Revision as of 06:20, 21 November 2005

Pledgekeeper

(Mostly) Orichalcum Daiklave

Artifact ••••

Commitment: 10 motes

In the first age, the great Zenith General Kduva Salaan had a great army. She was one of the most respected heroes, and was known to defeat armies greater than her own thanks to her tactical thinking and unrepentant fierceness on the field of battle. Her underlings never thought twice when she gave an order, and would gladly sacrifice themselves if she needed help (which was in itself rare) because they knew that with her life continued the legacy of a great leader.

Kduva had a Lunar mate named Assanti. The lion-totemed Lunar was a great leader as well (though by far not as good as Kduva), and when they combined their talents, there was nothing they could not do. However, with anyone but Assanti, Kduva was extremely paranoid. She did not trust her soldiers and followers as they trusted her, and she had them swear oaths of fealty to her whenever they joined the ranks of her army. Within her army she had three Dragon-blooded colonels, who all had sworn loyalty to her cause. Of course, this did nothing to dissuade one of them, the Earth-aspected Colonel Liini, from seducing and sleeping with the general's Lunar mate. Assanti could not help himself, for Liini's beauty was more than his animalistic instincts could bear.

The great general found out about this affair, and was enraged beyond belief. Her terrible rage impassioned her to rip the throat of his beloved in the midst of love-making, and to incarcerate the Earth-aspected Dragon-blooded within a jade prison that was specifically designed to hold rebels of her ilk. However, this was not the only thing Kduva did. Oh no. She was so furious and ashamed at the betrayal of her beloved and her colonel that she commanded a great Twilight weapon smith to create for her a daiklave of grand power. A daiklave that would ensure that the word someone gave her. She wanted -insurance.-

And so the weapon smith did his best. He studied for years to find the correct combination of the Four Magical Materials and exotic components that the great daiklave would need. Finally, he decided on what the ingredients would be. Orichalcum for the main structure, with a hilt made of Black and White Jade. However, there was something missing in terms of the Four Magical Materials. Something that would ensure the success of the strike. In the end, he found exactly what would be needed. The blade of the daiklave was built in two separate parts. The first part made of Orichalcum and was shaped as two single-bladed swords that pointed outwards, with two and a half inches of space between the two. Between the two was inserted the second part of the blade, which was made of Starmetal. The Starmetal ends in an extremely sharp tip and connects perfectly with the other two blades to either side; for appearances sake, careful inspection would be necessary to be able to see exactly where the Starmetal and Orichalcum divided. In addition to these three Magical Materials, the weapon smith requested the blood of a betrayer (which was given to him by Kduva herself, who drained it from the wrists of Liini), and the tears of a little god of rain, an easy task for a great Solar general like Kduva.

Once the materials needed were attained, the blade was forged in beautiful shape. Three feet in length, the blade is apparently divided in three parts, the two outer sides made of Orichalcum and the center of Starmetal so that the betrayer can meet his destined Fate. The hilt was made of White and Black Jade, to connect the sword to the Earth and Waters of the world.

With this great weapon, Kduva became feared as well as respected. Her two remaining colonels were the first to pledge their word to her via the sword; and also the first to fall to the blade's call however, when the great Usurpation emerged. They were two of the leaders of the rebels, and in their stupidity forgot the pledges that Kduva had had them make to her under the light of the great Pledgekeeper. In the end, they fell when she called their names and struck them with the great powers of the oath-sword.

Kduva died, of course, during the great Usurpation. The sword was lost in the battle, stolen by some unseen hand.

Pledgekeeper resided in the Solar Sanctuary territory of Alimar Zaen, who is the reincarnation of Kduva's Eclipse Caste circle mate who stole it in the midst of battle and hid it. Alimar, in one of his ancient dreams, remembered the place in which he had hidden it and retrieved it. Now it is in the hand's of Kduva's reincarnation, Deverenian Zhou, an ambitious would-be General.

Author's Note: I use the term "Four" Magical Materials, because in the First Age, Soulsteel didn't exist yet, at least not outside of Autochthon's reach.

System

Pledgekeeper is a daiklave of the highest order. It keeps those that have made a pledge and are honor-bound to the wielder from divulging secrets and betraying her. The mechanics for the sword are quite simple. The wielder of the blade and he who pledges his loyalty (or otherwise gives his word on a matter) must both touch the sword at the same moment, and the wielder spends 10 motes of Essence. The sword will flare in its divine light, enveloping them both in a gentle corona the color of the wielder’s anima, consummating the pledge being made. It is of absolute importance that the -exact- specifications of the pledge be stated while this aura surrounds the two, or it gives the wielder much versatility, which is something he who pledges must keep in mind.

Once the aura has died down, the two may release the daiklave (though the wielder rarely does so) and continue with whatever tasks they do (or even part and go their separate ways). Those who have made the pledge must remember, however, to keep their word, for the result of breaking them could be disastrous.

Should an oath or pledge be broken by he who has gone through this minor ritual, the wielder of the blade may call the vengeance of the blade down upon the blasphemous betrayer. The wielder of the blade must call the target's name and either stab the sword into the ground, or raise it in an upwards slash into the sky during rainfall and spend 10 motes of Essence. If the target of this magical attack is touching the ground (and they must be at ground level, this does not work if they are on a second or higher floor of a building) when the blade is struck to the earth or under rainfall --or in the water-- when it is aimed to the raining sky, the wielder rolls the sword's normal damage, and it is applied upon the oath breaker in a flair of powerful Essence that appears across the wound created by the sword. This attack is undodgable due to its magical (and otherwise unexpected) presence, and may only be soaked with Stamina (Reflexive soak Charms may be used), as the Essence strike negates all armor based soak. This effect may be used once, and only once on any given oath breaker, and the victim will instantly know that he has been exposed as a betrayer as he is struck by the mighty blow.

The sword may only hold as many pledges as the wielder has Essence, and while the strike can come from anywhere in Creation, it cannot strike someone who is in Yu-Shan, the deep Wyld or the Labyrinth; though oath breakers in Shadowlands and manses may be affected. If Pledgekeeper is used against someone who is currently in Yu-Shan, the Labyrinth or the deep Wyld then the strike is lost, dispersing meaninglessly and the character may not attempt to strike that target again.

Also, while the sword can attack an oath breaker it will not alert the wielder if a pledge is betrayed. If the wielder uses this effect on a person that has broken neither pledge nor promise, he himself is struck, in retribution for his own mistrust and vindictive betrayal to the one that has kept his word.

Other powers of this sword are simple and rather common. It is as light as a common daiklave, maneuverable and swift, though it is considerably better than the average daiklave in its battle prowess.

The majority of the blade (and the heart of the artifact itself) is made of Orichalcum. Hence, only Solars can attune themselves without doubleing the cost, and only Solars (or those that succeed on the roll and pay the double attunement cost) can benefit from the Five Magical Materials bonus.

Pledgekeeper costs 10 motes to attune.

If you wish to use Pledgekeeper in your game, feel free to change the place it is hidden, et cetera.

|[ Normal |[ Speed +3 |[ Accuracy +3 |[ Damage +8L |[ Defense +3 |[ Rate N/A |[ Min. Strength 3 |[ Min. Melee 3 || |[ Power Combat |[ Speed +7 |[ Accuracy +5 |[ Damage +9L |[ Defense +4 |[ Rate 7 |[ Min. Strength 3 |[ Min. Melee 3 ||

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