Brigid's Mantle

The red cape of the legendary solar Brigid, The First and Mother of Sorcery

The spirit then gave her a mantle, finer than any Brigid had ever seen, edged and embroidered in liquid orichalcum, which spelled out ten thousand wonders unknown to men. Quickly, the spirit set Brigid on her way.

- Oral History of Brigid's Trials

The Mantle of Brigid is a millennia old silk cloth, threadbare and worn, that bears the images of a woman’s form. Many believe the woman in the image is Brigid, the Magic Bearer. Is it really the cloak that she was given in the East, or is it an elaborate forgery, a hoax prepared by some clever sorcerer-artist? Modern researchers have completed thousands of days of intense research on the mantle. In fact, it may be the single most studied artifact known to the Exalted. Yet, the controversy over its validity rages.

The Mantle is a seven-foot long, six-foot wide section of the finest scarlet silk, faded and worn with centuries of use and embroidered with hair-fine orichalcum thread. The image upon it is that of the silhouette of a woman. Believers in the mantle claim that the image could have only been made by the constant flow of Essence out of the wearer and through the cloth over the course of years. Investigators claim that the weaver of the silk is consistent with the weave of cloth fragments attributed to the era in which Brigid lived. Critics claim that the image is faked or the result of water damage and that there is no way to accurately match cloth weaves for cloth of that age. In addition, disbelievers state that even the finest silk could not have survived since the time of Brigid. Believers say that this just further supports their claims.

Currently owned by the Empress, the so-called Mantle of Brigid was her personal possession and a regular part of her wardrobe, at least when working magic. She certainly had good reasons to protect the mantle, if its history is to be believed. According to the tables, the artifact has survived earthquakes, fires and floods. Believers claim that the cloak will extend its resilience to its wearer and that the truly worthy wearer will gain, in addition, some small share of Brigid’s access to Essence. These claims have not been put to the test in modern era.

Note: With the Empress’s disappearance, this legendary artifact is now resting in her personal closet. Fortunately, no one knows about it. So this artifact simply sits there being dusted by servants on a regular basis but otherwise remain undisturbed.

  • It increases the Essence of any being wearing it by 5 in regards to Sorcery!!! Recalculate the character’s Personal and Peripheral Essence accordingly. These “extra” motes are available only when the character is wearing the mantle. Keep track of how many motes the character spends – they are subtracted from the character’s personal stores of power first.
  • If the mantle is removed after the magician has spent more Essence than her personal stores and not yet regenerated it, she takes an amount of bash damage equal to the difference. This damage can be soaked only with the character’s Stamina and cannot be reduced by armor, Charms, sorcery or any other effects.
  • Also, the mantle increases the wearer’s ability to work magic. Character who cannot perform sorcery such as mortals become able to work Terrestrial Circle Sorcery. Characters such as Dragon-Blooded, who can only perform Terrestrial Circle sorcery, become able to perform Celestial Circle sorcery. Characters such as Lunars and Sidereals Exalted, who can cast only Terrestrial and Celestial Circle spells, gains access to all 3 circles of magic. This benefit effect is somewhat diminished on Abyssal and Solar Exalted, both of which already have access to all three circles of magic, however, it overrides the limitation of studying both Standard magic and Necromancy. Allowing them to reach both Adamant Circle and Void Circle at the same time.
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