RELICS OF THE BREAK ERA

What they are, where they come from, and what we take from what comes through

I. What Is a Relic?

A relic is any material, organ, or object taken from a Gate or from creatures that come through a Gate that keeps abnormal properties after being removed. Relics are sorted into three main types:

Riftstone & Rim Products (Inorganic):

• These are mineral deposits that form around a Gate. Examples include riftstone, riftglass (created when riftstone is exposed to heat), harmonic fulgurites (formed when lightning strikes during a surge), and pressure pearls (solid deposits found near Gate runoff). These materials hold stable patterns that make them useful in diagnostics and for preparing @Seal Keys used in a @KHATIM or @Portable KHATIM (Prototype)s.

Atmospheric Exhalants (Ambient):

• These are dusts, vapors, or films released into the air by a Gate. Examples include corrosive green mist or glowing fog. Most of these fade quickly, but if collected and fixed into binders like salts, resins, or clays, they can be turned into weak relics. These are often used in inks, paints, or sensors.

Biologic Extrinsics (Creature-Derived):

• These come from the bodies of monsters that emerge from Gates. They include ichor, bone, chitin, glands, membranes, crystalline organs, and sometimes intact cores. After cleaning and processing, these provide the most flexible but also the most dangerous relic stock.

Relics are classified by three standards: Volatility Class (how quickly they lose their abnormal energy), Hazard Channel (thermal, corrosive, photic, sonic, kinetic, or psychic effects), and Provenance (Gate ID and cycle). These classifications were standardized under the Relic & Monster Materials Protocols of 2050, though black market groups often sell counterfeit tags.

II. Why Relics Matter

Suturing: Every @KHATIM or @Portable KHATIM (Prototype) needs a @Seal Key. A @Seal Key is made from riftstone dust and monster ichor, then tuned to a Gate’s frequency through a @Seal Key Bath. Without a tuned @Seal Key, a suture cannot be completed.

Power and Infrastructure: Relics are also used to make stabilized relic-cells. These are compact energy sources that can run field gear or power the larger Keystone Nodes during activation.

Sensing and Forecasting: Relic dusts can be processed to track Gate signature drift. This lets teams pre-tune @Seal Keys or arrays when forecasts show a Gate is about to shift.

Industry and Medicine: Relics are also used outside of Gate work. They provide strong materials for armor and construction, specialized lenses and coatings, and compounds that help in medical care and recovery.

III. Handling & Decontamination (Field Doctrine)

Relics remain unstable after being taken from a Gate zone. If handled wrong, they can discharge energy or lose their useful properties. Standard steps are:

• Grounding & Cage: Place all relics in copper-mesh grounding cages. If the relic still makes noise or vibrates in the cage, it’s considered active (Class Black).

• Decay Clock: Begin timing immediately. Some relics, like glands or photophores, lose most of their effect within an hour. Riftstone is much more stable and can last for years.

• Neutralize Hazards: Use the right material to make relics safe. Verdigris bile is treated with lime, photic tissue with brine and shade, and thermal nodes with wet clay.

• Basic Tests: Use a tuned whistle or taut cord to check if a relic is still carrying a Gate frequency. This is mainly done for active Class Black items.

• Tag Provenance: Record the Gate ID, the surge window, the recovery team, and the decontamination steps. This recordkeeping is mandatory for safety and accountability.

IV. Creature-Derived Materials (What We Take)

1) Armor & Structure

• Carapace Plates / Scales: Strong materials used for shields, helmets, and armor plating. Often combined with normal fibers for added strength.

• Resonant Bones: Bones that respond to impact. Built into walls or shields to reduce vibration at specific sound ranges.

• Membrane Silks: Wing or sail membranes that harden when dried. Used for tents, blast curtains, and folding barriers.

• Tendon Cords / Sinew: Durable cords with high elasticity. Twisted into cables for traps or gear. Some types still vibrate, disrupting sound-based detection.

2) Energy & Emission Organs

• Thermal Nodes: Steady heat sources. Sealed in clay, they are used for field heaters and igniters.

• Cryo Sacs: Cold storage organs. Used to preserve medicine and materials, or as munitions to weaken stone and metal.

• Photic Eyes / Photophores: Used to create lenses and light panels. Safe only when properly shaded and stored.

• Sonic Bladders / Percussion Plates: Converted into stun devices or breaching tools when paired with air or mechanical systems.

• Corrosive Glands: Contain acidic fluids. Refined into cutting agents for anchors and tools. Strict safety rules apply.

• Static Lattices: Filaments that store static charge. Used in traps or as anti-drone interference.

3) Guidance & Sensing

• Echo Cores: Rare crystalline organs that record Gate frequencies. Ground down, they are used in Seal Keys and frequency meters.

• Chemoreceptor Fans: Organs that detect trace chemicals. Dried and deployed as environmental sensors.

