Emulsion of Lye and Lightning

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. Performing this ritual requires a ring of ilium, an ingot of Tempest jade, and a measure of Beggar's lye which are placed in an opaque container.

Effects

When the ritual is performed, the ritualists seal a ring of ilium, an ingot of tempest jade and a measure of beggar's lye into an opaque container. Over the course of the next hour or so, the three substances combine to create a bright green viscous emulsion known as true stormlye.

The material is stable and permanent once created, at least until it is used. True stormlye may be applied to a willing character, an item, or certain other appropriate targets. It takes thirty seconds of roleplaying for a character to apply a dose of true stormlye, and they may not be currently engaged in any other task such as contributing to a ritual. Only one suitable target may benefit from the effects of a dose of true stormlye. It burns to the touch and must be carefully handled, and its application to a willing character is always painful, causing at least a single point of damage, though the wounds it causes rarely leave permanent scarring.

It has a number of effects depending on the target to which it is applied; if more than one would apply they take place in order. If applied to a willing character:

• It removes all enduring magical marks such as those created by Arcane Mark, Mark of Fellowship, or Mark of Agramant. It is not entirely certain, in the latter case, if it will remove all lingering traces of the influence of Blood-on-the-Pines upon the target, but it will remove the Mark and any substantial effects arising from it.
• It removes a single curse that brands the body, such as Scrivener's Bloodmark or Freezing Brand of Irremais. It will always remove the most recent such curse.
• It removes all ongoing standard (not strong, durable, or true) auras on the target, such as those created by Anointing. It also removes any words like those created by the Testimony ceremony, unless they are strong auras or were created with the use of True Liao or a similar substance. It will not remove Dedications or reverse the effects of Excommunication.
• If applied to a willing target who has not otherwise been affected by one of the above effects, that target loses all their hits and begins dying.

If applied to an item:

• It removes all ongoing auras on the target, such as those created by hallowing, unless they are a true aura such as those created with the use of True Liao.
• It will destroy any single non-artefact item which has not otherwise been affected by one of the above effects (in particular, if applied to a hallowed item it loses its hallow but is not destroyed).

It is not suitable to use to remove location auras, as a dose of true stormlye is insufficient to cover a location.

Any character can recognise true stormlye for what it is, and its properties can be determined by detect magic.

If you have mastered the ritual Proof of Lye and Lightning, when you master this ritual you may choose to simultaneously unmaster Proof of Lye and Lightning. This effectively allows you to simply change Proof of Lye and Lightning for Emulsion of Lye and Lightning.

Bakar i Riqueza, Hakima of Salt and Sand

Description

This ritual was created under the tutelage of the eternal Azoth, based off an earlier ritual it had created with the collaboration of the Freeborn hakima Bakar i Riqueza. During the Autumn Equinox 387YE, Grandmaster of the Unfettered Mind Zlata Ruznikova Perenel raised the declaration to have it added to Imperial lore. Bakar paid the monies necessary to ensure the ritual text was made available to anyone who wanted it, and has duly become a part of the collection of every Imperial alchemist worth their salt.

The predecessor ritual, the Proof of Lye and Lightning, was a proof of concept which did not require the use of ilium, but created a substance called stormlye whose power was much more limited. That earlier ritual specifically destroyed the resilient walking corpses known as the Parched which arose from the sinister Winter blight which consumed the Great Grasses of Madruga during the reign of Emperor Vesna. The development of Emulsion of Lye and Lightning was made possible with some of the dust that remained after destroying one of the winter constructs which directed the Parched, the so-called "Dry Patricians", was given to the Azoth by Bakar i Riqueza after the successful use of the prototype ritual in the field. Subsequently, the heart of the blight itself was aligned to Night, claimed by the Azoth, and washed clean with Spring-infused river waters, again with the aid of its pupil Bakar. In so doing, the Azoth gained a fundamental understanding into the nature of the blight and its antithesis, and the alchemical resonances implied thereof. While Night is notoriously extremely poor at directly causing any form of destruction, the power of this ritual works by channelling the resonance with Spring and Winter contained within the contributing materials, unleashing the considerable ruinous potential associated with those realms without directly drawing on their power, instead using them as catalysts for the potential locked within the ilium itself.

Azoth is fascinated by the way magical materials may be brought together to create something new.

Distil the Serpent's Stone attempts to create a perfected material of higher nature than the dross of the mundane world around it, and Amalgamation of Silver and Gold creates a substance specifically intended to "perfect" the body of a mortal being. Emulsion of Lye and Lightning attempts to turn this on its head, creating a substance that can dissolve nearly anything: in this sense it approaches the so-called "Alkahest" sought by some alchemists. As with those rituals, it is only through the mysterious power of star metal that the creation of such a unique and potent substance is possible. The Azoth warns that it would not be possible to create another such ritual easily: only a very particular set of circumstances allowed for this one, and it would almost always require the assistance of an eternal such as the Azoth to perfect such a ritual.

Just as with its cousin rituals, the potence of true stormlye comes from the star metal, guided by the tempest jade and beggar's lye used in its preparation. It is not entirely clear why these were the right choices for this ritual, though some scholars who have studied the ritual comment on the strong association of tempest jade with the destruction inherent in storms, and beggar's lye is certainly a powerful solvent in its own right. Some members of the Golden Pyramid have commented that the magic item known as Lodestone Shears is somehow analogous to this ritual, and it is true that such shears use similar ingredients.

It is interesting to note that just like Amalgamation of Gold and Silver and Distill the Serpent's Stone, the ritual does not possess an assurance and does not draw on the power of the eternal who helped create it. Scholars of the Unfettered Mind speculate that these alchemical rituals benefit from the involvement of an eternal because they are capable of understanding magical materials and their transformation in a way that mortals cannot - that they can see them in a different way. So far the creation of a new alchemical ritual seems always to be a product of mortal ingenuity married to the particular perception of an eternal (almost certainly Azoth).

Common Elements

This is an alchemical mystery, and almost always includes elements such as fire; beakers, bowls and other pieces of alchemical equipment; water and other liquids, including blood (some ritualists use a little blood from a naga, a draughir, and a briar); charts and diagrams; and the other trappings of this ancient magical lore. Special materials and a ring of ilium, and consequently a vessel such as a crucible or cauldron are often the central focus of the magic. Many ritualists wear masks or veils when they perform this ritual - not least because there are occasionally noxious byproducts of the transformation.

The forces of the heavens are often referenced in alchemical rituals. If the theory that the stars represent in some way the tools of the Creator are true, then evoking the power of astronomancy seems entirely appropriate to the practice of enacting permanent transformation. The constellations of the Great Wyrm and the Drowned Man in particular is likely to be evoked. The names of the eternal Azoth is often used, and it would probably also be appropriate to goetically invoke Kaela, with her close association with endings, though some who have experimented with the ritual report that Llofir's name can produce a substance which is somewhat gentler in its destructive action.

The runes of transformation and endings are evoked with this magic, although it is common to include Wyr as alchemy is inherently an art shrouded in mystery. There are uses for Mawrig, though only the careful ritualist will invoke such a potent power. Some esoteric scholars have suggested that this ritual may be one of the rare appropriate place to invoke The Unnamed, though they absolutely refuse to be drawn on why that is.

The magic item known as the Mask of Gold and Lead can be used to make this ritual easier to perform.