The Temple of the Exploding Head

The ancient and varied line of LosCapricos weapons (LC’s) are a feature of the Great House system in the League. Each Great House has its own unique LC which was, in part, designed by the Elders themselves centuries prior. As the Elders had a hand in their conception, LC’s are considered sacred. No murders can by committed with LC’s–any killings done by them are forgiven in the eyes of the Sisterhood. LC’s are always spelled using UPPERCASE letters.

Facing a LosCapricos weapon in battle is a bewildering thing. Some are fairly straight forward in design and concept, (swords, knives, pistols, and so forth), some are purely technological in nature, while others are bizarre in the extreme and perform any number of mystical effects. Knowledge is one’s best defense against an LC; knowing what they are and what they do is key to surviving against them. Learning LC lore is a required field of study for boys in most Vith Great Houses.

The tribes of Vith and Esther tend to have offensive-minded LC’s that aid them in battle. The CARG of House Blanchefort and the CEROS of House Probert are two examples, both being rather deadly. The Remnaths and the Zenons tend to have very arcane, mystically operated LC’s, such as the BESSAMER of House Hobby and the NTH of House Belmont, both of which can do very odd things. The tribe of Barrow often features defensive-minded LC’s–the ARLISS of House Dare which creates a suit of armor around the user is a notable example. The Calverts and Halas tend to make use of LC’s that enhance the luck, skill and attributes of the person using them. The MOLLY of the House of A-Ram allows its user to know things and perform feats they otherwise shouldn’t or couldn’t.

The Xaphans do not have a tradition of creating LC’s. Instead, many of them use the LC’s they brought with them when they betrayed the League in 000000AX. The Xandarr’s, for instance, still make use of the invisible BEREN sword.

RUMALORE: A Rumalore is a bit of disinformation regarding a LC that has been filed with the Sisterhood of Light. The Sisters have a complete listing of each weapon and what they do. A Rumalore is intended to either hide a weakness or foster fear of an LC. For example—the NAS of House Albans, a small jewel-encrusted dagger, was said to create wounds that would bleed forever, and that only the Sisters or the Hospitalers could stem the bleeding. The relentless wounding power of the NAS was a Rumalore exaggerating the power of the NAS, as small, shallow cuts inflicted by it would indeed stop bleeding on their own after several hours.

copyright 2011, Ren Garcia