Materials
This oculus is made of stone, the inner edge of the frame being three feet wide. It contains a window made of glass of a high quality and clarity. The glass panel is held in place with a lead lattice, and the design is painted upon the glass using a variety of durable pigmets.
Enchantments
The item is not itself enchanted, but seems to have been Warped by regular use as a vessel for scrying. It has been conjectured that to avoid this problem, the ancient Mercurians preferred to use pools of water as their scrying surfaces. After scrying, the Warped water would be cast away, and new water drawn, so that the mystical taint never became as overt as in this case.
The item occasionally displays odd vistas from the Magical Realm. A character with Enigmatic Wisdom, viewing these, can sometimes determine the course of future events (as if they had the Visions Flaw).
Provenance and History
The oculus belonged to Ismene, the third Primus of House Criamon. She is one of the Primi missing from the genius locus which inhabits the Cave of Twisting Shadows. It is conjectured that she fell into Twilight during a laboratory accident, which precipitated the current customer of Primal euthanasia.
The oculus was reataineda in the Cave of Twisting Shadows until last March, when a redcap bought it to the collection with the compliments of the Prima of Criamon. Her letter also included detailed, but appreantly arbitrary, instructions for its display, storage, and access. Given the inexplicable nature of House Criamon’s insight into mystical forces, we have decided to do precisely what she asks.
Hooks
- Iseme did fall into Twilight, in a rather literal sense, in that she was drawn through the oculus into the Magic Realm via a temporary regio. If she can be called back to the mortal realm, she may be able to assist other magic to make portable regio entries, portals to the magical realm, or tools to recover magi lost in Twilight.
- The Prima’s instructions for the display of this item also nominate the player characters as its curators. What is she expecting to happen, and what can the player characters do about it when it does?
- An ally of the player characters is lost in Twilight, but has appeared in the Oculus, drumming his fists against the window. Dark figures seems to be approaching him, slowly by inexorably. What can the player characters do?
Note to self: Laboratory bonus?
Vaults of the Order 