Ophiuchus Figures

Ophiuchus figures were a name given by Waterdhavian doctors to the characteristic branching or snaking scarring that occurred on lightning strike victims. 
While the phenomenon was well known throughout history, the name originated in 1560.
During the Night Watch's first battle, protecting Francisco Disforza from Oracle assassins in the low winter of 1561 just outside Jarren's Well, Adrienne Ophiuchus was struck by a bolt of lightning, giving her permanent scarring up her left arm, chest, neck, and the left side of her face. These snakelike figures, which were previously referred to by many names, came to be known informally amongst Waterdhavian doctors and medical professionals (and later worldly ones) as the Ophiuchus figures, due to Adrienne's high profile nature from 1560-1561 in the city.
Some people noted for bearing these marks were -
* Kessar Truespear, Heinrich and Altor Mazander, who were all scarred during the final moments of the Battle of Bracken in 1490 when a Di Lamendolio bodyguard immolated herself in a bolt of lightning.
* Lyslen 'Talos' MacEoin, who bore these figures from her continual and repeated use of lightning magic in the early 1500s.
* Araphel Blacktooth briefly bore them before her death at Lyslen MacEoin's hands in 1512. Her body was found with these marks on them, and since the Golden Flock only employed a small number of lightning mages, Jezibel Halfmoon was able to work out that it was Lyslen who killed her. This was very important, as it was the action that catalysed Jezibel and the Fixers to unite in Rakkimar, Lyslen's death, her reveal of the Flock's deeds, and the Flock's eventual decline that culminated in the battle at Pier No3 with Jezibel and Tanis' deaths (see How the Serpents Came to a Head for more)
* Adrienne Ophiuchus of course, scarred in 1561 by an errant bolt in the moors near Jarren's Well.
Category:Phenomena