical contracts by altering one's name, appearance, or bloodline through transmutative means are considered felony evasion. A more recent restriction, added after the Stoneborn Incident in The Grandgleam Forest, prohibits mass transmutations in populated districts without sanction. This came after a failed experiment caused an entire plaza to turn to sand instantly, collapsing dozens of homes and flooding the Scholar’s Hall with rogue heat motes while hundreds died for nothing.
Signature Effect – The Gilded Hunger: Some transmuters who master the art of elemental conversion develop an affliction known as the Gilded Hunger, a lingering state wherein their bodies begin to crave further refinement. Flesh yearns to become metal. Blood seeks mercury. Bones ache for stone. Casters afflicted may experience a compulsive desire to continue transmuting themselves, seeking perfection through unnatural metamorphosis. If untreated, this condition leads to partial petrification or metallization of the body. Victims become half-statue, their emotions dulled, their thoughts calcified. Yet, some claim these cursed transmuters can survive wounds that would kill ordinary men, and that in their final forms, they are closer to elemental beings than mortals.