Mountain Remembers Its Youth

{{Interdicted|ritual|[[381YE_Autumn_Equinox_Conclave_sessions|Autumn 381YE]]}}
==Rules==
{{Season|Spring|60}}
===Performing the Ritual===
{{Casting time|10}} {{Imperial Reduction}}

{{Regio|Spring}} {{Target Territory}}

During the performance of the ritual the casters must name a [[Territory#Regions|region]] within the target territory which has the ''rugged'' or ''hills'' quality. 

{{Curse}}
{{CaptionedImage|file=SwampGas.jpg|caption=This ritual brings a choking death to those who cannot escape the fumes.|align=right|width=500}}

===Effects===
The ritual affects a single [[territory]]. Over the course of the next few days a powerful [[curse]] settles over the area. The ground shakes and the earth cracks, releasing hot, sulphurous gasses from beneath the ground. These cracks are more likely to appear near large concentrations of people, especially [[Imperial army|campaign armies]].

Following the ritual, 500 [[Campaign_outcome#Casualties|casualties]] are spread out over all campaign armies and fortifications in the territory. An [[Imperial army|army]] will not benefit from [[Casualties#Natural_Resupply|natural resupply]] if they end their movement in this territory.

[[Fortification|Fortifications]] are less impacted by this effect, and thus casualties inflicted on fortifications are decreased by 20%.

Any [[farm]] based in the target territory has its production reduced by 72 rings for the coming season, while each [[mine]] and [[forest]] produces four fewer ingots or measures of its base type. 

{{Territory Effects}} Given the curse causes earth tremors, and unleashes deadly poisonous vapours from beneath the ground, the population of a territory will certainly be affected by this ritual. Casualties are inevitable. Numbers are likely to be related both to population concentration (there'll likely be fewer deaths in territories where the population is spread out than in one where it is concentrated in one or two areas), and the terrain (more hills and mountains, or more people living in hills and mountains, will likely mean more deaths). Even where people don't die, they are likely to become sick, or have their homes damaged. Once the nature of the curse becomes clear, people are likely to become afraid, and may try and move away from threatened areas. [[Sinecure|Sinecures]] and [[ministry|ministries]], especially those that deal with agriculture, forest resources, or mining, may also be impacted by the curse.

{{Season Duration}}

===Options===
{{Ritual Substitution|[[Materials#Beggar's Lye|beggar's lye]]|measures}}

==Description==
This ritual was developed at the [[Madruga#The_Lyceum|Lyceum]] under the auspices of [[Dean_of_the_Lyceum|Dean]] Simargl of the Circle of Zulgan-Tash, and completed shortly before the Spring Equinox 381YE. The original design was undertaken by the well-travelled [[Urizen]], Mercurio Ankarien.

During the process of [[Dean_of_the_Lyceum#Guiding_the_magicians_of_the_Lyceum|concluding the formulation]], there were additional opportunities to project the likely results of performing the ritual. The potential danger to civilian populations was outlined, as was the likely effect on farms in the area. The fact that the cracks created by the curse are more likely to appear around concentrations of people than not was also determined. There were some questions about the ethical implications of unleashing unrestrained clouds of poison gas, but on the whole, the magicians working on the ritual focused primarily on the theoretical underpinnings and on solving magical problems with shaping the magic effectively.

The tremors the curse causes are dangerous, certainly, but they are the harbinger of destruction rather than the cause of it. They are unlikely to open under structures – the larger the structure the less likely they are to appear close to it. The focus of the ritual is on killing living creatures, not on destroying structures. Cracks will open in the ground in different places at different times over the season, releasing their lethal bounty of choking air. The more armies and fortifications there are in an area, the less each one suffers from the effect of the curse. As a consequence of the way the ritual is designed, the fewer the number of armies there are in the area, the fewer cracks open and the less widespread the foul air becomes. The number of civilian casualties is likely to be tied to the number of armies in the territory.

This ritual does not draw on the power of an [[eternal]], nor does it draw spirits from the Spring realm. Rather, it creates a conduit between pockets of naturally occurring foul air that lies beneath the earth. Many miners are familiar with the concept of firedamp and similar choking or flammable gases. Those with experience of volcanos, in particular, know that there are winds in the earth that are inimical to life on the surface.

