Golden Idol

The **Golden Idol of Xenopolis**, also known as the **Golden Fire-Breathing Relic**, the **Fountain of Youth**, or simply the **Golden Idol**, is a supernatural ancient Lemurian artifact that drives the story of The Case of the Golden Idol.

## Functionality

The Golden Idol has the ability to absorb matter or energy from objects and transfer it to other objects. The kind of matter or energy that is manipulated depends on the symbols inputted into the three slots on the back of the Idol's head. When the lever next to the slots is pressed, the Idol will manipulate the object that its eye is pointed at. If the Idol cannot transfer the specified matter or energy because it does not have any stored, its eye will turn blue; otherwise, it will be red. The speed at which the Idol manipulates objects depends on how strongly the lever is pressed, as well as how much matter or energy is stored.

When the Golden Idol is set to absorb all matter, it causes the object it is pointed at to disappear; the result of transferring matter is never confirmed, but it most likely would make the object reappear where the Idol is pointed. Gold can be filtered by absorbing it from an object such as a body of water and transferring it onto a surface or into a container. Air can simply be absorbed from the atmosphere; "transferring" air causes it to be released from the Idol at a high enough pressure to simulate flight. This was used by Lazarus Herst in The Crowning Celebration by the Lighthouse to display the supposedly irreplicable miracle of flying and be crowned Gryphon Reborn.

One of the more relevant properties of the Idol is its ability to absorb and transfer heat. This was the only property of the Idol that Sebastian Cloudsley was able to discover, and remained the only known use for the Idol until Edmund Cloudsley researched its abilities in 1788. Absorbing heat causes objects to freeze, and transferring heat causes spontaneous combustion. With enough strength, this spontaneous combustion can instantly kill a person, which happened to James Pear in The Dramatic Departure of an Outsider.

By far the most revered power of the Idol, however, is the absorption and transferring of the youth of organic matter. Absorbing the youth of a living being with the Idol causes them to age, and transferring youth reverses the aging of its target. This power allowed Edmund Cloudsley to de-age himself beyond recognition and solidify his transition into his new identity of Lazarus Herst. The basis of the Order Party's ideology, prolonging the life of the most virtuous citizens for as long as possible, relied on this property of the Idol.

## History

The earliest known people to possess the Golden Idol were the ancient Lemurians, before it was abandoned on Monkey Paw Island after the mysterious collapse of the Lemurian empire. It remained there for presumably thousands of years until Oberon Geller coaxed its location out of Yupik Kerra and retrieved it from the Ruins of Xenopolis on an expedition with Albert Cloudsley. It was sent to Albion in 1742 by Albert, who killed Oberon during the expedition.

With the only person in Albion who knew the Lemurian legends of the Golden Idol dead, Albert was unaware of its significance. It was passed down to his son Sebastian Cloudsley, who discovered its ability to perform spontaneous combustion. When Sebastian died in 1786, he bequeathed the Idol to fellow Brotherhood of Masks member Willard Wright. Willard intended to return the Idol to the Brotherhood, but was murdered in the Little Mermaid Inn two days after receiving it by David Gorran, who gave it to Edmund Cloudsley.

The Brotherhood of Masks made many attempts to rob Edmund of the Idol, but it would never leave his possession. Edmund independently discovered the full capabilities of the Idol, and used it to rise to power over Albion. His regime would last for three years, from 1792 until 1795, when he was blasted with a cannon by his drunken nephew Peter Battley. The blast killed Edmund and broke the Golden Idol.

## Trivia

* The Golden Idol is not made of gold, but rather gilded brass.