Windwand

**Windwand** was a magically enchanced wooden staff created in the First Elven Empire that was considered one of the Seven Sacred Swords. It was destroyed in the middle of the Sixth Azanese Dynasty.

## History

### Origins

Windwand was said to have been grown from the Magna Arba a great Tree planted in presentday Where by. It was used as a cermonial staff by the Head Druid of the cult of Crimisa.

### The Elven Expansion

Ronak the Red was the 105th Head Druid of the cult of Crimisa. Considered warlike even amongst her other acolytes neighboring cults banded together to convince him to join one of the many fleets colonizing Scimitaria at the time. It was a matter of great debate whether Windwand should go with him or stay and be given to a new caretaker but Ronak was granted favor to take it by Crimisia. Many suggested he was one of her lovers.

### Dark Elf Capture

During the colonization, the head colony of Lemnverde Nou was beset by raids from dark elf beetle riders. Windwand was stolen in such a raid. When it was taken the Vengeance of Crimisa conjured a sea storm that almost leveled the colony.

### Dark Elf Wars

Windwand was passed as a trophy amongst various petty dark elf kingdoms. Finally becoming part of the regalia of The Purpura Rex. The Purpuran Kingdom became a leading power in West Scimitaria until Rex Augustine began the Pennisular War against the second Dynasty of the Azan Empire.

### Pennisular War

Rex Augustine was a combat king who would use Windwand to cause strikes of lighting and shades of darkness against Azanese ships. By this time, the blessing of Crimisa saw dit to work with the Dark Elves against the rival power of the Azanese who at the time were still lead by the Draconically Enhanced Second Dynasty (descended from Azan's cousin Cempak I). Dragonfire, Tiefling curses and Elven magic clashed in all sides of the seas, until Rex Augustine died of sharkgout. This was when Windwand was first documented in Azanese culture.

### Elvology

The aftermath of the Pennisular War led to the Creation of elvology amongst the Tiefling Bomoh class. Well aware of the dilution of draconic blood affecting their ranks they took to studying of outside powers and foreign gods to shore up their defense. One tactic was intermarriage . The Tiefling Prince Cik Nur was married to Rex Valencia III, with Windwand being given to the House of Nur as a dowry.

Windwand was experimented on by Azanese Elfologists for generations, but none could understand the Elvish magic enough to properly use it. It eventually was used a curiosity to prop of the weather and status of the House of Nur, which by the late Second Dynasty has next to no visible draconic heritage or magic.

### The Third Dynasty

By the late third dynasty the Ruling House of Cemak was faced with extinction. In order to preserve Tiefling heritage and draconic blood they had resorted to inbreeding. Empress Amir III was to quote her Contemporary Farah the Rhymer "a sickly abomination, held alive by dark magics and the spite of the gods punishing her for daring to exist." (Many dispute this accusation as unbiased accounts of the Late Second Dynasty are near impossible to find.)

For whatever reason Amir III had no heirs so the question of who should have the Marble Throne ran through her reign. As she was the last legitimate descendant of Azam, many believed the throne should pass to the heirs of the Dragongod Thazanon.

To the east Doge Atrian the Violet, a descendant of Cik Nur and Valencia III declared the Windwand , the House of Nur and the Azanese throne as their birthright. Without an army the snuck into the Empire disguised as a trader and broke into the Mansion of Nur.

Before they were caught they called on the power within their blood and bade Windwand to wake. When it did, the House of Nur, desperate for power, declared Atrian their champion. When Amir died the First Imperial Council crowned the Doge as Emperor Adrian I.

### The Sun Kings

Adrian I used both Windwand and the holy sword Luminor as the centerpieces to the imperial regalia. They pushed a syncretic version of the Old Azan Faith that translated festivals of Elvish origin into days celebrating the life of Azam. (For example Starfall week being set during the traditional Elvish harvest festival.)

Adrian I was very fecund, having at least a dozen children by various partners. Traditional mores about polygamy were relaxed both due to the importation of Elvish culture and by various Tiefling Houses wishing to "revive" their bloodlines with the heritage of the seeming godking. The tradition continued with each child of Adrian I taking multiple spouses

By the reign of Adrian III , descendants of the Adriatic Line numbered in the hundreds . Several territories had been annexed to the empire via marriages with one grandchild or another. Adrian III was a magical scholar and abdicated to study magic, leaving the throne to their twelth or eleventh (most Adrianite emperor's didn't count) daughter, who became Adrian IV.

This began a precedent of the Imperial throne being left to the Adrianite who was perceived to have the most magical ability and/or draconic descent. Wielding Windwand became a common test of this ability. For example Adrian IX was overthrown in favor of their brother Adrian X when X was able to use Windwand and IX was not. Windwand became a symbol of these "Sun Kings" amd eventually, of Elvish culture in the empire, for those for and against it.

