Sakarnen

Sakarnen (meaning "causer or instrument of greatest punishment" in the Old Tongue), also known as D'jedt or simply the Scepter during the Age of Legends, is a male sa'angreal used by the forces of the Shadow during the Last Battle. Sakarnen is the second-most powerful sa'angreal ever made for saidin; more powerful than Callandor, but not as powerful as the male Choedan Kal. It is in the shape of a scepter with an hourglass-shaped goblet affixed atop it, made entirely of gold. The sa'angreal can be separated into two pieces; a golden rod as long as a man's forearm, splaying out into a disc shape just below the end, and a golden cup that can be locked into place by sliding it down the rod.
Demandred claimed to have bonded Sakarnen to himself, and that channeling the One Power through it against himself would cause it to burn the channeler from the Pattern. Whether this was a bluff or the sa'angreal can actually be attuned to a person remains unknown. M'Hael believed that channeling through Sakarnen caused more than just the regular fatigue brought on by channeling the Power.
== History ==
According to Demandred, Sakarnen was so powerful that it had been kept locked away during the War of Power. After the war, the sa'angreal was found in Shara. It was separated into two parts, and both were hidden. The location where the rod was hidden is unknown, but the cup was placed in the ancient cavern Rai'lair, the Hearttomb, that is the source of Angarai'la, the River of Souls, located in the chasm Abyrward. Eventually, a juvenile jumara made its way into the cavern, went through its pupation and transformation, and became the guardian of the cup because the resulting Shadowspawn was too large to squeeze back out of Hearttomb (or maybe it was put there to become the guardian, alongside the head of the Nym). Sakarnen played a big part in the Sharan prophecies of the Wyld. Many men tried, and failed, to claim the cup through the centuries. All who attempted were killed by the jumara.
== Recent events ==
Demandred, soon upon awakening, began his search for Sakarnen, piecing together its location by studying myths and old stories. He eventually found the rod, thinking his quest was done, and was enraged to find out the sa'angreal was separated into two pieces. In , he also found the cup, after defeating the jumara and the Nym's head guarding it, united the two pieces, and was crowned by the Sharans as their true Wyld.
During the Last Battle, Demandred used Sakarnen to wreak great destruction among the armies of the Light, unleashing balefire with it and nearly causing the Pattern to unravel. He gave it to M'Hael to use against the Amyrlin Seat Egwene al'Vere who wielded a sa'angreal of comparable strength known as Vora's sa'angreal. After Egwene's final attack, using the nascent weave the Flame of Tar Valon, Sakarnen was trapped in a field of crystal in the Polov Heights. When the Heights collapsed upon itself, the sa'angreal was lost, possibly forever.
== Parallels ==
The name D'jedt and the appearance of the Sakarnen match the Egyptian djed symbol, which was associated with the Egyptian gods Ptah and Osiris.
Category:Sa'angreal
Category:Items of Power