Artifacts

## Clue found in Accord HQ

*An extract from a book in the Accord Library- Soular Artifacts, Chapter 16- Artifacts required for forcing the Divine Gate*

While the process of forcing the Divine Gate open or closed has never been completed before, it is possible to do the arcane calculations to determine what combination of artifacts could be used, as well as other spell components for such a ritual.

The artifacts required include:

1. The crown of the faerie queen- Imbued with the power of the Seelie court, this artifact is known to bring powerful illusion effects under the wielder’s command, used in the past by the ruler of the Seelie realm to make the court appear less hostile than the Seelie realm normally is to visitors.
2. Vampire’s bane- A soular weapon created by werewolves to fight their historic enemies, this crossbow imbues the bolts it uses with a drop of pure sunlight that will kill any vampire it hits instantly.
3. Werewolf’s bane- This silver sword is imbued with soular energy to enhance the effects of the silver it is made of, making it even more deadly against the werewolves this was created to fight. Similar to Vampire’s bane, this was created by vampires to fight nearby werewolf factions in the centuries they were at war before the peace of the Accord was established.
4. The magpie staff- This staff was crafted by witches with power from the Unseelie realm; it takes soular power to charge but once so charged can perform a set of powerful spells, including: magical blasts, healing, draining soular energy from people, summoning Unseelie creatures at the wielder’s command, creating material wealth of different varieties, and forcing a being to divulge secrets.
5. The sword of michael- Artifact created by the Angels, imbued with soular energy to kill demons. Not much is known about it since heaven guards it jealously.
6. The shield of lucifer- Artifact created by the Demons, imbued with soular energy to kill angels. Not much is known about it since the forces of hell don’t tend to bring it out often to use.
7. The heart of a star- No-one knows where the name of this artifact came from, but it is essentially a collection of a massive number of souls crystalised into a confined space, with so much soular energy present that it glows a bright white even when not looking with the Sight. It is not a weapon in and of itself, but a skilled practitioner of magic can use it to power all manner of spells that would require the death of thousands of people to accomplish otherwise- it is particularly associated with necromancers for this very reason.
8. The blades of dusk and dawn (reckoning and resolution)- these gold and obsidian blades are twins, bound by soular magic to be used together. There are legends saying that these were originally a pair of swords gifted to King Arthur, and Merlin enchanted the blades to make them incredibly effective against any beings not from Earth.

Finally, the ritual itself requires either a phoenix feather for closing or a dragon’s egg for opening; and a soul who can speak for both sides of the gate. For the purposes of sealing the Divine Gate this implies a single person descended from angels, demons, and humans, or, if enough souls are found to be compatible, a soul collection containing beings from all three realms (an angel, a demon, and someone from earth).