Moon-Pus

The vat stirred and stank, emitting sulfurous fumes that stung the eyes and throat. The thick substance within, milky and semicongealed, began to bubble as the heat rose, eruptions of blood-red breaking the surface. At last, it came to a steady boil, and the earplugs came out just as it began to scream.

— An average day at a Moon-Pus refinery

'Sblood is a wondrous material, capable of many wondrous things. It can cure the sick, extend life, serve as a long-lasting and powerful fuel, the list goes on. It is pure untapped potential, perhaps the most valuable, greatest resource the Pariah's Tides have to offer. This substance is not that. This substance is vile, putrid, and by its very nature antithetical to health and happiness. The Tides have no shortage of horrible things to offer, but Moon-Pus almost certainly ranks among the highest. It is truly disgusting. And yet, despite all this, it still has its uses.

Sickly Secretions

Moon-Pus is produced by the Stillborn Moon, as a natural excretion that results from its less-than-healthy state. 'Sblood goes in, powering the Moon and allowing it to produce its inconstant, sickly-pale light, and all the Moon's pain and foulness clings to it, eventually emerging as Moon-Pus. It flows from the wooden-waxen thing's countless oozing sores, pooling and gathering into a river that winds down the bed of the Water of the Sun, the river that once carried the freely-given blood of the Sun to the residents of Panchaea and the South, corrupting its banks with its foul influence. 
Whereas 'Sblood is a life-giving substance, Moon-Pus is... not necessarily a life-taking substance, but the life it gives is tainted, wrong, just like its creator. The plants of the plain between the Sun's Throne and Panchaea possess scratching thorns and stinging leaves, warding off any who would dare pass them by. The poisons and acids that can be extracted from them can be summed up as no less than distilled agony, capable of inflicting unimaginable pain lasting for years, even one's entire life. One plant in particular, the Pustulent Mandrake, is capable of inflicting the agony contained within upon those around it even without physical touch. 

Wailing and Warping

Moon-Pus has a number of uses, besides its poisonous influence upon its surroundings. Like 'Sblood, it is capable of being used as a fuel. Despite its efficiency, however, it produces noxious fumes, and when burnt it causes an engine to produce a terrible keening not all that unlike a human scream. The nation of Al-Wāḳwāḳ possesses a fleet of "Screamer Engines," steamers fueled by Moon-Pus, which can be heard across the waves long before they actually arrive.
More impressive, however, are the transmutative properties of Moon-Pus. Its use in alchemical practices is quite impressive, as it is capable of enabling many processes which would otherwise appear impossible. This is a property also shared by 'Sblood, but its rarity makes it much harder to use properly, as large amounts are typically needed for any process, and Moon-Pus is much more plentiful. One problem with this is the large amounts of pain stored within it, which is not typically an issue for mineral processes, but when one is dealing with organic material, or even organic beings, an excess of pain is less than desirable. Luckily, Moon-Pus can be purified, reaching a blood-red color when it is ripe for use, and the transfigurations that it can perform upon the living form are nothing short of beautifully abhorrent.

Type

Organic

Odor

Sharp, acrid, sulphurous

Taste

Tart to the point of painfulness, and distinctly spoiled

Color

Yellow-white

Common State

Liquid

Related Locations

• The Sun's Throne