Mageburn

Mageburn: The Anatomy of a Blessed Scourge
Dedicated to the memory of Archmagus Driegel Darkwood.
Written by Master Thaddeus Dircombe

Archivist’s Note:
The following article was originally discovered in the Archives in the Rainbow Towers of Nexus Prime. Marks on the paper indicate that this fine piece of academic work was originally circulated amongst the facility of the aformentioned academy.

Foreword
Every mage studying, learning and teaching beneath the shadows of the Rainbow Towers mourns the unfortunate passing of the Archmagus Driegel Darkwood and his beloved wife. I have always had the profound honor of collaborating in matters arcane with the good Archmagus, and plumbed the limits of the sentient mind with his beloved companion. Let us grieve for their unfortunate and sudden passing, but also pay homage to their lifelong work through our studies.

Introduction

My interest in mageburn began with an unusual letter from Vers. A Master Mystic on the facility of the Imaden School of Higher Learning agreed to assist the provincial authorities in investigating a number of unusual murders in a rural hamlet. The state of the body implicated an unusually sloppy and unbalanced elementalist. When the culprit was cornered, he hastily consumed a glowing red crystal and suddenly became very still. My colleague was targeted with a spell nearly powerful enough to severely deplete a hastily erected Spell Nullify of Adept caliber. His description of the crystal invoked memories of a similar episode in Imperia shortly after the fracture of the Aethergem. Over the past few months, I have conducted a thorough investigation of the synthesis and effects of the blessed scourge we call mageburn.

Case Study: Apprentice Yvette

To protect the identity and good name of those involved, I have elected to change the name of the principle character in this unfortunate tragedy. The guilty parties have been prosecuted in accordance with the bylaws of the Mage Guild.

Ms. Yvette studied the Sphere of Elementalism underneath the tutelage of the Master Soshi. On the morning of the fifteenth brightening of Kalendryas on the eleventh Era after the fracture on the Aethergem, her friends and the late Master Soshi noted the absence of the normally punctual girl from lessons, meals and social appointments. Two more brightening passed before the school contacted her family and confirmed that Ms. Yvette hadn’t returned home. On the third brightening, Archmagus Darkwood was summoned and gained entrance into her locked room. The body of Ms. Yvette was found sprawled on the floor in the middle of the room. Her personal effects were found strewn haphazardly around the room as if flung about in a fit of rage. Her extensive notes on her studies, as well as her personal diary, were found partially burned in a pile atop her desk. Of particular note to the Archmagus Darkwood at the time was an untouched flask on her desk containing a handful of glowing, emerald-green crystals.

Quick examination of the body painted a troubling picture. Her entire body bore a pattern of fresh and half-healed bruises and cuts severe enough that the rogators suspected murder of the darkest kind. In her hands, the guardsman discovered a large handful of her own hair evidently torn out in a fit of madness. Her pupils, as far as the witnesses could discern, had shrunk to a mere pinprick. The body itself displayed signs of general malaise and malnutrition. While we will never know the true cause of death, the student bled heavily from every orifice on the face.

The proper authorities were immediately notified. Since the Archmagus’s wife had departed earlier in the cycle to visit ailing family in Arakmat, I naturally participated in the investigation of her desk. Her friends were summoned and asked to provide insight into the apprentice’s last days. It emerged quickly that Ms. Yvette was experiencing significant difficulties in her studies. With the annual examinations fast approaching, the apprentice risked significant sanction for another round of failed casting. My spells revealed a male acquaintance attempting to provide falsehoods. He was duly detained for further questioning.

Persuasive questioning uncovered a ring of accomplices amongst the rank of elementalists. The troublemakers provided Ms. Yvette with a significant amount of mageburn two cycles before her unfortunate demise. Symptoms, such as irritability and general lethargy, which her friends attributed to personal troubles indeed marked her first experimentations with the potent drug. The substantial increase in her casting-abilities was attributed to study and practice by careless instructors. Her demise can be directly attributed to an unfortunate reaction to mageburn.

The students found providing their fellows with mageburn contributed greatly to our knowledge of the substance in question. Their sacrifice in the name of arcana lore will not soon be forgotten.