### The Reconquista

Adrian XIII (known as Adrian the Fool) was an admirer of the Elvish nations and culture of old. He was weak in magic and could barely wield Windwand. Motivated by this insecurity he used hjs distant Elvish blood to lay claim to the whole of the Elvish lands to the north. Adrian nearly bankrupted the empire to fund The Gilded Army. The largest in existence of the time. (And some claim to be the first standing army.) He took Windwand on his crusade to the north leading his army. The Fool thought the Elves would kneel before their "returning king" ignorant of actual Elvish cultures and customs and claiming the right to an "Elvish Throne" that didn't exist. He fell into depression and alcoholism as the campaign faltered and when he died Windwand was taken by his cousin and bodyguard who named herself Adrian XIV.

### Adrian XIV

XIV (Known as Adrian the Mage) was more adapt with battle magic that most. And by learning amongst the hobbits of the Hedge Planes she developed a form of Agrarian magic that led to the conquest and foundation the first of several Crusader States in the Hedge. She is retroactively known as the first queen of the Hobbits in many stories. By the time she died the Faerie Lords were split in half some supporting her invasion and others wishing to defend their native cults.

### Adrian XV

Brandelshire was the illegitimate son of Adrian XIV and a Hobbit camp follower. A devout Druid. Crimisia promised him the greatest throne in the land in exchange for one day of his life. He hastily agreed as he was envious of his mother who never acknowledged him. In a dark ritual three dozen hobbits were sacrificed on a Druidic alter and Brandelshire was given the power to birth storms from his blood. Assassinating his mother, he stole Windwand and names himself Adrian XV. He conquered what was left of the First Elvish Empire but the two generations of Sun Kings who were far removed from the Empire's core weakened the third dynasty permanently.

### War of Waves and Willows

In the South a series of non noble regents has begun running day to day affairs of the empire. Jealous of the Adrinite magics they turned to deals with demonic forces. While Adrian XVII was leading the war against Daligrad using Windwand and a cadre or Bloodmages, the southern half of the empire became functionally independent. When XVII returned to the South proper they became the the first Emperor in three generations to actually set foot in Essakor. The culture has shifted , those of fey blood were seen as usurpers and foreigners and Adrian, who didn't even speak Southtounge was derided as "The Half-King."

XVII's 39th birthday led to a mass anti-elvish riots and when he tried to quell them with Windwand , a group of demon Tieflings cursed the wand and XVII was struck deas by Windwand's own thorns. The short lived civil war led to the Adrianite line slowly fading from power, until Adrian XX ceded the throne to their own wide, who began the 4th Dynasty.

### 4th Dynasty

The fourth Dynasty was the first Azanese Dynasty to be led by "pure" humans. As part of this growing pro human sentiment and it's accompanied backlash against magic Windwand was locked in the imperial vault. It would stay there as mostly a curiosity until the late Fifth Dynasty.

### 5th Dynasty

The borderline anarchy that the Empire was full of in the fight dynasty led to a mythologizing of the past. Arnold The Elders book "The Histories" would be the key textbook for much of Giantstep up to the late 32nd century ABE. This book was the origin of the "Battle of Empires" dating system used to this date. It was also where the now famous list of "Seven Sacred Swords" was compiled and when Windwand was added to the list. The Histories becoming famous among the Griots led to the Emperors of the time taking Windwand out the vault for gaudy displays of their (only ceremonial) power.

### 6th Dynasty

During the wave of religious fervor that swept the empire after the death of Hēnare I, "heretic" literature, statues, artifacts and buildings were vandalized amd demolished. Windwand, which hadn't seen actually battle in several centuries was so deprived of magical energy it was able to be publicly burned to ash by Emperor Ajax I.

## Abilities

The Windwand was made from sacred wood , allowing it to feed off the magical life form of it's users the same way a tree feeds off water. Technically alive, it could grow and gain and change powers depending on it's users over time.

Originally it was used for Wind magic , it's ability to control the weather made it useful in raids against Scimitaria by Ronak. In Azanese hands if was mostly used for argagrian magic , such as growing crops to feed troops. Adrian XV melded the Windwand with a blood ritual leading to it's use for lethal spells such as rains of thorns or nettleplauges. Adrian XVII was the last person to use Windwand in combat. He preferred it's use as a magically enhanced melee weapon, which gave it the reputation as a "sword" that would see it listed as such in "The Histories."

From the fourth to sixth dynasty it's lack of use saw it wither until it was little more than a trinket. When Ajax burned it it was said to have lit up quicker than common timber.