The many uses of Litharge
A vital substance in the creation of certain magical items is Litharge, the residue left over from the Ka-Element–Orichalc annihilation reaction. This substance has no elemental association whatsoever and is thus completely invisible to Ka-vision, so only the discrepancy between mundane and mystic vision may be used to discern its presence.
Litharge acts as a sponge and an insulator for Ka, thus it has helpful applications in freely storing and redirecting Ka. Normal enchantments by comparison permanently enchant Ka within objects, Ka that cannot be extracted (at least not without special spells and damaging the enchantment in the process). Litharge’s storage ability is temperamental: Stasis items only charge Ka when bonded to a living Nephilim, otherwise their charges evaporate into the magic fields. So far only the Magician's Wand (see Major Arcana p24) has been able to recharge and expend Ka without Litharge or bonding required for its creation, and the secret of its creation (as every wand descends from a hypothesized original) remains a mystery even to the Magician Arcanum.
The various occult organizations have developed a variety of uses for it as a result.
(In the French version, Litharge was known as Terres rares or “Rare Earths.”)
Nephilim uses
The following uses are usually known to most Nephilim, though more specialized uses require at least Arcanum Lore 20% in the Arcanum that uses such.
Litharge tool
A magical tool impregnated with Litharge, such as a blade, staff or stylus. This is used to draw Enochian runes during certain rituals, such as Create Stasis. Other uses also exist, such as Temperance's Litharge surgical tools (see Major Arcana p106).
Stasis object
The Major Arcana's sorcerers use dusted Litharge to prime stasis objects for binding to Nephilim's Ka, letting it absorb and store the Nephilim's Pentacle or environmental Ka from plexi and nexi for the Nephilim's use. See Nephilim rulebook p46 and Major Arcana p7.
Though few remember its origins, the Stasis item is based on the principles of the Selenim's sarcophagus (see below).
Pyramids and other tombs
After the Pact with Menes in Ancient Egypt, the Nephilim benefited from tombs constructed according to sacred geometry to channel their elemental Ka. This is the purpose of the Egyptian tombs: allow the Nephilim incarnated in royal bloodlines and courtiers to retain consciousness as mummified corpses and continue progressing towards Agartha through silent contemplation. During the burial, the Egyptians performed human and animals sacrifices so that their Solar-Ka would consecrate the tombs and aid the process. See Nephilim rulebook p54-9, Gamemaster's Companion p11, Major Arcana p10-2.
Creating the tombs involved the assistance of the Pharaonic Selenim, who founded the mortuary cult of Ancient Egypt. They reverse-engineered the principles and forms of the ancient Sarcophagi for Nephilim use and applied their studies of Necromancy to refine the process of mummification. These Selenim were friendly to the Nephilim and were the first Initiates of The Unnamed Arcanum when it was founded by Nephren-Ka. However, the rest of the Major Arcana have forgotten or willfully suppressed the knowledge of their vital contribution. (This isn't actually stated in the books due to the lack of a Selenim perspective, but I came up with it based on educated guesses.)
Tombs are no longer constructed in modern times, though some ancient Nephilim and Selenim may remember how to do so. A rare few Nephilim who remember the process still practice some form of self-mummification (see Major Arcana p79), and the knowledge to retain consciousness in a dead Simulacrum may attract seekers...
Secret Society uses
Weapon sheath
The secret societies use Litharge sheaths to protect Awakened Orichalc weapons from degrading on contact with permanent elemental fields and Nexi (see Nephilim rulebook p191, 202).
However, I don't think that litharge is otherwise an effective barrier against magic or elementals. While the ambient elemental fields are shielded against, I don't expect that a deliberate magical attack against the Orichalc will be slowed for a moment.
Sacrificial knife
Litharge blades used as sacrificial knives (the Romans called these secespita) increase effectiveness when used to bleed Nephilim for Elixirs. If cut and bled with litharge blades for an Elixir, then the Nephilim resists at halved Ka (in BRP rulebook terms, the base difficulty modifier is Difficult). See Secret Societies p37.
