Gender Potion

Gender Potions work thanks to the nature of the ingredients included within it binding with the drinker's soul, shifting the shape of it. The cinnamon and ginseng acts as a neutralizer to the aphrodisiac effect that Heartbloom is typically known for; which through a process of chemical reactions when combined with Mana and Wishvine, heavily enhances the warping the mana does to the body. Thanks to it binding to their soul, this causes it to shift to what the soul desires for it's physical body to look like.

Of course, due to the volatile nature of Mana in such conditions, it's often recommended to take the potion in small doses as to not cause the body to reject the Mana being poured into it. Although the risk of experiencing Transmorphification Syndrome is low when drinking a Gender Potion, the downsides associated with high exposure to Mana-- such as vomiting and vertigo, are still possible when too much is taken at once.

Early History

The exact time-frame of when Gender Potions were originally made is unknown. The earliest known record of a Gender Potion comes from folklore that has existed before the First Elven-Dragon War on Terra Eclipsis, from the tale called The Lover's Discovery.

In the eons that followed, there would be occasional reports from across Terra Eclipsis of Elves trying to recreate the potion found within this story. The right combination of ingredients to make it would be found sometime during the midst of the Dragon War, year 102, when an Elf was experimenting with various ingredients to create a potion that could transform the drinker into a form resembling that of the Draa'ken, for the sake of espionage. Although creating the Gender Potion was not the result intended, it is said that the elf kept the recipe written down and would spread it among their colleagues to be preserved. One of these colleagues, who travelled between the realms frequently, would eventually bring the recipe to Earth, where they gave a copy of it to a human friend of theirs who they knew had struggled with their identity for a while.

This recipe would be shared around privately among the human populace, though the creation of these potions would be relatively difficult due to the fact that some of the ingredients-- Mana, Wishvine and Heartbloom, were difficult to get on Earth for one reason or another. Of course, early Arcanists who were expert Jumpers would eventually be able to bring small quantities of these plants to Earth, growing them in secluded areas away from civilization.

The Bloom

Come the 1900s, when The Bloom occurred, suddenly the high abundance of Mana in the world would make obtaining the proper ingredients for a Gender Potion much easier to get. However, the era of strife that would begin in this time would make the creation of Gender Potions rather difficult, especially in regions such as the United States of America. During the 1930s to 1940s, many restrictions were being made to snuff out various types of things that were considered to be unacceptable and immoral, and this would include the creation of Gender Potions. Brewists would be hunted down by police to take any resources they had for creating these potions, and would be promptly arrested. Anyone who was found to have partaken in drinking a Gender Potion were also heavily monitored, with a false narrative of them being considered to be "Immoral" being pushed.

Meanwhile, back on Terra Eclipsis, while the various rulerships found throughout the realm were equivocal on various aspects of transgender and gender-nonconforming Elves, The Kingdom was seen to have ramped up its own attack on such individuals, due to a growing ideal in The Kingdom's hierarchy of purity: that the form you were gifted by the Stars is the only form you should have, and to disgrace that form is to be a disgrace to the Stars themselves. As a result, all forms of expression and modification of the body would be banned by the Kingdom, and this would include outlawing the use of Gender Potions. Anyone found breaking the law would be subject to imprisonment for the rest of their lives.

Once the 1960s rolled around on Earth, there was an immense pushback in the United States by the youth against the government restricting magical forms of expression, and a movement would be born that, along with attempting to spread awareness of LGBTQ+ rights and fighting back against oppression, would also include the illegal manufacturing of Gender Potions to assist individuals in transitioning. The government would continue to fight back against this, in a long and endless fight that would occasionally see shifts in power between LGBTQ+ folks and the Oppressors. Even as the various restrictions made in the 1930s were rolled back, you would still find Gender Potions to be an illegal substance.

Ironically enough, it would be the Deepcore Foundation that would screw up the plans of the government in the 1980s, despite the relationship had between the United States government and them. The United States government would commission the Deepcore Foundation to do as much research as possible onto the effects of the Gender Potion and the mental health of those who would drink these potions. The results would come back, saying that those who transitioned, whether it's through ordinary medical means or magical ways such as Gender Potions and Ceramists, would have a much higher quality of life and mental health.

The Deepcore Foundation, being run by a man who knows a great money opportunity when he sees it, would immediately bribe and lobby the hell out of the United States government, essentially browbeating them into making Gender Potions legal so that he could sell them in massive amounts. This would lead to a proliferation of Transgender and Gender-nonconforming individuals, of which you could still see the effects of up to the 2020s.

Before The Withering

Freddie Russo at AEROCELL Conference 2021

Before The Withering, around the 2020s, Gender Potions would enter the spotlight once again, this time fueled by the greed of the Deepcore Foundation for more nefarious purposes. The same type of folks that wished for the oppression of those who sought freedom and expression in the 1920s were attempting to make a comeback, one that was stirred up by Freddie Russo, who had his eye on becoming the defacto "king of the world".

Along with all sorts of other things he was doing such as the disastrous initiatives he had begun in Terra Eclipsis and The Sands, he would order his company to make the prices for Gender Potions much, much higher than normal, along with pushing for restrictions on the manufacturing and importation of Wishvines and Heartblooms. He would push for unsavory candidates to take over the presidency of the United States and other countries, offering them millions if they were to get elected and enact various policies that he himself desired.

Although the ultimate outcome of his goals were thwarted thanks in part to heavy amounts of resistance by folks all across the planet and the realms-- of which would include the eventual Split Of The United States, the assassinations of his presidential candidates, and his own family disowning him, that is a story for another time. The ingredients for Gender Potions were made scarce for a time and the mass quantities of it already made by Deepcore were disposed of, but this did not stop many folks from making more in a relative quick fashion. Albeit, it was hindered by the fact that Terra Eclipsis was undergoing another war between each of the countries there, so obtaining Wishvines and Heartblooms were made dangerous.

Eventually, though, it did not matter. All the attempts at restricting people's rights and wills, their freedoms and expression, all for the sake of controlling them and making it hard for them to even exist were made all for nothing, as The Withering occurred, devastating the lands and rendering all of their horrible accomplishments for naught.

After The Withering

With a flood of refuges from Terra Eclipsis escaping to other realms such as Earth to avoid the Second Elven-Dragon War and The Union-Sheol Conflict, this would include farms for Wishvines and Heartblooms being established just about everywhere, including on Earth. With this, access to all the resources for Gender Potions would become much easier, and with the governments being more focused on making it through the disasters that came about as a result of The Withering, there was an unspoken agreement with the New Governments that people should be allowed to do however they want with expression if it truly helps them out mentally.

As such, the new governments would commission groups such as ARC to begin assisting folks with these matters. Suddenly, Gender Potions would be given out to those who wish for them again. Although the world was a disaster and recovery would not be possible for eons, there was a way to at least make it easier for those who were transgender, for those who did not conform to the standards of gender. In the midst of all the fire, they were finally able to walk, just as the Wisher from the old story could.