Past Research - Soul exchange - Plum tree lichen

Plum lichen is a very specific alchemical fungi-plant element. For its magical potential to develop properly, you need these two basic elements: lichen and a plum tree. This is obvious, but even if the separate elements can store energy, they will have no other effect than to act as magical batteries. At the very most, some witches will use the plum wood to make wands and brooms, and the lichen to make broths.

But the real magic of these two elements lies in the osmosis between them. The plum tree, once filled with magic, is physically more fragile. The lichen provides a beneficial reinforcement of the tree's bark, while the fungus itself can benefit from the nutrients produced by the tree.

This osmosis gave the plum tree lichen the fascinating ability to exchange souls between two conscious entities that can consume them. In this way, a mortal or an immortal can exchange their body with another living being, an animal or even a plant, provided it is sufficiently conscious. Of course, the alchemical extract broadens the horizons of the entities involved. It is therefore possible for the soul of a mortal to exchange its body for the non-existent consciousness of a teapot. The object acquires a soul, but the body is emptied of it. This can lead to a number of problems, but these will be described in a later experiment.

Another possibility with sometimes disastrous consequences is the exchange of souls between a mortal and an immortal. If the immortal's power is too great, the mortal's body may be unable to withstand it and implode, the immortal's soul returning to its rightful place and erasing what remains of the mortal's soul.

You must admit it is a sad fate, isn't it?