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The Scripture of the Bride
Once, there was a maiden...
Favorable Inflection Procedure
Cost: 5m; Mins: Linguistics 2, Essence 1; Type: Simple (Speed 4) Keywords: Combo-Basic, Emotion, Virtue(Compassion) Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None
...who fled a shadow, in the company of a friend.
The Sidereal Exalted know that a person's name is more than just a label, it's a tiny fragment of his identity literally woven into his fate. If the Vizier knows someone's name, she thus has some small power over him. This charm allows her to exploit that power by saying the person's name in his presence and making a (Charisma + Linguistics) roll, adding the character's Essence in automatic successes. The named person resists with his Dodge MDV value. If the roll succeeds, the target feels a burst of joy, contentment, and a feeling of connection to the Sidereal.
If, prior to the invocation of this charm, the target was angry or hostile toward the character, his ire melts away and he forgets what upset him though the current situation can certainly remind him if the Sidereal is incautious in the use of this charm. In any other situation, the target becomes cheerful and in a good mood, taking a -1 penalty to her Dodge Mental Defense Value for as long as the mood lasts. The target can wait for his mood to sour on its own, or spend two willpower to become immune to this charm for the remainder of the day.
Blue Vervain Binding
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Linguistics 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-OK, Shaping, Training Duration: One Story, or Instant Prerequisite Charms: None
They traveled through strange places, and among strange people.
The Sidereal speaks an ancient blessing in the language of the Old Realm, which the Sidereal must know, tying the fates of two individuals together. This blessing requires one minute, and the Vizier's cadence and inflection must be perfect necessitating a (Intelligence + Linguistics) roll with a difficulty of 5. Success imbues each target with the ability to understand and speak Old Realm, in a dialect unknown outside of the Maidens and their Chosen. Some speculate that this tongue is an ancient dialect from before the Primordial War, while others believe it to be a yet unborn variant from an Age yet to come. This knowledge lasts for one story, though as an alternative, both subjects may choose to learn the language permanently at the moment the Sidereal finishes the blessing making it's duration Instant. The Vizier may also stipulate this. This function is a Training effect, and can raise the subject's Linguistics past the limits set by her Essence.
Ice and Fire Binding
Cost: 10m; Mins: Linguistics 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-Basic, Maiden, Sanction, Servitude Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None
"How can you trust me," he asked, "with such horror behind you?"
The same blessing as that used in the Blue Vervain Binding, extended into it's full form, is a potent set of shackles in the service of fate. The Ice and Fire Binding takes one hour to properly invoke, requiring an (Intelligence + Linguistics) roll with a difficulty of 9. Each additional Sidereal who supports this Charm with her presence and words reduces the difficulty by 1, to a minimum of 5. These supporters need not know the charm. If successfully invoked, this chant summons a spirit of Fire (a god or an elemental) with an Essence equal to or less than the Sidereal's, and binds it with the essence of Serenity. For one season, this spirit is bound to seek the joy, health and pleasure of those around it. Afterward, the memory of its servitude is smoothly removed from the spirit's mind along with any details of the Sidereals who summoned and bound it.
Lover's Oath
Cost: 20, 1wp, 1hl; Mins: Linguistics 4, Essence 3; Type: Simple Keywords: Fate, Maiden, Prayer Strip, Sanction Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Favorable Inflection Protocol, Blue Vervain Binding, Ice and Fire Binding
"Love endures," she said.
The life of a Sidereal can be a lonely one, and perhaps in recognition of this the Maidens gave their Chosen access to this Charm which creates an unbreakable bond between the Sidereal and her partner. Only the character need know this charm, but her partner must understand what the oath represents and the seriousness of the bond – which is tantamount to a wedding ceremony. That some Sidereal's treat this oath as yet another tool instead of a reverent partnership between two individuals is known to particularly disturb the Maiden of Serenity.
In order to sanctify the Lover's Oath, the Sidereal writes the Scripture of the Bride on a prayer strip and wraps it around both her hand and the hand of her partner. While so bound both must speak yet another variant of the Blue Vervain Binding, tempered by her lover's name and a bit of her own soul, and requiring both to roll (Intelligence + Linguistics) and add their successes together. If they jointly achieve seven successes, the oath is recognized and considered binding by the Maidens and fate. The prayer strip shrivels and reshapes into a pair of starmetal rings, set with sapphires, which neither partner can remove. Others can destroy them using the same rules as breaking a prayer strip.
While the rings endure, the Sidereal and her partner can share motes, Willpower and even health levels between themselves. Motes drawn from her partner count as Peripheral for the purposes of the character using them, and damage levels are automatically and involuntarily transferred to whichever partner has the lower natural wound penalty at the moment of infliction. Any use of compassion to aid one's partner translates dice to automatic successes.
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