John the Cappadocian’s Golden Tessera

John the Cappadocian’s Golden Tessera
Origin	John the Cappadocian
Type	Glass Mosaic Tile
Effects	Detects exploitable power and wealth
Downsides	Increasing deception and distrust leading to exposure
Activation	Ambition
Collected by	Warehouse 5
Section	Mammon-207T
Aisle	939445-6841
Shelf	314946-9084-548
Date of Collection	604 AD
[Source]

Origin

John the Cappadocian (520s-540s) served as praetorian prefect of the East and a chief financial minister of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. He later rose to the ranks of ruling patrician and government consul, although his greed and political rivals later impoverished him.

He appeared as a notary, legal advisor and tax collector who slowly pushed for a meritocracy-based system. John maintained a strong influence over Justinian, pushing a peace settlement with Khosrow I of Persia in 532 and diminishing the powers of upper-class senators that initially dismissed John from office. Many accused by John and his posse were regularly imprisoned and executed to gain their wealth. Their meager living quarters became opulent bathhouses and horse stables for the many indulgences. All the appointed staff were treated as standard slaves.

Among Justinian’s inner circle, John wracked the ire of Empress Theodora and general Belisarius. They conspired to “overthrow” Justinian. A few other generals caught wind forcing John to flee his post. His wealth was confiscated, although Justinian allowed his old counsel to keep some riches. Unsurprisingly, his new superior Eusebius was later murdered. Justinian revoked all his possessions and forced John to live with merely a cloak and beg in squalor. John remained in relative poverty until Theodora’s death, at which he returned to the capitol but stayed out of politics the remainder of his life.

Effects

The individual tile responds to those with great ambitions for power, for fortune. It shimmers whenever the user approaches a source of wealth they can manipulate. Items and monetary wealth cause it to flip over endlessly, while people with weaker convictions they can control makes it rotate briefly.

Each gain feeds back into multiplying their treasures further, often through illicit means. Coercion and falsehoods allow them to weasel others out of their earnings, but slowly builds up a bad reputation against them. Usually they’re untouchable from all the bribes and favors spread around in their name. However, it only takes one major mistake to lose all their prospects. Enemies will coordinate to ruin them fiscally or socially, exposing their greedy nature for all to shame.

Incidents

During the era of Warehouse 12, multiple artifacts were utilized without supervision. The resulting coverup required penning “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, where characters represented the misused artifacts and their workarounds in case off-site agents ever needed to neutralize them again. In the story, the crocodile’s golden scale represents the mosaic piece.

"How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!"