Kapala of Memory
Description: Kapala is a Sanskrit word, meaning a cup or bowl made from the cranium of a human skull. Though the term Kapala is Indian in origin, it has entered the lexicon of anthropology to describe a cup made from a human skull from any culture, for any purpose. It has been observed by anthropologists, that the act of taking the cranial bone of a fallen enemy as a trophy and drinking vessel is a world wide phenomenon. In the darker rites of Hinduism, the Kapala is a sacred vessel, its use and importance utterly divorced from the identity of its initial host and based on its central role in rituals of death magic. Therefore, the ‘Kapala of Mnemosyne’ is a ritual using the inverted cranial bone as a vessel for drinking blood; specifically, the blood of the caster to rejuvenate personal memories and facilitate the recall of past events.
Origin: Benesj the Black -- While the necromancer known as Benesj the Black produced the latest versions of Greco-Roman rituals, the pale rites underwent three separate evolution beginning with the Cappadocian style and proceeding through an Egyptian style and finally the Greco-Roman style. All such rituals are based on the principle of Authority rather than that of Taboo.
Ingredients: A pinch silver powder for purity, a pinch of salt for clarification and an inverted human cranium for a cup.
Casting: While chanting a mantra related to the memory he wishes to relive the caster slits his wrist, filling the skull cup with his vitae. He then sprinkles the powdered salt and silver over the blood and then drinks it; thus experiencing the memory as if it had just happened.
System: Intelligence + Rituals = 4. Additional successes equate to greater clarity; one success is a pretty fuzzy memory, while five or more successes are a picture perfect memory. This ritual takes five (5) minutes to cast.
Reference: The closest parallel is “Scrying”, a thaumaturgic ritual found on pg.96 of Blood Magic – Secrets of Thaumaturgy. The “Scrying” ritual is level four and affects an unlimited number of subjects, while this ritual only affects the caster. Though, ‘Insight’, the level one path power of the Sepulchre path of Giovanni necromancy is also a reasonable example.
