The Lover's Oath

The Lover's Oath is ancient artifact forged by the followers of Tala after Shodar abandoned her. As the story goes, Tala became infatuated with the champion Shodar, molded by Osgolip to defend his creations. Tala implored Shodar, but was unable to bind him to a covenant. Nevertheless, from Shodar and Tala came the Ashun. After these events, Shodar forgot Tala, never returning to her side nor remembered his children. From this, Tala entered a deep despair. In her turmoil, she bestowed blessings upon her children that remained with her. These became the "Children of Tala".
The Lover's Oath was conceived using Tala's anguish. Having received parts of Tala's power, enchanters created a bisected, hollow ceramic container. When a pair would enter into a covenant, a ceremony would be held where they would bring their hands in on either side. As they clasped hands, a wave a fatigue would come over them as deep strands of there essence (soul) were tied together. The essence bound the ceramic pieces together. When the pair released their hands, the strands remained in the vessel, shimmering with a silvery glow. This was part of a ritual called "Family Forging".
But this ritual carried a vicious secret from an era of unyielding honor. The bonded essence strengthened and weakened depending on the relationship of the pairing. Should dishonesty, offense, or harm invaded the relationship, the filament would snap. In that moment, the essence of the two would be severed from their elemental bindings and spliced together within the ceramic. There, the essence would be kept. One of the secrets of these devices is that if one of the oathsworn try to break the bond themselves, their essence alone is kept within the vessel, while the other is left untethered.
While the origins of the tradition have been lost, many scholars believe that the pair is brought before Tala for meditation. Others believe that the essence contained in the device is unbound, served as a sacrifice to Tala for disobedience. While few of these artifacts exist now, the principle has led to similar devices used for sinister practices. The lovers oath is believed to have been the first such device.

Item type

Religious / Ritualistic