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Dreams of Shalados

When the Eye and Seven Despairs ascended to Cold House, and rose to take his first steps toward the shores of Creation, he brought with him a trophy from the depths of the Labryinth. "Dreams of Shalados" is somewhat thinner than other daiklaves, but is more distinguished by it's color. Like all Labryinthine Alloys, the Risen Black Dreamblade is of a pitch black ebon color -- laced through with red vein like patterns, that seem to shift slowly under the eye, if one stares too hard into the reflective surface of the blade. The blade is a thing of razor sharp edges, serrated at the very tip and with a hilt wrapped in light brown leather from a nameless and senseless beast of the Labryinth.

Shalados was one of the priests of the Malfaens, of the castes of spectres called Nephwracks, renowned for his words of black wisdom and his talent for prophecy and command. One of the more vocal rivals of the Deathlords, for his was a more ancient and revered worship of the Dead Gods, he preached that the 'Fallen Ones' would bring only betrayal to the cause of Oblivion. This continued for a short time, for the Deathlords are creatures of little patience, and the First and Forsaken Lion took the Nephwrack Shalados and bound him in chains of soulsteel. The proud priest of the unending darkness would not recant, however, and enraged the Lion tossed the broken body of the Nephwrack to his comrade -- the Eye and Seven Despairs.

The Eye and Seven Despairs forged the blade himself, working the metal slowly and savoring the screamed ministrations to Oblivion and the Dead Gods that escaped the Nephwracks form as his body was hammered down to plasm and alloyed with the dark metal of the Labryinth. When the work was complete, the Eye and Seven Despairs hefted the blade and looked into its dark surface -- and promptly put it aside, to languish in his armories until one worthy of bearing it came forward.

Dreams of Shalados or the Risen Black Dreamblade

 Artifact •••••
 Soulsteel Daiklave
 Speed +7, Accuracy +3, Damage +6L, Defense +2, Rate 5
 Commitment: 5

Other powers of the Dreams of Shalados:

• Ebon Dreams. What little remains of the Nephwrack lingers on in the depths of the black steel, little more than the love of the Dead Gods and the urge to serve their whim. The blade is considered to have to have a Visionary nature, it's vision being the nothingness of oblivion and the fulfillment of the dreams of the Dead Gods. In addition the blade is considered to have an effective Whispers of 5, and substantial knowledge of Lore and Occult. These abilities belong to the blade itself, and the knowledge contained within is only shared with the wielder when the will within wishes to do so. This comes in the form of dreams, and a black whisper in the mind of the attuned wielder.
  • Whispers of Oblivion. The bearer may spend a willpower to invoke the whispers of Shalados once per night. The bearer can either use this whispers activation like any other (use the rules in Abyssals, page 135). If used to gain the Melee ability, the Whispers roll is at +2 dice. Alternatively, he can channel the essence of the blade and learn from the Malfaens the nature of someone important to their plans. This requires a Perception + Whispers roll, as normal. One success gives the Abyssal a name, three successes tells him of the persons nature and life, and five successes lets the Abyssal know why the Malfaens have focused on this one. The Blade's whispers and your own can be used seperately during the same night.
  • Lore of the Void. The bearer of the blade is considered to have Scope 0 with regard to the Labryinth, Spectres, and Scope 1 for the things of the Underworld and Stygia. He adds +5 dice to all such Lore rolls as well; the advice of Shalados is sound.
• Black Tongue. For one willpower point, the bearer of the Risen Black Dreamblade can speak in the same dark tongue as Shalados himself. This power lasts for the rest of the scene, and has the following benefits.
  • The character is safe from any normal spectres, as they will not harm him. Nephwracks hold the bearer of the blade in awe, though how they treat him will depend on his behavior and how well he 'carries the blade'. Neither of these effects require Black Tongue to be active.
  • You gain +3 dice to Performance rolls involving oration or singing, and Presence rolls involving Nephwracks, Deathlords, Abyssals, and other servants of Oblivion.
  • You gain a pool of automatic successes equal to your Essence score, which you can use on Performance or Presence rolls for the rest of the scene, though once used they are considered gone. When using this power, your voice becomes a dark and cold instrument of the Dead Gods themselves.
• Seed of Oblivion.
  • Black Seed. The bearer can spend 12 motes, 1 willpower as a reflexive action to enhance an attack, causing the Risen Black Dreamblade to glow an unholy black and pulsate with shadows. The damage for this blow is equal to the character's Willpower + Essence, and ignores all forms of non-perfect soak but is not recorded on the target's wound track. If the bearer can inflict an amount of damage equal to the targets willpower, that subject looses his nature over the next week and gains a new one given him by the Malfaens. This damage need not be done in a single turn, but the essence must be paid for each attack.
  • Onyx Shadow. The character can spend 2 motes as a reflexive action, causing thick black shadows to trail from the blade. These are somewhat distracting, and subtract 1 die from all defensive rolls. This ability lasts a scene.
  • Risen Host. This power can be activated as a reflexive action, costing 10 motes of essence and lasting a scene. Anyone slain by the Dreams of Shalados while this power is activated rises as a zombie at the end of the turn, under the command of the attuned wearer of the blade (though Shalados himself has some control over them as well; bearer beware, if the gain the ancient nephwracks disfavor). One injured by the blade, but who does not fall, finds himself suffering from dark dreams of nameless terrors and dark pleasures for a few days to several weeks. This functions as the Nightmare flaw in the EPG. The exact time one suffers in such a way depends on how much injury one took from the blade.

