Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Keeper

The Lost Insignia

Ruis Pethboc quickly marked the names of five Alchemists on Thea’s schedule, rolled the parchment back up, and handed it over. “Best get to your next lesson on time, hmm?” he said, sending Thea off. At that moment, C.C. approached, and Thea helped her into her pocket.

Thea ran all the way to the Azure Corridor, wishing the entire time that she could study the notes Ruis had made to her schedule. She had to run all the way there, making it impossible to read her schedule on the way. By the time she arrived at the Rotunda of the Seven Forces, it seemed the Paired Lesson had already begun, and her schedule would have to wait.

This grand room resembled the other marvelous Rotundas Thea had seen. The alcoves, shelves, desks, tables and chairs all had been made out of grayish-blue wood. A beautiful mural covered the ceiling, dividing it into six sectors, each with a marvelous collage of the element associated with the seven different Forces: A fiery volcanic mural, an aquatic mural, a mountainous earthen mural, a leafy plant mural, and straight above her, a wind mural depicting clouds and various items blowing in the wind and a lightning mural depicting a thunderous lightning storm. Interspersed throughout the six elements, a variety of animals had been added to the mural almost as an afterthought.

A group of Initiums in light blue vests caught Thea’s eye, and she quietly joined them at a group of tables, her hand on C.C. huddled inside her largest pocket and looking like a mound of feathers. Among the Initiums sat all their Mentors, in an assortment of longer robes, a few blue, but most of them yellow, green, red, and orange. Thea immediately spotted the teacher, a blonde-haired blue-eyed Alchemist in silk blue robes and matching high heels.

The Alchemist had a magnificent red bird on her shoulder. The bright plumage reminded Thea of a parrot, and the bird’s long neck reminded her of a flamingo, or perhaps a swan. The Chimaera perched on the Alchemist’s shoulder with claws like a parrot’s.

“Ah, you must be my newbie,” the Alchemist said as she approached. “This is Phoebe, my olottacus and I am Maleficus Barberry. Give her a kiss, Phoebe.” The Maleficus leaned forward, and the red Chimaera carefully touched her bright red beak to Thea’s nose and made a silly puckering noise.

Thea couldn’t help but laugh. “Hello Phoebe.”

“Hello,” the olottacus repeated back in a parrot’s voice, but Thea somehow got the impression that the Chimaera was not simply mimicking her.

“I’m excited to have you,” Maleficus Barberry went on. “You’ll be a great partner for my other Spectrum Scholar.”

Thea’s heart leapt. Was Tajana in this class?

“Ah, there he is now,” Barberry said, and Thea exhaled, hung her head, and spun around to see a young man entering the Rotunda. In the amount of time it took him to join the other Initiums and Chandlers in the group meeting area, his Spectrum Scholar vest changed color three times, from red, to orange, to yellow.

Thea was overly aware of her own vest changing colors. She was reminded yet again of when Todd alluded to the significance of the three Spectrum Scholars. Would she ever know what it all meant? Maybe this boy knew. But could she really just come out and ask him?

If the Spectrum Scholar noticed Thea, he gave no indication, but rather, he began to set up his work on a table just a few feet away. The boy had thick black hair, roughed up in a messy punk hairstyle. His eyes looked green at first, but when his vest changed colors, his eyes seemed to do the same.

The Maleficus approached his table. “Chadwick, I have something for you,” she said in a sing-song tone of voice. “Something you’ve always wanted, deep down. Your very own partner. Promise to play nice?”

Thea approached cautiously and tried to smile politely. “Hi, I’m Althea Presten,” she said.

“Chadwick MacNamara,” the boy said, but he barely looked at Thea. “Maleficus Barberry, does this mean I have to put my own lessons on hold to go back and do beginner work?” He had a thick British accent, like Todd. But other than the accent, the two boys were completely different.

“Now, now, Chadwick, I knew you’d balk at the idea of getting a partner when you’ve worked alone for so long, but this could be good. It could be fun!”

