By ??? (Send me email if you know who wrote this.)
By frater IAM, Magister Templii of Ordo Rosae Crucis
Besides the useful talismans and foci mages use there is a bewildering array of weird and wonderful things that can be found inside the labs of an old chantry. Some of these have useless but interesting magickal effects, like the Cursing Shell. Others are quite powerful, or show evidence of extremely powerful magick (like the Cube of Vacuum). And others may be completely nonmagickal but nevertheless interesting, like the Axe of Paracelsius.
During the late 11th century, an obscure Hermetic scholar named Andreas Arenamontanus collected many of the most weird and wonderful magickal items known in his work De Naturae Mysteris. While it also contained quite a bit of speculations, exaggerations and outright lies, it has remained a standard work about strange magickal artifacts. This list is a feeble attempt to name a few of the weird things the author has come across in his studies.
The Cube of Vacuum
This is an old artifact. It is a small cube of tarnished steel and lead, about 5 centimetres across. Inside it exists a pure vacuum. Not just the absence of air, but the absence of everything. There is no energy, no matter, no time, no space and no prime inside it. The enchantments which made this feat possible is lost in the mists of time. It is rumoured to have been created by Void Engineers during the late middle ages, perhaps even by Copernicus himself. Others claim it is the work of a powerful Euthanatos mage, who succeeded so well that he ceased to have existed at all. Only the cube remains.
Regardless of the origin of the cube, it is an unique item many mages would like to have. The Void Engineers are rumoured to search for it, as do the Euthanatos and the Order of Hermes. During the centuries it has passed down many hands.
What could it be used for? As an Entropy foci or the foci for Prime-removal magick have been proposed. Some imaginative mages think it could contain the secrets about how to create more True Vacuum. Some paranoid mages claim it is a Nephandi artifact created to lure mages to find this out, and thus destroy the Universe. Most mages who have had it agree that it is most useful as a paper weight.
The Statue of Ho
The Statue is a small figurine of jade, showing a Chinese astrologer (Reputedly the astrologer Ho, colleague to Hsi. They were executed by the emperor for failing to predict a solar eclipse due to their drunkenness). According to many mages it protects the owner from the Technocracy, and is said to have a certain sense of humour. Exactly how (and if) this is done is unknown, but most mages believe it is done by coincidental effects.
The Paper
This is exactly what it looks like, a normal blank writing paper. When someone writes on it, the text will disappear after a few seconds. It also seems to absorb text from around it, turning a few pages in a nearby book blank (often coincidentally. The mage knows there was an appendix C, but now there isn't. Must have misremembered).
What makes the paper really interesting is the fact that it can be read when the light is very dim, almost too dark to read. Then text appears on the paper. The shown text can be anything; from pages of technical manuals to love letters. It seems that the paper has been around for a long time. Its exact origin or use is unknown.
Box of Forgetfulness
This item is a small oaken box. Its surface is carved into quite impressive pictures of Greek gods and goddesses, with the goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne, in the middle. It could be any fancy cigar-box. But when any item is put inside it, the person who put the item inside the box will immediately forget about it. This forgetfulness will last until the victim is reminded in any way.
According to rumour, it was created by a member of Cult of Ecstasy who wanted to quit smoking. There are other amusing tales about the box and lost foci and talismans, but most of them are stories of the "Absentminded hermetic mage"-type, and probably untrue. That Arenamontanus forgot his glasses inside for over a year is definitely untrue.
The Cursing Shell
This shell is a quite ordinary, albeit rather nice, seashell. But when shaken, a listener who puts it against his ear will hear a stream of quite creative invectives. The origin of the curses, swear words and other foul language are believed to be a small demon trapped inside the shell. Could be used as an ice-breaker on parties, or as a learning tool.
The Amagickal Rock
This is a small piece of rock, about 10 cm wide and 7 across. It is some sort of marble, and at least one side shows some signs of chiselling. What is unusual is the fact that it is absolute immune against any magick. It will not reveal its composition to Matter magick. It cannot be moved with Forces. It will not crumble when Entropy is used. It will not disappear when a mage tries to drain its Prime. According to malicious rumour, an entire chantry of the Celestial Chorus spent a week trying to destroy or even move it.
