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Message: <blockquote data-quote="silyolpooh" data-source="post: 2694436" data-attributes="member: 30267">Artifacts and RelicsSince these pieces are one-of-a-kind, their powers are not exactly known.  All are priceless (in as much as anything is "priceless" to gold-mongering players).  These can be the kinds of fun items that players value because of what they are, not necessarily because of their power.“The Claws of Ghruuth’ss”   Humans may be the most frequently bothered race by wizards, but they are not the only one.  Long ago, in the marshy swamps of the east, a great evil arose from the murky waters and terrorized the souls of the Barbed Tail Lizardfolk.     To combat the evil, the great chief Ghuuth’ss led his thirty strongest warriors into the swamp.  They hunted for three days, overcoming the beasts of the night the creature summoned against them.  When they finally cornered the wizard in his cavernous lair, it morphed from the frail-looking humanoid form they found it in to that of a great black dragon with glowing green eyes and the unholy reek of death.     The warriors fought valiantly against the beast, but fell one by one to its wicked magic, its brutal melee, or its lethal acid.  Finally, only Ghruuth’ss and Sess’e’ffess stood against the beast, both weary and wounded.  The dragon reared on its hind legs, preparing to flatten the great lizardman chief, but in a moment of rage, Ghuuth’ss slammed his claws into the beast’s chest, and ripped out its heart.  The dragon began to howl and fell over dead in mid-effort, its weight crushing the mighty chief of the Barbed Tail.     As is custom to commemorate the power of such a great warrior, Ghruuth’ss clawed hands were cut off and preserved, believed to give power and strength to those who wear them.  One of the Claws is still worn by the tribe chief of the Barbed Tail, from a leather cord on his belt.  The other was taken by Sess’e’ffess, and left back to the tribe in his death.  At some point in recent history, this Claw went missing, presumed lost with the ill-fated adventuring career of Hithiss’iss, who sought proof of the Ancient City near the treacherous fingers of the Sable Sea.“Kahorvast’s Black Mug”   This large obsidian ale mug is carved in the shape of a demon’s head, with long round horns on the sides forming handles and two empty eye sockets that once held matching bloodstones.  The Mug was last seen about 150 years ago in the possession of a human necromancer named Fetheran, who claimed that if he could find the eyes, the Mug could be used to capture and drink the souls of his enemies. Fortunately for Fetheran’s noisy neighbors, the Eyes of the Mug haven’t been seen in almost a millennia.  “The Quiver of Recinda”      In the long-ago times, when men fought their wars against nature, and threatened the very heart of the Deep Forest, Recinda captured the dying spirit of the Forest and channeled its pain and hate in a black quiver made of human flesh.  Any arrow left in the quiver would become emboldened with the spirit of the Forest, lethal with a single hit to any non-native of the Forest.     Recinda used the power of the Quiver, sniping from her hidden places those who would threaten the sanctity of the Deep Forest.  And eventually, the humans and halflings and gnomes learned to look elsewhere, and they left the Deep Forest alone, shrouded only in myth and mystery.     Such is not the happy end for Recinda, though.  A dark power learned of Recinda’s Quiver, and slew her for it in her sleep.  Not understanding the Quiver worked only in defense of the Deep Forest, the beast tried vainly to use it against the woodland folk, to usurp control of the Deep Forest for himself.  The woodland beings rebelled, overrunning the dark lord who had slain their Protectoress.  They bound him to a large tree and shot him 100 times with the enchanted arrows.     Beneath his body, left hanging on the tree, was buried Recinda, her quiver laid gently against the stone marking her grave.  It is unknown if the Quiver of Recinda still rests on her grave in the Deep Forest, as none but its inhabitants knows where the Forest’s Heart is, and they will not tell.  “The Sword of the Divided Kingdom”      In the oldest of days, when the world was very young and all men rallied around the banner of the One King, Mask conspired against the humans.  He forged Raesaveth, a beautiful bastard sword with a crown-shaped hilt and elaborate gold engravings throughout.  With it, he seduced away a false king, and set the children of men against each other.  With each death, Raesaveth grew stronger, its sedition more alluring.  After a great battle, the One King and the False King faced each other on a field of blood, Raesaveth glowing with power and greed that reflected in the False King’s eyes.  The One King knew he could not survive such a mighty power, nor could he allow it to destroy all of mankind.  As the False King closed the distance between them, the One King summoned the strength of his fallen brothers and seized the evil sword, turning it on its master.  But in killing the False King with the blade, he, too, lost part of his soul to the sword.  And, realizing that it was corrupting him, he raised it high and slew himself, falling on the body of the False King.  With no leader to guide them, the Kingdom of Men splintered, and never again in history have men united under one banner.  Raesaveth, the Sword of the Divided Kingdom, has been the subject of many quests, but has never been found.“Vestment of Sahr’Ahl”   As a reward for a lifetime of service, Tyr made his high priest, Sahr’Ahl, a vestment of fine gold thread.  When donned in the light of the morning sun as it crossed the horizon, the vestment would tell its wearer whether he would die that day, fulfilling a long-ago promise Tyr had made Sahr’Ahl that he could know if it was his last day.  But Sahr’Ahl began to abuse the vestment, knowing he could not be killed if it was not foreseen that morning, and so he began a clumsy crusade to line his pockets with gold.  Displeased at Sahr’Ahl’s use of his gift, Tyr turned to Kelemvor for help.  That evening, at the moment the last ray of the sun had set, a loose hunting arrow flew wide of its target and sailed through Sahr’Ahl’s open window, striking him through his heart.  As he cursed the god of Justice, he knew he had been told only that he would survive the day.  And the darkness and eternal night took him.  The Vestment of Sahr’Ahl has not been seen in recent history, and there is much speculation about the historical authenticity of the story, as many believe it is just a parable.“The Apanem-Silverbow Treaty”    Signed nearly 400 years ago, after skirmishes between the expanding human kingdom and the fey kingdom of the northeast threatened an all-out racial war, this treaty formed the basis for much of the northern and eastern border of the human kingdom.  The treaty was signed by Duke Apanem (human) and High Prince Silverbow (high elf).  Many of the elfin tribes living in Wildwood, however, roundly rejected the treaty and it was only after Silverbow pulled his army from the human border and set them against the resistance that the peace really took hold.  Although many tribes in Wildwood still do not believe in the Treaty, they limit their aggressions to places within their own domain where they are unlikely to go noticed.  The elves of Wildwood have much moral support from other non-elfin fey, many of whom believe Silverbow was weak and foolish to allow the humans to continue to grow, and many are concerned the human population will eventually grow so large that they will trample the Treaty and be unstoppable, destroying and polluting the heart of the Fey as they have done with their own lands.  The Apanem-Silverbow Treaty was signed near what is now Langeton (at the time, a military outpost called Lang’s Fort), but the caravan carrying it back to Knighton disappeared without a trace, and it has never been seen again, almost immediately spawning rumors from the wild tribes and militant humans alike, that it never existed in the first place.  The Treaty has been sought by a number of people for various reasons, most often by historians for its invaluable part in history, by half-elves who credit it with their existence and hope to use it to foster continued good relations between the kingdoms, and the wild tribes who seek to destroy it.  The Treaty is on magical parchment, written in gold ink and sealed with the personal sigils of both kings.</blockquote>

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