The Flame of Witness
The Silver Fire That Sees All
"Before the Codex judges, the Flame sees. It burns not to punish, but to reveal."
The Flame of Witness is a sacred arcane instrument used exclusively during the Rite of Severance. It is not a flame in the conventional sense, but a magically-bound manifestation of arcane truth — a silver fire that casts no heat, but reveals the final bindings of magic upon the soul.
It is said the flame does not burn flesh, but memory. Spells unshed, intentions hidden, and contracts still clinging to the condemned soul are revealed and unmade in its flickering light. No Severance may proceed without its presence.
Appearance
The Flame appears as a silver-white pillar of light, bound within a bronze basin shaped like an open Codex page. When ignited, it hovers just above the vessel, shimmering and swaying as though reacting to unseen breath. Runes of binding circle its perimeter, pulsing in quiet harmony.
Those who gaze into it often see flickers of forgotten incantations, past oaths, or even the faces of those once conjured. It is not illusion — it is echo.
Ownership / Access
Only the Magister Prima may call forth the Flame, and only during sanctioned rituals of Severance. Custodians and attending Magisters may approach but must not speak near it.
Unauthorized attempts to interact with the Flame have resulted in silence — permanent, arcane, soul-deep silence.
Historical Use
The Flame of Witness has been used in every documented Rite of Severance since its inception. Most famously, it revealed a hidden blood-pact on Magister Renu Volus, sparing the Tribunal from unknowingly condemning themselves by triggering a contingent curse.
In 498 AR, it also exposed a false Tribunal ruling — when the accused had no magical bindings at all, leading to a rare reversal of judgment.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
Magically tethered to the Codex Exilia via a ley-binding at the base of the Oculus Tharaxis, the Flame activates only when summoned by the Magister Prima. It does not destroy magic — it unmasks it, offering the Tribunal the ability to detect hidden enchantments or soulbound pacts.
If the accused holds any forbidden bindings, the Flame will twist — rising in height or fracturing momentarily — alerting the council that the Severance must be amended or postponed.
Manufacturing process
The Flame was first kindled by Varellian the Bound, the original Magister Prima, using a shard of Rift Moon light captured in a mirrored basin. The crafting required thirteen oath-bound Magisters, each sacrificing a memory they cherished to fuel the ritual of permanence.
Once created, the Flame was anchored to a physical locus — the basin itself — which cannot be moved from the Oculus Tharaxis without causing catastrophic magical backlash.
Significance
To the citizenry of the Imperium, the Flame is more myth than matter — a divine conscience. Among the Arcanii, it is a sacred boundary: a final arbiter that neither council nor Codex can overrule.
Many view it as the soul of the Magisters Arcanii — cold, luminous, and incorruptible.
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