The [[curse]] opens these conduits, allowing the volatile gases deep in the earth to spew out. Rather than being flammable, these stinking clouds choke and strangle living creatures. Humans and orcs are not the only beings affected – birds, animals, and plants are all affected to some degree. Trees wither and die, as do crops in the field, and even the grass itself where the destructive poison touches. Standing water in the area may be poisoned as well, killing fish and aquatic plants with equal facility. Where one of these cracks opens, the land is marked with death.

It is possible to avoid the worst effects of this killing cloud by moving quickly out of the area. Anyone who is unable to physically escape the poisonous air, like the wounded, penned animals, the young, and the physically infirm, are much more likely to succumb to the choking death. 

The poison gas is quite dense and moves only slowly except in particularly strong winds which may cause the clouds to dissipate more quickly. Rain may also dissipate the clouds, but unfortunately, this will actually spread the poison a little wider – albeit more slowly – by causing it to sink into the surface soil or form poisonous puddles.

Even those who act quickly may not entirely avoid the effects – some exposed to the gas will be envenomed, making them more likely to [[Calls#VENOM|succumb to injuries]] they sustain shortly afterwards.

Finally, the ability to spread panic should not be underestimated – an army whose flank is scattering to avoid the threat of a spreading cloud of sulphurous venom is much more vulnerable to attacks from an organised force.

One word of caution regarding this ritual relates to performing it in territories where there are cities – in the Empire this would likely include [[the League]] [[The_League_territories|territories]], [[Madruga]] (site of [[Madruga#Siroc|Siroc]]), [[Mitwold]] (site of [[Mitwold#Mead|Mead]]), [[Bastion]] (site of the [[Bastion#Bastion.2C_the_White_City|White City]]), and potentially also [[Hahnmark]] (site of [[Hahnmark#Kalpaheim|Kalpaheim]]). The intense concentration of people in these areas is likely to attract several poison-spewing cracks, and the confined nature of these environments, may potentially cause increased loss of civilian life. 
{{CaptionedImage|file=Mountain Remembers.png|caption=The trembling earth and gaping cracks portend worse to come.|align=left|width=600}}

==Common Elements==
A map of the target territory is often a focus for performing this ritual. A physical map may be burned, or buried under ash or dust, or washed away with beggar's lye. A map drawn or traced on the ground may be damaged in a way to suggest cracks opening in the ground. 

The original ritual, as heavily guided by the Dean, is intended to remind the mountains and hills of the territory of their youth – when the world was young. He recommends that the ritual be accompanied by pounding drums (perhaps in the [[the Brass Coast|Freeborn]] style), with wild dancing (especially fire dancing), and loud ululations from all who are present. By recalling this primordial time, the earth can be persuaded to let loose its poison breath. Several [[Varushka|Varushkan]] and [[Wintermark]] magicians familiar with [[Otkodov]] comment that there are elements in the ritual that remind them of stories they have heard of the [[Thule]] territory of [[Otkodov#Nithoggir|Nithoggir]].

The rune [[Mawrig]] is commonly used during this ritual. The [[astronomancy|astronomantic]] sign of [[the Drowned Man]], or possibly [[the Wanderer]]. Destructive legendary beasts – [[Legendary_beasts#Dragons.2C_Wyverns_and_Wyrms|dragons]], [[Legendary_beasts#Sphinxes_and_Manticores|manticores]], and even [[Mundane_beasts#Kraken|kraken]] – resonate with the ritual. A [[Aspect_magic#Goetia|goetic]] might call on [[Siakha]], the devouring shark-eternal whose resonance is unrestrained destruction but it might also resonate with [[Llofir]] or [[Arhallogen]]. A [[Aspect_magic#Theurgy|theurgist]] may struggle to find a [[Paragons_and_exemplars|paragon or exemplar]] who resonates with the destructive power of this ritual - the closest historical figure the theoreticians at the Lyceum could come up with was [[Casinea#Casca.E2.80.99s_Doom|Casca]], and she is not recognised by the [[Imperial Synod]].


<quote by="Dean Simargl, the Empty One">If you don't like it, don't cast it.</quote>

[[Category:Spring Ritual]]
[[Category:Rituals]]
[[Category:Warfare]]