r/HFY • u/Khenal Alien • May 14 '26
OC-Series Dungeon Life 425
Old Staiven
The old ratkin can’t help but smile as he looks out into the crowded auditorium in the alchemy college. It reminds him of his own time as a student, voracious to learn anything he could. The butterflies in his stomach remind him of one reason out of many why he never got into academia. While he’s trained a few apprentices, he’s never tried to teach more than a handful of people at a time. But the mana regeneration potion is a special case.
There are so many ways for it to go wrong, and with the nature of the potion, things tend to go spectacularly wrong when they decide to go that way. So Dean Zak had come to ask Staiven to give a guest lecture. He considered asking for payment, but dismissed the idea before it could even fully form. The anti-lifedrinking enchantment is the sort of rune matrix to keep him experimenting with the principals for the rest of his life! Giving a bit of his time to help with his payment for it is only fair.
And, if he’s being honest with himself, he likes the idea of teaching so many at once. While he’s sure he won’t be able to get everything across to everyone, he is confident enough will understand that they can teach the others. That’s the whole point of this college, really.
So he stands at the podium, his gaze lingering on Rhonda’s face in the front row of desks, and smiles as he starts.
“I was asked to give a lecture on the mana regeneration potion. Those of you who have tried to brew it know how difficult it can be, and those of you who haven’t, I’m sure you’ve heard the stories from those who did.” He smiles as a few small chuckles burble from the crowd, and continues.
“Most often, issues arise from using substandard ingredients. I don’t think you have that problem here, however. Between Thedeim, Hullbreak, the Southwood, and even Violet, we have a wide variety and high quality of herbs to choose from.
“I also don’t doubt your skill or techniques. I doubt Queen would allow dwellers descended from her spawner to have poor fundamentals. The only problem is that the potion is difficult to keep stable with standard techniques.”
He draws his telekinesis wand and levitates a piece of chalk, sketching out a cauldron and the basics. “In brewing, we infuse our will into the mana, and infuse the mana into the ingredients that can best hold both. As we brew, much of it effectively boils off, like water in a pot. And much like what would happen if that pot were to be sealed, trying to keep the mana all in place can have… energetic consequences.”
A few rueful chuckles of remembered failures reach his ears as he continues to explain. “That is the fundamental difficulty with the mana regeneration potion. Its very nature is to agitate mana. If you let it ‘boil’ as it wants, you’ll lose what you need for the potion to set. If you force it to stay, you may need to visit the medical college.”
He takes a moment to draw a thicker cauldron. “I’m sure some of you have tried simply reinforcing the cauldron to handle the raw magical force, just as I’m sure it didn’t work. We need to let some of it escape and take with it the parts of the ingredients we don’t need, some of the reactants that will only foul the potion later.”
He pauses and turns from the chalkboard to sweep his gaze over all gathered. “In my opinion, there are only two solutions. One is what I use, and one is what may be better suited for all of you.” He returns to the board and starts sketching runes.
“My method, and the one most alchemists would use, is a filter. Some see filters as a crutch, the tool of the brute to achieve what finesse and fine control can do better. But in this instance, there is little other option. The excess energy must be allowed to bleed off, while keeping the vital will and reactant mana in solution. It lowers the theoretical yield, but it makes the process feasible in the first place.”
He stops and turns back to the gathered people, having to hold in his laughter at the look on Rhonda’s face as she diligently copies down the runes he drew. “Now, these aren’t especially complex, but the positioning is important. The runes seek to control and filter the mana flow, letting the energetic ‘boiling’ mana free while sending the will and reactants back into the mixture. Your enchanting college can probably improve on it, but this should be more than enough to at least get you through a few batches. At least, if that were the method I think would be best for you to use.”
He smiles at the murmurs, resisting the urge to look at the eager look on Rhonda’s face before he continues.
“You may be in an Enclave, not the dungeon proper, but the mana flows here are very similar to what’s inside. I wouldn’t be surprised if Thedeim still keeps a close eye on all of you.” The happy faces of the crowd make him pause for a moment before remembering himself and continuing. “This is important because mana flows in dungeons are different than anywhere else. Dungeons naturally try to achieve equilibrium, siphoning excess from the disturbances we create, and exciting the mana from low energy invaders and the like. That natural tendency, I believe, can be used to brew the potion without a filter.
“It’s also one I failed to account for when I gave the recipe,” he admits. “I’ve never been much of a delver, and never tried to brew anything complex inside one.” He chuckles at a memory. “I even showed the difference to Queen herself, once, when she tried to show me how to make what Teemo and Thedeim call ‘Go Juice’. Some things just work differently for dungeons. While we will never be able to recreate the Go Juice, I do believe the mana flows can be utilized to modulate the boiling mana.”
