Korogra
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« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2023, 01:19:41 AM » |
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THE SEAL OF THE VIGILANT SCORPION (AMULET ••••) Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4 This object is originally Iremite, marked with the sign and symbol of the mighty Shan’iatu themselves. Its initial purpose is beyond the recall of the Maa-Kep, if any of them ever knew it: The very few who’ve been entrusted with knowledge of it speculate that it had a sacrificial purpose. Those who’ve attempted to delve into its history with Utterances or Affinities just get bottomless glimpses of deaths, one after the other through the ages, sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice. If there’s a history to the object itself, it’s buried under more layers of suffering and demise than any of the Arisen have had the patience to unearth. It’s small, about the size of a roll of coins, with the scorpion emblem of the Shan’iatu embossed on its end. If pressed into the flesh of someone freshly killed, the skin sizzles and chars, leaving a scorpion print, although the Seal remains perfectly cool. Currently, the Seal is held by South America’s guildmistress, Pestem-Aah. She uses it reluctantly and regretfully, and she tries to ensure that those who die for its purpose are wretched human beings who are lucky to get a painless execution. But for all that, she knows she’s killing them to help herself, not to punish them. Feeling bad about this is difficult for someone from Irem, but she works at it. Power: If the Seal is temporarily pressed against someone as she dies, it unravels her soul and refines it into Sekhem. After doing this, it temporarily becomes a ••••• relic. If one of the Arisen drains it when it’s full, that Arisen gains a dot of Sekhem. This is still a crime, forcing a Descent Roll at the new level, but even if that roll fails, it’s effectively a reset. One can stave off the Descent indefinitely, as long as one has mortals about that one’s willing to slay. Interestingly, attempting to further drain the Seal yields nothing. It cannot be drained dry, unlike every other relic Maa-Kep have been willing to admit assaulting. (Granted, the intersection between “relics we’ve drained” and “relics we’re willing to talk about draining” is pretty slim.) Moreover, as described above, it seems resistant to occult attempts to discern its history and original purpose. Though perhaps it’s only Arisen heka that encounters this resistance. Curse: In addition to draining the souls (all parts) of the dead, it also exerts a subtle pull on the living. Once every five days, it emits an occult pulse that reaches out to every mortal within the radius of .72 miles. (That’s the length of an old Iremite building measurement, as it happens.) Each mortal has a one in ten chance of losing a point of Willpower to the Seal, experiencing this as a brief but sharp wash of despair. If one of the Maa-Kep is holding it when it pulses, she can pay off its hunger with a point from any Pillar, instead.
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