Persephone’s Seeds

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: The Seeds of Persephone are bezoar - a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, especially ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. In this ritual, the healing properties of the bezoar are combined with vampire blood to induce reanimation. In order to animate the remains of any animal, a bezoar from its species is required. Once the bezoar has absorbed enough vampire blood, it is dipped in beeswax to preserve its efficacy and may last centuries before being used. When the necromancer needs to animate a specific breed of animal, he removes the beeswax and forces the blood soaked bezoar down the throat of the beast. Shortly thereafter, the beast will shudder to false life and will remain in existence until the next dawn or until it is completely dismembered. Because of the amount of vampire blood absorbed by the bezoar, the reanimated animal may be considered a blood bound ghoul for the purposes of following the necromancer's directions and for their supernatural strength. A number of 'Persephone's Seeds may be enchanted with each casting and its not uncommon for necromancer's who know this ritual to have a large number and variety of blood soaked bezoars on hand.
Origin: There were many variants throughout the Ancient World as the Clan Cappadocian used the successful creation of 'Persephone's Seeds' as a test to determine which childer were prepared to learn the greater secrets of death. Few necromancers in the modern nights are familiar with this means of reanimation as it died out with the Grave-robbers, though a few morbid Tzimisce still utilize it in the more isolated regions of Eastern Europe.
Ingredients: Animal Bezoar / Vampire Blood / A Graveyard
Casting: The necromancer begins the ritual by invoking Persephone - Queen of the Underworld and the first being to return from death in blessing this ritual with success. Then he digs a hole in graveyard earth and places the bezoar in a sack made from intestines and fills it with his blood. Once the sack is filled with vampire blood and bezoar, the necromancer buries it with another invocation to Persephone. The necromancer must perform this ritual on three consecutive nights and on the fourth night he must coat the blood soaked bezoar with beeswax and dedicate the seeds to Persephone.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Rituals at a difficulty of six (6) and expends four blood points for each bezoar to be enchanted. Successes equate to the number of bezoar that were successfully ensorcelled. Failure results in the complete waste of vampire blood, but the bezoar are reusable. A botch results in corrupt seeds that appear normal until activation, but which immediately attack the nearest target upon animation; corrupt animations completely ignore the necromancer unless he is the closest target. These reanimated beings will exist until the next dawn or until they are completely dismembered (they have ten health levels) or destroyed by fire. They do not suffer penalties for pain, because they feel nothing and will willingly throw themselves in harms way at the caster's command. Due to the amount of vampire blood used in their creation and the short term of their existence, the children of Persephone are imbued with a single level of Potence, like any other ghoul.
Reference: Though the White Wolf System has numerous necromancy paths and rituals for reanimation, none specifically follows the formula above and yet, each is its inspiration.