Edna St. Vincent Millay's Candle

Edna St. Vincent Millay's Candle
Type	Two-ended candle wrapped in a page reading "First Fig"
Effects	Contact with melted wax splits a person into two selves, each displaying diametrically opposed personality traits taken from their whole self. Rendering one half unconscious recombines them.
Source	Edna St. Vincent Millay; "First Fig" from A Few Figs From Thistles
Danger	Split halves with carefree personalities can cause mayhem Recombined whole person retains all injuries and ailments sustained by one half, risking severe harm
Activation	Touching melted wax
First Appearance	Warehouse 13: A Touch of Fever (mentioned; non-canon) "Savage Seduction"

Edna St. Vincent Millay's Candle is an artifact first mentioned in A Touch of Fever and later first featured in "Savage Seduction".

Origin

Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "First Fig" had a line: "My candle burns at both ends. It will not last the night. But, ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light."

Effects

When both ends of the candle are lit and wax from it is splashed on a person, they are split into two separate people: one fun loving and wild, the other hard-working and focused. The two will remain separated until one is rendered unconscious, at which point they rejoin and any injuries or ailments suffered by one of them will be transferred to the reunited person. 

History

A Touch of Fever

Artie said "Heaven help us all if either end were ever lit again" when asked about it. Artie also said that it was her poetry that "stirred things up".

Due to its later appearance in the television series proper, this version of its history is considered retconned as non-canon.

TV Series

This artifact was discovered when a college student named Charlie Bats broke his spine in three places while giving a class presentation. Charlie's teacher said Charlie is normally a slacker, but this presentation he was giving was actually really good and also the teacher said Charlie doesn't drink, but the doctors found enough alcohol in his blood to declare him legally drunk while he was giving that presentation. Claudia and Steve talked to Charlie's roommate and he said Charlie was partying hard the night before and half an hour before he gave his presentation he was barely walking in a straight line. Claudia and Steve found Charlie's cell phone at the place his roommate saw him last and it had a video of Charlie falling off a bridge with the time stamp being the exact time Charlie was in class.

Claudia and Steve eventually learned, Charlie belonged to a fraternity that was using the candle so members could be in two places at once. One user is studying hard and going to class while the other is at the fraternity's house partying.

People Involved

Owners

• Edna St. Vincent Millay
• TBA

Users

• TBA

People Affected

• Steve Jinks
• TBA

Real World Connections

TBA

Trivia

• The middle of the candle is wrapped in a page from Millay's poetry collection A Few Figs From Thistles displaying "First Fig", the poem by which the candle is inspired.

Gallery

Steve split by candle

Appearances

• A Touch of Fever (mentioned, retconned non-canon)
• "Savage Seduction" (retconned, canon debut)