Kaleidotrope, January 2026
Bernard, a young theology student at the University of Paris, confesses to a priest about recent events that have left him uncertain which of his actions were sinful. His tale begins when his cousin Louis brings him to a secret demonstration by Doctor Gheret van Brugge, a flamboyant alchemist and doctor of medicine. In an underground chamber, van Brugge performs an autopsy on a student who died attempting to create the Elixir of Life, demonstrating supernatural abilities by cutting flesh and bone with his bare finger.
Disturbed by this display of what appears to be sorcery, Bernard seeks spiritual guidance and finds it in Doctor Achille la Rocelle, a Dominican who preaches about cultivating oneself to “bear good fruit” for Christ. Bernard becomes a devoted follower, attending la Rocelle’s reading groups and forming a friendship with another student named Sancio. Meanwhile, Louis grows more involved with van Brugge’s teachings, and the cousins drift apart. Louis mysteriously warns Bernard never to be alone with la Rocelle, but Bernard dismisses this as madness.
Eventually, Sancio invites Bernard to join an inner circle called the Orcharders. At a secret rooftop chapel at midnight, la Rocelle reveals the group’s true nature: they have grafted themselves with something from another realm they mistake for Eden. When la Rocelle tries to force Bernard to drink a chalice of supernatural substance, Louis bursts in with sword and torch to rescue him. In the ensuing fight, Bernard discovers that the Orcharders are demons or demon-corrupted beings with inhuman forms—Sancio’s mouth becomes a toothed maw, others sprout wings and tentacles, and la Rocelle is revealed as a massive lamprey-like creature.
Bernard escapes to van Brugge’s hidden temple, where the alchemist and his students mount a rescue mission. They storm the rooftop chapel in a violent confrontation. Van Brugge demonstrates his power by destroying corrupted flesh with casual gestures and reciting psalms. Bernard himself kills the creature that was Sancio with an alchemical dagger. When the monster wearing la Rocelle’s form tries to devour van Brugge, the alchemist challenges it, claiming his refined soul burns too hot with divine spirit to be consumed. The demon flees rather than face this test.
Van Brugge surgically removes a parasitic “seed” from Louis’s chest that would have corrupted him, and Bernard destroys it. Louis survives but needs extended recovery.
Bernard’s confession ends with profound uncertainty: Was van Brugge a righteous Christian using legitimate spiritual refinement, or a sorcerer twisting scripture? Was killing Sancio’s corrupted form sinful? Was it sin to trust la Rocelle’s seemingly pious teachings? He seeks the priest’s guidance on which actions require penance and whether studying van Brugge’s mysterious arts would endanger his soul. The story leaves these moral questions unresolved, presenting alchemy and spiritual refinement as potentially holy or heretical depending on one’s theological perspective.