Chadwick’s jaw twitched. Thea felt her cheeks go red, and she looked down.

“Well, why don’t we let your new partner decide what to do? Althea?” Maleficus Barberry said, turning to her. “Would you like to do a beginner lesson today with Initium MacNamara’s help, or would you rather work by yourself so this spoiled rotten Spectrum Scholar doesn’t have to go back and do beginner work?”

Chadwick scoffed and fussed up his outgrown hair, and Thea realized that he had a very good relationship with this teacher. “Well, um, neither really,” Thea said, feeling bold.

“What d’you mean by that?” Chadwick asked.

“I want to work with you on what you’re doing.”

They both stared at Thea.

“I can’t though, can I?” Thea said, backpedaling reluctantly.

“Oh, I suppose that is up to Chadwick,” Barberry said. “Try it for today, and I’ll check on you before too long and make a plan for moving forward. How does that sound?”

“Great!” Thea said, and Chadwick heaved a heavy sigh.

As soon as the Maleficus was out of earshot, Chadwick leaned in and said, “So it’s true! There was talk of a new Spectrum, but I had to see it to believe it, and here you are!”

Thea felt her heart flutter at the idea that people were talking about her. She bit her lip to keep from blurting out all her questions, and instead she simply nodded her head.

“You’re either bloody brilliant or barking mad,” Chadwick said with a playful grin. Thea couldn’t tell if he was trying to scare her or make friends. She forced herself to smile back.

“Who did the Keeper Pair you with?” Chadwick asked with forced casualness as he cracked open a book. It was obvious to Thea that he really wanted to know the identity of Thea’s Mentor.

“Todd Alder,” Thea said.

Chadwick finally really looked at Thea. “What?! That gormy duffer chose Prince Alder for your Mentor?”

Thea’s anger flared suddenly. “The Keeper isn’t a gormy duffer, whatever that means.”

Chadwick smirked back at Thea. “You’ve got nothing good to say about The Prince, though, have you?”

Thea felt her face burn at the reminder that Todd had erased her memory, and that he had tried to convince Thea to give up on the Spectrum. “Todd helped me a lot with my Trial. I’m a Spectrum Scholar because of him,” she said instead.

“Come off it. You are the reason why you’re a Spectrum.” Chadwick looked into Thea’s eyes but immediately looked away and seemingly tried to disappear into his book.

“What are you working on?” Thea asked.

“Something far too advanced for the likes of you,” Chadwick challenged.

“Try me,” Thea said.

“How about this,” Chadwick said. “You finish your boring first day lesson fast enough, and I’ll fill you in on what I’m working on.” Chadwick nodded at a set of materials a few feet away and proceeded to ignore Thea.

Thea felt a sudden fire ignite inside herself. She hurried over and studied the materials. Quickly, she recognized the Conversion Circle for the Air Conjuration Conversion. She also found a boulder engraved with the word Focus and a random assortment of items that she assumed would be Components.

Thea rolled the boulder across the table, positioning it over the Insignia. She grabbed a feather from the pile of Components and said, “Aera.” The Insignia glowed blue almost instantly. Something which had only recently been exhausting and nigh impossible was now almost like second nature to Thea.

But nothing seemed to happen to the boulder. Thea set the feather down. The subtle motion made the boulder shift as if it were a balloon, because it was now as light as a feather. Laughing, Thea took out her quill to record her findings in her journal. Thea was reminded of her Trial. It would have been helpful to know that a feather could make a Focus lighter. That Air Conversion would have been a cinch if she had used the feather on the sphere first.

In the next ten minutes, Thea discovered that no matter which component she used on the boulder, if it was made of earth, such as the stone, pebble, and dirt, it made the boulder waste away as if the air from her lungs was weathering away at the boulder. A piece of glass made tiny spider web cracks appear all over the boulder, and when she held the crystal and said “Aera,” the boulder shattered.

Thea looked around the room, expecting all the Chemists to shush her for causing such a ruckus. Surprisingly, it looked like no one really cared that she had made a loud crash while completely destroying the Focus for her task.

