Mishalia's Soup Pot

Summary

A kite shark's bite put an abrupt end to Mishalia Rialisa's career as a Radiant Champion, but it couldn't kill her enthusiasm for radiant engineering. Between dire predictions of the coming water age, Mishalia developed a number of extremely useful objects fueled by the radiance. First, and most famous, among these is a soup pot that would remain perpetually filled, provided it was kept heated and never allowed to boil dry. Legend has it that the soup pot saved thousands of lives during the Blight Flood, but was eventually lost when rival gangs went to war over the radiant device.

Historical Basis

Mishalia Rialisa was a popular Radiant Champion and member of the Violet Sun Guild during its height. A near-death experience courtesy of a kite shark's unexpected attack forced her to pivot from the adventuring life to a somewhat safer career as a radiant engineer. Unfortunately, her head injury left Mishalia plagued by dark visions and relentless sense of impending doom. Much to the chagrin of her former adventuring companions in the Violet Sun Guild, Mishalia turned her attention to devices that would help the common folk survive the great flood she dreamed about. While it is true that Mishalia's Soup Pot went missing shortly after the First Blight Flood, historians disagree as to why it vanished. Most agree that Mishalia was powerful enough to repel a simple incursion by rival gangs. It is also well established that Mishalia was close to some of her Age's most powerful dungeoneers, which greatly reduces the likelihood that any gang could have taken the pot from her. It is far more likely that elite strike teams, backed up by forces of Radiant Champions, were dispatched by one or more of the noble bloodlines to secure the device for their own needs. Unfortunately, none of these theories provide any solid leads on the Soup Pot's current location.

Spread

Beggars and deep scavs periodically claim to have been fed soup by a mysterious stranger during the flood cycles. While there have been no confirmed sightings of the soup pot in well over a hundred years, the sightings still stir up a storm of dungeoneers and other explorers when they occur. Though Mishalia's Soup Pot is of no martial value, the ability to feed one's community for free is enough to attract the attention of even powerful forces.

Variations & Mutation

An oft-repeated version of this myth claims that Mishalia cursed the Soup Pot when it was stolen from her. In this version of the legend, anyone who eats from the Soup Pot is doomed to an extraordinarily painful death within twenty-four hours.

In Art

Representations of Mishalia's Soup Pot are commonly found on the signs above the Blood Kitchens, though this use likely has Mishalia rolling beneath the waves.