Artifacts/GraceSlain

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Grace of the Slain

Artefact ••••• (Solar rank)

History

This is a tale told of the First Age, of one of the mighty kings who ruled its almost limitless cities, and of a challenge to his rule by a rogue spirit...

“Long ago, when the Elemental Dragons still walked Creation’s boundaries and the stars would come down from the sky at dawn to dance across the Silver Sea, there was a great and powerful city called Obsidian. Ruled by a wise and merciful sorcerer-king who saw to all the needs of his subjects, from the High Sheriff to the meanest peasant, it was a grand place to live. It was said that if you were to stand at the top of tallest tower of the Amethyst Palace then all you could see in every direction would be the city, and it was a sight so beautiful as to make the Maidens themselves weep. The king ruled his city well for many centuries, and faced many foes that would seek to destroy it or take it from him before his eventual end, but this is not that tale, it is instead the tale of one of those foes – Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes.

“Now this was a time much unlike our own, when the gods did not demand worship and offerings from their neighbours, but instead worked to keep Creation safe from those who would harm it. But even in ancient days there were some that felt slighted by the order of things, some that wanted more than they were allotted, and Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes was one such. At the forefront of a horde of lesser gods and elementals she came to the gates of Obsidian at dawn one day and demanded to speak with the king.

“The king, being in all things calm and mannerly, spoke to her from atop the bronze gates of his city. “How may my humble subjects and I aid you, o beauteous and divine one?” he asked, since he knew that while such gods were dangerous, courtesy and flattery could be powerful weapons when used against them.

“But she would not be swayed from her course, “I am Lady Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes,” she declared, “Queen of Diomane, Lady Resplendent of Chiaroscuro and your Mistress. Open the gates of my city that I might walk amongst my people and bathe in their worship.”

“The king replied, “I am sorry, divine Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes, but this is not your city and these are not your people.” His eyes hardened, “I must respectfully refuse your request and suggest that you find a place more amenable to your needs.” He gestured and the soldiers of Obsidian moved to the edge of the wall, all of them proud and strong, wielding weapons of sorcerous artifice and bright steel, while his officers bore swords and wore armour of glowing jade.

“Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes turned away at that point, returning to her army in a divine fury. Her horde struck as she reached them, surging forwards and up the heavy walls of Obsidian, there to be fought by mortals and Exalts alike. A fierce battle that raged for hours, and many were the casualties on both sides, but the training of his soldiers and his own sorceries eventually won out and the army of spirits retreated back to their Queen.

“With the sun approaching its zenith, the king once more stood atop the gates to his city, clad in full armour and bearing his mighty sword, Elegant Gloaming Caliburn, and he called out to the goddess, “Lady Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes, this has been a hard battle for both of our armies. Many are dead, and still more are terribly wounded. Perhaps it is better for us to settle the matter – face to face.” With that he leapt down from the gate, and walked calmly towards the opposing army.

“Clad in full battle regalia, with flowing gossamer armour made from the voices of her lovers and a staff of pure burning Essence forged from the soul of a dragon, Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes met the king on the plain in front of the city. They circled each other warily, before the goddess leapt high into the sky, staff blazing with power, and struck the first blow of a mighty battle.

“King and goddess fought mightily and many were the grievous blows struck by both. Her glowing war-staff left burning trails in the air, which looped around the king’s limbs and tore through his armour. His golden sword sang in the air as it sliced through armour and flesh, leaving deep wounds on Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes’ body that spilled a rainbow of gems onto the desert floor. Atop trees and within fountains, amongst the clouds and between the towers of Obsidian they fought – the clashes of their weapons rang like thunder as the sun slowly sank towards the western horizon.

“Tired and bleeding from many wounds, the two combatants stared at each other across the crimson-lit plain, neither willing to surrender. The goddess’ eyes narrowed, ropes of flaming Essence leapt out from her staff even as she lunged forwards to strike, wrapping tightly around the king’s arms, and Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes’ staff struck the king’s sword squarely. Elegant Gloaming Caliburn, an ancient and puissant blade, shattered.

“The divine army behind roared their triumph, and believing her enemy vanquished, the goddess stepped forwards and lifted her staff to strike the final blow. At that moment, with the last of his strength, the king picked up one of the pieces of his weapon and hurled it straight at the goddess’ heart.

“The shard pierced her body, and she fell dead to the ground, divine no longer. The king, barely alive, stood proudly before her army, “Your mistress is dead. Obsidian remains mine. Leave now.” And they fled.

“He stood as the gods and elementals and demons departed, watching until they passed out of sight. Then, as the sun finally sank below the horizon, he fell next to the body of his enemy. His people rushed out of the city then and, after many weeks, brought him back from the brink of death, for his normal healing magics would not work on the burned and festering wounds left by the goddess' staff.

“During this time the king had a dream, and when he awoke from that dream he commanded that the shards of his sword and the body of Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes be brought to him. From these remnants he forged a mighty bow, using the golden metal of his sword and the bones of the goddess to form the limbs, while stringing it with a thread spun from her eyes, which were diamonds the size of a hens eggs. What happened to the rest of the goddess’ body the legend does not say.

