Affinity Witch

Chapter 28: A New Field Of Research

Over the next few weeks, Sabrina finished reading the books she'd borrowed from the library, taking so many notes, she'd practically written her own manuscript by the time she returned the volumes. Following the directions of the Leiten Stone, she gathered another armful of books, which she stored in her workroom and read in fits and spurts whenever she had the chance.

The next time she had a day off from her metal-working, she promptly turned down an invitation from Maedra and Gerta to join them in Badenberg, thrilled to have the promise of an entire day to herself.

Hurrying into her workroom and wiping the remains of a hastily-eaten almond croissant from her hands, Sabrina pulled back the heavy curtains, flooding the room with early morning sunlight.

Squinting into the brightness, she gazed at the Schwarzwald down below. The trees looked especially lovely, having changed seemingly overnight from various shades of green to bright pops of yellow, orange, and red. Pressing her fingertips against one of the window panes, she wasn't surprised to find it cool to her touch, a sure sign the chilly autumn breezes had arrived, preparing the countryside for the impending ice and snow of winter.

Turning her back to the wall of windows, Sabrina strode over to one of the tables and considered the metals before her, tapping her fingers against the smooth wooden surface as she considered her next move.

She'd overcome every supposed impossibility related to her affinity, which meant the next thing she did needed to go beyond impossible...it needed to be truly revolutionary.

Not entirely sure where her research would take her, but trusting that the right idea would strike at the opportune time, so long as she made herself available, Sabrina settled onto a stool and opened a book she hadn't yet read. It was a chronicling of the accomplishments of magical metallurgists throughout the past three centuries, and she thought she might find inspiration for her next project among any failures that were listed or any theories deemed "impossible" or "too dangerous."

The first few chapters didn't spark any inspiration, but about halfway through the book, she came across an interesting term—alchemical transmutation.    

Sabrina was vaguely aware that some metallurgists desired to transform common, less valuable metals into gold or other equally expensive metals, but she'd never given it any serious thought. She read on, jotting down the provided equations in her ever-present notebook, the knowledge she'd acquired through her own experiences filling in some of the information the author had apparently lacked at the time of writing.

The book ended with theories and conjectures of where the research into alchemy might eventually lead, and Sabrina studied the formulas she'd written out. She could certainly understand the benefits of creating a fortune for herself out of cheaper metals and imagined she could make another fortune performing the service for others, especially Nichts, but money had never been the main motivator behind her research.

She could already see it wouldn't take her long to solve the problems outlined in the book, and she had no doubt she could eventually turn lead into gold...which immediately made her want to move on to something more challenging.

And so, she read on, moving from one book to another and writing down words or mathematical formulas that piqued her interest. She was pleased at how much she knew about metal simply from working with it, allowing her to combine practical insights with theoretical speculation, as well as to recognize when an author truly knew what they were writing about or when they were speaking without having hands-on experience.

Hours later, rolling her shoulders a few times, Sabrina opened another book, a thin volume with a faded orange cloth cover and gold lettering along the spine. The book was entitled Metals in the Natural Environment, and while it didn't sound especially interesting, the Leiten Stone had recommended it, which meant Sabrina was determined to work her way through it.