On the Origins and Availability of Mageburn

Persuasive questioning in the case of Ms. Yvette led the Guard to a run-down house in the Dock with a primitive collection of alchemical equipment. Among the jars and boxes on the shelves, Archmagus Darkwood discovered a copy of alchemical texts. Evidently the male acquaintances visited Imperia after the unfortunate riots and purchased a number of such documents from a disreputable pawn-shop. The original author, to the best of our knowledge, was an alchemist who fled the city at the earliest possible chance.

My correspondence with other teaching masters has uncovered a number of seemingly unconnected hypothesized origins for mageburn. The earliest documentation of its effects comes from a century-old tome in the archives of Aelyria Prime. Several universities and academies report “outbreaks” of the drug’s use amongst its students over the past decades. Most of the individuals implicated in synthesizing the drug seem to have acquired their alchemical knowledge through acquaintances in the community of alchemists. None of the alchemists I have spoken to seem inclined to divulge the origins of the concoction.

The spread of mageburn seems largely limited by its relative obscurity and its profound effect on the mind and body. As only mages experience the effect of mageburn, crystals are most commonly found in cities with large populations of casters. The severity of effects generally limits the consumption of mageburn to a small collection of desperate individuals.

On the Character and Production of Mageburn

Rather than expound at length on the devilish concoction, I will provide a general summary of properties and effects for your perusal. I am indebted to an alchemist of significant skill for assistance in establishing the synthesis of mageburn.

Alternative Names: Spike, Bloodcandy
Appearance: Mageburn generally takes the appearance of a glowing parallelepiped crystal between a half-inch and an inch long.
Dosage: Each crystal constitutes a single ‘dose’.
Coloring: The color depends largely upon the sphere used to provide the necessary arcane ingredients. Material reduced to ashes by an Elemental spell will produce red crystals whist material destroyed by a druidic spell produces a green crystal.
Material Properties:Crystals generally exhibit various degrees of fragility ranging from the consistency of chalk to the consistency of sugar crystals.
Taste:The crystals are generally described as tasting unpleasant and quite bitter.

Ingredients for a single dose of Mageburn:
A kilogram of material destroyed by a spell.
Chalk used to draw a Circle of Magic
Pages from a spell book
A liter of blood from a small animal
Limestone
Bark of the Sandalwood tree
Gallon of distilled water

A note on the kilogram of spell-destroyed material: The sphere appears unimportant except for color of final product. The more arcane energy absorbed (and by extension the greater the power of the spell) the more potent the effects. A kilogram of lightly singed wood, for example, will produce a less potent product than a kilogram of ash reduced by an elementalist’s fire.

Preparation
1) A fire lit and allowed to burn for half an hour.
2) The bark of the Sandalwood tree is powdered and reduced to ash along with the limestone in a calcination bowl. Dissolve the resulting mixture in blood.
3) A retort is placed on the flame and filled with spring water. Blood slurry, spell book pages, chalk, and arcana-destroyed material are added and boiled together for a quarter of a candlemark.
4) Mixture is filtered and the water collected.
5) The water is allowed to evaporate on its own to dryness in an appropriate container. A crystal will form at the bottom of the container.

On the Effects of Mageburn

Mageburn seems only to affect those privy to the secrets of arcana. Those protected by ignorance can consume nearly unlimited amounts of mageburn without any ill effects save for the previously mentioned bitter and unpleasant taste. My research leads me to believe that the drug works primarily upon the portions of the mind responsible for manipulating the arcane. Those without Imparted knowledge or Promotions lack the necessary Arcane structure to experience the effect. Two crystals of mageburn seem to differ significantly in the duration of both the prefered effects and the unpleasent aftermath. The general trend seems to indicate a relationship between the potency of the drug and the length of its effect.

Desirable
Increased Focus
Mageburn acts upon the centers of the mind responsible for the manipulation of arcana. As such, users often achieve and maintain clara in a manner befitting the most talented mages of their rank. This effect seems most profound in Initiates and Apprentices. Masters and Adepts see little improvement upon their ability to meditate, but seem to shape complicated spells at a slightly faster rate than a normal mage.

Increased Potency
Initiates and Apprentices under the influence of mageburn seem able to access significantly more vis than their peers. This results in a notable increase in the effect and scope of their spells. In one instance, an Elementalist previously unable to affect the integrity of a crate dealt significant damage to an unused gardener’s shack. As Adepts and Masters naturally have access to greater stores of vis, the drug has little impact on the effectiveness of their spells.

