A Stallia Ceremony - Magnitude 6 - Machine
Performing the Ceremony
Performing this Ceremony takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This Ceremony targets up to four characters who must be present throughout, but need not be one of the priests performing the Ceremony.
Effects
Up to 4 targets receive a mystic vision related to things that are happening, have happened or may happen at the event, or at the very least in the near future. The information is often cryptic, and is up to each of the individuals to recall and interpret, as they may not necessarily receive the same vision.
It is not possible to direct this Ceremony towards particular topics, as it is up to the whims of the Stallian Eternals what is seen.
All targets regain all spent personal mana.
Description
From the dawn of time, every culture in every place has had those who look to the future and seek to determine what will be - each of their efforts, wherever they were successful, was drawing a small part of Machine's power in the gathering of knowledge that does not yet exist. Empowered by Crystal Mana and performed properly, the information received is always true in its indications and nature, and invariably turns out to be relevant for something that is happening right now, or will imminently occur, though in many cases this is only realised in retrospect.
The visions received can sometimes be distressing, or show things happening that seem literal but are metaphorical, and are usually experienced differently from person to person, though there are exceptions. Those targetted fall into a quiet trance whilst they experience the visions, and commonly need to be carried to a seat until they recover, magic flowing through their veins as their mana returns to them in force.
Performing the Ceremony
There are a million and one ways to bequeath the future to open itself up to your seeking eyes, and it is perhaps no surprise that some of the more esoteric and inventive soothsaying techniques seem to hold favour with Machine the most. The application of human superstitions and practices such as the reading of cards, the casting of bones or runes, or any other common fortune telling techniques tend to lead to the best outcomes for those who sink into the half-slumber trance that results from the Ceremony.
There is an ongoing debate about the reading of entrails or the use of blood in the performing of this Ceremony - there is a sizeable cohort who claim that their use makes the visions substantially less vague, but what is absolutely clear is that they will make the visions nightmarish without fail. Those who seek this clarity do so at their own peril...