Mantle of Castigation

**The Mantle of Castigation** is a **Divine Artifact** in the form of a black and silver clergy mantle. Woven by the last Archbishop of the Third Sacrament, Adain Eynon, during her enslavement by Anwir Essau's Fourth Sacrament, it is a masterpiece of black spellthreads and silver purity weave. When adorning the shoulders of its rightful bearer, it bestows a rigid demeanor that invokes dread in the unhallowed and heretical.

The last of Adain Eynon's creations before her death, the mantle is often regarded as her greatest work next to the now destroyed Mantle of Saints. A potent curse was laid within its fibers by the resentful Archbishop, causing its bearer to experience the pain and grief of each of its forebears. By the final years of the Fourth Sacrament, this curse had become crippling, and the Mantle was thus only worn during official ceremonies and times of conflict to avoid forcing its bearer to undergo the Ritual of Interment.

Despite this curse, the Mantle still served as the mark of station for the Bishops of Castigation of the Fourth Sacrament. Acting in concert with the Shrine of Contrition, it helped to bind the soul of its wearer to the Prime Material, as well as suppress their will through its innate subservience to the Mantle of Saints. When both the Shrine and the Mantle of Saints were destroyed by Aeronwen Morgan, the Mantle of Castigation was set free of its yoke.

The last Bishop of Castigation gifted the Mantle to the Godeater shortly before her demise. This officially transferred the Mantle into the divine arsenal of the Fifth Sacrament, placing its under Imir's Divine Right and fully breaking the curse woven into its threads. This allowed its new bearer to act unhindered. Given its association with Aeronwen Morgan and its prevalence as her mark of station, it is now universally recognized as the official regalia of the Archbishop of the Fifth Sacrament. Out of respect for last of the Black Vestals, it has remained interred within the Sanctum of Castigation in Caernmoor, only to be disturbed with the Godeater's blessing.

## Abilities

Like all artifacts, the Mantle of Castigation draws its strength from its user. The more powerful its user becomes, the more powerful the artifact gets.

### Dormant

You gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws while you wear this mantle.

### Awakened

You gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws while you wear this mantle. In addition, your hit point maximum cannot be reduced, and you have advantage on death saving throws.

### Epic

You gain a +2 bonus to AC and saving throws while you wear this mantle. In addition, your hit point maximum cannot be reduced, you have advantage on death saving throws, and you negate any effect that would kill you instantaneously without dealing damage.

### Exalted

You gain a +2 bonus to AC and saving throws while you wear this mantle. In addition, your hit point maximum cannot be reduced, you have advantage on death saving throws, and you negate any effect that would kill you instantaneously without dealing damage.

While attuned to this mantle, your soul is tethered to the Prime Material. Should you die, your soul returns to your body readily. So long as your body is intact, you can be returned to life by any spell that restores hit points. If you are restored to life in this way, you gain one level of exhaustion and your maximum hit points equal the amount of healing your body received until you finish a long rest. These effects cannot be undone by a spell or other magical effect, nor a divine intervention enacted by a god other than Imir.