Liao
Liao is a purple powder that is used in ceremonial rites performed by Imperial priests. Liao is provided to everyone who ministers to a congregation, which is a type of Resource.
Liao is made from vinum. Vinum is a white sap that was discovered by the Navarr to form a chewable confection that aids with deep, restful and dreamless sleep; and was often used to treat nightmares and night terrors. For use in these rites, it can be:
- burned as incense and inhaled
- mixed into liquid and imbibed
- mixed into a small capsule and consumed
Ceremonial Liao
The process of turning vinum sap into liao is complex, expensive and time-consuming. It can take many years to mature vinum into liao. Within the Empire, this cost and complexity is arranged by the Imperial Civil Service who process quantities on behalf of the Imperial Faith for use in liao ceremonies.
True, or Imperial, Liao
During the maturing process that turns vinum into liao, around one dose in ten thousand matures to a radiant purple. This has come to be known as True Liao, or Imperial Liao. True Liao is the means by which a human can receive a vision of another time and place, which is held to be their past life.
True Liao is not simply consumed but requires access to a gateway. A gateway is a specially constructed chamber which, when not in use, appears to simply be an empty chamber. Yet when a visionary partakes of True Liao, and enters the gateway, the world around them melts away such that they feel as though they stand in another time and place. The civil service are capable of erecting gateways to the Labyrinth in any location given sufficient opportunity.
True Liao can also be used in place of ceremonial liao to make an anointing, dedication or consecration permanent, rather than temporary. Such use is exceptionally rare, and is usually reserved for Empresses, artefacts, cathedrals, or similar.