Pearl of Castigation

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The Pearl of Castigation is a round sphere, small enough that it only slightly deforms a man's closed fist. The Pearl is pure white and glows with a slight sheen, even when there is no light for it to reflect.

The Pearl stands to redeem Creatures of Darkness; for one of the enemies of Creation to stand against the holder of the Pearl at its full strength, it will have to give up its love of something evil, adopting a more Creation-centered mindset. Any Creature of Darkness that stands against the holder of the Pearl in any conflict suffers a (Hearthstone Rating) internal penalty to all rolls due to the horrific guilt generated within as it's forced to face its own nature as a being in a world that doesn't want it.

A Creature of Darkness can overcome this penalty for (its Essence) actions by willingly sacrificing one Intimacy regarded as baleful to Creation; the hearthstone gives Creatures of Darkness the ability to break the Intimacy of their choice, including sorcerously-created and enforced Intimacies, instantly should they take this route. It's worth noting, though, that Intimacies are things/ideas that beings actually care about, and only a Creature of weakest Conviction is likely to sacrifice one without duress.

(In this context, positive ties to other Creatures of Darkness, to objects/places outside of fate or to hurting beings/things of Creation and negative ties to beings/things of Creation things are regarded as "baleful to Creation." Further, assume that, unless a more complex characterization compels otherwise, Creatures of Darkness have Intimacies equal to their full Willpower + Compassion and that those Intimacies are all baleful to Creation in some way.)

Once a Creature of Darkness has rid itself of all Intimacies baleful to Creation, it has taken many steps towards its own redemption. Unless/until it reacquires Intimacies baleful to Creation, the CoD is immune to the Pearl's power. However, if a Creature of Darkness has a Motivation that is itself baleful to Creation, that creature can never be immune to the Pearl's power. Such creatures are rare, however, even amongst the demons of the 3rd circle.



Heaven's Mandate