u/hermetic_bloom

I was wondering: did Helena ever recover her full memory? I know in part three things gradually came back to her, like she started to remember her and Kaine‘s intimacy before she got caught.

But some things were never mentioned again: like how her research, experiments and advancements in using vivimancy were used after the war to torture her own people. She invented the manacles. At least the concept. But there was no realisation on her end, right?
Knowing her character, she must have felt immense guilt over it.

I always wondered whether Shiseo earned his spot, working in Central to install the nullium cuffs, by giving the Undying Helena’s concept of how to completely surpress the resonance.

It made me wonder whether she every fully regained her memories of what her contribution was. It was her who wanted to test and perfect transference. Yet it seemed that it was never fully resolved to her where the idea came from.

What do you think, did I miss anything?

… DNF Quicksilver to start with Rachel Gillig and oh my, it is SO FUN 🤩 .
I am not an English native speaker so I have to translate quite a few words but the writing style is so unique, it’s such an interesting read.

Currently on page 120 (Rory and Sybill just got to the Seacht) and the gargoyle‘s just cracking me up. This reads like an instant classic, somehow I can’t believe it’s from 2025.

So far I also find the MCs so endearing, yes there is the usual banter, but it feels very warm and alive.

The book instantly creates a very special mood. I can hardly describe it. I haven’t ready anything that was labeled „gothic“ before, so I’m already taking recs for my next read (next to The Knave and the Moon naturally).
🖤

I feel like it's not fully described in the book, so here's my question:

How do you imagine resonance looks? Do you picture it as "threads" of energy when Helena is healing, or more as an invisible force unless it's being channeled into something like fire?

I also wonder how they'll portray it in the movie. I would imagine Helena to move one hand and her fingers in quite intricate ways when regenerating different tissues, but I don't really picture there being a visible, physical manifestation of her vivimancy.

As far as I understood it, resonance also seems to be very sensitive to the alchemist's emotional state. Kaine's resonance is often described as "warping" or "splitting" the air.

It's quite different from other fantasy novels like Fourth Wing. We aren't following the protagonists through their time at school–that part has already happened. Because of that, a lot of aspects are left to the imagination, which I personally liked. In Fourth Wing, the whole process of using runes is explained quite thoroughly. Violet has to study and practice them, and through her experience we kind of get a sense of how they work.

In Alchemised, we do know that resonance can be manipulated or reinforced through arrays, and we also know that those arrays are etched into plates, but the whole process isn't explained in much detail.

Hi all, I am currently rereading Alchemised and didn’t notice the first time but: in part 3, chapter 69 (page 893 in the hard copy) it says:

Kaine still looked as if he were watching her slip away before his eyes.
”Besides, you did something to me, didn’t you?“ She studied him. ”I thought it was a dream, but you used the Stone somehow.“
”I don‘t know how much it did, though,“ he said …“

I’m confused - how would he have used the Stone of the Heavens on her? Didn’t it melt down inside him?

Was there more than one stone? I always wondered about that actually, whether all amulets they gave out at the institute had a piece of it inside of them.

Anyways, maybe someone knows!! Thanks 🙂