| Strait of Messina Grindstone | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Origin |
Strait of Messina |
|
Type |
Grindstone |
|
Effects |
Sharpens any blades to razor edge thickness |
|
Downsides |
Giant mirages of monstrous torrents |
|
Activation |
Sharpening a blade |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 5 |
|
Section |
|
|
Aisle |
940654-6148 |
|
Shelf |
381677-4962-547 |
|
Date of Collection |
738 AD |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
The Strait of Messina is a narrow strait separating the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, has a maximum depth of 250 m (820 ft) and is 3.1 km (1.9 mi) wide at the narrowest point.
Strong currents make for a different ecosystem compared to nearby waters. The alternating flows, low temperatures and heavy presence of nitrogen and phosphorus allows for both deep sea and open ocean species to comingle. Hundreds of birds fly over the strait to their winter breeding grounds strait due to the bottleneck being over their migration paths.
Historical accounts have linked the natural whirlpools in the northern end to the Greek parable “between Scylla and Charybdis”. It is used to express the choice between two bad options and deciding which to pick. Scylla was a six headed monster standing that would snatch sailors and eat them whole on the Calabrian side representing the rocky shoal that cracks hulls. Charybdis watched on the opposing Messina side and would drown ships by swallowing huge waves of water at a time. They were positioned so close to another in the narrow strait that avoiding one meant passing the dangers of the other.
In some circumstances, the mirage of Fata Morgana can be observed when looking at Sicily from Calabria. They often distort distant objects such as ships or coastline to appear magnified, repeated, inverted and stacked together.
Effects[]
Grinding any bladed instrument will sharpen it to a fine point comparable to the Honjo Masamune. Tests show that the cutting edge becomes millimeters wide and requires an electron microscope to be detected. The edge itself is very brittle though, so sideways shearing forces can chip apart the geometry into chunks. It is also not very resilient and may last four or five uses before being dulled again.
Makes the wielder and those nearby them hallucinate visions of sizeable flood waves approaching from the distance. Activates after the initial blade has dulled and they’re surrounded outside with others in an open area. The mirage will remain as long as they can see the horizon, where the waves will approach in terrifying force. Going inside or looking away will only work if everyone affected does the same.