I still remember the moment I picked up Alchemised by SenLinYu. It was an unassuming April night when I plucked it from my bookshelf and grabbed my booklight, cracking it open. I was naive; unaware of the emotional onslaught that would soon have me craning over it like a hag, nauseous and reeling, needing so desperately for it to be over and yet, never wanting it to end.
That might sound melodramatic, and maybe it is, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that this book did a number on me.
Before I go any further, let me give you the rundown: Alchemised is a dark fantasy novel from the perspective of Helena Marino, the last surviving member of a failed resistance called the Eternal Flame. She’s been captured and imprisoned in the aftermath of a devastating war between the Eternal Flame and a group of extremist necromancers called the Undying.
Having no memory predating her imprisonment, she’s held captive by former classmate Kaine Ferron, the Undying’s “High Reeve,” who’s been assigned the task of recovering her memories. The book follows the two characters as they navigate a war-torn world full of brutality, horror, and moral decay.
In this article, I’ll be explaining the very dense magic system so that you can understand what’s happening before you begin the book.
What’s going on with the magic system?
The reviewers aren’t lying when they say it’s no cakewalk. The multi-layered network of the magic that governs the realm is probably the book’s most often-cited flaw, as it’s a bit hard to understand, and the author throws a lot of hefty terminology at you. In this section, I’m going to try to simplify it as much as possible.
The magic in the book revolves around a force called “resonance.” I found it helpful to just insert the word “magic” wherever I saw the word resonance, as they have similar applications, but resonance is more complex and intentionally defined, as it’s rooted in the concept of alchemy.
Resonance is at the core of everything in Paladia, the dystopian city-state in which the book takes place. That includes people, metals, and every other substance. It’s like an energy that hums within all matter.
Oftentimes, the book will refer to someone ‘using’ their resonance, which I’ve mentally simplified to mean using chemical magic to alter metals, inorganic substances, and, in rare cases, humans.
Most people in Paladia and beyond have some level of ability when it comes to resonance, as it’s fairly common, but there are exceptions, who are called “Lapses.” These people have no alchemical abilities.
Now, to get into the different ways in which someone can use their resonance. Each of these manifestations is unique, but they’re all interconnected (pretty counterintuitively, might I add), which can make things a bit confusing.
Inorganic alchemy
The ability to manipulate inorganic metals and compounds is the most common and widely accepted form of resonance in the book. Known as “transmutation,” this practice is used across industrial processes, engineering, and combat.
Inorganic transmutation most often involves metals, with each alchemist having a natural preference for certain metals over others. Some are better suited to working with gold, iron, titanium, or various alloys, which are combinations of multiple metals. This practice is also referred to as metallurgy.
Pyromancy
Pyromancy is the ability to summon and control fire. We don’t encounter this form of resonance often in the book, but it’s nice to know. Pyromancy is another one of the few manifestations of resonance that’s not frowned upon.
Vivimancy
Now, getting into the more uncommon and forbidden forms of resonance, vivimancy is essentially life magic. Vivimancers can heal, grow, and restore “vitality,” which is another way of saying basic life force.
In the book, most vivimancers are healers, but vivimancy can also be weaponized. Control over bodily function makes vivimancers incredibly dangerous, as they can use their resonance for torture, control, and even combat.
The only catch is that to use it, vivimancers need to expend their own vitality, leading to something called “The Toll.” The Toll is degenerative. An overreliance on resonance causes an alchemist to lose strength, memories, and physical stability. The Toll impacts people in different ways depending on how much they use their abilities.
Animancy
Animancy is a rare extension of vivimancy. It’s basically mind magic. It’s considered one of the rarer and more politically dangerous forms of resonance, as animancers can manipulate emotions, invade thoughts, and alter memories. It can also facilitate the transportation of a soul into a different body, referred to in the book as “transference.”
Similar to vivimancy, the use of animancy also requires one to expend vitality, making them susceptible to The Toll.
Necromancy
This is where people, myself included, get caught up. Necromancy isn’t separate from vivimancy; it’s where an alchemist uses their vivimancy to manipulate the dead as opposed to the living. It’s considered the most taboo form of resonance and is completely forbidden.
It can be used to reanimate corpses to create what are referred to as “necrothralls,” or non-sentient zombie people. Necrothralls are used for menial tasks, labor, and even combat, making up most of the Undying’s army.
So animancy and necromancy both fall under the umbrella of vivimancy, but not every vivimancer can perform animancy (it’s rare), and not every vivimancer is morally willing to perform necromancy, although they’re able to.
Putting it all together
Let’s speed-run a recap.
The magic system in Alchemised runs on resonance, a manipulable energy present in all matter. People can use their resonance to practice alchemy, which functions kind of like magic. The most common and widely accepted form of alchemy is the alteration of metals. Pyromancy is also widely accepted but is rare.
Vivimancy is life magic, allowing its wielder to both heal and harm people alchemically. Animancy is a rare extension of vivimancy, allowing its wielder to invade the mind, memories, and control emotions.
Necromancy is the use of vivimancy on the dead, and can be used to create necrothralls. All forms of vivimancy are strictly forbidden and considered a corrupt and impure use of resonance.
What I’ve covered in this article isn’t everything, but if you can understand these basic terms, you’re ahead of the game.
The book is certainly dense, so any form of understanding you can gather before starting it will be worth it in the long run. A lot of what I’ve covered are concepts that I didn’t personally understand until the very end.
Despite the complication, though, I strongly recommend the book. Once you push past the terminology, the magic system takes a backseat to some jarring reckonings about war, exploitation, and moral collapse.
So, without further ado, brace yourself for a very tumultuous but worthwhile read!
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