These blades aren't necessary for sacrificing Nephilim to cast single spells, as the victim is always slain and automatically loses 1d10 Ka (see rulebook p191).
These blades aren't used when eviscerating a Nephilim to gather the Ka-impregnated bodily fluids needed to create a Homunculus. A silver blade is used for this and the victim's Ka-elements aren't severed from his Pentacle.
Selenim uses
Shadow blades
Obsidian athames, impregnated with Litharge and enchanted with Black Lunar-Ka. These may be used by Selenim as magical tools in exactly the same way as Nephilim use magical tools for rituals. In addition to the Ka enchanted to provide a bonus to Black Moon spells, a shadow blade has its own Capacity. A Nephilim cut by one is immediately contaminated with 2 points of Black Moon POT per strike (see my post on how Nephilim transform into Selenim for details on the consequences), and an equal amount is subtracted from the blade’s Capacity. This must be recharged from a source of Black Moon Ch'awe.
However, the true purpose of these blades is very specific: these are used perform the Ritual of Sundering, a lunar spell known only to the Selenim and inscribed on the blade itself, that turns Nephilim casters into Selenim. The caster severs their Pentacle's branches other than Moon-Ka and then Moon-Ka is eclipsed by Black Moon-Ka. The severed branches may be stored in the ex-Nephilim's stasis object by casting in tandem with a reversed Stasis Ritual, raising hope that perhaps Temperance could reattach these branches. Those rare few Nephilim who know of these blades might notice the resemblance to Elixir creation. It makes one wonder, doesn't it?
Creating shadow blades requires Third Circle black magic that is rare even among the Selenim. The Unnamed Arcanum jealousy guards the shadow blades they have. They only ever share their blades with those rare few Nephilim who deliberately petition them for initiation, and then only with close supervision.
The Cult of Lilith invented the first shadow blades and still keeps a number of them in circulation. Unlike the Unnamed Arcanum, they are quite willing to abduct Nephilim and extort them to perform the Ritual of Sundering. This has justifiably earned them an infamous reputation, made all the worse by the Nephilim's general ignorance of the different factions among the Selenim and their conflation of the Cult with the Unnamed Arcanum.
Sarcophagus
The Selenim used Litharge to create their Sarcophagi in ancient times, the precursor to the Nephilim's Stasis items and to the pharaonic Pyramid tombs. (Presumably, as I couldn't actually find anywhere a Litharge ingredient was explicitly stated but it sounds reasonable enough based on the Stasis object's creation.)
The sarcophagi act as collectors, concentrators and reservoirs of Black Lunar-Ka, allowing Selenim to recharge Ch'awe in the absence of humans and power magical workings—such as gathering Ka to construct a Realm! Nonetheless, it's an inferior source compared to draining Solar-Ka from mortals for greedier Selenim. For those that live among mortals and assuage their emotions, its only advantage is that it protects their essence when it would otherwise dissolve into the magic fields.
The Sarcophagus is extremely rare in modern times due to the majority of Selenim switching to draining Solar-Ka from mortals and the method of its creation being forgotten over time. Most surviving examples are found in the tombs of Pharaonic Selenim in Egypt and the sacrificial pyramid complexes of Latin America.
(See my upcoming post on Selenim stasis items for details.)
Anti-Stasis items
Regular Stasis items can be bonded to Selenim, but they cannot be charged and thus the elemental essence cannot be released. Mercifully, its descent from the Sarcophagus means that at least it insulates the Core from Entropy indefinitely. The Unnamed Arcanum has experimented with creating "Anti-Stasis" items that charge Black Moon-Ka, with mixed success. The doomed field is stingy and doesn't give up ch'awe freely, so charging it has proven the main problem.
(See my upcoming post on Selenim stasis items for details.)
Comments
Post a Comment