Magic Amulet (TUMB)

TUMB/All

Throughout the series, one of Brownstones most useful armor/protection/weapon is his magic amulet. Brownstone was raised as an orphan, and the one thing he had with him, when found as a toddler, three years old, with clothes on his back, a small box of trinkets, and the necklace.

TUMB 01/17

The Amulet A silver necklace connected to a circular gold and silver amulet rested inside. Three crystals—azure, crimson, and jade—were inlaid into it. It was something he’d owned since he was a child. Every time he put it on, he couldn’t help but feel inhuman. Not Oriceran. The damn thing’s very touch burned until it finished joining with him. Gave him inhuman strength,healing powers, speed. Also, a voice continually whispered to him, in a language he did not know, whenever he was bonded with it, perhaps offering advice on his activities, or ??? James sucked in a breath, not looking forward to having to smell and hear his own flesh sizzling. None of that seemed normal or acceptable, even by Oriceran standards. Apparently, no one knew why he had the necklace. His parents had died or abandoned him, and then the only man he’d ever thought of as a father had died as well. That suggested there was dark magic behind the item, maybe even a curse.If magic was real, curses could be real too. Since the necklace might be cursed, James couldn’t take the chance of it hurting anyone else. It was his burden, and his weapon

TUMB 02/7

He avoided using it, because he didn't know the "hidden cost of its use. The damn artifact might be sucking his life with each use or changing him in some fundamental way, making him even less human. Maybe that was why he had the strange ridges and mottled patterns on his face along with his strength. One day he might might wake up a monster. He just didn't know.

TUMB 03/2

The damned whispers from the amulet had grown stronger with each use, so he wasn’t sure how much longer he could use it. TUMB 03/24 In the fight against the special sword wielded by Ikeda, his amulet’s whisper became frantic, almost deafening. After Brownstone had killed Ikeda, and withdrawn the sword, the amulet’s whispering was placid again, almost as if it were content.

TUMB 04/8

Asked Shay to investigate it for him, as he needed to know what its powers were, to better fight the Harriken assassins. Shay took pictures of it with a regular lens, and with a UV filter. Showed glyphs with a UV filter, which Shay could research in her Warehouse Four Library. Asked him about the language he had spoken when he was found. Mostly pops and clicks. Xhosa?(Africa) Remember anything about the jungle? Colors? Plants? Animals? Amulet? It makes me tougher, improves my telekinesis, and...it hurts like fucking hell when I put it on. Does it make you stronger or faster otherwise? Still didn’t tell her about the voice whispering to him when he wore it. Shay went to her Warehouse Library, to look up the glyphs, which she had seen somewhere before. Found first reference in Sir Michael Garfield's expeditions to Egypt, where he had recorded similar glyphs, (1920) Found her second reference in Ancient Pyramids of Latin America. Not Oriceran, maybe involving another planet.

04/11

Professor Armstrong, an academic archaeologist, confirms her theories, and recommends going to an Oriceran scholars, but but a number of historians and archaeologists who specialize more in that area have looked into these so-called Garfield Glyphs, and no one can link them to any existing or past Oriceran civilization. Seek an Oriceran scholar and see if they can help you.

TUMB 05/20

Shay and Brownstone go to a small dig in Argentina, where Shay shows him glyphs that match the ones on his amulet. She has found the all over the world, but in different patterns in different locations. I collected all the data from the different locations and tried to figure out if there were any associations between the symbols and something about the location. The Japan trip finally helped the pieces of the puzzles slide into place. It is the locations themselves. Using algorithms to process seasonal variations along with the longitude and latitude of the different places, and putting that together with the symbols, I think I found out what they are trying to tell people. From what I can tell, these symbols are kind of an astronomical arrow. I think they point to the star system you’re from. “I figured it had to be in the star system Zeta Reticuli.” “Once I got going, though, the arrow wasn’t indicating that system at all. It’s somewhere in that general vicinity, but I still need to collect more information before I can narrow it down. It’s a big fucking galaxy. Realize that Brownstone might well be an alien.

TUMB 08/2, 4

Named by Shay the Whispering Amulet of Doom Shay decides to test the limits of the amulet's protective abilities, and asks Brownstone to come to one of her warehouses to do so. Brownstone got to Shay’s warehouse, to find guns arranged roughly by caliber and type lined several tables stretching across the interior of the main room of Warehouse Three. Shay stood behind the first table with a satisfied look on her face. The amulet continued its happy murmuring. . The more we know, the longer you live.,” Shay said, picking up a .22 pistol. And the tests began. Shot one, examining the bullet It didn’t pierce the skin. “It’s crushed like it hit a wall.” . “Alien or magical stuff might work in ways we can’t even begin to understand, but this shows that the actual force of the bullet isn’t shunted off to some weird other place. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be messed up.” Burst of 9mm sub-machine gun. A slight scrape. Masamune sword. Shay brought the sword down, but it bounced off. It left a slight scratch with a thin trail of blood, and the amulet did its best mental imitation of something James thought was supposed to be laughter. Stun gun. It tickled. Sonic Grenade. The skin of the grenade slid back and a high-pitched whine filled the air. The grenade clattered against the floor, leaving his ears ringing but nothing more.

TUMB 10/01

Brownstone had shortened the Amulet's name to Whispy Doom. wears it all of the time, although not always bonded to it. It does talk to him all of the time, however, which he has learned in general to ignore.

TUMB 11/01

James had finally bonded with the amulet, but as things had been quiet in LA,he hadn't had much communication with it. 

The power tapped into during the museum incident proved that Shay was right and he was not using Whispy Doom to anywhere near maximum capacity, but the price for more power seemed to be lack of control. A weapon he couldn’t reliably control was dangerous. Worse than that, it was complicated. The damned amulet seems to like me killing people, but tried to get me to go after Shay, the cops, or any of my men, so at least he’s got a fucking clue about which side he’s on.

TUMB 12/02 Whispy Doom not calls Brownstone's transformations advanced transformations, and has included energy blasts as his newest weapon. James is uncertain as to whether he can control Whispy Doom, as he seems to be driven increasingly by anger and hatred.