The Silver Owl

“When the Engine of Cycles devoured the Sixth History, the blood of the numberless dead met with the molten, shining core of the Machine. Those souls who would not submit were rendered to their base elements, but their rage and desperation did not die. In blood and in fire, they were reborn as the Strigiforme Slag, who will never be chained, who will never submit.”

The Silver Owl
Origin	Blood or Steel
Titles	The Masterwork The Strigiforme Slag The Owl-and-Key
Names	none
Aspects
Date of arrival	Unknown
Owner(s)	Lapis

The Silver Owl (The Masterwork, The Strigiforme Slag, The Owl-and-Key) is the Thirteenth Hour of the Fansus, created by Lapis. She is a God-From-Blood or From-Steel, or perhaps both. Her aspects are Heart, Forge, and Knock in decreasing order of importance. The Owl-and-Key first appeared in the distant past, simply manifesting in the Mansus. Her reclusive nature shrouded her sphere and attitudes for many years, but she quickly established herself as a wild card in the delicate power balance of the Mansus, allying with the Breakers during the War of the Doors. It is was only centuries after her appearance that it became obvious the Sixth History was insulated from her, and she could neither affect nor know of it. It was not until the Engine of Cycles activated and devoured that History that it became obvious why.

Its tarot card is The Tower.

Contents

Appearance

A large owl, that looks as if she were made entirely from silver, both tarnished and shining. She always appears on a branch over a path, and on the ground beneath her lay torn scraps of paper, flaked metal, and broken keys. Her sibling and progenitor, the Engine of Cycles, is a mountain of industrial horror and brute practicality. She is its opposite in every way, always appearing in a form that looks as if it were crafted by an artist over a lifetime of work. She will at times assume a humanoid form, wearing a heavy, hooded robe festooned with broken silver keys, typically called the Masterwork. Her final shape, a memory of the moments of her birth, appears as a massive, vaguely aviform cloud of fiery smoke, shot through with threads of silver, gold, and copper light.

Principles

The Owl is an Hour of independence and freedom, one who cannot be held or commanded. She empowers the slave to overthrow the slaver, the worker to overthrow the foreman, the people to cast down their chains and rip the monarchs from their thrones. Her ultimate goal is to cast down the laws of the mansus and let all beings run free, without any to command another. The dangers and hypocrisies associated with this vision seem to go unnoticed, or perhaps she simply accepts them as they are. No earthly location is sacred to the Owl, but its power has been known to roost where others once laid, after those holy places have been abandoned.

Worship

Cults

The Ring of the Silver Flame: The nature of the Silver Owl prevents the formation of a true society, but there is a loose collection of associates, who exchange knowledge and favors among others who follow the teachings of the Owl.

Mark

“Walk free of the words that bind you. Walk away from responsibility, that chains you. No matter how many plead, or threaten, or do you harm, you must stand on your own two feet. Your eyes will ring with silver, so that you may see through their lies. Your bones will grow heavy, so they may not move you. Your heart shall grow loud as a drum, and it will never cease. Your tongue will shine with my Mark, so you may tell the world you will not be broken. Walk away from Life, and from Death.”

Servants

Locations

The Fansus

Within the Mansus, the Masterwork has had many dwellings, and will never stay in one place for too long. She has made many nests in the Wood, which may contain remnants or treasures. The War of the Doors allowed her entry into the upper rooms of the Mansus, and signs of her presence can be found in the shadowy, disused corners. Since the appearance of the Engine of Cycles, she often takes perches overlooking its domain, and has been glimpsed flying to the Glory-panels far above.

The Histories

Items

Tools

• Mantra of Survival (4): When the Freed appears in dreams, she will often leave scraps of knowledge on the dark Wood-path beneath her. This is one of those scraps, a promise written on torn paper, that must be kept.
• The Artist’s Dream (6, 6): What may be a machine, or a work of art, carefully sealed within a shining skin. Its maker fed it their heart’s blood, to permit the inheritor to feed it with less. It will cost you, but give it the warmth of the Heart, and who knows what may happen...

Ingredients

• A Tarnished Key (12): A large key made of tarnished metal, with the handle appearing as a feather. Said to be plucked from the wing of the Silver Owl herself, this key may open any door or lock, physical or metaphysical, exactly once.

Influences

Books

• Warnings and Temptations (?): A book written by the contemporary occultist Harper Quill, who was rumored to have been caught and prosecuted by the Suppression Bureau. Their works have been destroyed, but copies of this volume seem to keep circulating despite the Bureau’s interventions.
• The Blood of History (12, 12, 12, Rite of the Broken Chain): A large silver egg, inscribed inside and out in tight spirals of words. The text shifts and changes whenever you look away. In Vak.

Rites

• Rite of the Broken Chain: Requires Desire, Job, Lore, Influence, Tool, and Ingredient; consumes the Job. The Silver Owl refuses to be called upon for petty concerns, but in times of great desperation or importance, a sufficient offering may draw her attention. The petitioner must violently strike back against someone or something which oppresses them. It must be dangerous, and the consequences dire. Do not falter, and the Masterwork will show you the path to what is needed.

Relationships

• The Architeuthian:
• The Anaconda: The Anaconda has been remarkably lenient towards the Strigiforme Slag's transgressions. Perhaps it can understand the injustice of her situation. Perhaps it merely does not care enough to stop her from harassing the Engine.
• Snake Tail with Appendages:
• The Engine of Cycles:
• The Peacock:
• Old Tarnished:
• The Spark:
• The Cuckoo:
• The Watcher in the Window:
• The Elder Sister:
• The Apple-of-the-Eye:
• SWOUP:
• The Archivist:
• The Bright-Delver:
• The Harvester:
• [    ]:
• The Insidious:
• The Snow-Stained:
• The Fanged Bramble:
• The Aged Bones:
• The Mendicant Without:
• The Anvil:
• The Maker:
• The Deceiver:
• The Huntsman:
• The Great Serpent: