Arcane Catalysts:

Not all alchemical ingredients are bound by the laws of nature. Some defy categorization, existing on the thin boundary between stability and chaos. These are the arcane catalysts and unstable reagents, materials that amplify, distort, or fundamentally alter the reactions they touch. They are rare, unpredictable, and often more dangerous than the concoctions they are meant to refine. Forge Spice, a mysterious Dwarfish powder, strengthens enchanted metals beyond normal means, yet its true origins remain a secret. Starfall Essence, gathered from meteorite fragments, bends magick into wild, uncontrollable forms, making it both invaluable and highly dangerous to experiment with. Echo Shards, crystals that resonate with past voices, hold memories long forgotten, and alchemists who use them risk their own thoughts being overwritten. The most infamous of all, Alkahest, is the so-called ‘universal dissolvent,’ a substance capable of breaking down anything it touches, even the unbreakable, though no alchemist has yet lived long enough to master its full potential. Those who seek to tame these ingredients must tread carefully. They are not simply tools. They are entities in their own right, forces of nature and magick that cannot truly be controlled, only directed, if one is fortunate enough.