Herostratus’ Lantern

Origin
Herostratus was a 4th-century BC Greek arsonist, who sought notoriety by destroying the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. His acts then prompted the creation of a law, damnatio memoriae, forbidding anyone to mention his name. His name has become a byword for someone who commits a criminal act in order to become famous.

The first millennium and a half of its journeys are relatively unknown. However, reports started to surface in the 1500s of other people finding and using the lantern. It is thought to have caused at least three fires of historical significance, two within the last century. The first confirmed incident was in England, where an actor or audience member unintentionally burned down Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. It reappeared in 1930s Germany, where a disgruntled bricklayer razed the governmental Reichstag. After the war, it resurfaced in 1987 northeast China. An inexperienced forest worker on the Chinese-Soviet border had accidentally activated it, causing a wildfire that destroyed one sixth of China’s timber supply. Agents were dropped into the aftermath and located the lantern, removed it from the continent and placed it within the Warehouse.

Effects
The user will gain the desire to gain infamy through crime, normally arson or vandalism. The fire that lights the lantern has a natural tendency to flicker and move towards large buildings, monuments and memorials. The structure will be burned down to the base, leaving little remaining unless firefighters or natural conditions extinguish the flame.