Musings on the Saturnian field

These are my musings on the Saturnian field for my campaign homebrew...

The Saturnian field is an anomaly compared to the other magic fields of Earth. 

It doesn't radiate, but instead pools, particularly within flints and heavy metals as "Saturnite". This is the closest as it ever gets to having a physical manifestation. Rather than a physical substance like earth, water or air, it is only ever present as prima materia Saturni. (The prima materia is the residual Ka present within matter, leftover from when the matter was formed from the magic fields. This prima materia is what alchemy acts on.)

Concentrations of Saturnite ore mutually repel the five elemental fields. These appear as a "hole" in Ka-Vision; indeed, the Immortals cannot perceive it directly. However, it is possible for mortals to detect it indirectly because it causes unpleasant vibrations in Solar-Ka. Particularly sensitive individuals may be trained as dowsers by secret societies.

When exposed to the Solar Ether through daylight, the prima materia Saturni reacts with the ambient elemental fields and the Saturnite sublimates into unreactive Litharge. This is physically visible as a silvery tarnish, but the Litharge is invisible to Ka-Vision. (Litharge has a variety of vital uses to the Immortals because it can interact with otherwise immaterial Ka as though the Ka was a physical substance.)

The secret societies harvest Saturnite ore under cover of night. They then refine it through stolen sorcery and alchemy to create Orichalc, an antimagical metal that is toxic to Nephilim. The moment an Orichalc blade draws their blood, a piece of their Ka-Elements, their very soul, is destroyed. Memories and occult wisdom are destroyed with it, even if the Nephilim survives to reincarnate. Thus, Orichalc is one of the Nephilim's worst fears.

Orichalc damage selectively targets the Nephilim's Dominant Ka, resulting in Ka-imbalance should they survive. Once it destroys their Dominant Ka branch, then their Major Neutral Ka becomes their Dominant Ka and they become a Cruxim. A Nephilim cannot survive with fewer than four Ka-Elements. If a Cruxim loses their Dominant Ka branch, then their Ka-Element dissociate and disintegrate into the magic fields. This release of Ka may spawn Elemental Beasts, a dying curse against the attacker.

The raw Saturnite only repels and disrupts elemental fields, rather than destroying them. To activate it into Orichalc requires exposing it to Solar-Ka. The secret societies accomplish this through blood sacrifice, as the Solar-Ka that composes the human soul runs through their blood. An Orichalc weapon's capacity to destroy Ka-Elements is independent of its physical volume, but determined by the amount of Solar-Ka sacrificed to activate it. Supposedly, the Holocaust provided a front for the activation of obscenely powerful Orichalc weapons.

While there are a few pure Orichalc weapons dating back to prehistoric times, most Orichalc weapons are actually alloyed with other metals. The weapon is created from a more common material like iron or steel, then inscribed with runes containing Orichalc powder. Even so, these weapons must be kept in special Litharge-impregnated sheaths to prevent them from reacting with the ambient magic fields.

Unless shielded, all Ka-beings will sense Saturnian manifestations through the nauseating perturbations it creates in the elemental fields. Elemental Beasts and Summoned Beings will refuse to approach it and even flee from it, save for the Black Moon Summons. Some Black Moon Summons specialize in the capture and destruction of Saturnian magic.

The amount of Saturnite on Earth is steadily decreasing over time. It is a residual Ka, lingering from past events but not replenished by the Saturnian Ether due to its distance from Earth. Nobody alive knows where it came from, though the oldest Immortals speculate that it was brought to Earth by a meteor in prehistoric times, times forgotten even by the priest-kings of ancient Atlantropa (mistakenly called Tarshish in the Gamemaster's Companion).

The Saturnian field cannot form Plexi due to its lack of Rays. However, secret societies have managed to create artificial Saturnian Plexi, usually using nuclear means. These places are magical dead zones that actively destroy elemental phenomena that enter them. Even mortals feel uncomfortable or sicken in these places.

Few beings possess Saturnian-Ka. The Fraternitas Saturni has figured out how to cultivate a Saturnian-Ka within themselves and cast Saturnian spells, even summoning Saturnian entities from Tartarus. The Orichalcians are Selenim who, having little fear of Orichalc or so they think, have figured out how to perform their own manipulations of this field. According to the myths of the Bohemian peoples who cultivate the Brume, ancient monsters known as Golomchk were Immortals composed entirely of Saturnian-Ka. 

By far the most common are the Ar-Ka'im, who naturally develop a Saturnian Essence within their magical auras or Hearts, allowing them to perform feats of metamagic. Unlike the destructive Saturnian beasts spawned by Saturnian Plexi or summoned by the Fraternitas Saturni, the Ar-Ka'im are harmless to Nephilim. The two magical races are siblings who commonly find themselves thrown together by circumstance.

Trace amounts of the Saturnian field are present across the Earth. This is why elemental beasts deteriorate over time and must rejuvenate themselves by absorbing magical energy from Plexi and Nexi. This is why a Nephilim's daimonian will disintegrate without Solar-Ka to shield it, leaving behind Litharge residue at the site of their demise.

In the deepest depths of the lower astral planes there is Tartarus, the Anti-Agartha, a magical plane composed entirely of the Saturnian field. It inspired mortal myths of hells and is a plane of absolute destruction and oblivion. The Kabbalists associate it with Da'ath and the Qlippoth. Fraternitas Saturni's Summoners call their creatures from here, bring death and ruin to their targets. The Knights of Strength believe it is the ultimate source of Khaiba and other evil phenomena. Even the most learned Shabs' Demonologists and Selenim Conjurers fear this plane and dare not even speak the names of its archdemons.