The Knife Returns
(A ritual of seeking which when performed correctly will lead you to a killer.)
Invoke the Tao
In this ritual we invoke the Yin and the Yang in a straightforward manner. The knife that was used to attack is used to attack again (Yang), and the body that was killed[1] is attempted to be healed of its injuries (Yin).
Each roll:
- Attack roll with the knife
- Yang roll with Magic Ritual skill
- Healing roll on the target
- Yin roll with Magic Ritual skill
must score at least 5 successes as power 5 is needed for this ritual. (A power 5 shtick can generate information from nowhere.)
Invoke the Elements
You wish to invoke the four non-metal elements, and the four non-seeking actions so that the ritual energy will be channeled into Metal/Seeking.
- Fire, Water, Wood, Earth
- Destruction, Creation, Transformation, Control.
Place the weapon in a bucket of clay-mixed water. Light a fire and place the bucket on the fire. The fire should burn down to nothing, just as the last of the water boils away leaving the weapon encrusted with solid earth. At least five successes of some appropriate skill will be needed to time the fire/water appropriately.
This Creates Fire (obvious), Destroys Wood (obvious), Transforms Water (to steam), and Controls Earth (the random mud becomes packed around the weapon).
This ritual is beautifully balanced (it was created countless years ago), such that all of the elements/actions are present and balanced in a single motion. In general, rituals should strive towards this goal, but seldom achieve it. Having separate ritual components and actions is often necessary.
The Yang energy must be soaked by slicing a willing participant with the blade. At least 5 successes of attack are needed to soak it all[2]. It will do x5 damage (as it's a power 5 ritual).
The Yin energy will be channeled through the Metal Seeking and cause the blade to point towards the killer you seek until the wound created above is fully healed. Healing the wound early would consume the Yin energy of the ritual and the knife would no longer be Seeking.
Any Yang energy not soaked, or other energy not accounted for when performed will tend to be channeled through Create/Fire, as the Fire created did die at the end, so this is the most likely unintended imbalance (that is, if you don't soak it with enough of a wound, expect a spontaneous fireball to go off and make up the missing damage on everyone around.)
