Curing

Asking how the process was discovered is like wondering who laid the first egg: irrelevant and unknowable.

— Shiv Moonsong

The process through which the bone of a ghost is turned into a Relic is known as curing. This comes from the same origin as in pottery, as the process for curing a ghost's bone into a relic is surprisingly similar.

History

While the exact history of the practice is undated and unknown, it is the progenitor of both Technoalchemy and the United Guild of Scribes, Calligraphers, Illuminators, and Engravers.

Technoalchemy came to be when a curing kiln exploded due to the presence of blood within the marrow of an improperly dried bone.

Curing bones is, essentially, preserving a person's story in the most useful fashion. And so, as time went on and these vital and unappreciated members of society applied their skills for writing, drawing, and cataloging information in new and ingenious ways. Eventually, they banded together to protect their mutual interests abd the UGSCIE was born.

Execution

Bone is collected from the deceased. Usually one of the small toe bones, one of the inner ear bones, one of the smallest finger bones, or the tailbone.

The choice of bone can vary greatly by island; for example, on Tilth, a person's social importance is reflected in the size of the bone that they send.

It is then dried with a treatment of mineral salts. This takes anywhere from a couple hours, to several weeks, depending on the bone.

This is why small bones are preferred, the larger the bone, the longer the drying time.

The tried bone and its attendant ghost are put into a high-heat, high-pressure chamber for firing. This process takes around 90 minutes, most of which is the heating and cooling process. The actual bake is only about three minutes.

After the firing, the remaining relic is removed, tested, and catalogued. It is then either returned to the deceased's heirs (most often), donated to the local death museum (some people have no heirs or family), or destroyed (in the case of a dangerous relic).

Components and tools

The curing process takes placed within the Reliquary in the Catacombs underneath Crossroads Island. There, several

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Primary Related Location

Catacombs

Related Organizations

• United Guild of Scribes, Calligraphers, Illuminators, and Engravers