The Equilibrium Trigger

 

        The Equilibrium Trigger is a special symbol, used primarily in Interitus 1 to separate a person's spirit from their body. It used for both militaristic and spiritual purposes by a village of separatists in the Himalayas. The Equilibrium Trigger is first used by one of their guards; Seth touches the insignia on the guard's shield, activating it by mistake. This frees his spirit into the "astral plane" but leaves his body defenseless and unconscious. 

        At the Temple of the Skies, an elderly monk known as Master Liu teaches Seth and Phil how to draw and use the Equilibrium Trigger. He explains that it is generally used for offense, since it effectively paralyzes an enemy by throwing their soul into the astral plane. However, he mentions that someone could also use it for defense--to separate their spirit from a body that is about to die. Liu has even covered his fighting staff with Equilibrium Triggers for these purposes. Furthermore, many of the villagers (most notably Zheng Lee) use it for spiritual benefits as well.

        An Equilibrium Trigger will not activate if it is drawn with an ordinary utensil. Instead, it can only be drawn by a special pen (called a "Cosmic Pen") which uses special ink from a faraway place. The reaction is highly endothermic and technically a nuclear reaction, in that it transmutes the ink used for the inscription. This nuclear reaction pulls its activation energy which from the nearest nuclear-fusion reactor (usually the nearest star). Attentive readers will note that the Equilibrium Trigger appears to bare a large resemblance to the Array of Black Fire.

I originally drew the Equilibrium Trigger in 2011, and that file is shown below:

See also:

Cosmic Pen

Carmotium

Master Liu

The astral plane

Array of Black Fire