• Gyro Stones: Balance organs. Embedded in equipment to help stabilize aim and reduce disorientation near Gates.

4) Fluids & Soft Tissue

• Ichor: Common fluid. In raw form it decays quickly, but refined it becomes resins, coatings, and adhesives.

• Morphic Gel: A flexible tissue slurry. Mixed with binders to create impact putty or reusable seals.

• Coagulants: Blood fractions that speed clotting or stop bleeding. Standard in medical kits.

5) Offensive & Protective Compounds

• Spine Quills / Barbs: Used as piercing projectiles in traps and close-range weapons.

• Dust Spores: Rendered inert by baking. Processed into smoke that interferes with monsters more than humans.

• Reflective Scales: Small reflective plates. Tiled into visors and armor to reduce glare at light-emitting Gates.

6) Rare & Restricted

• Living Cores: Still-active organs. Illegal in most regions due to instability. Sometimes used in illicit Breaker enhancement or self-charging devices.

• Phase Teeth: Cutting organs that weaken material resistance. Used in advanced saws and breach tools.

• Gloom Marrow: Material that absorbs light and sound. Used for stealth gear but harmful in bulk.

• Rim Seeds: Small encysted pellets that store Gate energy. Mishandling them can cause sudden pressure release and injuries.

Riftstone & Rim Products (In Detail)

• Riftstone (Bulk): Used as the main material for @KHATIM post anchors. It handles ground wiring well and has very high compressive strength.

• Riftglass: Formed when riftstone is vitrified during a surge. The panes record clean frequency striations and are valuable for preparing raw @Seal Keys and for use in field calibration.

• Harmonic Fulgurites: Tubes created when lightning strikes riftstone during a surge. These are cut into tuning slugs used in auto-retune assemblies for Binder-class @KHATIM arrays.

• Pressure Pearls: Solid concretions sometimes found in drains or near surge runoff. When cracked and soaked in brine, they are used to stabilize relic-cells and improve power reliability.

VI. Making a @Seal Key

• Prepare: @Seal Keys are made using riftstone dust and monster ichor. These materials are mixed and pressed into a stable crystal form.

• Bath: The unfinished @Seal Key is exposed to the frequency of a Gate in a process called a @Seal Key Bath. The Gate’s frequency is played into the crystal until it locks onto the same pattern.

• Test: Once the Key resonates at the correct frequency, it is considered tuned.

• Deploy: The tuned @Seal Key is then installed into the Keystone Node or @Portable KHATIM (Prototype) so that the device can perform a suture.

Technicians who create @Seal Keys, called Keywrights, often carry Binder’s emblem as a mark of respect for the first person to discover how to suppress a Gate.

Relic Ethics, Law, and the Black Edge

Law: The Halo Accords set the basic rules most blocs follow. These rules ban live-core trafficking, require provenance tags on relics, enforce decontamination inspections at ports, and guarantee basic protections for workers who harvest materials.

Ethics: Some monsters show signs of tool use or mimic behavior. Standard harvest protocols require a clean kill, and vivisection is only allowed in licensed laboratories under strict conditions.

Crime: Common illegal activities include counterfeit provenance tags, unlicensed relic plates, and breaker-doping kits. @GGA Blue Shield units target black markets in major cities, while groups like the @RSDC carry out off-record enforcement where oversight is weaker.

Culture: Many cities build memorials for crews lost to Gate backlash, often displaying damaged posts or cracked @Seal Keys. Harvest knives are treated with respect and are often passed down through families or teams.

How Factions Use Relics

• @DCRA (U.S.): Uses relics for high-visibility field gear, such as light-emitting visor plates, quill-based breaching rounds, and riftglass visors designed for media coverage.

• @NSD: Focuses on efficient and minimal equipment, using echo-core meters for monitoring Gate frequencies, fulgurite slugs for automatic retuning, and compact signature analysis labs.

• @EDDU: Incorporates relic materials into urban infrastructure, such as strong carapace-stone facades and public benches built with anti-resonance properties for added protection.

• @PLDC: Adapts relics for practical use in the field, including spore dust for concealment, tendon cords for alarms, and ichor-based coatings to protect boat hulls.

• @AGSA: Uses relics in mobile convoys, such as pressure pearls for cooking and heating, silk membranes for portable shelters, and static filaments to protect trucks from aerial drones.

• @SGCB: Applies relics with careful precision, using bone for sound-dampening floors and phase-teeth for specialized surgical cutting tools.

Field Appendix: Creature Harvest Checklist

• Harvest after a Gate surge has ended

• Neutralize reactive organs such as thermal or corrosive glands with brine or lime before handling

• Collect unstable tissues, glands, and photophors first

• Attach provenance tags to every sample

• Record all loud/vibrating items, transport them with an escort