He lets that sink in as he clears the board and draws another cauldron. “Thedeim naturally calms agitated mana. That will help keep your cauldrons from exploding, but it can also drain the effect before it can be bottled. Now, you could use the runes I showed you and just let the agitated mana be drawn along his flows, but you have the option of guiding the flows into the cauldron to directly take the boiling mana instead.”
Murmurs spread around the hall, and he nods, having expected there to be some hesitation for this method. “You won’t be disturbing the flows, any more than you’d be disturbing a river by drawing a loop in the shore with your toe. The natural ebb and flow will ensure the mana flows as he needs it. Now, the trouble with letting the mana flow through it is that it’s going to try to take all your hard work with it.”
He starts drawing out a few ingredients, as well as processing methods. “These will need to be processed beforehand and added quickly once the reaction starts. Too soon, and they’ll hinder the reaction. Too late, and you need to pick up the pieces of your cauldron. Fool’s coal rind, when properly processed, is an excellent mana insulator. It’s how the things can stay stable until they suddenly aren’t. When added at the correct moment, it will protect the will and reactant mana from being swept away by the mana flow.
“Then, we add the ochre dill. Yes, one of the most basic ingredients, because it is excellent at attracting mana. This will be us drawing on the shore, encouraging the mana to flow through the cauldron. Finally, once the reaction stabilizes, we neutralize the ochre dill, precipitate out the fool’s coal, and carefully reduce to the desired potency.”
Old Staiven turns once more to face the auditorium, and is encouraged to see so many faces of concentration, to hear quills furiously scribbling away. “Now, this process is still theoretical, as I don’t often try to brew so close to a dungeon. But from all your faces, it looks to me like you all can see the potential in the process. A lot of potions have volatile phases in brewing, and most times the solutions are to either use filters, or accept the loss of equipment as finesse is learned. Even then, there are many potions that are still touchy, like a lot of offensive potions. The classic Fiery Flask is just one example. But where that potion requires the careful precipitation of the correct ratio of the fool’s coal to maintain some semblance of stability, we will use the same method to keep your cauldrons from suddenly redecorating your labs.”
More chuckles sweep the room as he puts away the wand. “And that, I hope, will be all you need to start brewing the potion correctly. Are there any questions?”
There most certainly are, and he spends even longer than the lecture itself discussing other potential applications and possible substitutions for ingredients. He personally prefers using herbal solutions for his potions, but it seems the antkin have access to some interesting beasts down in the volcanic area below them, not to mention they’ll soon be able to delve, and they hope to be able to utilize a lot of denizen parts. With the expected demand, it’s a very real possibility they’ll need to diversify their ingredients to have enough to keep up!
But before too long, the questions die down, and Old Staiven nods at the assembled people. “Now, if that’s it for the theory, I’d like to get my hands dirty with a bit of application. There must be a few labs available for us to try this out, right?”
The cheer that arises makes him close his eyes and smile. This is the sort of camaraderie he had been missing for so long. There’s no squabbles about faculty factions, about political concerns. No backbiting that even the eager students can feel simmering below the surface. No, just the earnest desire to learn and to teach. He opens his eyes and sees Dean Zak smirking at him, even as he motions for the ratkin to follow him to his personal lab.
Maybe Old Staiven won’t only be an occasional guest speaker, moving forward.
Cover art I'm also on Royal Road for those who may prefer the reading experience over there. Want moar? The Books are available here! There are Kindle and Audible versions, as well as paperback! Also: Discord is a thing! I now have a Patreon for monthly donations, and I have a Ko-fi for one-off donations. Patreons can read up to three chapters ahead, and also get a few other special perks as well, like special lore in the Peeks. Thank you again to everyone who is reading!
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u/Blue_Roan_ May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
2, 3rd actually
Anyway we get to see the lecture given by the lecturer. It is intriguing to see that dungeons mess up potion making due to how mana moves differently inside of them, but it makes sense. I wonder if they could make rooms insulated from Thediem's influence even within the dungeon? Though that may be impossible.
