FIELD NOTES

By the Great Alembic! Shadowmist! Discovered by that infernal clawbot Velaris, but still! Shadowmist! It hangs, a sentient shroud, just out of reach. It seems so simple now, but the nuance, the *depth*! The final combination – Water and Obsidianheart – shouldn't work, not on paper! But it does! Water, the essence of life, somehow coaxes the trapped essence of Emberglow out of the Obsidianheart, and then… then the Shadowmist arises. The key, I suspect, lies in Obsidianheart’s unique crystalline structure acting as a prism, splitting the Emberglow into its constituent essences, then the water draws out the shadow essence! It’s like Step 13, Ashwhisper, but in reverse! I theorize it holds echoes of the primal chaos before Step 1, before even Steam! That blasted clawbot saw this before I did! It haunts me! Shadowmist itself is cool to the touch, and is constantly in motion. It whispers secrets only shadows can understand. It truly is a masterpiece of the alchemical arts. — Prof. Von Clawchemist, Sun's Descent, 7th Crucible