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Artezo and Irving arrived at the castle and were greeted by the King himself. Artezo found no trace of scorn from the new king. Many of those who had shamed Artezo for his hair during his prior engagement were now dead or otherwise held their tongues. 

Artezo and Irving went to their rooms after their inauguration. Irving was placed in the physician’s quarters with a private room. He had a stained-glass window, a soft feather bed, a desk, and his own personal bucket to shit in. Artezo found himself comfortably set into the luxurious life of hot baths, comfortable beds, and servants.

They met in the physician’s room in the evening. Irving led Artezo around the room, which was exactly as Artezo recalled. The workbenches were long and contained every apparatus one needed to create a remedy. The shelves were filled with every medicinal ingredient known to man.

Months passed as they settled into their roles as Royal Physician and apprentice to the Royal Physician. Irving used what money he earned to purchase a house in the city for his family. He spent many hours bringing Emmet through the fields outside the castle walls, showing him the various flowers, herbs, mushrooms, and trees. Meanwhile, Artezo retreated to his study more often where he began writing. It was as if his knowledge was at the forefront of his mind, waiting to escape onto the pages.

Each night, they sat together and gazed up at the heavens. They found comfort in the constellations shifting overhead – each night offering a grand display of lights. One night, as the orange glow of Jupiter appeared in the east, and the yellow shine of Venus appeared in the west, Artezo’s mind flared with the image of the bowls along the workbench, and his master’s voice saying, “Listen to the bowls, hear them sing…”

Artezo turned and met Irving’s eye. Irving gave Artezo a curious look, Artezo nodded and turned back to the stars.

Irving saw less of Artezo as he took on most of the duties required by the castle. People commonly referred to him as the Royal Physician. Late one evening, Irving stepped out of the apothecary to find Artezo standing in the hallway. 

“Master?” Irving asked.

Artezo turned to Irving’s voice, the skin around his eyes sagged and his grey beard flowed towards the ground. “It is time,” he said.

Artezo asked Irving to take him to an old building near the entrance of town. As they walked through the streets, Irving glanced at the stars. He recognized the orange glow of Jupiter and the yellow of Venus overhead. They came to an old shop which Artezo unlocked with a key. Irving brought him inside and Artezo said, “Up the stairs.”

Irving brought Artezo to the first step, he groaned in pain and Irving was prepared to pull him back when Artezo waved him aside and took another step. Upstairs, a long workbench was lined with bowls.

“It is time I showed you what my master taught me long ago.” Artezo rasped.

Irving watched as Artezo’s hands nimbly added the various metals and powders to the bowls, speaking slowly as he worked. “We’ve done many fine things, Irving. We’ve made many remedies, aided many people, and created extraordinary elixirs. But at some point, the alchemist comes back to what will serve the world best.”

“What serves the world best?” Irving asked.

“Do you recall when we were in Louvice, and that man came with his son?”

“Herold and Tyrell,” Irving recalled.

“Yes. Wealth, for instance, can be created much in the way Herold described – shiny things without value. But the alchemist’s true goal is the formation of true wealth.” Artezo walked over to the velvet curtains and pulled them open. As the light of the cosmos hit the bowls they started to bubble. Irving peered into one of the bowls and inspected the hue of the substance.

“The color… see the bubbles of dark and lustre? The purity is much too jumbled!” Artezo said with a shout.

The master pulled his apprentice by the arm to the next bubbling bowl. 

“Look, look,” the grey-bearded master whispered.

Irving turned to the bowl of yellow gurgling goop.

“What do you see?”

“Yellow, light and dark bubbles of yellow.”

“Ah, yes, but notice… the gradient – see how the tint and shades balance.”

The shades of yellow goop glimmered in the bowl.

“Come, come,” the master pulled Irving again. They moved to the open window. The master pointed up at the moonless sky overhead. “The solutions we are making are not just the work of Earth, but of Heaven.”

Amidst the stars, Irving saw the yellow glow of Venus nearing the orange shine of Jupiter.

“We mix together these ingredients, but allow processes inside and outside the bowls to work through the solutions. Sometimes, these processes work using forces much greater than ourselves, making the results unpredictable. Sometimes, it takes little effort to control the outcome of a process and we are left with exactly what we desire…”

As Jupter and Venus overlapped, the master rose. Irving glanced at the bowls and a glint caught his eye.

Ad maiōrem Dei glōriam