Ritual Casting (10 minutes)

The caster prepares by placing a yew leaf on their tongue and breathing deeply through their nose, centering their awareness on the body's primal instincts for danger. They then extend their hands, palms down, and slowly move them over the area or creature being examined. The caster's fingertips prickle and flush with heat when passing over contaminated substances — poisons manifest as a bitter metallic taste at the back of the throat, while diseases appear as a dull, throbbing ache in the caster's joints. The ritual requires careful, systematic sweeping, much like a healer examining a patient. Experienced casters can identify specific poisons by the unique sensation each produces — the cold numbness of arsenic, the burning sweetness of hemlock, the acrid sting of serpent venom. The caster may choose to use a pendulum or dowsing rod to amplify the detection, watching it swing or twitch in response to corruption.