Child of Hekate’s Truth

The Necromantic Library of Phineus -x- Level One Rituals -x- Level Two Rituals -x- Level Three Rituals -x- Level Four Rituals -x- Level Five Rituals

Description: This ritual allows the necromancer to actually capture the essence of a spell cast upon him. The ritual requires the enchantment of a stillborn infant; the body of which takes on the characteristics of the ritual. The features of the infant, mutations, growth marks and inspection of the internal organs can reveal every facet of the ritual cast upon the caster. A thorough inspection of the dead child can allow the necromancer to identify the ritual should he see it again and if the working belongs to an art the necromancer knows (necromancy, thaumaturgy, etc) then he can learn the spell, give the appropriate amount of time. The haruspicy can only capture the essence of rituals cast upon the caster; the powers of paths are exempt from the effects of this ritual. Alternately, the necromancer can imprint the stillborn child by casting a ritual upon it; so that it can be given as a gift from the necromancer to another sorcerer for the purpose of learning that ritual. The key principles of this ritual are those of contagion and identity.
Origin: Benesj the Black
Ingredients: a stillborn child
Casting: The casting of this enchantment is a heavily ritualized enactment of the blood bond and as such must be cast over the course of three successive nights. The ritual must be cast in a precinct sacred to Hekate and the child must be dedicated upon an altar especially designed for that purpose. The lighting of incense and invocations to the goddess occur as the caster cleans the child on the first night with artisan waters, followed on the second night by red wine and on the third night by olive oil. Directly after each cleansing the caster holds the infant upside-down by its ankles and declares himself as its father; immediately following the declaration, the caster strikes the child’s posterior and injects a point of his blood into its umbilical cord. Upon the third and final casting, a mystical bond is formed between the caster and the stillborn child; if a ritual is cast upon the necromancer, the child will automatically capture the spell’s essence.
System: The character’s player rolls Intelligence + Rituals = a difficulty of seven (7). The caster’s successes directly relate to the level of the ritual that can be captured by the ‘Child of Hekate’s Truth’. The limitation of this ritual is that, the dead child can only absorb one ritual before it loses its efficacy. Technically, the duration of the ritual is permanent, but the effectiveness of the enchantment fades as the stillborn rots; those who are wise, carefully embalm the children of Hekate. The caster can have as many children of Hekate as he wishes and it is not unknown for necromancers who know this ritual to have a collection of them.
Reference: A.K.A.: Black Eidolon