Maleficus Barberry looked up and deduced what had happened. She started to approach Thea’s table, but Thea took action before she arrived. She quickly turned back in her journal to the page where she had drawn the Amalgamation Conversion. She brushed all the pieces of the boulder onto her notebook and pulled out a pinch of resin from one of her pockets. “Unesco!” she said quickly, and before her eyes, the exploded boulder began to piece itself back together.

Maleficus Barberry raised her eyebrow and returned to her conversation with the two Chemists at the table.

Thea wasn’t sure, but Barberry seemed impressed, and though Chadwick didn’t seem to be paying her any attention, Thea had a feeling that she was going to surprise the Spectrum Scholar. Thea performed each Conversion so quickly and easily that she would certainly complete her task in fifteen minutes and would have almost forty-five minutes to work with Chadwick.

Thea was surprised when a small green leaf sprouted from the boulder when she held up the seed and said, “Aera.” She tried the Conversion again with a potted plant in her hand, and the tiny sprout began to grow into a large sunflower. Thea laughed as she recorded her findings.

The last Component was a piece of rubber. Thea performed the Conversion, and the boulder stirred on the Insignia. Thea reached out to touch the boulder, and it easily rolled off the table and bounced away, just as light and rubbery as a giant bouncy ball. She took two quick steps and caught the bouncing boulder, then returned to the table to write down the results. She was exhausted but filled with exhilaration at the same time.

Thea slowly approached Chadwick’s table, surprised to see that he wasn’t working on Conversions at all. He had a stack of books and a map out, but no Components or Insignias to be seen. “Am I finished with my boring first day lesson fast enough?”

Chadwick looked up at Thea through old-fashioned spectacles with small lenses set in a golden frame. The antique glasses made Chadwick’s hip hairstyle look even more ridiculous. “Tell us what you learned, newbie,” Chadwick said.

Thea summarized the results of her experimenting, including how she repaired the Focus herself when it shattered.

For a moment Chadwick seemed shocked, but then he said, “You’re a Spectrum Scholar for a reason, I suppose. Well, pull up a chair, then.”

Thea sat down with a grin. “So what are you working on?”

“Well, you probably noticed I’m not working on Conversions,” Chadwick said with a mischievous grin. “I actually mastered every one of Barberry’s lessons a week ago, so I asked her if I could start an independent research project.”

Thea was immediately interested. This was the kind of thing her father always encouraged her to do.

Chadwick wordlessly sifted through his stack of books and handed one to Thea. The title of the book read:

The Lost Insignia

Thea’s mind began to race with excitement. “There’s Seven Fragments, but only the Seven Forces have seven Insignias. All the other Fragments have six Insignias…”

“That’s only because they’re lost,” Chadwick interjected under his breath, suddenly keeping his voice down. “Each Fragment really has Seven Insignias.”

“I thought so!” Thea exclaimed in a whisper, and Chadwick clamped his lips together. “My theory is that they’re not lost. They’ve been hidden by the First Alchemist, who was also the first Keeper.”

“And their hiding places have been kept secret by all the other Keepers,” Chadwick added, leaning in.

“Are you looking for them?” Thea asked under her breath. “Is that your research project?”

Chadwick leaned away and jutted his jaw up. “Most Alchemists think it’s crazy to go looking for the Lost Insignias. Either they figure it’s a legend, or they figure the Keeper’s protecting them for a reason, and they should butt out. I bet you’re only so quick to believe it because you’re still wet behind the ears.” Chadwick made a grab for Thea’s ear, but Thea slapped his hand away.

“I’m not wet behind the ears. Tell me what you’ve found out so far.”

“Why should I?” Chadwick replied.

“Because two heads are better than one. I can help you figure this out,” Thea insisted.

Chadwick put his fingers over his mouth, propping his chin on the palm of his hand, obviously hesitant to share his findings.

Thea jumped at the chance to prove herself. “If I was looking for the Lost Insignias, my first step would be to research where they found the first Lost Insignia, of the Seven Forces,” Thea said, thinking aloud.

