| Gilles de Rais' Key Ring | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Origin |
Gilles de Rais |
|
Type |
Keys and Key Ring |
|
Effects |
Seismic Sense |
|
Downsides |
Guilt Manifestation |
|
Activation |
Shaking |
|
Collected by |
Jeptha Whithead and Clifton Poole (Warehouse 12) |
|
Section |
|
|
Aisle |
92120-342424 |
|
Shelf |
30492-23129-432201 |
|
Date of Collection |
September 28th 1894 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Gilles de Rais (1405-1440) was a fifteenth century nobleman, military leader who served alongside Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War, and eventual child rapist and serial killer. After the war, de Rais withdrew from the public eye and spent his family fortune on his extravagant lifestyle and theatrical productions. He was accused of dabbling in the occult, and eventually was tried for the murders of an unspecified number of children - though his victims likely totaled over one hundred and forty. He was found guilty and condemned to death by hanging.
After kidnapping his victims, which were between the ages of six and eighteen and more often boys, his accomplices claimed de Rais would pamper and treat the children to dinner, before taking them to a room where he and his close ring of accomplices would assist in stripping, violating, and killing them. Hanging them from a hook by ropes, De Rais would tell his victims that he only wanted "to play" with them, and once they were near death would sit on their chest and watch their final moments with glee. After kissing and sometimes dissecting them, bodies of his victims were either cremated or buried in trunks, which he would keep the keys for. This detail is what would eventually inspire Charles Perrault to write Bluebeard in 1697.
Effects[]
Imbued with de Rais' troubled mind and desire to relive his kills, this artifact can allow the user to sense underground structures and forms. Shaking the keys sends out specially tuned vibrational waves that penetrate the ground and come back to the user visually, displaying details like a bat using sound waves to see. Use, however, is not recommended, as it also compels the user's mind to fracture and relive transgressions with extended use, which for the moral will eventually overwhelm them.
The incredibly negative force of this artifact does necessitate it to be shaken every two months, as this dispels it's malevolence temporarily, such as the act of killing would satiate serial killers. Failure to do this has disrupted other artifacts in the past, and the task is usually done with artifact assistance.
Gilles de Rais' Closet Key is stored on the key ring to calm it down, though it is still considered a separate and distinct artifact.
Collection[]
This artifact was collected after a suddenly famous archeologist started to faint at random times, almost killing himself. C. Poole and J. Whithead collected this artifact in 1894 in Egypt.