Delerium Irae

Free the burning rage hiding in the soul.

Power: Significant

Cost: 1-5 significant charges

Effect: This ritual affects one madness meter for each significant charge expended at the time of casting. For the next lunar cycle, all failed checks in that meter cause the character to fly into an unreasoning, murderous rage, attacking anyone and anything in the immediate vicinity, starting with whatever prompted the check in the first place. While in the throes of this berserk rage, the subject does not need to make any other stress checks, although viewing the aftermath may require it. The frenzy lasts a number of minutes equal to the tens digit of the subject's Body score, and leaves the subject exhausted and listless at the end, with fuzzy memories of what went on during that time. If the ritual is cast on an unwilling or unaware subject, the caster must exceed the Soul stat of the target for it to take effect. Regardless of target, the affected madness meters are chosen randomly, although the meter tied to the target's Fear stimulus is always the first one affected.

Ritual Action: On the night of the new moon, form a wax doll of the target. Include a snippet of hair from the target, and two drops of blood from a lunatic. Each night until the full moon, bathe the doll in a mixture of lamb's blood and mercury, chanting passages from Norse sagas that deal with berserkers. By day, keep the doll wrapped in a piece of bear skin and hidden from the light of the sun. By the time the full moon arrives, the doll will be stained a silvery-red color.

On the night of the full moon, at midnight, make a charcoal fire in an iron bowl. Unwrap the doll, cut your left index finger with an iron knife, and feed the doll three drops of your own blood. Drape the bear skin around the doll's shoulders like a cloak, and place the doll and cloak onto the fire. Burn the fire until dawn, when there should be nothing left but ash. Grind the ash to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle, and place it in a leather pouch. Blow the powder into the face of the target when next you encounter him.

Copyright Rick Neal, posted on the official UA website on July 14 2002