“That’s what this book is about,” Chadwick said, pointing at The Lost Insignia. “It was a long time ago, so learning about the Seventh Force is a research project in and of itself.”

“Where did they find it?” Thea asked, leaning in.

“Some crumbling temple in Turkey, I think?” Chadwick said, flipping the pages of the book until he found a map.

Thea squinted at the tiny text near a blue star placed on the map. “…Selçuk?” she read, unsure of how to pronounce the unfamiliar place. “Huh. What’s in Selçuk?”

“The Beast Insignia, and not a whole lot else,” Chadwick said with a sigh. “This Alchemist, James Price, thought that all the Insignias were hidden inside the pillars of this temple. But because the temple was destroyed and all but one of the pillars are gone, so are the other Insignias.”

“The temple was destroyed?” Thea asked, suddenly very curious to learn more about this mysterious temple.

“Yeah, it was really old, like ancient, so it just sort of fell apart, I suppose,” Chadwick said. “The only thing left is one pillar, and I guess that’s where they found the Insignia. In 1783.”

“Wow; that was a long time ago. Do you really think that the other Insignias were lost forever in that dilapidated temple?”

Chadwick smirked and shook his head. “Some people say Price was only trying to cover up the truth. There are tons of other theories about the Lost Insignias.”

Chadwick flipped open another book to a new map with a seven-pointed star drawn in red across the ocean. “Some say the Lost Insignias create a seven-point star across the Mediterranean Ocean, but no matter how many different ways they drew the star, they never found anything.

“Then I have this other book, The Roots of Alchemy, that links each Lost Insignia with an ancient sect of Alchemists. They say the first Lost Insignia represents Arabian Alchemy, and there’s another one for Indian Alchemy, Egyptian Alchemy, Asian Alchemy, and European Alchemy.”

“But that’s only five,” Thea said. “Even if you include Native American Alchemy, that’s not enough. There’s got to be some other theories that make more sense.”

“Hold on a tic.” Chadwick leaned back in his chair and snapped his fingers. “That does make seven, if you count the Aboriginal Alchemists of Australia.”

“There’s Aboriginal Alchemists?” Thea asked, just as intrigued as when she found out about Native American Alchemy.

“You didn’t know? The Aborigines were known for being the Alchemists that brought us pockets. They were obsessed with them. Even their Chimaeras had pockets. They experimented with some of the most off the wall combinations—like the talrixa and cermus—not bothering to properly bond with the beasts. Most aren’t even considered Chimaeras anymore. The rogue beasts killed off the native animals and populated uncontrollably. Most still wander the continent, and Recreants even put them in zoos like real animals.”

“That’s fascinating!” Thea’s brain jumped to the marsupial’s pouch. Then she thought of the platypus, which was native to Australia. She replayed her conversation with Quentin in her head and said, “Like the fiberna?”

“Exactly! The Aborigines were the first to use wild Chimaeras to create new Chimaeras. Zeniths, they’re called, when you combine two Chimaeras to make a new one, like a hybrid.”

“Wow. What kind of—”

“But now we’re a bit off topic,” Chadwick interrupted, giving her a brazen smile. “Though you did help. Thanks to you, I know which book I should focus on next.” He reached for The Roots of Alchemy, giving Thea a playful smirk as he hefted the book. Then he flipped the pages and started reading.

Thea fell silent, disappointed that their conversation was suddenly over. But then she told herself that she had proven to be a useful member of the team. Perhaps she could be helpful again. Thea decided to start her own research with the first book, The Lost Insignia, and she pulled the book close.

Thea skimmed the pages for a while, trying hard to pay attention, but the book was extremely dull. Her mind wandered to the schedule rolled up into a pocket of her vest. The schedule that would warn her about which Alchemists served the Code Breaker.

She almost gave up on the book, imagining reading the entire book that droned on about the excavation of the Seventh Force and hadn’t even mentioned any theories about the Lost Insignias. Finally, Thea decided to focus on the most interesting thing about the Seventh Force: the temple where they found it. Thea went to the index and searched the list of words for the name of a temple.

