Lycaon of Arcadia's Ladle | |
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Origin |
Lycaon |
Type |
Serving Ladle |
Effects |
Allows the user to assume wolf-like form |
Downsides |
Must consume human flesh to maintain |
Activation |
Drinking from ladle |
Collected by |
Originally Warehouse 1, then Arthur Nielsen & James MacPherson |
Section |
|
Aisle |
Perseus-1395 |
Date of Collection |
330, lost 1914, recollected 1987 |
[Source] |
Origins[]
The exact origins of the artifacts are not certain, but in the Greek myth, Lycaon was a king of the Arcadian people who invited the Gods of Olympus to dine with him. Before the meal, he murdered one of his sons, Nyctimis, and served his flesh in a broth to Zeus in an attempt to see if he was truly divine, as an Olympian would not consume the flesh of a Human. Zeus did notice, and as punishment for Lycaon's crime of filicide and his hubris Zeus slaughtered his fifty other children and turned Lycaon himself into a wolf to better reflect his bestial nature. In some myths, Zeus also resurrected the innocent Nyctimis, though this is not always said.
Effects[]
The ladle has a rather brutal effect, both in its enacting and result. The first time it is used, the ladle will transform the user in a monstrous wolf-like beast, not unlike the modern Werewolf or Lycan. The user still retains his higher brain function, though this will not last long. To maintain the transformation, the user must consume human flesh, and the urge to do so will get stronger over time, eventually regressing into a primal need. Once the transformation wears off (typically after a few hours or by the users choice), the user must consume human flesh to transform again. The more the ladle is used, the more addictive the process becomes until the user is no more than an animal themselves.
Collection[]
This was a part of the lost cache of Warehouse 12, and it fell into the hands of one Mike H. Graham in Elkwood, Wisconsin, who used it to recreate the legend of the Beast of Bray Road. It was collected by Agents Nielsen and McPherson in the 1980s.