Sin-Irra, The Red-Stain King

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.