DarkheartOne/TerribleDragonCannons
I built them with my hands, but it was not my muscles that guided them. It was the flow of something else... something grand. The Immaculate Dragons themselves gave me the skill to make these five beautiful weapons. See how they shine? How the jade is so flawlessly carved, and flows with the shape of the metal itself? They loaned a tiny sliver of their might to me, just to make these.
And now I must give them away to five chosen men and women of the Dragons, who will see to the destruction of my own kind, corrupted by their own lust for power. They may well turn around and slay me when they are done... but that is alright. If it is my destiny to bring about peace, who am I to disagree?
According to the only 'true' legend of the Terrible Dragon Cannons, a peaceful and emotionally wounded Twilight by the name of Even-Handed Hatched (who'd desperately tried to escape the growing conflict of the land during the time of the First Age's death throes) was given the terrible and seemingly undeniable task of creating a weapon made specifically for use in the battle against the remaining Celestials. Legend has it that the moment the Unconquered Sun turned away from his own, that the Elemental Dragons sought him out, inundating his mind with the desire to make these fearsome weapons, and granting him the skill to work jade in a manner few artisans could match in his day, and that none can even hope to approach in the Second Age.
After months of laboring, they were done, save for the hearthstones to power them. Five days later, the Dragons sent five unique hearthstones, each strangely clear with a living spark of light within them, floating down the river next to his hidden abode, and he quickly set them in the guns.
His mission was complete, and the guns were taken from him by spirit-servants of the Immaculate Dragons. From there, the legends fall into various tales of how Hatchet was consumed with guilt, but was too weak-willed to end his life and unable to die due to the gifts the Dragons had bestowed upon him. Some say that he finally was slain by the five who owned the guns, while others say that he lived on even into the Second Age, while even more say that Fair Folk devoured his desire to create and left him an even more broken husk.
No one knows the truth, but the fact that he created these weapons is quite true. They are, however, lost. What is also known is that a few weapons similar to, albeit less skillfully made than the Terrible Five have shown up throughout Creation.
Each of the Terrible Five are unique is design, but have a similar shape; they're unusually-shaped for firearms, with tall, rectangular barrels that are nearly two feet long, three inches high and two inches wide. The base metal use to make the guns is steel faintly allowed with orichalcum, and the designwork, trigger mechanism and grips are solid jade of the corresponding elemental color, the colors far more bright than even magical jade can be. The rear upper corner is flattened and contains a jade socket for the unique Hearthstone each Cannon requires. Each gun's design centers around a dragon sculpted from pure elemental jade that winds around the barrel and whose 'mouth' is the muzzle as well as stylized depictions of the gun's matching element.
Each gun fires its own unique elemental burst, but the effects are all the same, especially if the gun slays someone. If the gun does enough damage after soak to kill the target, said target is completely obliterated by the direct fury of the Elemental Dragons on the most base of levels, their soul and Essence torn to shreds and scattered abroad. While only the most trained eyes (an Exalt who is capable of seeing the flow of Essence and can make an Occult check at +3 difficulty) know exactly what's happening, the inner beings of those within line-of-sight of the slain can sense what's occured.
Any enemy combatant of the gunman who see the effect for the first time must make a Willpower check at a difficulty equal to 7 minus their Valor rating (to a minimum difficulty of 1), while allies of the gunman use 4 minus their Valor rating (also to a minimum of 1) to resist the effect. Even on success, the viewer feels a deep sort of dread that lingers for days, while those who fail become unbelivably shaken, and are at -3 dice for all actions for a number of days equal to the number of successes they were short of making the check; they are haunted by the sight and the subconscious understanding of what happened.
Interesting enough, the gun can be fired by those of strong enough willpower to touch it but who lack the Essence rating to properly attune to it: anyone else who lacks the required Willpower cannot bring themselves to so much as be within ten feet of the gun willingly, and are incapable of holding it in their hands no matter what. The cost for firing the gun unattuned, however, is brutal; upon pulling the trigger, the person firing automatically and unavoidably (even perfect defenses cannot overcome this damage) takes 5 levels of aggravated damage as the gun lashes out at the unworthy soul who dared fire it. Should this backlash kill the wielder, they undergo the same slaying effect that would normally occur if a person was killed by the gun's blast, and all those around him must make the required Willpower check at the base 7 minus Valor.
If so much as touched by a Celestial, the gun emits a wave of essence that targets all Dragon-Blooded of the gun's elemental alignment within 50 miles, who immediately know that something strange is occuring in the direction of the gun. This sense remains so long as the gun is in the offending Celestial's possession or even nearby them.
Only truly devestating powers can hope to destroy the hearthstone set in the guns; the guns themselves seem absolutely immune to damage, and are rumored to be a very part of the Dragons. Should a hearthstone be destroyed, however, acquiring another would be an monumentally difficult task that would require nothing short of petitioning the Dragons themselves to reveal the location of the Manse that produces the stone... and then explaining just *how* they let the stone be destroyed in the first place.
The Five Terrible Dragon Cannons</b>
Artifact <b>N/A</b>
Attuned: Accuracy +6 Damage 20L Rate 2 Range 75
Unattuned: Accuracy -2 Damage 10L Rate 1/2 Range 25
Requires for full usage: Dexterity ●●●●, Essence ●●●●●, Willpower 8, 15-mote commitment
The Azure Cannon is decorated with swirling patterns meant to symbolize the wind, and fires a burst of skin-shredding wind and crackling lightning. A slain target's body explodes, leaving behind shreds of flesh and sizzling hunks of flesh. It is set with the Prism of Mela's Rending Ire.
The Ivory Cannon contains various inlaind crystals polished to a glittering finish, and fires a burst of razor-sharp crystal shards mingled with a wave of extremely potent acid. A slain target's body simply melts into a puddle of flesh and crystal chunks, leaving their belongings behind. It is set with the Prism of Pasiap's Melting Spite.
The Crimson Cannon is decorated to appear not unlike it's made from charred wood, and fires a burst of colorless flame. A slain target is simply reduced to ash in an instant. It is set with the Prism of Hesiesh's Blistering Fury.
The Ebony Cannon is even more shiny and wet-looking than the other four guns, and fires a stream of impossibly-cold ice crystals. A slain target simply freezes solid, and will shatter with so much as a touch. It is set with the Prism of Daana'd's Chilling Rage.
The Emerald Cannon has the look of being carved from stained wood, and fires a stream of long body-puncturing thorns. A slain character either proceeds to sprourt rapidly-growing vines from his wounds until their body becomes little more than a home for a red-leaved rose bush, or simply withers away like a dried-up flower. It is set with the Prism of Sextes Jylis' Withering Wrath.
Below are stats for the 'weaker' weapons that have been showing up in Creation. So far, only 3 have been spotted in use and they lack the horror effect that the Terrible Five have, but can apparently be used by mortals with steady hands. Each is set with a rating ●●●●● Hearthstone to act as its powersource. Attempting to remove the stone will almost certainly damage the gun beyond repair... and even if it's removed without harming the gun, the hearthstone will turn to dust in minutes.
<b>Fearsome Essence Cannon</b>
Artifact <b>N/A</b>
Accuracy +1 Damage 10L Rate 1 Range 35
Requires: Dexterity ●●●●
