Thursday, May 17, 2012

A Leather Thong Necklace With A Brightly Painted Stone Figure

...The figure depicts a creature with the body of a horse and the head of a pelican. 


Fortune Card: The Fool, Reversed - Lack of Connection

Nobody loves a cosmic joke. Only a Fool would wear such a thing. The strange hybrid form of the Horse Pelican is often used among Spherewalkers as a signifier for anything incongruous or bizarre. It also calls to mind the Chaos curses that spawned the Man-Duck and The Caliban.

It is known in many spheres as the Axe-Bird, because it can use its beak to chop wood. It is also called The Mother Bird, because it will prick its breast and use its own blood to ensure its children have something to eat.

The Pelican is all Water. In the realm of Bonekeep, the priests of Osiris and Anubis still revere the Pelican as one of the soul's guides through the Underworld. In the realm of Bonekeep, The Ghoul Queen and her minions in the priesthood of Isis have a superstitious fear of this simple creature. As a result, they have killed practically all of the birds along the great river.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%84gyptische_Sammlung_08.jpg
Pelican detail in sun temple relief, Egypt


The Horse is Fire and Air.It brings grace, speed, and spirit - but also madness, and a taste for human flesh. Everyone has heard of foals being born with razormanes and carnivore teeth. Such lethal progeny often kill their mothers in the birthing process. They are also next to impossible to break. Stallions pass this madness on though their seed. This is why it is said that one bad stallion can corrupt a whole stable.

Mosaic: Labors of Hercules
National Archaeological Museum of Spain
Creative Commons photo attribution Jose Garcia
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_08.jpg 


People who are highly individualistic, independent, or prone to wanderlust will be attracted to this necklace. But the wearer of this necklace will slowly go mad. Their behavior will be highly erratic, at one time deeply altruistic - almost to the point of martyrdom - and in the next moment feral and dangerous - especially on an empty stomach.

Mechanics: The wearer of the necklace may boost their Fire, Air, or Water scores by 1 during any scene. After using the necklace in a scene, the wearer's Earth score will be reduced by 2 for a full day and night afterwords. During that time, they must consume raw animal flesh. Every month they wear the necklace, their own Water score is permanently reduced by 1, until their are completely insensate with madness.

The scene-related benefit increases by 2 if the player or GM draws The Fool, Upright (Freedom) in that scene. If the player or GM draws The Fool, Reversed (Lack of Connection), the same affect applies, but the wearer will demonstrate some sign of madness for a full day and night after the scene.

Questions:
  1. Where and why was this necklace created?
  2. Who gave it to the Spherewalker?
  3. Why does s/he risk its use?
What are your answers?

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