The Argent Blade (/a:rʒənt bleid/)
The Argent Blade is the most fabled of the Great Artifacts constructed by the Yulan-Tai during the establishment of the Suzerainty, the system of client kingdoms that defined the Yulan-Tai's empire at its height. The blade was the mark of the Imperial Dynasty itself and granted a great deal of power and influence to its wielder to the extent that is believed that the blade itself was imbued with magical properties to that effect. Wielders of the blade were also said to be more perceptive and wise capable of seeing through almost any construct or illusion. It was also an exceptionally potent weapon making its wielder nearly peerless in single combat and a major threat on the battlefield, with the elements themselves bending to strike down the bearer's foes. The Argent Blade was believed lost in the ancient past sometime shortly before or during the ascendancy of the Cult of Hessetal, and no later than the Ascension of the first Yuan-Ti. For certain Yuan-Ti communities its loss is believed to be the reason for the Empire's fall as it had lost its symbol of authority.
Following the Fall of the Yulan-Tai the Argent Blade disappeared for a time, with no reported sightings of the weapon during the forging era and well into the Aeillan Imperial period. The weapon reappeared during the fifty years of crisis in the hands of the famous general Sextana Hadriana Rauros, who would go on to become the first Aeillan Empress of the Raurous dynasty who reformed and strengthened the Empire in its later days. The blade would serve the Rauroi for several generations after the death of Hadriana before, during and briefly, after the Feloran invasionary period. After the dissolution of the Aeillan Empire, the blade was interred with the last emperor, Alexios III. At some point after being interred, the blade was replaced with a forgery with the whereabouts of the real argent blade having been lost to time. Throughout the intervening time the blade is said to have appeared in the hands of many famous adventurers, most recently one Lucia Valeria Vatinius, however, there is no confirmation of this fact, and most modern scholars discredit almost all of these claims.
The Blade in almost any account appears as a finely wrought blade constructed of pure silver. Its construction is unusual for a weapon of the time with a much finer point and thinner blade not unlike the modern rapier, something which is considered highly irregular. The Argent Blade is said to have been entirely non-fuctional to those who did not already bear another of the powerful artifacts forged by the Yulan-Tai's leaders. The weapon itself was enormously powerful not only as a weapon but as a symbol of office. The Argent Blade possessed enormous magic might, allowing its user to fight with unnatural skill and augment their own attacks with elemental fury drawn from the world around them. It also granted its bearer enhanced wisdom, and the preternatural ability to see through illusions and enchantments. Lastly, the Blade is said to have allowed the bearer to command others, imbuing their words with nearly godlike authority. All this power came at a cost however, as almost every bearer of the Argent Blade is said to have, at one point or another, been corrupted by it and made to have an insatiable lust for power.
Argent Blade by Javak
Item type
Weapon, Melee
Related ethnicities
Rarity
Unique
Weight
.5 kg
Dimensions
1.2m total length, 1m blade
Base Price
Priceless
Raw materials & Components
Magically hardened and reinforced, highly purified Alchemical Silver.
Tools
Unknown
