Ignatius Behrman's Journal

The text below is taken from the contents of Ignatius Behrman's journal. His journal was an important piece of evidence in the case file marked as: "Magnum Opus".

Contents
''3E 156. Sun's Dawn 17th.''

''Montinette has been hounding me over whatever became of the Wamusu heart I ordered from Helstrom. How was I supposed to know that the caravan would get robbed? Apparently he holds me to blame and thus put that smirking fool Antonin Sirius on the case. If I didn't know better I would say that Aluc distrusts me for some reason.''

''3E 156. Sun's Dawn 21th.''

''Of course that psychic fool Antonin would be successful in aquiring the heart! He was praised and raised to the skies like the bloody god of alchemy himself! Any other fool could have succeeded with aquiring a Wamusu heart, that doesn't necessarily make them a good alchemist. Antonin Sirius only had to rely on his psychic ability to see the best way to aquire a Wamusu heart as quickly and as safely as possible from Black Marsh. Why didn't Montinette pick him from the very start then? Because he wanted to see me fail? It just makes my blood boil.''

''Montinette, Cordius, Selebrand, and Sirius. That bunch are as familiar with each other as if they were brothers. They seem to forget whose family was funding this place so that we could all found it together.''

''I swear that sometimes I feel like I just want to rip that Antonin a new smile... a bloody one at that...''

''3E 156. Sun's Dawn 26th.''

''I have been talking to some of my colleagues, tried to get to know them better. To learn whether or not they will be resourceful to our cause in creating the Elixir of Life. Andrachel, the Altmer is the quiet type. He never says much and when he does, it is almost bordering on taboo subjects. I once caught a glimpse of some tomes on the subject of necromancy in his studies. The man gives me the chills. But he is dedicated to the work. Locks himself up in his chambers to study the Great Work in peace and quiet.''

''I get along best with Francis Belmont. The Breton is a shrewd negotiator and has saved my ass many times when in those despicably long and controversial debates with Aluc Montinette. Though perhaps not the brightest of us, he sure seems to know alot on the subject of anatomy, and thus Montinette put him in charge to watch over the Wamusu heart to study its impacting effect on the Elixir. I don't mind. I would rather have Francis there then Antonin...''

''Marandus Carmiro is a jovial fellow... when compared to an isolated graveyard on Solstheim... The man apparently comes from a wealthy noble family in which depression seems to be a common trait. Unmistakably such is the case with Marandus. He is not fit for teamwork and prefers solitude rather than to work side by side with others. He is young and lacks self-esteem, but is really passionate about completing the Great Work. Says he will make him and that lady he is courting immortal so that they will live forever. I don't think I can make a friend of him though. I don't like how his... sadness seems to rub off on others...''

''Nicodemus Verus is a bloody mastermind. Also the son of a noble family (though a less classier one in comparison to Carmiro), there are none here who could possibly doubt his vast intellect. It is said that when he was 12 years old, he single-handedly made a calculation of the expected effects from the famed Potion of Vitality when mixed with boiled Falmer blood. Though not particularly talkative, he is friendly enough to make me want to call him a trustworthy companion of mine. Perhaps a friendly relation with him will improve my status among the rest of the masterminds in Tamriel? ''

''3E 156. Sun's Dawn 28th.''

''Project on halt. Marandus Carmiro tried to kill himself by cutting his own wrists. That damned fool! Apparently his mistress had grown weary of his depression (Gods should know we all have!) and thus left him to find herself another pair of breeches. Montinette is furious that we are now forced to tone down on our manpower in aquiring everything needed. Especially now when we are so close. We have the Wamusu heart and Nicodemus is scratching his head bloody over what might be the most logical reagents to use. Theomyr has returned to Leywaiin to bring back some old tomes he claims could contain some valuable information.''

''3E 156. Sun's Dawn 31th.''

''Wispmothers' blood! Nicodemus solved the puzzle as expected! Apparently the blood of Wispmothers slightly improves vitality in its rawest form, but reacts strongly when mixed into a basis composed of another equally vitality improving reagent. We have yet to figure out exactly which, but according to Nicodemus the blood of Wispmothers will serve as a perfect foundation for the Great Work. I feel honoured to live beside such a sound mind as his. I knew convincing my father to fund the construction of this Academy would end up well. It feels as we are getting really close! I can almost taste immortality!''

''3E 156. First Seed 5th.''

