Sz/Crunch

Stuff with numbers

Artifacts

Ishmael's Axe

Artifact N/A

The Primordials made the humans to rule Creation. But they did not give them the might of bears or the ferocity of wolves. Neither did they give humanity the number of insects or the freedom of birds. Even, the gifts of Essence and insight given to the Dragon Kings and the Mountain Folk were denied to humanity. Yet, without all these things, humans spread and filled every crack of Creation. They grew to such an importance, they ultimately toppled the Primordial rule over Creation.

Then what was it that distinguished humans from the rest of Creation? Certainly, it is the strength of conviction. No other being in Creation lives a life as rich as a human's, filled with episodes of sadness and anger, joy and pleasure, wisdom and understanding. Each passing moment contributes to a human's being, expanding it manifold its original scale. It is this force of willpower that allowed them the supremacy among the Creation-born.

If this is the force behind the human greatness, then, what of those who lose it? Without conviction and willpower, is a human being any greater than a wild animal? A mere tool? Is the action of an unwilling human being any different from an unfortunate accident and a natural disaster? It is a common knowledge that the most heinous acts are done by those who are in despair and confusion. But if the willpower to do something is what distinguishes humanity, then, is despair not the natural state of a human being?

This titanic self bow appears to be as old as the humanity itself. It is made with calcipated husks of human soul--something that would have immediately unwoven itself in Creation had it not been so compressed and condensed, making it as solid as reality itself. Unstrung, it stands about 6 to 7 feet tall. Many colors dance across the surface of this bow, though colder shades of blue and gray dominate it.

Ishmael's Axe does not have a commitment cost, allowing mortal humans to wield its horrible powers. The only condition of attunement is that the character has no remaining temporary Willpower. In this state, when the character is unable to act on his primary Virtue, the attunement is immediate and the powers of Ishmael's Axe manifest soon afterward. Otherwise, it takes the usual 20 minutes to attune to.

Once the attunement is complete, the silence sealed within the carapace of Ishmael's Axe resonates with the emptiness of the character's soul. Even if the character is able to withstand the pain of transformation, a shriek of many voices escape his throat nonetheless. His eyes and mouth begin to glow with faded red or perhaps faded yellow, as his skin dries and cracks into a tight-fitting coat of black ash. The character's stature grows as Ishmael's Axe unfolds itself. When this transformation is complete, the character has become a primordial giant, his distinctive features accentuated and exaggerated, albeit dry and blackened. In this form, the character is about 12 feet tall and he floats half a foot above the ground. Ishmael's Axe grows to match the wielder's size. When the transformation is complete, the wielder spits out his willpower as a thread from his throat. It flutters as if it were a snake or a worm, and hearing its call, Ishmael's Axe bends to be strung. In this moment, the solidity of the bow cracks for a split second, allowing the thunderous silence contained within to escape. All human beings in the earshot must make Valor (+ Essence if the character's Essence is awakened) rolls. Those who fail collapse under the weight of despondency and must remain Inactive for the rest of the scene.

When Ishmael's Axe is bound with the wielder's willpower, the character gains the following effects -

• • The character becomes the avatar of nihilism. He has no Motivation or Intimacies. In Motivation's place, he gains the pseudo-Motivation of "Spread despair." Acting in accordance with this motivation will give him 5 motes of Essence instead of 1 Willpower.

• • Furthermore, the character is unaffected by any kind of compulsion effects, natural or supernatural.

• • The character permanently steps out of fate.

• • The husk of his soul contract and warp, condensing its emptiness into pure Essence. The character gains the trait Essence with a rating equal to (Permanent Willpower/2, rounded up). He develops an Essence pool as if he were a Fair Folk.

• • The character gains access to the first three Abyssal Excellencies for all 25 of his Abilities.

• • The character's Attributes increase by his primary Virtue.

• • The character gains -0 HLs equal to the total amount of his Virtues. Furthermore, the character soaks damage as if he were an Exalt.

• • Weapons forged from Soulsteel has no adverse effect on the character. He is already the stuff of the Labyrinth.

• • On the downside, the character receives Aggravated damage from weapons forged from gossamer.

Optionally, with a Miscellaneous action, the wielder of Ishmael's Axe may shatter one of his Virtues for more awful effects.

Shattering the Virtue of Compassion gives the character the following effects -

• • The Virtue of Compassion--the willingness to reach out--congeals into peach- and citrine-colored arrows of light. The wielder of Ishmael's Axe may launch these despair-arrows to attack the very fabric of Creation. When one of these arrows land on Creation's earth, it immediately loses its color, becoming a solid bolt of light gray. This solid shadow then melts into the ground, on the wielder's next action, a hole about (Compassoin x 10) yards wide open around the arrow that leads to the depths of the Labyrinth itself.

• • The Virtue of Compassion--the willingness to accept and forgive--congeals into peach- and citrine-colored arrows of light. The wielder of Ishmael's Axe can now perceive both material and immaterial spirits, as if he had an Essence vision. Furthermore, arrows from Ishmael's Axe now strike these immaterial spirits as if they were material.

• • The Virtue of Compassion--the willingness to concede and trust--congeals into peach- and citrine-colored arrows of light. The wielder of Ishmael's Axe can perceive Intimacies in mortals and target them. For this purpose, the arrow's damage equals to Strength + Compassion. If the character inflicts more damage than the target's Compassion, one of the target's Intimacies is destroyed.

Comments

Hey sezzy you might want to consider statting this out as a third circle demon / raksha instead who possesses its wielder and has a weird personality. Check out TheHoverpope/Lepida for maybe some inspiration. ~capric