Some mages have suggested that it is not real, but some kind of collective hallucination. Arenamontanus claim it is made of some kind of extremely dense Prime, which normal magick cannot touch. An Alchemist thought it was a piece of rock that had evolved to its highest level, but soon found out that it could be damaged with mundane means.
Postcard of a Strike
This is a postcard, quite old and yellowed, depicting a sunny beach (maybe in southern England). It has an unintelligible address and text, written with a very shaky handwriting. What is unusual about it, is the fact that every time it is posted (with a new stamp of course), the Post Office will go on strike. Every time. The postcard will be lost during the strike, and must be tracked down again. Somehow, it always resurfaces at another mage or awakened being.
Some anarchistic Hollow Ones find this fun, and constantly tracks it down, post it, track it down and so on. Other mages want to study it, but somehow they always miss it. Unfortunately the author is in this category.
The Pentacle of Vladimir Koronov
This pentacle is an exquisite design in glass. It is a masterpiece of art, filled with tiny miniatures and symbols made of the finest filigree, with interlacing fibres of gold. It is beautiful, fragile and extremely interesting. Every time someone studies it he will notice new symbols and pictures, often quite unexpected. Many pictures cleverly overlap or exist inside each other. Some imaginative members of the Order claims that every secret truth of the universe exists inside the convoluted pictures. Most persons who have seen it almost always agree.
The pictures depict almost everything; from hermetic allegories for profound magickal truths, over burlesque scenes to abstract patterns. There are labyrinths with alchemical signs where mythical creatures roam. There are religious celebrations showing age old hermetic mysticism. There are baroque scenes from the Russian nobility, interleaved with the simple life of the peasants and allegories of cabala. Almost anything can be found if one knows where to look.
Vladimir Koronov was one of the most skilled craftsmen in the whole Order of Hermes during the early 18th century. Although he was only an acolyte for all his life, he created artwork embodying the deepest truths known to the order. This Pentacle, created for the regent of the chantry is his greatest work. It has passed from master to apprentice since then, and have become a symbol of the hermetic worldview.
The Travelling Marble
The marble is an unassuming piece of green glass, which has the unusual power to always disappear from the owner at an inopportune moment. It will fall down a hole in the pocket, become stolen by a bird, roll down the drain or otherwise disappear. The more the owner tries to keep it, the more probable it is that it escapes. After some time it may return, especially if the owner have been nice to it (how does one behave nicely to glass marble?). It is found lying in the gutter, inside freshly caught fish or perhaps drops out from a window into the hand of the owner. Some owners have lost the marble dozens of times. It is almost like it played hide and seek with the mage.
The True Book of Lies
This is one of the most devious jokes (?) of Aleister Crowley. It is a special edition of his "Book of Lies", containing even more contradictions, riddles and falsehoods than the original. It was made in only one copy. On the outside, it looks almost like the original. It is autographed by the author, having "I hope you will enjoy my lies, (readers name). A. Crowley" hand-written on the front page.
The joke is that the book will transform the perceptions of the reader slightly when read. This transformation will make changes like paradox, but often very subtle. The whole world will be filled with strange lies and contradictions. The victim's friends will contradict themselves and never admit they are wrong. The facts in books and papers are not quite right. Calculations will almost always end up completely wrong. Passwords and codes the victim remembers clearly will not work. The effect wears off after some time, depending on how much the victim read. A causal glance may lead to some misremembered numbers. A person who read the whole book from cover to cover will be surrounded by lies for almost a week or even more.
It is said that the book is not only a joke, but also a test. If the victim manages to see through the lies of ordinary life, he might gain tremendous insights. But these may also be lies. Some mages claim it is a tool for the Seeking, and may give clues to the true nature of ones Avatar. But it may also lie about it, sending the mage on a wild goose chase.
