Performing this mystery requires around five minutes of ritual involving the philosophers and the mystery focus. The results of this mystery, if successful, can be very messy and the target should consider how they intend to phys-rep the side effects.

If the target philosopher has not completed the FIrst, Second and Third Rites of the Black Path, they die at the completion of the mystery and it fails.

This mystery creates magical fluids charged with quintessence to replace the philosopher's blood and humours. In order to create the fluids, the caster of this Greater Mystery much have or obtain access to a small amount of the four mystical metals THOKCHA, ORICHALCUM, HEPATIZON and ELEKTRUM. These metals must have been made by the philosopher who is the subject of the rite. Each metal must be dissolved in a fluid and the four fluids consumed by the philosopher as part of the ritual.

If the ritual is successful then over the course of the next several hours the mystical fluids will forcibly expel all of the blood and humours from the philosopher's body, replacing them with the metallic solutions. This expulsion can take many forms from the slow to the explosive, but is inevitably gory and messy.

At the conclusion of this process (no earlier than three hours after the casting of the rite), the following permanent effects come into play:

• You gain a further +5 hits. • You acquire all four Apply Quintessence skills if you did not previously possess them. • Every day, you generate five quintessence of each type from the fluid that replaces your blood. You may use this pool of power to fuel mysteries you cast. Unused power pool does not stack from day to day. • You may never again contribute blood to a mystery, but must obtain it from other philosophers using the Knife of the Second Rite. • You may now only be affected by preparation-based lesser mysteries (that you have to drink or apply to yourself) if you choose to be. • You no longer count as your nation for any meaningful purpose. Your body has no humours. Mysteries which influence behaviour through the humours have no effect. You are of No Nation.

The focus can be used to perform this greater mystery once, and only during an annual under the sign of Aquarius.

Enhancement Each Philosopher who contributes blood and is bound to the order of the Black Lodge by the First Rite of the Black Path reduces the cost to perform the mystery by 1 of each type of quintessence to a maximum reduction of 3 of each type.