Edu'sascar

The Edu'sascar were a set of five enchanted placards created and kept safe by the monks of S'tung Monastery in T'u Lung.

Description
The placards were cards each approximately one and a half hands (12 inches, or 30 centimeters) wide and two hands (18 inches, or 46 centimeters) high, had cream-colored surfaces, and were painted with potent magical holy symbols of the faith of the S'tung monks. These were made in black ink and outlined with gold.

To keep the cards safe, they were wrapped in silks and carried inside a satchel made of leather from the throat of a chiang lung, or river dragon. Though it resembled alligator hide and was very resistant to scratching and cutting, it was incredibly soft and pliable.

Powers
The cards could be used separately and had an array of different powers. To invoke a card's powers, the holder needed only to concentrate on the painted symbol it displayed. The cards, their symbols, and their powers are below.


 * Ki
 * The symbol of the Power Within. A monk or shukenja only (not a lay follower) could use this card to enhance the ki of a congregation, with the number of people affected increasing with the user's experience. The effects lasted for 1 minute.


 * Mo
 * The sign of the Calm Sea and the symbol of Inner Calm. Anyone could use this card to quell a storm or, by turning the card upside down, cause one. These could be heavy winds or full thunderstorms. It had the odd side-effect of causing the user's skin to turn pale, becoming an ashen white, and only a long and well-rested sleep would restore its normal hue.


 * Di
 * The sign of Flowers of Spring, the symbol of Nature's Strength. A monk, shukenja, or wu jen only (not a lay follower) could use this card to speak with plants and cast quickgrowth, even if they didn't know this spell.


 * Fo
 * The sign of Cloudy Sky, the symbol of Hidden Power. A neutral good monk could use this card to gain immunity to weapons and invisibility to enemies. Moreover, by holding the card above their head and uttering the word represented by the symbol, it would be a mighty holy word that could incapacitate or even kill nongood creatures and banish those of extraplanar origin. If anyone else tried to use the card, they would receive a slight electric shock.


 * La
 * The sign of Bridges over the Depths, the symbol of Strength in Brotherhood. Only a great shukenja could use this card. It gave the power to mass heal, with the healing energy distributed among a number of people as the used desired. It had a serious side-effect, however—the user was aged by as much as six years each time.

If any of the Edu'sascar were stolen, then a dreadful curse would follow the thief, causing all living things they touched to soon be killed in a sudden misfortune. A plant would be trampled, a tree could be blasted by lightning, a horse could fall and suffer a fatal injury, and people would die in accidents or drown in water. Inevitably, the thieves would be so guilt-stricken or despairing of their future that they returned to S'tung to give back the cards.

History
In, the abbot and founder of the monastery, known only by his posthumous title "Sky Father", ordered his monks to create five high-quality placards. And they did so, even creating the paper and ink from the raw materials. For the paper, they gathered flax and silk fibers, mixed them with bamboo pulp, dried flowers of the dogwood tree, and a tuber known as tocara, rolled it flat and cut it using a holy blade kept in the monastery. For the ink, they used that of the giant river squid, which they purified and blessed. Once complete, the abbot carried the blank cards and the ink into the wilderness on a four-month long retreat of self-purging. When he returned, he had painted powerful holy symbols upon them, creating the Edu'sascar. Later generations of monks adorned the cards with the golden highlights.

In the centuries after, the monks of S'tung kept the Edu'sascar safe within their walls. Though they were stolen a few times, the thieves always returned them, in order to be rid of their deadly curse.

Usage
Each year on the winter equinox, the monks display the Edu'sascar from the monastery walls as part of a ceremony to honor the gods of the seasons. At such times, they held the placards up and cast their combined magics, causing colorful beams of light to sweep the sky with an appearance similar to an aurora.

The individual cards were used for various important purposes. The most valued was La, with its power to heal. The monks of S'tung carried it when they joined the armies of T'u Lung in battle, using it to heal and rally the troops. However, its ageing effect meant it was used only rarely.