CageofElementalBirthing
Cage of Elemental Birthing – Artifact 2 (3 for more powerful version)
A sorceress by the name of Singing Butterfly made the first of these cages quite recently and since then their appearance has been slowly getting more common, especially among the Realm's Dragon-Blooded inhabitants. Singing Butterfly became saddened when a young girl within her village was lonely because she couldn't have a pet due to allergies. After spending time experimenting, she came up with this cage that finally gave the young girl the pet she desired.
Quite small in construction, the artifact consists of a circular base about 10 inches wide with a mesh dome of bars rising a foot tall over it. When one of the five elements is placed within it, over the course of about 2-3 weeks the element will slowly begin to change form, becoming the cage owner’s ideal pet of no more then 9 inches tall. This can be anything from a basic form of a small floating ball with eyes, up to elaborate constructs the image of one of the elemental dragons. The complexity of the creature depends on the amount 'fed' to it.
The cages are made from a base disc of jade, the color depending on the element being used (white jade for earth, red for fire etc). Water cages are often no more than black jade bases with glass or earthenware bowls on top of them. However, all have a construct of steel and moonsilver bars around them with a door built into the side or top to let the creature in and out.
Mechanics-wise, a piece of the element to be used is placed within the cage. For example, a lump of base rock for Earth, a burning flame - usually a candle - for fire, water or ice for water, or a plant or twig of some sort for wood. Air is a little more complicated, however; blue jade cages have a wind charm hung within them and must be placed into a breeze once activated to work.
The cage's owner spends 10 motes to activate the cage, which is committed for 24 hours as the creation begins. After this starter period, the creature requires between 1-3 motes fed to it daily to continue living. If the feeding does not occur, the creature will revert back into the element used for its construction over the course of 48 hours; the material used in the previous attempt is not reusable. A more powerful version requires the elemental pet to consume 1-3lbs of its element a day to survive. Motes are automatic and instantly sate the creature, while physical material must be placed into the cage for the creature to absorb; this takes up to an hour.
After the 3 weeks have passed, the creature is fully formed and can be let out of the cage, but must return to it for at least 6 hours every day to recharge.
The creature, no matter the form, has the following base stats and is fiercely defensive of its master, up unto the point of giving its life to save its owner.
Str 1 Dex 3 Sta 1
Cha 1 Man 2 App 2
Per 2 Int 1 Wit 1
For each mote (or pound) ‘fed’ to the creature, it can gain +1 in any stat of the owner’s choosing. For example, a water elemental fed 3 motes (or 3 pounds of water) every day during its formation would be able to add +1 to three of its stats. Each creature also receives a bonus depending on the material it’s created from:
Air +1 Per.
Earth +1 Sta
Fire +1 Dex
Water +1 App
Wood +1 Str
Example: Graceful Flame, our friendly local God-blood, has spent three weeks creating a fire elemental in the shape of a hawk. He ‘fed’ his creation three motes each day while it was forming giving Flame’s player three additional stat points to add to the base, as well as the element bonus. After three long weeks, the stats for Flame’s firebird might look something like this:
Str 1 Dex 4 Sta 2
Cha 1 Man 2 App 2
Per 2 Int 2 Wit 2
The creature has 5 health levels (-0/-1/-2/-2/-4CageofElementalBirthing/Dead), can soak as per normal and can bite or claw for Str+2L damage. They are semi intelligent and can understand basic commands such as 'Bring me my paintbrush,' 'observe the maid cleaning,' or 'play Fetch.' They can be used as assistants to watch over a place, or to fetch and carry small items for its master.
These artifacts have been placed on sale and run for about Resource 3 (4 for the more powerful version), making their creator very rich indeed. However, they are quite rare with only 50 in existence over the entire Blessed Isle.
Comments
This artifact was created by Everen of the White Wolf Forums. Pretty cool, though, huh? ^_^ - Caelene