The Breaking of the Blade
Within the black soulsteel lies the dreaming Nephwrak, but he does not rest easily or completely. Should his rest be disturbed, such as by the blade being broken in combat or a favored wielder being slain, then the ancient black ghost comes briefly awake. All combat ends for the rest of the turn as all those around are captivated by the shadows and darkness that surge from the blade. The Abyssal bearer of the blade, caressed and touched by the dark shadows, is lifted a full foot off the ground. If the blade is still whole, it snaps apart with a deafening roar at the end of the turn,

The Onyx Shadow of Shalados is then unleashed, and everyone except the attuned wielder of the blade is it's victim. This spirit should be considered to be Essence 5 for most effects. It has 50 health levels, all -0, and a LArtifacts/DreamsOfShalados/B soak of 10/10. It can attack everyone arrayed against it, and will consume anyone other than the attuned bearer, but may only make one attack per turn unless it splits it's dice pool. Each attack has 8 dice, and subtracts -8 dice from the any defense used against it. The spirit itself has little real defense other than soak, and an entropic defense that subtracts -8 dice from any attacks. The blade does it's normal damage, with an effective strength equal to his Essence (so 10L damage), except that it avoids all armor and is soaked only with stamina. Victims slain in this fashion automatically and immediately arise as zombies, under the full control of the blade.

One small point of hope is that the spirit takes damage as an inanimate object, and any damage inflicted past soak is automatic.

If Shalados was released via the breaking of the blade, then he decides rather or not to destroy it's previous wielder after everyone else has either fled or is dead at his feet. This is based on the bearer's relationship with the blade, as well as the bearers importance and worth in the eyes of the Malfaens. Either way, it then reforms, perfect and unharmed in every way. If the Shadow-entity is instead destroyed, then the blade reforms a year and a day later at some point in the Underworld.

Commentary

Just as a note. Anyone who breaks the blade ON PURPOSE /really pisses off/ Shalados. He's almost guarenteed to die -- but he will probably kill everyone else present first. If the blade hates you, and it breaks, I advise you to run like hell away (screaming like a baby is optional):D None the less, while the blade will let others flee...it WILL chase after it's bearer, if it desires his death. It cannot reform until it's either killed him, or decided not to.

Just in case it's not obvious; breaking the blade is BAD;P It's not any easier than normal for an Artifact Blade of the 5MM, however. -- CrownedSun

Very nice. I pity the Earth Immaculate who fights the bearer of this blade. :) -- Raindoll

So you know, I like this. It sort of strengthens the character where the character is weak. The biggest thing is proving you're worthy. "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!" - haren

Glad you like to Haren, and yes, the Earth Immaculates was one of the inspirations for that power:D Though I admit, I don't see this as being the kind of thing that happens all that often. Hell, a wielder that lets the blade get broken in combat constantly will probably swiftly earn Shalados' ire with the aforementioned effects:D -- CrownedSun