And she found it. After turning to the page, she was sure. Alessandro Cagliostro discovered the Lost Insignia of the Beast in the ruins of the Temple of Artemis.

“The Temple of Artemis.” Thea set the book down and looked at Chadwick. “Does that mean anything to you?”

Chadwick shrugged. “I thought you were supposed to be helping me.” He gave Thea a playful grin.

“Well maybe we need to go there,” Thea said. “We are in Norway. Turkey’s not actually that far, you know.”

“You really think a couple kids could find a clue in an ancient temple, when hundreds of Alchemists have already searched and searched, and found nothing?” Chadwick set his book down and raised his eyebrow at Thea. “There’s nothing there, Al. We have to look elsewhere, and as barmy as the author of that book seems to be, he knew a lot about the Seventh Force and the Lost Insignias. If it’s important, it’s in that book somewhere. Be careful though, because apparently if it’s not important, it’s still in that book.”

Thea laughed halfheartedly and stared down at the thick dusty tome. What she wouldn’t give to be able to go home. She was positive that she’d remember why the Temple of Artemis sounded familiar to her if she only had access to the familiar books in her parents’ library. But all too soon, she’d be off to another lesson, and the excitement of looking for the Lost Codes would be forgotten.

Thea had done a huge project on Greek Gods for a history project when she was eleven. Artemis was the Greek Goddess of the hunt. She was very akin to wild animals and actually matched the Insignia of the Beast rather perfectly. Maybe Alchemy had ties to ancient Greece and their Gods? What if there was a Greek God for every Insignia?

“Hey, do any of these books talk about a connection to Greek or Roman Gods?” Thea asked.

Chadwick looked up from his book and gaped at her. “What did you do, start reading from the back of the book?” He eyed Thea carefully.

Her book was open to chapter four. She shook her head. “So they do then?”

“You figured that out all on your own, didn’t you?”

Thea sat up straighter and tried not to blush at the look of shock on Chadwick’s face. “It might seem far-fetched, but if each Insignia has a corresponding Greek God, that could be the key to finding the Lost Insignias.”

“That’s what … this whole book is about,” Chadwick said, pulling a book out from the bottom of his stack and holding it out to Thea. Connecting the Fragments: Gods of Alchemy. “I haven’t read it yet. It would save me loads of time if you take it over the weekend and let me know what you find out on Monday.”

Thea imagined spending her whole weekend reading the thick dusty book, and she smiled. “What else am I going to do this weekend?”

Chadwick let out a boisterous laugh in the middle of the Rotunda, and was quickly shushed by two nearby Chemists. Thea couldn’t help but wonder why they would shush Chadwick’s laughter when the noise from all the Conversions around the room was much louder. “You’re alright, Al.” Chadwick tilted his head at Thea.

Al was a boy’s name! But instead of scrunching up her nose in annoyance at yet another nickname, Thea grinned back at her newest friend. “I’m glad we got to work together today. Should we try it again next week?”

“Too right, we should!” Chadwick replied. “The Keeper should have Paired us together! It just makes sense, don’t you think? Two Spectrum Scholars ought to be Paired together; it would’ve been ace.”

“You don’t have a Protégé yet, do you? How long have you been going to school here?” Thea asked.

“Long enough,” he said. “I got a feeling my Joint Trial is nearly here, and then I’ll Advance and get my Protégé, and it’ll all be the dogs, then.”

“The dogs?” Thea said with a puzzled look on her face.

“The dogs b—oh just forget it.” Chadwick blushed. “It’s just a slang expression.”

Thea couldn’t help but smile at the embarrassed look on his face. When she had made her choice to study all the Fragments at once, the Keeper had said there were only two Spectrum Scholars at school; she was super excited to have made friends with both of them. It almost seemed like they were meant to be connected in some way.

Two Spectrum Scholars ought to be Paired together. It gave Thea a strange thought, and she said, “Is Tajana your Mentor?”

