Dark Water

A mysterious, thick, black liquid found deep underground in a cave discovered by Joseph Shardlow.

The watered down version of Dark Water is known as Tenebrosia, which is used in a variety of applications such fuel and the creation of the gas, Etherium. It is the sale of Tenebrosia that provides the Starkweather Foundation with its income.

Shardlow bottled the Dark Water and these bottles were later found by the Tidworth Brothers who discovered that drinking it give them superior strength. They used it to become Bare Knuckle Boxing champions but it also caused them to die from massive heart attacks one day apart.

The Dark Water is the ingredient that gives each mask its special powers and it is also used to combine clockwork mechanics with animal life.

Dark Water is the crucial element that makes the Spheres of Summoning work.

Joseph Shardlow
in 1749 farm-worker, Joseph Shardlow discovered the Dark Water pool when exploring an undiscovered cave system.

The Tidworth Brothers
In 1768 the Tidworth Brothers (twins James and Jack) discovered the stash of Dark Water bottles when they bought the rundown Redmill Farm.

Thinking that the liquid was some form of home-brewed ale they drank some. After drinking the Dark Water they discovered it gave them increased strength and heightened reflexes.

They used their new found strength on the bare-knuckle boxing circuit and soon became the county champions.

Within a month of drinking the Dark Water both James and Jack died from massive heart attacks. James died one day before Jack.

Dr. Edward J. Doyle
Their deaths were investigated by the local doctor, Edward Jenner Doyle, who made copious notes about the case due to the fact that their hearts were far larger than normal and their blood was almost black and very thick. Edward shares his discoveries with a fellow trainee doctor, Denison Ogilvy-Watts.

Dr. Denison Ogilvy-Watts
As a trainee doctor, Denison, assists Edward with his experiments using the Dark Water. After qualifying Denison joins the military and in 1807 finds himself in South America where he is one of the six survivors of the Massacre at Montevideo. During their time trapped in the Citadel Denison tells the other five all about the Dark Water and they vow that if they survive they will try and rediscover the Shardlow Caves.

The Six
In 1810, following their return from South America, the Six rediscover the Shardlow Caves and the Dark Water pool. During their exploration of the caves they are caught by a sudden rise in the level of the Dark Water and several members are submerged. After several minutes of being submerged WHS and Denison Ogilvy-Watts are pulled out of the pool but Christopher Thornhill is never seen again.

Sir Jeremy Hardwick made detailed notes documenting their exploration of the Shardlow Caves.

Dr. Nathanial Doyle
Nathanial Doyle is the grandson of Edward Jenner Doyle and after his grandfather's death he found the diaries and notes detailing the experiments with the Dark Water. Nathanial recreates some of these experiments and shares his results with his cousin, Robert Jarman.

Properties
Dark Water is a highly viscous black liquid that displays strange properties that appear to give it magical powers. Essentially, every atom of Dark Water is every other atom which enables teleportation to occur. The Spheres of Summoning utilise this property by using the same Dark Water in a pair of spheres. A connection is created between the Spheres as the Dark Water contained within is essentially the same thing, occupying the same position in time and space in the alternate dimension known as the Shadow Zone. This property was first discovered by Edward Jenner Doyle during his early experiments with the Dark Water. When he experimented on a small sample of the Dark Water he noticed that the effects of the experiment also occurred on the rest of the sample left in its bottle.

"Dark Water Experiment #4 - I slowly heated a small sample of Dark Water over a yellow flame. The liquid in the beaker began to expand and after five minutes bubbles began to appear on the surface. After ten minutes the liquid had began to overflow the beaker and larger bubbles were forming. The experiment was interrupted when the bottle from which I had taken the sample, toppled from its shelf, spilling hot, bubbling Dark Water over the workshop floor."