Ezo

Magic Item

An Ezo is an elven mystic needle, designed specifically with the intent of sealing demons. Their key purpose is for use in the creation of Summoning Eyes. The Ezo represents energy (of the needle and the mage), eternity (of the supernatural being), and earth (the mortal realm). This allows these otherwise ordinary looking needles to affect supernatural beings on the mortal realm. Though their intended purpose is for use in rituals, they can be used as a weapon to affect supernatural beings. Ezo inflict 1D4 points of damage, damage which cannot be healed until the needle is removed from the being's body.

Note: Because of their extensive knowledge, any Mosaic Mage who makes successful skill checks in Lore: Demons & Monsters, Biology, and rolls a 12 or higher to strike (if used as a projectile, W.P. Thrown is also required) deal double damage with an Ezo.

To create an Ezo, one must start by soaking the needles in holy water from sunrise until sunset. It is important to place them in at the correct time, and remove them promptly. Leaving the needle within the holy water until nightfall disrupts the positive magic energy of the Ezo. Mosaic Mages cannot create holy water, which forces them to work with a Priest of Light or a god to create these items. Since these items are generally used to combat supernatural evil, obtaining cooperation tends to be relatively painless.

Once removed, the Mosaic Mage must then mark the mystic symbols onto the needle. These symbols do not need to be carved in, merely magically charged into the needle. This is done by using a strand of humanoid hair as a very fine quill tip (no ink required). For this to work, the strand of hair must be complete and unbroken, pulled out directly from the root. Once created, the Ezo remains charged until used against a supernatural being. Contact with a supernatural being activates the magic, and removing it releases the last of the energy, returning it to an ordinary needle.

With the timing of adding and removing the needles from the holy water, as well as needing a perfect strand of hair, many things could go wrong in the creation process, making an Ezo effectively useless. Sadly an Ezo cannot be tested without using it, and using it means that it can't be used again. While an experienced practitioner may be proficient at their creation, testing them is always a wise idea, just to be sure. For this reason it's common to make multiple Ezo at once. One is tested, and if it works that means the rest of the batch should also work.