Ritual of twin burnings The ritual of twin burnings was a complex and extremely evil arcane evocation spell or binding ritual that obliterated the body and spirit of a sacrificial victim . Its sole purpose was to create runes of chaos around " Thakorsil ' s Seat " , in order to permanently bind a creature to that artifact and enslave them to the caster ' s will . Components . The key material component of the " ritual of twin burnings " was the sacrificial victim : a human mage of good nature , commanding magical power to a level in accordance with the number of runes of chaos inscribed . In addition , it required some verbal and somatic components , among them the intonation of " words of dark terror " . There were other material components costing 50 , 000 gp . These included a sacrificial knife with which to slay the victim . Ritual . The " ritual of twin burnings " was not exactly a spell , but shared many similar features . It was quite a complicated ritual that took a full night and day to perform in full . If the one performing it was disturbed at any point , then the ritual failed and had to be repeated in full . There were three main requirements . Firstly , the " ritual of twin burnings " could only be performed during the full moon , and only once a month . If the ritual failed , then the practitioner had to wait a full month for the next full moon . Secondly , it required the presence of " Thakorsil ' s Seat " itself , sitting no more than 20 feet ( 6 . 1 meters ) away . It could only work with the " Seat " ; if attempted with any other artifact , or the " Seat " was nowhere near , then the ritual had no effect . Finally , it required the sacrifice of a good human mage of a certain level of power . The power of the mage required depended on the number of runes of chaos inscribed . Inscribing the ninth rune required a mage nine times more powerful than the beginning mage required to inscribe the first rune . The ritual culminated in the caster intoning " words of dark terror " , then slaying the victim with a sacrificial knife . At this time , runes already on the " Seat " played deep and eerie musical chords . At the very end , the victim was utterly destroyed in both body and soul — these were the twin burnings of the ritual . Effects . If the " ritual of twin burnings " was completed successfully , then the very essence of the sacrificial victim was used to create a rune of chaos , which was inscribed on a triangular crystal pane that appeared around " Thakorsil ' s Seat " . Each successive ritual created another rune of chaos and another crystal pane . A failed ritual did not destroy existing crystal panes , but they could be destroyed with only a little damage . Another completed " ritual of twin burnings " was required to replace broken panes . With nine successful rituals , a nine - sided crystal pyramid was completed around the " Seat " , with a rune of chaos on each face . At this point , the occupant of " Thakorsil ' s Seat " was permanently and fully enslaved and bound to the will of the caster who had performed the rituals . Involving the horrific sacrifice and eternal destruction of good beings , with the ultimate goal of permanently binding and enslaving a creature to one ' s will , the " ritual of twin burnings " was naturally a despicably evil act . Those who enacted it were either already utterly evil , or were inevitably turned evil in the process . History . The ancient kingdom of Yhalvia ( part of the empire of Narfell , −946 DR to −150 DR ) was ruled by the devil lord Orlex , but a band of rebellious wizard s arose to depose him . They created the throne known as " Thakorsil ' s Seat " to imprison and permanently bind and enslave the evil fiend . Unfortunately , although they had the best of intentions , the device demanded deeds of despicable evil to function . Thus , they devised the " ritual of twin burnings " , which involved the sacrifice of beings of good heart , believing this was for the greater good , that the ends justified the means . They went ahead with the horrific rites , and successfully bound and enslaved Orlex in the " Seat " , forming a council of wizards that governed Yhalvia . However , corrupted by the sacrifices and with Orlex as their slave , they soon became as cruel , depraved , and wicked as the devil they had replaced . At some point , " Thakorsil ' s Seat " — and presumably the details of the " ritual of twin burnings " too — came into the possession of Larloch , the Shadow King of Warlock ' s Crypt , who never actually made use of it . Eventually , Szass Tam , the Zulkir of Necromancy of Thay , visited Warlock ' s Crypt around 1366 DR . The two came to some deal or alliance , and Larloch gave Szass " Thakorsil ' s Seat " , the " Death Moon Orb " , several other powerful magic items and artifacts , a number of hooded companions , and presumably the details of the " ritual of twin burnings " , to aid him in his plots to control Thay and the demon Eltab . Szass then embarked on his scheme to bind the demon lord Eltab . Centuries before , Eltab had aided the Thayans in shaking off Mulhorand i rule , but was subsequently imprisoned beneath the capital , Eltabbar . Szass Tam had realized that the demon lord would soon break free , and decided to instead hasten his escape and then fully enslave the fiend . In the Year of the Shield , 1367 DR , Szass Tam used the " Orb " ' s power to first free Eltab then compel him to sit in " Thakorsil ' s Seat " , which immediately imprisoned him again . He then began the terrible task of performing the " ritual of twin burnings " and creating the runes of chaos to make Eltab his eternal slave . During this time , the " Death Moon Orb " hovered in place over Eltab in " Thakorsil ' s Seat " in the Chambers of Twin Burnings . Nathor , a Thayan civil servant , bore witness to much of Szass Tam ' s wicked deeds , sitting at his left hand as he watched a " ritual of twin burnings " . Nathor later fled to Aglarond in horror . However , before Szass Tam could inscribe the ninth and last rune of chaos , a band of mighty adventurers got into the Chambers and foiled his scheme . All the crystal panes and the runes of chaos were destroyed and Eltab escaped . Lore . By the 1360s DR , only Larloch the Shadow King of Warlock ' s Crypt and Szass Tam , Zulkir of Necromancy of Thay , knew the details of the " ritual of twin burnings " . It was not recorded in any written form .