Chapter 108: Alchemy of Life and Creatures
Chapter 108: Alchemy of Life and Creatures
"Alchemy of life?"
Vitor immediately thought of the walking tin can man, and then he recalled the knowledge he had gained from books. "Like the Sorting Hat and Wizard's Chess?"
Professor Mori smiled.
"Wizard's Chess and the Sorting Hat may appear similar, but they are fundamentally different."
He raised a finger, and a box on the table opened, revealing a line of black and white chess pieces marching out and taking their places on the chessboard while chattering noisily.
The white queen glared at Vitor, clearly annoyed. "Get on with the game, will you? Are you going to make a move or not?"
On the other side, a knight shouted enthusiastically, "Let me charge! I'll crush the enemy forces!"
Professor Mori tapped the table, and the chess pieces immediately fell silent.
"These are Wizard's Chess pieces," he said. "Sometimes, they give the illusion of having their own lives and thoughts. But in reality, they are not truly alive—do you know why that is?"
Vitor thought carefully.
He hadn't played many chess games, but because he found these pieces intriguing, he had collected a set of his own. When he was bored, he would let them battle it out on the chessboard by themselves.
After observing them numerous times, he noticed that these seemingly lively pieces behaved in a very rigid manner.
"They always display similar personalities and say more or less the same things... There are occasional variations, but they don't truly grow or learn from their defeats."
"Exactly," said Professor Mori. "So these are merely toys pretending to have thoughts of their own."
The professor directed the chess pieces back into their box and continued, "Infusing thoughts into lifeless objects, making mirrors, tape measures, or brooms seem like they have minds of their own—these are all examples of low-level alchemy of life."
"But the Sorting Hat is different. If you interact with it a few times, you'll realize that it has a mind of its own."
"It truly thinks independently and makes its own judgments instead of rigidly following the intentions of the four founders when choosing students."
Vitor recalled the time he had been rejected by the Sorting Hat, and his jaw clenched in annoyance.
"Indeed! That thing not only has a mind, but it's also quite cheeky."
"However, the Sorting Hat isn't truly alive either... It has a mind, but it cannot reproduce or undergo metabolism."
"True alchemy of life—known in ancient times as life alchemy—involves creating actual living beings, and the most successful creation is one you are quite familiar with. Guess what it is, Vitor..."
Vitor lowered his head in thought.
Alchemy of life... Actual living beings... Able to reproduce... A successful creation...
He had read about numerous magical creatures in books, but his actual encounters with them were few.
After a moment, Vitor looked up and said confidently, "House-elves."
A satisfied smile appeared on Professor Mori's face. "Yes, house-elves."
"According to legends, ancient wizards who lived in isolation and felt inconvenienced by the lack of company caused various kinds of elves to emerge from nature."
"Goran elves aided craftsmen in improving their skills and creating tools;"
"Dwarf elves helped out on farms, and some even made shoes;"
"Cellar elves managed food and wine, but they also liked to sneak drinks;"
"Cobbles helped with milking cows, collecting eggs, and cleaning the yard;"
"Brownies displayed extraordinary speed and efficiency in doing household chores, but if they were rewarded, they would disappear forever."
"At the same time, due to the dark intentions of some wizards, many unpleasant elves were also born from swamps, beneath tree roots, and in dark forests.
"Goblins bring disaster, Redcaps thirst for blood, Hinkypunks make animals ill, Pixies cause people to lose their way, and Bogarts scare children at night."
"Some of these creatures have become mere legends, and we don't know for sure if they truly exist. But there are some that you will learn about in your Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
Victor nodded. "So, the house-elves in the third-grade textbook... are they the descendants of those good elves?"
Setting aside the fact that the entire world revolved around wizards, the legends of the magical world, no matter how fantastical they sounded, were most likely true.
"The term 'descendants' is a bit too gentle, Victor," Professor Mori said. "To be precise, ancient wizards used extreme means to try and separate the parts of those creatures' bodies that were not beneficial to humans—
"Things like laziness, theft, mischief... and dignity."
"And that's how the first house-elves were created."
"But their magical powers were too weak, their work efficiency greatly reduced, and they were often harmed by livestock."
"So, the ancient wizards modified them again—infusing them with the blood of fairies to give house-elves strong magical powers."
"But the fairies don't consider house-elves as their kin, do they?" Victor asked.
"Of course not," Professor Mori said slowly. "Fairies are extremely proud. In their eyes, house-elves are lowly creatures, not worthy of being called kin."
"After gaining strong magical powers, house-elves no longer wanted to be enslaved by wizards."
"Their predecessors—such as the Brownies and Dwarf elves—although they enjoyed working for wizards, were proud beings. If they felt insulted, they would even harbor ill intentions towards their masters."
Victor nodded. "So that's why there are records of goblin rebellions in 'A History of Magic'."
More than half of the wars between wizards and other races in 'A History of Magic' were caused by fairies, to the extent that many students didn't notice the subtle distinctions in the narrative, mistaking fairy rebellions for goblin rebellions.
"Yes," Professor Mori sighed. "Although it didn't happen often, there were a few occasions where house-elves rebelled as well."
"The wizards couldn't bear to completely destroy these creatures, so they modified their thoughts, erased their personalities, and imprinted an absolute obedience mark on their minds, making them willing to be enslaved by wizards."
"And that's how the ideal servant was tamed."
"But there's one thing that wizards couldn't erase from the souls of these creatures, no matter what—the innate yearning for freedom that life possesses."
"So, there's an unchangeable contract between wizards and house-elves—when the master gives them clothes, they will gain their freedom."
"But..."
Victor thought of the attitude towards freedom of the house-elves in the original plot, as well as the exiled house-elf named "Dobby".
"Almost all the house-elves I know detest freedom. If they are exiled by their masters, they feel extremely ashamed and hurt."
"Yes—hurt."
There was a hint of mockery in Professor Mori's smile.
"Exiled house-elves are free, they can go anywhere—including their original master's home."
"But look, has any exiled house-elf returned?"
(End of Chapter)
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