If you ever talked to a certain Wandering Star, it might have felt like all matter around you is a continuum of Essence.

However, this is not the case: instead, all (normal) matter is made of small points of Essence called Particles. There are two types of particles: twelve Elementary particles, also known as Quarks, and a countable infinity of Composite particles.

Classic Matter

In classic matter, Essence is bound in a relatively simple manner.

Eleven quarks are bound into two primary composite particles:

• Breath, Aura, Starlight, Veil, Realm and Form are bound into uncharged and neutral Neutrons.

• Life, Flow, Crystal, Dream and Harmony are bound into Protons, which inexplicably react like Life, carrying a positive charge and binding themselves with neutrons.

The particles are bound by protons into an Atom - a higher class of a bound particle, which dictates how matter interacts. Composite particles are bound in the atomic Core. Different numbers of protons create different matter, while neutrons largely stabilize the atoms through the Essence Neutrality Principle (also known as Human Principle).

Spark particle - Electron - is not bound into any composite particles, and is not in the core. The number of electrons in an atom is generally equal to the number of protons, due to the Essence Neutrality Principle, although electrons are not as tightly bound and can be added or removed in a process known as Ionization.

Electrons exist in specifically shaped orbits - though imagining it as an orbiting particle, similar to a moon, is not quite correct, as it exists everywhere in the orbit. Every orbit can accept a certain number of electrons, based on its shell types and size.

An atom will generally attempt to keep all its orbits full. While a singular atom cannot achieve this, due to the aforementioned principle, matter is made of a massive number of atoms, which can share their electrons through multiple types of sharing arrangements known as Bonds. This is the true cause of alchemical bonds binding different elements into molecules, and existing alchemical research is the real reason these two paragraphs don’t have any numbers.

The Essence interactions of matter are largely dictated by the atomic Outer Core Shell. The shell controls interaction through the exact types of quarks on it - the core tends to partially melt into a mix of outer layers of quarks, in a stable configuration, and leftovers of the composite particles.

Spark interactions are not dictated by the shell, instead depending on the configuration of electron orbits and any unique properties of them.

Quarks

This is a simple list of quarks, and their usual interactions when unbound, or while on the outer core shell.

Virtual particles are particles that exist in an unbound state; they are used by the universe to maintain its existence. They are called virtual because, usually, these are created and destroyed too quickly to be noticed. They also tend to behave somewhat different from free particles - free Breath is much more stable.

Life - Magneton

Life's particle is attracted to a variety of other particles. It behaves like magnets do, albeit on a much smaller scale, and is the reason for their existence. Life particle attracts other particles and turns them into itself, but excess of life turns into other particles, via a process known as Life Mixing.

On the outer shell: Life does not seem to cause any core-specific properties. Rather, being an opposite of Spark on smaller scales, it either causes, or happens to have electron orbits that cause the atom to form large, complicated molecules.
Examples: Carbon, Sodium, Calcium, Iron.

Notes: Photosynthesis is done via Life carrier that turns starlight into usable energy.

Flow - Gallon

Flow is the transfer of energy and matter from one point to another. The particle attempts to be constantly moving to the point where resistance is lowest.

On the outer shell: Flow does not seem to cause any interesting effects. All Flow elements are common, easy to alloy, simple, white metals.
Examples: Magnesium, Tin, Nickel, Zinc.

Notes: "What does flow come in? Gallons. Because metric wasn't invented yet back then."

Crystal - Dominion

The behavior of a crystal particle is to rapidly form into a structure. Any disruption in that structure causes it to reform constantly until it hits the lowest common denominator. That might be dust, that might be air, that might be on the other side of the universe.

On the outer shell: Crystal causes the element to have fancy and impractical crystalline structure.
Examples: Bismuth, Beryllium.

Form - Hexon

Where crystal creates a structure, form will stabilize it and keep it from changing, as well as allowing crystal to repair the structure instead of reforming into a new one, at lower concentrations.

On the outer shell: Form elements are both extremely hard, and brittle.
Examples: Chromium, Tungsten.

Notes: Named after the hexagonal crystalline structures form essence tends to condense to, if left alone for too long.
It’s pronounced “gexon”.

Realm - Graviton

A common virtual particle that creates gravity via subtle curvature of spacetime, which is much weaker than Life magnetism, but works on much bigger scales.

On the outer shell: Realm elements have extremely subtle effects, just like the essence itself.
Examples: Cobalt, Osmium, Zirconium.

Notes: Gravitons have not been observed, as they are too subtle for current methods. The only reason we know they exist is because of symmetry.
Also, the creators of this part of the universe told us they exist.

Veil - Akrion

An equally common virtual particle that traces the borders of things and separates every existence from every other.

On the outer shell: Veil elements tend to be dense and useful in coatings. Note that high density of Veil does not necessarily mean the element will try to keep itself separated, as both known high-Veil elements are highly ductile.
Examples: Tantalum, Lead.

Notes: Due to different curvature of time (as opposed to normal everyday space), akrions follow a very different model from literally every other particle. Even the composite ones.
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'entrate!

Harmony - Phonon

Yet another common particle, phonons form and transmit vibrations.

On the outer shell: Harmony elements are highly reflective, and sometimes highly reactive.
Examples: Gold, Potassium.

Notes: Phonons usually travel in waves; but there are demonstration models of particle interactions of phonons in extremely pure crystals.

Spark - Electron

A particle that transmits electrical power, and generates electrical fields.

On the outer shell: Spark elements are highly conductive, and sometimes have other effects when affected by electricity.
Examples: Copper, Silicon.

Notes: It’s theoretically possible to create a lifeform that works on Spark instead of Life.

Dream - Oneirino

Extremely rare and unstable in most worlds unbound, this particle nevertheless acts as a virtual one in cases of portals between World of Dream and others as well as within the Dream itself, bringing the same chaos the World of Dream naturally has.

On the outer shell: Dream elements are highly magically reactive; reality is subtly less stable near high dream concentrations.
Examples: Silver.

Notes: One easy way to get rid of excess oneirinos is to pretend they don’t exist.

Breath - Phlogiston

This virtual particle is the one responsible for the common alchemical reaction known as combustion.

On the outer shell: Breath element is required for a combustion reaction to exist in the first place. It is not consumed; rather, it’s born from the reaction, and rapidly decays into the other two particles. It’s actually generated from energy stored in alchemical bonds.
Examples: Oxygen, Fluorine, Mercury, Lithium.

Notes: Raw phlogiston, in extreme concentrations, is perfectly breathable. Instead of heat, it will instead decay into oxygen, on contact with Human matter.

Aura - Radon

Aura's virtual particle wobbles back and forth from the object it's part of, like it's constantly attracted and repelled until it breaks free. When it breaks free, it’s released, at lower frequencies, as heat; at higher ones, it becomes radiation.

On the outer shell: Aura elements are, inexplicably, neither easy to burn nor radioactive; instead, they are low density without sacrificing durability.
Examples: Titanium.

Notes: While most lifeforms are used to heat, high-energy radons are the most destructive particle on the list.

Starlight - Photon

This particle is the one that you see when you see light.

On the outer shell: Starlight element’s properties highly depend on secondary elements on the shell; if a Starlight element has more Aura on its outer shell, it’s radioactive; if it has more Life, it’s a good alloying element.
Examples: Thorium, Uranium, Manganese.

Notes: It can be surprisingly hard to distinguish “invisible” photons (ones the lifeform cannot see - very few lifeforms see the entire spectrum) from radons.