Aegean Sails

Origin
Warrior Theseus, before he became the founding king of Athens, was a Greek hero who is well known for killing the Minotaur. Before he had left for Crete to slay the beast, Theseus promised his mortal father Aegeus that he would sail home with white sails if he was alive, and black sails if the ship carried his body.

The story goes that when time came for Theseus to return home, he had forgotten the promise he gave his father, and sailed with black sails. Aegeus saw the black sails as they approached Athens, and in grief threw himself into the ocean - creating, in turn, the Aegean Sea.

Effects
When these sails fly, people who see them will suffer from acute mental stress, causing them to act out for a brief period. In short, the anterior pituitary gland is activated to produce a "Fight-or-Flight" reaction in the autonomic nervous system. The brain will isolate and augment a nearby stress point, forcing the body and brain into eliminating the perceived threat.

This artifact is also thought to be involved in the deaths of former lover Isolde (of Ireland) and Tristan, when it afflicted Tristan's then wife, Isolde of Brittany, who reacted in a fit of jealousy to lie and in turn cause both her husband and Isolde of Ireland to die.