Soul Weapon

"And so, during The Age of the Sword, warriors rose to decide the fate of the land, wielding their own Souls as weapons." -Leila Lunbright.

A Soul Weapon is a physical manifestation of one's soul, typically in the form of a weapon. A large part of the historical culture of Sundown owes itself to the existence of Soul Weapons, with them being used largely in the wars of The Age of the Sword, and traditions based on the concept existing far into the future.

## **The Soul Forge**

Soul Weapons can only be created in a place known as the Soul Forge, a magical forge located in the eastern regions of Sundown. The Soul Forge is surrounded by a town known as Atma Phorja, once populated by Giant Monks sworn to guard the Soul Forge. They, by their doctrines, allowed any who wish to enter the Soul Forge, as they believe it is a basic right to have a Soul Weapon, and that it is a natural aspect of life and expression. Since the end of The Age of the Sword, however, the location of Atma Phorja and the Soul Forge have been wiped from all publicly available maps by The Sundown Federation. Before the events of *Dumdums & Dragons: Sundown*, the population of Atma Phorja was eliminated by Taliesin Garman with the aid of Dhokha Javana, one of the monks sworn to guard the Soul Forge, who betrayed the rest to follow Taliesin in his quest.

## **How** **Soul Weapons Work**

* Soul Weapons take the form of a weapon or object that best represents the soul of the one who created it, as the weapon is in the fact, the soul of its creator. Any abilities the weapon has follows this same principle.
* A soul, once turned into a weapon, cannot be returned to its original state.
* If a Soul Weapon is destroyed, the wielder will almost certainly die as a result, although there are exceptions to this. It is impossible to destroy a Soul Weapon except by another Soul Weapon.
* If a Soul Wielder is killed, but their Soul Weapon remains intact, their soul will continue to exist in this form, until destroyed. While in this state, it is possible to reconstitute the body of the Wielder through magic, though it is borderline impossible to do this by oneself, often requiring the aid of an extremely powerful mage.
* If a Soul Weapon is destroyed, it is technically possible to survive, though extremely unlikely. Those who do survive become Soulless, losing their previous nature, and becoming a new person entirely. They also, among other things, lose the ability to use Soul Weapons.
* If one were to use a Soul Weapon belonging to someone else, they would only have limited use of it, only being able to use certain abilities. If they wish, they can resonate their soul further with it in order to gain the use of more abilities. In gameplay terms, for every level a player has achieved, they have one Soul Point. For each Soul Point they spend, they can unlock a new ability of the Weapon. These conditions are not affected by the original Soul Wielder's state of being, whether they be alive or dead.

## **Notable Soul Weapons**

* The Eclipse, used by Norassu, The King of the Desert.
* The Horizon, originally used by Mouri, The Soulless, though, hence the name of its wielder, it has been destroyed.
* The Cartographer, originally used by Taliesin Garman, though, it has been destroyed, rendering Taliesin Soulless.
* The Shadow Blade, used by Ichiro Nakamura.