Surgery: 30/5 hours/5/4
This implant has a special attunement commitment of 6 motes of Personal Essence. The heart is permanently part of Aata’s anima so this attunement cannot be cancelled by the bearer. The heart made a fundamental alteration to Aata’s nature. For all intent and purpose the Heart is now Aata’s natural organ. All attempts to regenerate Aata’s original heart will fail since this mechanical wonder is now innate to him.
This whirling clockwork masterpiece of glittering vessels and gears is a mechanism of radiant green iron that literally holds Aata’s insides together. While this mechanism lacks a heartbeat, those who listen for it may discern that the heart whirs and ticks like a clock, its pace never changes even in the thrall of desire, wrath or terror.
The heart’s boundless power adds four dots each to its owner’s Strength, Stamina and two dots to Dexterity. While it’s unremitting drive increase Aata’s Integrity by two dots and his Conviction by one. Alas, a mechanical heart has little room for sentiment in its metal chambers. Thus, the owner’s Compassion rating drops by one.
Unfortunately the heart is a focus of malfean energy and corrupts both Aata spiritually and physically. Sickly green liquid now flows through his veins causing a slightly green tint to his skin. Spiritually, Aata is thoroughly desecrated. He is now a Creature of Darkness. He is now affected by the Zenith Anima, Wards against Demons, and is no longer able to learn holy charms. He also loses his Priestly status since Gods will instantly recognize the source of the prayer. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, he still retains the other powers that stem from the nature of his Exalted Essence.
The Heart does not lessen the Great Curse: This means that Aata will still roll his full Compassion Virtue when he checks Limit.
ReplyDeleteWhile its removal should have been fatal, Aata was saved from death by the proper use of the Peach of Immortality. This embodiment of heavenly grace and foci of life energy manage to stabilize Aata’s life. In a way Aata is constantly dying and death being held in abeyance by the fountain of life that is inside of him. Even as this inner battle rages on the perapice of a knive’s edge, there are no outwards signs of it. Nejimaru speculates upon this theory and it is the very reason why he is being incredibly cautious with any implementation of cures in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe surgery is a success and the Spiritual and Physical corruption have been slowed to an unobservable level. However, even as Nejimaru severed the Heart from Aata’s body, he cannot unbind it from Aata’s Essence. The artifact has so ingrained itself with Aata’s Anima that it is now a natural part of his existence. There is now an empty Cavity where a human heart should be. Should anyone be curious, and merciless, enough to wish to observe such an oddity in motion, they need but to slice Aata open.
Blood still flows into the empty space where the Malfean Heart previously occupied and shockingly flows as if the heart is merely invisible. It tumbles through the space as if it’s still following the intricate tubing and pump chambers and follows from one ventricle to the other. Thus the Malfean Heart continues to function as Aata's heart even when it is no longer inside him and still holds his continual living like a daiklave suspended by a hair. Fortunately until such time that it is permanently banished it will continue to tick and function regardless of distance or planes of reality.
Most importantly of all – for good or for worse, Aata is now far removed from both its benefits and insidious influence.
CURRENT POWERS
• Aata's Heart is now external
• Automatically Stops mundane bleeding without need to roll
• -1 Compassion
• +1 Conviction
• The Heart is always an Arcane Link for Aata
• The Separation has lowered the commitment cost of the Heart to a mere 1 mote.
• (Hidden Effect) Heart is equal to Aata, so where the Heart is it is as if Aata is there also. E.g. If the Heart is inside the Nameless Vault, Aata will regain Essence as if he is physically inside the Manse as well. Of course this goes both ways. If the Heart is tossed into the Labyrinth, it is very likely Aata will start developing the Whisper Background Option.