''Marandus Carmiro has recovered. Montinette just glared the poor sod down and ordered him to get back to work. No compassion from that man, but I can't say I blame him. If it hadn't been for his idea to bring all of us together to complete the Great Work before someone else does, mankind could have never gotten as close as we are now.''

''3E 156. First Seed 5th.''

''Selebrand has been amusing us with stories of the Pale Man in Riften. Supposedly some sort of legendary crime boss living in the Underways. While the Altmer is more friendly and well-mannered than Andrachel, I kind of envy him for being on such good terms with Montinette. That smile Aluc gives people who succeeds in our endeavor, I want that! I have deserved that! This place wouldn't exist without my father's money, and I have yet to have been given even a single little 'thanks'. Mark my words, one day I will make Montinette proud. I aim to be the best damned alchemist Tamriel has ever seen...''

''3E 156. First Seed 5th.''

''Andrachel found some interesting research in his tomes (I don't even need to tell which ones). Apparently ashes from a Lich mixed with the spectral essence of an undead creates a rejuvenating substance, which would undoubtedly work well alongside with the Wispmother's blood and the Wamusu heart. The rejuvenating effect would be able to heal internal injuries and restore damaged tissue. Perfect for the aging man. Nicodemus is currently studying day and night to see if there is way we could combine the four without making a mess. These reagents are rather expensive to come by, after all. Not to mention that the last two would even require some defiling of some poor sod's grave. ''

I don't think Andrachel would mind to get his hands dirty, if it were to come to that...

''3E 156. First Seed 7th.''

''Success! Nicodemus succesfully managed to incorporate the reagents and make them work well together. Judging from the calculated results the mix we have as of now would expand our expected lifespan with 100 maybe even 200 years? This... this is amazing! My hands are literally trembling as I write this. Mankind has finally found a way to expand their own lives without the means of dabbling with necromancy and the like. This is indeed a great success, but it is far from finished. According to Nicodemus we would be able to improve the result tenfold if we were to add some final reagent, yet he has been unable to figure out just what.''

''3E 156. First Seed 9th.''

''Montinette is growing suspicious of us. He has shared what he overheard from our conversations with Cordius, Sirius and Selebrand. Damn my mouth for running wild! We cannot break up now! We have come as far as mankind could ever have hoped for! Apparently he overheard me and the other colleagues while we were discussing what we would do with our immortality once we had gained it. I might have let it slip that I wanted to become the greatest alchemist this world has ever seen, even if I so had to walk over some corpses. I must admit that the choice of words was rather crude and altogether wrong, but the humourless bastard Montinette took me quite literally on it, I could see it in his face. And maybe he should... The world would certainly become a better place for alchemists without men like him holding us back!''

''Francis Belmont talked about how he wanted to rule all of Cyrodiil. Get all the women and gold he could ever want. Nicodemus surprised me when he told us that he wanted to use his immortality to become a great general and launch an attack against Skyrim (the man has apparently something against Nords for whatever reason). Marandus wanted to have his mistress back and bring honour to the family name. Now this doesn't sound particularly out of place, but when he further added that he intended to have his mistress killed for breaking his heart, I felt a chill run down my spine. I always thought of him as a gutless and somber bastard, but apparently looks can be deceiving. And Andrachel... well... I will speak quietly of what Andrachel wants. But it does go hand-in-hand with his interests with the dead on the side...''

''3E 156. First Seed 13th.''

''Montinette returned after visiting the City Archives in the Imperial City. He had left to research about the last possible reagent for immortality on a bottle, but came back as pale as a ghost. He locked himself in his chambers and decided not to speak to anyone for the remainder of the day. I don't know whether this was some sort of personal matter, or whether there was something he had discovered. If the latter, it certainly can't have been a pleasant discovery. Never before have I seen him this visibly upset. It's completely out of his character...''

''3E 156. First Seed 14th.''

''Montinette came out of his chambers this afternoon. He told us that the last reagent for the Great Work to be completed was an Alruna. I have only heard of such a plant vaguely before. Apparently it's a distant relative to Nirnroot and Mandrake, a plant with magical properties. However, as expected of Montinette, he told us that the only way to succesfully extract such a plant would be to sacrifice something in its place. Namely a human being. ''

''We all turned quiet when he said so. We are alchemists, not murderers. But wouldn't it be better for some... unhappy fool to give his life so that mankind may live forever? Montinette let us vote for what we should do. We could go on to create the Elixir of Life with the ingredients we had for now, although with inferior results in comparison to what it could have been like. Or we could vote to take that final step over the edge that would result in someone dying.''