The Axe of Paracelsius
This axe has a long and eventful history. Originally it was the executioner's axe at the Bloodbath of Stockholm 1520. King Kristian II ordered about 100 nobles executed. Paracelsius bought the axe, since he believed that an object which had killed that many noble lives must contain much power, especially in curing diseases. He used rust from it in his elixirs. When he was killed in a barroom brawl, the axe briefly became property of an innkeeper, until a wandering Alchemist bought it from him.
Since then it has been the property of Alchemists, Progenitors, mundane killers, the police, Order of Hermes and so on. It is a quite sought after antique, and many mages would dearly have it on the wall or as a foci. There are many rumours about its power, ranging from that it is a potent tool for healing to that it is cursed and every owner will be murdered, or commit murder himself. Most probably, it does not have any magickal powers.
Daedalus Molecular Gyro Crystals
These crystals are the work of a Technomancer or Son of Ether (or maybe a whole team) going under the pseudonym Daedalus. The crystals look (and are in fact) normal crystals of norborane-7-one, about five centimetres long. What is unusual about them is the fact that they behave like gyros, without rotating themselves. They will remain pointing in a certain direction regardless of where they are, and when subjected to outside forces they will begin to precess until they are removed. The crystals are extremely strong, and the only way to turn a gyro crystal is to use Correspondence or extremely powerful Forces magick.
The gyro crystals are a cruel joke at Technomancer science. In fact, they are completely allowed by it! The Technocracy would like to forbid them with their science, but can't, since they are entirely based on the assumptions of it. Every molecule of norborane spins in the crystal lattice. But since normally about half of them rotate clockwise and half counterclockwise, there is no net effect. But Daedalus have cooled them down to an extremely low temperature (where they are not spinning much) and heated them using higher and higher frequencies of clockwise polarised circular microwaves. When they heat up, the molecules begins to spin in the same direction and when room temperature is reached, they will all spin quickly in the same way, turning normal norborane into gyro crystals.
The crystals have many fun uses. Put inside parcels, they will create endless problem for the Post Office and New World Order. Euthanatos have found that they contain extremely little entropy, which can be transferred in many fun ways. When melted or solved in water, the resulting liquid will also spin (often with catastrophic results, as the energy released into spinning is quite enormous. Do not do this at home, boys and girls!).
Daedalus distributes these crystals as presents or as practical jokes on the Technomancers. He is also behind many other weird schemes and devices, many which uses technomancer science in ways even the Sons of Ether regard as weird. Sheep food which colour the fur into tiger patterns. Machines which send messages or explosions through the air using vortices, making the sound seem to come from above (much fun, these). Knotted magnetic fields (will make anybody with Forces 1 very confused). Nastyglass, which makes everything seen through it have the leering, sickly quality of severe "morning after" light (it will induce headaches quickly). As expected, the Technocracy would dearly like to find out who Daedalus is.
The Ball of Flies
The ball is a small crystal ball, about 10 centimetres across. Inside it, there are lots of living flies. What is unusual is that they never die, just keep on flying, creeping and buzzing. The ball is at least 100 years old, and no fly has ever died or been born. Anybody with Life can tell that they are real, living, nonmagickal flies. The ball seems to lack any other magickal effects.
Some mages claim it could be used as a means for divination. By studying the patterns of flies, information can be revealed. Probably this information is mainly of entropic nature.
The Snail
This is a snail, seemingly made out of black, iridescent stone. But it slowly moves, too slow for the human eye. It can take it days to cross a table, and reputedly it once spent a year moving from room to room in a house. If it is turned, it will slowly turn around and continue the same way. It seems to seek for something, or perhaps try to reach a certain place.
According to Arenamontanus, an earlier owner of it, the snail is alive, in an alien way. It may be an ordinary lifeform from a realm somewhere. He points out that it seems quite unintelligent, but extremely stubborn. He also mentions, quite cryptically, that he believes that it would not be a good idea to let it reach its destination.