Transmutation

In it's natural state, Transmutation clusters appear as perpetually burning lumps of coal-esque material, imbued and merged with the earthen stone and rock underneath the soil, quickly crackling an orange hue as it eats away at its host material in the dark caverns below. It is the second most stable magical particulate next to Illusory clusters, though is quite infectious and expansive, spreading its crystalline tendrils like a tree would, fracturing the ground and sediment in an ever-consuming search for more territory. It is not so much dangerous to the individual as much as it is for the empire as a whole, forever branching out and creating sub-clusters to the main transmuted heart of the plant-like colony of mineral magic. Such rate of expansion is shockingly fast, devouring the landscape for sustenance as it injects its particulate seed across the region and beyond, festering new strands of transmuted growths along and within any surfaces, utilizing their form as a conduit to transmute more Transmutation like a parasite. So long as physical contact is non-existent, the school of transmutation is relatively harmless if distance is maintained; if not, it will transmute any organic or non-organic alive into a host to spawn more Transmutation clusters, killing all in the process. What's worse is that the larger fields of Transmutation seem to have a slight semblance of sentience, able to identify and deliberately target significant compounds of material, ensnaring and impaling them violently from beneath and growing from their husk. In addition, the proximity around dense formations has a tendency to be many times more heated than normal, the high activity of Transmutation exciting nearby air particles. Harvesting teams will have an increasingly difficult time containing a Transmutation outbreak should it reach a certain threshold of size, and thus opt to establish and maintain a constant surveillance Stratum Caster within the Imperial City that behaves very similarly to sonar, able to detect the under-earthen deposits of Transmutation from a distance. Most, if not all Transmutation hearts begin underground during the flurry of Evening, for the nature of the school would have it target large deposits of material such as that with the rocks below, or even other magic fields; but even with the mega-caster, they still must survey the general area of where they believe one might be located, isolate it, and harvest it before it breaks free of its initial incubation phase while its still manageable. However, this wouldn't be entirely profitable if they simply stopped it before allowing it to prosper, with many Transmutation Houses actually feeding the clusters and raising them as if they were livestock, only to reap the crystal farm for resources when they deem it an acceptable size. To accomplish this and ensure the safety of mining crews, many expeditions utilize "bait" to draw the cluster's attention away from the members so that they don't meet an untimely demise. Once the heart or any piece of the Transmutation colony is severed, the whole "organism" or the specific one will "die" respectively, no longer desiring any form of expansion and laying dormant. At this stage. refinement and compression procedures are as normal, with Transmutation being weaponized at Grade 1, commercial at Grade 2, and Industrial at Grade 3. Industrial is lower in the grade rating, as Transmutation becomes more manageable and stable as purity decreases, with higher percentages boasting properties similar to Evocation which must be severely limited, thereby reducing output dramatically.
In Meridian technology, Transmutation has the luxury of being one of the two cornerstone magic schools next to Evocation, required in fundamental processes that sustain the empire. More specifically, imbuement is not possible without Transmutation and Evocation, the formation of all Old World materials and alloys, and manipulation of elemental forces. However, it also finds use in the creation of Archivals and other Constructs, being the established communications network between said constructs and applications such as instant messaging, and of course, the staple mining employments that make all House's lives a lot easier in the Wastes. The Meridian would not be able to literally "grow" their settlements and facilities Evening after Evening without the use of Transmutation mechanics.

(Unrefined Transmutation)

Color

Neon Orange

Common State

Solid