Thursday, December 12, 2024

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Twelve

It's Christmas Eve and nothing is stirring in Mira's house. The only sound is her singing softly to herself, as she sits at the dining room table, holding a bottle containing a curious pulsing spark...


Last Christmas, 
I gave you my heart 
But the very next day, you threw it away 
This year, to save me from tears 
I've captured your soul in this bottle...

Soul Bottles
Originating in ancient Atlantis, Soul Bottles, and the secret of their creation, has been preserved by the Witchkind and a small number of Immortals. Generally speaking, they have been used to either imprison the souls of evil beings so they will never return to trouble the living, or to preserve the soul of someone who has unfinished business in this world but who ended up severely injured or deathly ill and was sure to die before his time. Once in a while, they are used for more nefarious or personal reasons, such as Mira capturing the soul of the man who broke her heart.

Creating a Soul Bottle
The most basic component of a soul bottle is, as the name suggests, a bottle. It must be a sturdy bottle made of glass that either has a stopper or screw-top lid that seals tightly. If the bottle is too fragile, it will be shattered by the raw energy of the soul; or if the bottle doesn't seal tight enough, the soul will escape its containment. In both cases, the soul is lost to the Mortal Realm and has moved onto its next stage of existence.
   Once a bottle has been selected, the person enchanting it must keep it close to his or her person (within melee range) for 13 days. Then, the bottle must be left in the open air from sundown to sunrise for the three nights of the Full Moon. This will complete the basic enchantment on the bottle, and it is now attuned to the person who wishes to place a soul within it.
   Next, the bottle must be prepared to house a specific soul. This can be the same person who began the process or someone completely different; but the person working on the bottle at this stage must know the intended target personally. For 21 days, the person preparing the bottle must gather all his or her tears that are wept while thinking of their relationship with the target between sunrise and sunset. The tears can be the result of anguish, joy, or hate-filled rage, or any other emotion that the enchanter feels toward the target.

Using a Soul Bottle
Once the tears have been collected, the bottle must be given to the intended target, by the person who prepared it to hold the soul. As soon as the target touches the bottle, the magic begins to paralyze his or her body. Moments later, as the target collapses, his or her soul rushes into the bottle. The bottle must then be immediately sealed, so the soul doesn't escape.

The Fate of the Body and Soul
The target's body is left in a coma and will eventually die if special measures aren't taken. If the captured soul is released from the bottle, it returns to its body. If the body is dead, the soul moves onto the Afterlife and whatever reward or punishment it has earned (or to reincarnation, or whatever fate awaits those who die in the world).
   The soul can also be drawn into a specially prepared body that's been created through spellcraft or cloning technology, using the original body from which it was drawn as raw materials.
 

No comments:

Post a Comment