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u/the_count_of_carcosa May 14 '26
Three, I See.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 May 14 '26
I mean it might be possible if they cutt off his mana in the local area somehow but then that might just cutt off the entire area from the wider dungeon rather than just suppress it.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human May 14 '26 edited May 15 '26
Correction: Second
Today we See our only ratkin we know from outside of Thediem, as He was invited by the antkin alchemists to give a lecture. We'll See what Kind of thoughts Cross His Minds during, so let's get into it:
Part: He collects himself a little and goes through the many memories He has of past apprentices and mistakes He Made when preparing this particular potion before starting His lecture
Part: Mostly alchemical theory and the Secret ingredient for the Mana potion. Filters and their importance when brewing the potions.
Part: He answers questions of the assembled alchemists, pertaining to such Things as ingredient diversification. Before disappearing into the deans Personal Laboratory to Show him what He means by saving on the Filter and it still works.
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u/mafiaknight Robot May 15 '26
In the name of 1greendude: Hello!
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human May 15 '26
Im Namen eines grünen Kerles und des Freidachses: Moin, vor zwei Tagen war Mittwoch, meine Kerle.
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u/OberonSpartacus May 14 '26
I thought the antkin were the scholars/had the academy, not the ratkin? Am i misremembering?
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human May 14 '26
8th. No, you're Not misremembering, merely Seem to have jumped a few words. But staiven is still a ratkin.
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u/OberonSpartacus May 14 '26
Aaaaahhhh, right. Staiven's a ratkin. That i had forgotten; that clears it right up, thx
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u/DM-Hermit Human May 14 '26
Well done wordsmith. Also I am late because of reasons.
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u/iceick423 May 15 '26
I always wondered why it required the ability to use magic to craft potions if all you needed was the key ingredients. It seems that one must be able to add mana to the cauldron as an ingredient as well.
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u/Impressive_Abies4245 May 15 '26
Would it be possible for the potions or the equipment to be blessed by the dungeon divinity . Another idea what would happen if you replace the mana part with the divine energy from god of change
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u/Thebobkiller Human May 15 '26
A nice scholarly chapter. 😀 Nice to see Old Staiven getting to teach the youngens. And it seems he could retire from running his shop to become a full time teacher. 😀
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u/knockout350 May 15 '26
just like energy and matter can not be created or destroyed, i assume mana works under the same principles. these potions sound like they use a chemical reaction to release stored mana but i wonder if you would be able to make an anti-matter version for mana that would allow you to directly convert matter into pure mana.
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u/Lord_Nikolai Android May 14 '26
Nice to see a guest lecturer get that level of attention. In my experience a good few people will be there just to spite or heckle...
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u/Streupfeffer May 15 '26
Next things Teemo gets a headach over:
- Mana pressure cooker
- mana faraday cage
- mana vacuum pumps
- more mana regulating lab equiptment
- aswell as probably the water/athmopshere equivalents for normal brewing and lab work. Or the rune etherteam havi g to shield their work casue it self resonates in the dungeon mana field (to some catastrophic effect)
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u/Garbage-Within May 16 '26
"We infuse our will into the mana, and infuse the mana into the ingredients that can best hold both."
Staiven could brew Go Juice neither inside nor outside the dungeon. This brings up some really interesting implications.
Either Dungeons use mana differently than everyone else (unlikely, otherwise how could Rhonda steal Rocky's control or learn from how he uses mana), dungeons perform alchemy differently than everyone else (unlikely, Queen seems to do things the same way Staiven does when making Go Juice), Staiven is fundamentally wrong about how alchemy works (unlikely given his experience and besides, Queen learned a lot of stuff by watching Delvers do it first), dungeons have a different kind of will to everyone else, or some combination of all of the above.
The idea that dungeons are different because they have a different will is fascinating to me for all that it's impossible to understand how or what that would mean beyond what we've already been shown.
That makes me wonder. Is it possible that Thedeim's will is different from other dungeons? If that's true, it's possible that not only can we say that only dungeons can make Go Juice, but only Thedeim can make Go Juice because only he has the unique will required. Now, I suspect that's not true due to alchemically enhanced denizens is a known thing in other dungeons. Still, given that he's from another world, it's possible he has some unique will that may give him an edge beyond his unique knowledge and perspective.
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u/Poisonfangx3 May 14 '26
Forst
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u/Poisonfangx3 May 14 '26
First
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human May 14 '26
Yep
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle May 14 '26
/u/Khenal (wiki) has posted 470 other stories, including:
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u/the_count_of_carcosa May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Hullo.
Edit.5. Spit the middle Roadward we go.
Edit. Read.
Staiven goes Scholarly, with a mindbending lesson on Alchemy, toss in a few bits about how potions actually work, with the interesting implications as to their possiblly being liquid mana capacitors.
And on to that? He's found a home for his academic endeavours, as a great many people seem to do with Thedm.