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Filament is a supernatural substance produced and distributed by House Halovar in Aramán.

Appearance

Filament looks like liquid, white light, completely odorless.[5]

Properties

In its purest form the Filament can burn a person's skin,[6] but when properly treated, it can be consumed to gain energy,[7][8] used to tattoo people,[9] or as material component for spells as powerful as Wish.[10]

History

Background and myth

Back during the times of the Obridimian Empire the priests of the Halovar family already believed in the concept of the Light of the universe, believing Tansul, god of the sun, to be the undeniable source of that Light. However, after he was killed this belief died with him, and when a young Yanessa Halovar found and captured Aetheon, a servant of the fallen Shaper, she decided to design a new religion using the concept of the Light/Beam as an abstract divine concept, while using the feral angel she had trapped as the new source of Light.[11] The Filament became a product of this, for the Halovars to sell and use as part of their religious scam, telling the public that this substance was the distilled Light. In truth, they extracted it from the bodily fluids of Aetheon using an iron maiden-like device called Prismatic Retort,[12] which could be opened with Celestial chanting combined with the radiant blast from Godard Halovar's eyes.[13] The blood itself became Filament after being properly altered and refined.[14]

Fan art of '"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000018-QINU`"'Aetheon shedding Filament, by '"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000019-QINU`"'

Fan art of Aetheon shedding Filament, by Savs Creates.[art 2]

Campaign Four

Seventy years after the Shapers' War, Lady Zebani Halovar handles the Prismatic Retort in the basement under Villa Aurora,[15] and some members of the Sundered House of Halovar, including Light Priest Wicander and Sir Filoneus, are among the many people with tattoos created using Filament as ink.[16] One of the main ambitions of Photarch Yanessa is to claim the inheritance of the D'Antonio family, since their lands have vineyards with special alchemical properties that would allow for the Filament to be diluted and distributed more efficiently.[17]

According to Tyranny, Filament has also become a form of payment through which House Halovar buys the loyalty of Ksha'aravi and his demons.[18] Her Aspirant sisters had access to at least one bottle of Filament Enmity carried with her as they looked for Tyranny and Wicander in Riesingürtle.[19]

The Filament is shipped by House Halovar to their temples across the continent, such as those in Gormalay.[20] It is also being provided to the Barrowguard as a way to fight the darkness coming from cursed places such as the Eternal Night[21] or Venatus.[22]

Trivia

References

  1. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:29:05.
  2. See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 4:17:35.
  3. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:25:42.
  4. See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 4:17:35.
  5. See "The Giant's Belt" (4x12) at 1:13:29.
  6. See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 2:08:48.
  7. See "Broken Wing" (4x02) from 4:18:22 through 4:19:13.
  8. See "Chasing Shadows" (4x28) at 4:23:58.
  9. See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 4:18:56.
  10. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:25:42.
  11. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:24:00.
  12. See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 4:22:49.  See also at 4:29:50.
  13. See "Broken Wing" (4x02) at 4:30:15.
  14. Beacon logo (tiny) CR Cooldown C4 E016 at 5:19 (subscription required) (Transcript).
  15. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:31:11.
  16. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:23:45.
  17. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:36:05.
  18. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 0:42:46.
  19. See "The Giant's Belt" (4x12) at 1:03:51.
  20. See "The Snipping of Shears" (4x03) at 4:18:54.
  21. See "Flight to Castle Torch" (4x15) from 2:34:16 through 2:39:16.
  22. See "Visions of Shadow & Stone" (4x16) at 1:52:37.
  23. See "The Fall of Thjazi Fang" (4x01) at 1:33:11.

Art:

  1. Fan art of Wicander learning the true origin of the Filament, by Odd (source). Used with permission.
  2. Fan art of Aetheon shedding Filament, by Savs Creates (source). Used with permission.