“The sorcerer-king called his bow Grace of the Slain, and many were the tales told of his prowess, and mighty were the deeds he accomplished, and deadly were the foes he slew. But all of these are now lost in the sands of time and all that remains of Obsidian, and the king and Ayuvedya Diamond-Eyes is this story.

“As for what became of the bow itself, well no-one knows that, either.”

Mechanics

Grace of the Slain is a mighty weapon of the First Age, forged when the Solars were at the height of their power, and when the Great Curse had first begun to make its effects felt. So greatly feared was this weapon by the gods that after the Usurpation all records of its existence were removed from every register and chronicle in Creation by order of the Celestial Bureaucracy. Every tale or story was purged and every depiction defaced or destroyed, and now the only records that remain are the oral legends told by peasants and farmers deep in their cups. No spirit will help anyone searching for this weapon, even Lady Marthesine of the Lost will not speak of it lest it be found and used anew (she does not have it in her collection since the hoarders refuse to touch it).

It appears to be a long powerbow, albeit one of baroque and unusual construction, the outer parts of the recurve limbs and the grip are constructed of orichalcum, but the inner part of each limb is made of bone, carefully hinged into the whole to create the bow’s shape. The string glitters and sparkles in sunlight and seems to be made from diamond spun into silk-fine thread by some unknown technique.

When not attuned the bow is almost impossible to pull; it weighs almost 30lb, the hinging & articulation of the limbs have no movement whatsoever, and the diamond string cuts easily through flesh and bone, inflicting severe injuries to the fingers and hand unless a gauntlet is worn. When attuned (a minor ceremony involving an hour’s meditation and the commitment of 10 motes) the bow becomes much lighter, and can be drawn with but a single finger. The hinges slide silently and the extra articulation at the limbs makes only a very faint clicking sound as the bow approaches maximum draw.

The bow is a mighty weapon in itself, being both highly accurate and extremely devastating, but it was its power against spirits of all kinds that gave it the fearsome reputation as well as its other sobriquet – Godslayer. This power comes in two parts. Firstly, for the cost of two motes of Essence it makes a single shot fired from the bow able to strike dematerialised spirits just as if they had manifested. This power may be used whenever the character wishes it and it does not count as a dice action or as Charm usage.

The second power is far stronger, though, and it is this ability – the Ghost Annihilation Shot – that was and is so feared by the gods and spirits of Creation. It was rarely used by it creator, in part because of the extreme cost involved in its use, and in part because of the not inconsiderable risk of a powerful magical backlash. However, all little gods can sense its power, much as knowledge of the spirit destroying Charms, and they hate and fear both the weapon and its wielder.

To use the Ghost Annihilation Shot the wielder expends 15 motes and 1 Willpower and then makes a normal Archery attack (which can be affected by Charms and Combos which affect the accuracy of the shot but that alter or increase its damage) at his chosen target. The hearthstone mounted on the grip of the bow incandesces and then shatters into thousands of motes of glowing light which reform around the character's arrow, transforming it into a blindingly bright shaft of pure Essence. If the shot hits, it does no regular damage but instead attempts to shred the Essence of its godly target. The wielder rolls his permanent Essence + the level of the Hearthstone used to power the shot, opposed by the target spirit’s permanent Essence.

• If the Exalt botches he takes the target spirit’s permanent Essence in dice of unsoakable Aggravated damage, as the vast amounts of Essence focussed on the attack flow back up the link into the character.
• If the spirit botches then the damage inflicted is automatic (levels instead of dice) and the Essence drain effects are doubled.
• If the spirit wins then the Exalt takes the spirit’s permanent Essence plus extra successes on the opposed roll in dice of lethal damage which can only be soaked by the character’s natural soak.
• If the character wins then the spirit takes Hearthstone's rating plus the character’s permanent Essence plus extra successes on the contested roll as dice of unsoakable Aggravated damage. For each level of damage so inflicted the spirit is also drained of a number of motes equal to the permanent Essence of the attacking character, half of which are granted to the character, while the other half are consumed by the bow itself.

A spirit killed by the Ghost Annihilation Shot is permanently destroyed, its Essence has been taken by the character and the weapon, never to be reborn. The Deathlords are partially immune to this effect, their Essence and power are maintained by their incomprehensibly powerful Malfean masters. However, even they are disrupted for at least a year, and then may only reform during the five nights of the Calibration.

Grace of the Slain has three hearthstone mounts on its body. One is on the grip, just below the arrow guard, and is destroyed when the Ghost Annihilation shot is used, regardless of its outcome. The second and third are on the upper and lower limbs respectively, mounted just above the hinges. The bow was cunningly devised so that the upper and lower hearthstones would further enhance its already formidable strength. Half of the rating (rounded up) of the upper hearthstone is added to the bow's Accuracy, while half (rounded down) is added to its Damage rating. Similarly, the lower hearthstone’s rating is split between the Range of the bow (x 50 yards) and its Rate. These powers do not in any way reduce the granted power of the hearthstones themselves, and so the Exalt may retain usage of all three hearthstones, unless he decides to use the bow’s ultimate power.

                          Accuracy    Damage      Rate      Range     Minimums
    Grace of the Slain       +2        +7L          2        500        S••••