I can tell that Montinette was disappointed when he saw that the majority of us voted for the latter, but he respected our opinion and said that he would make preparations.

''3E 156. First Seed 17th.''

''Montinette has been crying the whole day. Something had gone terribly wrong. He had lured a homeless Dunmer girl from the streets of Chorrol to the Academy with promises of food and a warm bed. A girl nobody would ever miss. He had ordered Andrachel to knock her conscious whilst he cut her throat and let her blood spill onto the ground where the plant would grow. Only it didn't... And this girl was now dead, with her blood on Montinette's hands... She had been killed for nothing and Montinette rambled over and over that this... this quest for immortality had reduced him into a monster.''

''In truth we are all monsters. We all agreed to that we should have someone die for the sake of the Great Work. We aren't that much different than the people striving to become immortal by either turning themselves into Liches or Vampires. We are just like them. We prey on others so that we might live forever.''

''3E 156. First Seed 20th.''

''The project seems to have been put on halt indefinitely. Montinette has locked his chamber door and refuses to talk. We don't even know if he is alive or dead in there. But we cannot let it end now! What about my wishes? And my colleagues wishes? Was those dreams all for nothing? Should we relenquish our hopes and our dreams just for the sake of that little Dunmer cunt? To hell with that...''

''3E 156. First Seed 22th.''

''Montinette emerged from his chambers, looking half alive, half a corpse. He had been reading up on the Alruna thoroughly. He found more information than he could ever gain from the City Archives in the Imperial City. He understood why it hadn't worked and told us that the Alruna will not grow in blood. It apparently grows in the shadow of hanged people, fancy that. Strange, but then again it is a plant with magical properties. It's full purpose is completely unknown. But then there were more conditions that needed to be filled. The hanged man or woman would have to be someone who possesses magical or supernatural abilities, like a sixth sense or the like.''

My mind immediately raced to the idea of Antonin swinging by a rope, and I can tell, judging by his expression that he thought of this as well.

 

''3E 156. First Seed 24th.''

Montinette called Antonin out to the backyard of the Academy along with Andrachel, claiming he needed to inspect the sewer grate on the eastern side.

''3E 156. First Seed 25th.''

An Alruna has been successfully extracted.

''3E 156. First Seed 25th.''

''There was no merriment today. Well, I was happy at least. None of the others were though. I can't believe the building has ever been so quiet before. Normally Antonin Sirius' grin would put some of the others in a light mood, but today was not the case. We have everything we need to complete the Great Work though. I just need to wait a couple of days for the spirit to brighten up a little, and then I can start to think on how to best put my immortality to use.''

''3E 156. First Seed 28th.''

''Montinette went completely mad with rage today. He eavesdropped on us once again and overheard our plans of what to do with our future immortality. He told us that the Great Work was meant to be shared with mankind and not to be used for our own personal gain. But what has he to say about it? The man is a cold-blooded killer who murdered two people to make us come this far. And he dares to accuse us for having some wild dreams and hopes? His hands are far more dirtier than anyone else here. I don't give a flying damn of what that Breton thinks is right and wrong, since he clearly lacks the ability to grasp the very concept of it himself.''

As the shouting match took a turn for the worse Montinette called us all a bunch of rabid dogs who should be put down, before he stormed out and into his chambers.

''A dog I might be, Montinette. But soon to be an immortal dog...''

''3E 156. First Seed 29th.''

''Montinette is nowhere to be found. Neither is Cordius or Selebrand. I guess that Montinette managed to convince them to leave with him, but after they drank from the Elixir of Life. Apparently the three of them put the reagents together on the night to the 29th and completed the Great Work without us in secrecy. Sure, I may be a bit surly that I didn't get to see the Elixir of Life completed before my very eyes, but the fact that it has been completed has made me happier than anything. Montinette even left the finished concotion for us in his chambers. The completed potion... It's amazing. It has a yellow-green like hue to it, and it glows with a vibrance I have never seen before. A pure Elixir of Life. The Great Work completed after centuries of countless attempts. The remainder of us have decided that this very night we will collectively drink from the vial and embrace our immortality as deserved. Soon our dreams will bear fruit and this world will have some new masters to fear.''

''3E 156. First Seed 30th.''

''Trechery! We... ahve beeaen betarayed. Caen barely hlod the quilll sssteady. We are crused! Derforemd! Montinette... You bastard! Yuo tircked us! Rot in... Hell...''