Chadwick’s eyes opened wide. “How’d you know?” Then he snapped his fingers. “Let me guess. She was complaining about me again?”

Thea swallowed a laugh. She put her fist against her lips to hide a little smile. “Just a hunch,” she said.

“Oh come on? A hunch?” Chadwick roughed up his hair. “The truth, please,” he said in such a way, Thea was tempted to give him a hard time.

“Well, the truth is that I can read your mind,” Thea said, which she realized was probably within her capabilities, though she would have to break her promise to her father to prove it.

“Oh right, and I can turn myself into vapor.” Chadwick leaned sideways against their table and cocked his head at her. Thea shrugged. “Alright, mind reader, tell me what I’m thinking.” Chadwick raised one eyebrow, and Thea finally noticed his eyes: they were hazel, sometimes brown and sometimes dark green.

Thea held back another smile and leaned forward. She couldn’t help herself. She focused on him, unable to really predict what sort of Conversion she was performing. She probably needed some sort of Component, but she didn’t have any. So she just mentally reached out to him and closed her eyes. “You’re thinking … You wish I would shut up so you can get back to your book. Plus you’re hungry and can’t wait for lunch, but you’re also dreading it because…” She knit her eyebrows. “Because you don’t like your next class.” She cocked her head, wondering where that nonsensical idea had come from.

Chadwick’s face went a bit pale. He cleared his throat and looked down at his book. “Well, that’s half right, I suppose. Nice guess.” He picked up the book and craned his neck down, seemingly eager to return to his independent study.

“The truth is that I met her at lunch yesterday and since the Keeper told me there are three Spectrums now, counting me, I just figured she was your Mentor,” Thea said in a rush. “Because of what you said about Spectrum Scholars working together. It makes sense for you to be Paired with Tajana.”

Chadwick’s ears looked a little red. He glanced up from his book and rubbed his neck in a distracted sort of way. “Yup, too bad we missed our chance, eh? Just another couple days, and maybe…” He drifted off, staring inward for a moment. “Well, don’t take it too hard, newbie. Tajana doesn’t like me very much, in all honesty.” He let out his infectious laugh again, and the same two Chemists shushed him a second time. “I’m sure you’ll be better off without me.”

“Nonsense!” Thea said with such force she surprised Chadwick just as much as herself. “We’re friends,” Thea said automatically. “Aren’t we?”

Chadwick shook his head, and before he turned away, Thea saw a wide smile. “We did just meet, but um…” He looked back with a lopsided grin. “Sure; we’re Spectrum Scholars after all.”

Thea couldn’t help but smile back, though she could feel her cheeks burning up. “Good. I’ll, um, read my book now,” Thea said, holding up the Gods of Alchemy book.

Chadwick snorted. “Don’t get too excited now. If you’re not careful, it’ll put you to sleep,” he said, giving her a wink before scooping up his book and returning to his reading.

Thea read the introduction and the first chapter of her book. Each chapter was about a different Conversion and told the legend of a famous Alchemist from ancient times, some who had discovered their Conversions and others who were just associated with a certain Conversion because they were very good at that particular Conversion.

The first chapter had been about Zeus, who Thea always thought was the Greek god of thunder and the king of the gods. But it turned out that Zeus was actually an Alchemist who specialized in Lightning Conversions. Chapter one told the tale of how Zeus the Alchemist became such a famous Alchemist that even Recreants began to hear stories about him. It was simply fascinating to read the history and see the parallel stories that made up the Greek legends.

“Earth to Al,” Chadwick said suddenly. “Class is over. It’s lunch time. Let’s go eat!”

Thea wanted very much to continue on with chapter two of her book, but she closed the thick tomb and left the Rotunda with Chadwick. While they walked, Thea’s mind wandered. She thought about the book, about her lessons so far today, about all the Chimaeras she glimpsed along the way, and about all the mysterious things that had happened since she’d arrived at Blackthorn and Burtree. If her morning was any indication, then she was going to have a very eventful afternoon of classes.