Regeneration of Vis
When a Master-level (or, theoretically, Archmage-level) spell generates the kilogram of arcane material, the mageburn produced greatly increased speed at which the body naturally restores its supply of vis. Brief experiments indicate this regenerative effect is potent enough to allow a spent Master to cast several more Adept-level spells after three candlemarks of rest.

Undesirable
Immediate Effects
The consumption of mageburn immediately results in a strong tingling sensation in the extremities of the body. Blood seems to rush toward the torso and the head, leaving the arms and legs feeling cold and clammy. Users also experience a significant detachment form physical reality to the point where pain (and other sensation) is simply ignored. The pupils contract until they become mere pinpricks resulting in near-blindness except during the brightest hours of the day. In addition to these merely physical effects, users describe experiencing a feeling of elation comparable with some of the more reviled drugs.

As the effects of a single dose fade away, the body seems to overcorrect for the aforementioned effects. The pupils expand until even the slightest glimpse of light causes pain. Other senses become painfully acute until the touch of cloth against the skin or the sound of footsteps becomes unbearable. Long-time users will frequently bleed from the nose or the mouth.

Long-term Dependence
Even a single crystal of mageburn can cause an individual to become addicted. Some of this dependence stems from the mechanisms of the mind, a condition easily correctable by a mystic of some skill. However, even after the demons of the mind were exorcised, the individuals still experience a deep craving for mageburn. The only sure cure for dependency caused by brief experimentation is several cycles of abstention accompanied by a hodgepodge of general malaise.

Repeated use, even in small amounts, causes terrible changes upon the users. They slowly loose the ability to cast without consuming mageburn. Eventually, they cannot even maintain clara without a dose of mageburn. The size of the dose necessary to elicit the same effects also becomes greater and greater with each passing month. One subject in my studies consumed ten crystals to achieve the same effects as a normal single dose.

Addiction brings its own demons. In addition to an inability to cast, the truly addicted suffer from a bewildering range of maladies from bloodshot eyes to sudden changes in mood and personality. Heavy users often exhibit a profound detachment from reality bordering on madness. Severely dependent users exhibit severe bleeding from the eyes and ears on a daily basis as well as a burning pain in the base of the skull. One addicted student nearly decapitated himself with a sliver of glass rather than endure the pain.

Addicts often seem to display an utter ambivalence towards food, drink and the physical upkeep of the body. They often become thin and emaciated or suffer from fevers, colds and coughs. Whether this is a symptom of neglect or mageburn itself remains unclear.

OOC Cheat Sheat:
The Good
1) Achieve clara faster as well as easier maintenance of clara. (Initiates and Apprentices only.)
2) More vis available for spells leads to subconscious boosts in spell power. (Initiates and Apprentices only.)
3) Marginally faster shaping times. (Adepts and Masters only. Applicable for Adept/Master spells only.)
4) Significantly increased vis regeneration. (Adepts and Masters only. Requires master-level spells for the kilogram of ingredients.)

The Bad
Immediate
1) Tingling sensation in limbs.
2) Blood rushing to torso and head. Extremities feel cold and clammy.
3) Loss of non-arcane sensation. General ignorance of pain, poking, prodding, tastes, smells, etc.
4) Extreme constriction of the pupils and degradation of sight.
5) General ‘rush’ and pleasant sensation.

Immediate effects last between one to three candlemarks, depending entirely on the potency of the consumed mageburn.

Withdrawal
1) Blood rushes away from the head. Lightheadedness, headaches, etc.
2) Oversensitivity to stimuli. Pain from light, sound, touch, taste, etc.
3) Nosebleeds and blood in the mouth.

Withdrawal effects last, on average, roughly twice as long as the duration of the effects of mageburn. Consuming potent doses mageburn only enhances the effects of the withdrawl, and not its duration.

The Ugly (aka Long Term Effects)
1) Single use carries possibility of addiction.
2) Slowly lose the ability to cast without mageburn. Generally takes between a few cycles and a few months, and is heavily dependent on the amount and frequency of use.
3) Body builds up chemical resistance. (Months of light-moderate use, cycles of heavy use.)
4) Bloodshot eyes.
5) Light-medium insanity. Generally mentally unstable.
6) Bleeding from eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
7) Unexplained burning aches and pains.
8) General ambivalence toward material things like food, water. Subsequent ill health. (Mr. Thaddeus was wrong in supposing that mageburn causes fevers, etc.)