Female alchemists that specialize in transmuting harmless frogs and toads into deadly dragons in the video game Final Fantasy V. They dwell in the caverns beneath Istory Falls in the re-combined world.

Trivia 1. Alchymia is ranked at level 47. She has 4,500 HP (hit points) and 3,900 MP (magic points). Successfully defeating this toad-loving woman will earn your party of adventurers 1,000 EP (experience points) and $546 in Gil. She is listed as Monster #182 in the Game Boy Advance Final Fantasy V bestiary (the toad does not have an entry). 2. Sometimes Alchymia will drop an elixir when slain. This enchanted liquid will completely recover one character's maximum HP and MP. 3. Man-Eater daggers and Maiden's Kisses can be stolen from Alchymia during a battle. Man-Eaters are knives that are enchanted to be particularly effective against humanoid enemies (like Alchymia). Maiden's Kiss will reverse the Toad status effect. 4. The original name for this monster in the Japanese Super Nintendo (Super Famicom) version of Final Fantasy V is Alcumia. The name was later re-translated into Alchymia in updated versions of the game. 5. Alchymia/Alcumia and Zephyrus/ZephyrZone both share the same game sprite in Final Fantasy V. However, each monster is colored differently and has unique attributes/abilities. This sprite recycling is a commonly seen, memory-saving practice used in many RPGs (role playing games). 6. If you take over Alchymia's body, with the ! Control ability, your character will be able to make her either physically attack or change a single target into a toad (the Toad status effect). If, instead you elect to control her amphibian friend, you will be able to make it execute normal physical attacks or the special technique 'critical hit'. 7. If Alchymia is caught with the ! Catch ability, and then released, she will change a random target into a toad ('Ribbit' attack). The toad, on the other hand, is more interesting. If you catch and release that, instead of getting the toad, you'll get the dragon it would have turned into (i.e., if the toad would have turned into a Red Dragon, when you release it, that is what it will be). 8. Alchymia is a loner; she will never be encountered with other monsters. A battle always consists of just her and her toad. 9. Alchymia's little speech actually has some meaning (see the quote at the top of this page). Have any character use a Maiden's Kiss on her toad and it will instantly transform into a dragon. Interestingly enough, Alchymia won't immediately cast Vanish, to remove herself from the battle, like she usually does when the toad changes, under this circumstance. Instead, she'll just continue her incantation process as though nothing is amiss--except, when she completes it, the dragon will turn back into a toad(!)--because it's already a dragon, the spell reverses itself. She'll do her usual disappearing routine after that however . . . maybe out of embarrassment?

BACKGROUND:
Most alchemists concern themselves with the study of altering the form of inanimate substances (transforming lead into gold being the most common example). However, the obscure branch of alchemy that Alchymia is versed in deals with changing one organism into another. This feat is achieved through a combination of science and magic. While a grand master could conceivably transform any creature into another, Alchymia is only a specialist, having focused all her years of study on the process of changing mundane amphibians into large, magical reptiles (dragons).

ABILITIES:
Alchymia can transmute her simple orange toad into one of three deadly dragons: A fire-breathing Red Dragon; an undead Tyrannosaurus Rex (Bone Dragon); or the multi-headed hydra Ghidra. In the event her toad is destroyed before she can complete the transformation process on it, Alchymia will become enraged and respond by casting the black magic spell Death over and over again until her enemies are all claimed by the reaper or she is slain. She is immune to the following status effects: Poison, Mini, Toad, Petrify, Death, Silence, Confuse, Paralyze, and Sleep.

WEAKNESSES:
As one would expect, changing a toad into a dragon is not a simple affair. It takes time and intense concentration for Alchymia to perform the rites necessary to alter her warty pet's form; while she is doing so, Alchymia is all but defenseless. Transforming an amphibian into a dragon is one thing, but controlling the giant reptile is another altogether. The Red Dragon, Bone Dragon, or Ghidra Alchymia changes her toad into will not obey commands and is just as likely to slay her as Alchymia's opponents. Thus, Alchymia will always cast the Vanish spell immediately after successfully altering the toad in order to escape the battle, leaving her enemies to (hopefully) be annihilated.

Materials:
(Alchymia) Tissue paper, newsprint, manilla paper, white glue, hot glue, a wire twist tie, marker, and acrylic paint.

(Toad) Tissue paper, newsprint, white glue, hot glue, and acrylic paint.

(Candle Stand) Tissue paper, newsprint, cardboard, a toothpick, a wire twist tie, white glue, hot glue, and acrylic paint.

(Smoke) Newsprint, wire twist ties, cotton balls, white glue, hot glue, water, and acrylic paint.

Dimensions:
(Alchymia) 9.2 cm/3.6 in. x 5.5 cm/2.2 in. (highest point x widest point)

(Toad) 3.9 cm/1.5 in. x 7.0 cm/2.8 in. (highest point x widest point)

(Candle Stand w/smoke attached) 7.0 cm/2.8 in. x 11.2 cm/4.4 in. (highest point x widest point)

Articulation:
Two points. Alchymia's neck is jointed and moves completely around as well as up and down. The smoke accessory rotates around the candle stand.

Time:
Approximately three days. Construction began in the evening on March 9, 2007 and concluded in the evening on March 12, 2007. Alchymia was completed and painted during the first 24 hours. The finished candle stand and unpainted frog were made the second day. The frog was painted and the smoke was constructed on the third and last day.

[Mid-construction photos of my Alchymia figure]
(A) These are the reference sketches I worked from. At first, I thought the object smoking in front of her was an urn of some kind, but after studying the sprite further, I decided it was a candle on a tripod--that's why there's a drawing of both an urn and a candle assembly underneath the toad. (B) Here's three photos of the painted head on the morning of March 10, 2007. I later altered the face structure by increasing the size and shape of the nose, making the chin more prominent, etc. (C) This row of photos depicts the complete, but unpainted, toad sculpt on the morning of March 12, 2007. (D) Here's a group of three photos showing the rough body sculpt on the morning of March 10, 2007. I later added clothing (thong, socks, and top) along with more detail. (E) These are some mock-up photos from the afternoon of March 12, 2007 that I took to give me a feel for what the final product will look like. I still need to paint the frog and make the smoke.



For comparison purposes, below is an image of an Alchymia/Alcumia, with her toad, taken from the Game Boy Advance version of the Final Fantasy V video game.

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