------------------------------------------------- --- Shell of Nightmares Unspoken and Devoured --- ------------------------------------------------- Artifact ●●●○○ Artifact Materials: An Onyx Spiral Seashell, Soulsteel inlay Attunement: 6 Motes ************ ** THEMES ** ************ Death's Siren Sorcery Stealing Voices Ghost Interaction *********** ** STORY ** *********** Once a maiden fair found the strangest shell amongst the seas, for it was made not of it's natural materials, but instead made of Onyx. Perhaps, she thought, t'was discarded by a fair princess long since grown distant to this beautiful toy, perhaps just a trinket dear to the heart lost forever in the seas. T'matters not, she thought, and took the shell to be her own, treasured it and loved it dearly. So obsessed did she become with this beautiful shell, that she grew distant to mankind, and recused herself to admire it's beauty day in and out, stare at it till hunger gnaws at flesh and bone, calls away - for but moment! - the glances and admirations. It continued thus until the day the maiden, once fair and now withered in her youth, died of starvation and deprivation, long forgotten in her hut along the shoreline. Dark the days did grow, and none came to lay her spirit to rest. So drawn was she by this unearthly beauty, that she remained behind as ghost in the darkened cabin, still admiring, still loving, above all else. Until one day a man came, clothed in black and with feathers upon his shoulder, like a raven made man. The cloak of feathers rustled as he fixed the ghostly apparition of this maiden and he called upon her to leave this world behind, move on to the next cycle and be done. The maidens ghost did not obey and instead grew harsh and ugly, trying to strike the man in raven's feather cloaked. The day ended with her spirit lain to rest, sent to Lethe to be cleansed and born anew into this world, and with a raven-cloaked man witnessing the shell himself. Steeled against things darker and more terrible he recognized the fated evil for what it was, and he took it into his posession for but a day, to row far into the sea upon whose shore the lonely hut had been built. He rowed until his arms did burn, and there - far from any hands to grasp the treasure - cast it into the roiling sea, which stirred at the touch of the shell. It recognized the evil it had held once before, and did not like it's presence. But the darkness in the maiden's heart found one more admirer, a powerful servant of a Lord of Death. As the spirit of the maiden plunged into Lethe, he had seen upon her the mark that the shell had left, and the servant set out to find it and bring it to it's master. Six years would pass 'fore the servant did find the shell, now once more in the posession of a young maiden, once more brought ashore by the sea that would not keep it's evil treasure - and in the eyes of the Maiden did the servant see something new. More years passed, until the Maiden would finally succumb and draw her last breath, only to be offered another one by one amongst the Lords of Death. And thus was born The Bride Spattered with the Tears of the Damned, Harbringer of the Spectral Chorus and Siren of the Dark Waters. ************************ ** INHERENT ABILITIES ** ************************ The Shell of Nightmares Unspoken and Devoured grants it's master the ability to see and speak to ghosts at all times, enabling vocal interaction in both directions, though nothing more. Upon first interacting with a spirit, the wearer of the artifact can roll a (Wits/Intelligence + Occult) roll against a base difficulty of 3 (modified by the Storyteller) to pinpoint the reason why any one ghost did not immediately fall into Lethe and instead became a spirit. The wearer can make a pact with anyone willing to sell their voice for the chance to gaze upon the Shell itself. At any one point a maximum number of voices can be stored within the Shell equal to (Essence or 3, whichever is higher). When the shell is 'full' the owner of the artifact can either release a voice back to it's original owner or 'shred' it into pure Essence, granting herself 1 mote of instant Essence regeneration and thereby destroying the voice forever. **************** ** EVOCATIONS ** **************** Unbound Beauty Admiration Cost: 5m, 1wp Mins: Essence 1 Type: Simple Keywords: Perilous Duration: Instant Prerequisite: None Showing the Shell to another, a desire is kindled and a voice becomes mute. This Charm enacts an Instill action with the intent to implant a Tie to the Shell of Unbound Admiration. The roll to create or strengthen this Intimacy is granted double 9s but is otherwise treatet as any other Instill action. This Intimacy, once created and suitably strengthened, can be used to convince others to sell their voice to get but one more glance at the shell. Violent Voice-Stealing Gesture Cost: 8m, 1wp Mins: Essence 1 Type: Simple Keywords: Perilous Duration: Instant Prerequisite: Unbound Beauty Admiration Seizing upon the weakness of her foe, the sorceress simply rips her target's voice from their very being, violently silencing them forever. This Charm can only be used on minor foes with a Permanent Willpower maximum of 4 or below (most normal mortals), and only once per day. This Charm enacts a kind of social attack which rolls (Charisma/Manipulation + Presence) against her target's Resolve. If at least three net successes are rolled, the target becomes mute, his voice stolen. In contrast to voices attained via barganing, this voice cannot be restored, for it has been too violently taken away. The Final Cacophony of a Voice Cost: 3m Mins: Essence 1 Type: Reflexive Keywords: Perilous Duration: Instant Prerequisite: Unbound Beauty Admiration Once per scene the owner of this Artifact can reflexively devour a single voice 'stored' within the artifact to grant herself increased sorcerous powers. Using a voice in this way forever destroys it, so that it's original owner can never speak again. Using this Charm grants the sorceress an additional number of sorcerous motes equal to successes on a (Willpower + Presence) roll. Using a voice in this fashion creates a cacophony of noise which builds to a climax of ear-shattering volume, as the voice is being torn apart. This Charm can be reset by catching another voice within shell by bargaining (i.e. not with Violent Voice-Stealing Gesture) Minor characters whose voice is thusly devouered suffer a physical shock leading (most likely) to death, while major characters instead suffer five dice of rolled lethal damage which ignores hardness.