Banes of the Third Eye - Spirit of a Magical Disease Might 5-10 (Corpus) (Spring)
Many things are enhanced and sharpened in magic auras, for good and bad. Disease is no exception. While it’s well known many diseases are inflicted by malicious demons, it is a lesser known fact that some are also caused by faeries (such as elfshot) and by magical beings. Indeed, in a magical aura banes take on a similar, though more dispassionate, role to the demons of disease found in other places.
Some diseases are purely magical in nature and can only be found in magical places. Spirits of these diseases occasionally spring up spontaneously in magic auras, but for hermetic magi they are more often the result of botches or lab accidents involving the arts of Perdo, Corpus, and Vim.
One well attested spirit of this type are Banes of the Third Eye. These malignant spirits cause a disease which affects the invisible sense of second sight as Suffusio does the mundane eye – causing first impairment of the sense and eventually a complete loss if left untreated.
These banes infect those who observe them with second sight or magically granted senses, and this infection generates a new bane which clings to the unfortunate victim, in turn infecting anyone with second sight who observes them, and so on… The only way to control this infection is to quarantine the infected away from anyone with second sight until the disease spirit has been destroyed or has depleted itself (this usually taking between 3 and 5 days, but sometimes up to a month).
As with all banes these spirits are not malicious and take no pleasure nor draw any power from infecting victims. It is simply their essential nature to do so.
Characteristics: Cun +3, Per +0, Pre +1, Com +0, Str +0, Sta +0, Dex +0, Qik +0
Qualities and Inferiorities: Greater Power, Temporary Might*, Improved Powers, Improved Abilities x4**
*These spirits generally use their Sight of the Malignant Spirit power one or twice a day until all their might is expended, and then dissipate. It is, however, technically possible to preserve them for longer.
**More powerful spirits will have the improved abilities quality more times, to increase their penetration score.
Personality Traits: Bane of the Third Eye+3*
Abilities: Penetration (Powers) 10
Description: Banes of the Third Eye are perceived as a lurid ball of painfully bright light to those with second sight.
Powers
Sight of the Malignant Spirit (PeCo) 1 Might Init -2
R: Personal D: Sun T: Spectacle
Anyone who observes the spirit with second sight while this power is active is infected with a disease which is functionally identical to Suffusio, except that instead of inflicting the Poor Eyesight flaw it causes a -3 penalty to second sight rolls, and instead of rendering the character blind if the disease worsens it inflicts a minor malediction which prevents the use of second sight at all. A failed crisis can render this malediction permanent.
Those observing the spirit through a magically granted sense are afflicted with regular Suffusio instead. This can also happen to characters who observe the spirit again with second sight after already being infected.
(Base 15, +2 Sun, +4 Spectacle)