The Wailing Chain: A Weapon of Elegance and Dread

The Chain

• Material:
  The links of the Wailing Chain are forged from Starlight Alloy, a mythical metal that gleams like polished gold yet seems to shimmer with an iridescent glow, reflecting faint traces of spectral light in shades of deep emerald, silver, and midnight blue.
• Design:
  Each link is razor-thin and deceptively delicate, shaped like the petals of a blooming rose frozen mid-flourish. However, they are impossibly sharp, capable of cutting through steel with a flick of the wrist.
• Ethereal Glow:
  The chain emits a faint, otherworldly luminescence, casting soft light in dim surroundings. This glow intensifies when it moves, leaving behind ghostly trails of green and gold as if it dances with its own spirit.

The Blades

• Attachment:
  At irregular intervals along the chain, small, crescent-shaped blades are attached, resembling delicate scythe-like teeth. These blades shimmer as though covered in morning dew, but the "dew" glimmers faintly red—remnants of the souls it has touched.
• Craftsmanship:
  The blades are engraved with intricate patterns resembling vines, flowers, and flames, each design telling a fragment of a soul’s story, captured eternally in its form.

The Handle

• Material:
  The handle is carved from Petrified Lifewood, a material sacred to Shinlaris. It retains the texture of bark but is smooth to the touch, its surface etched with faint glowing runes representing the endless cycle of life and death.
• Shape:
  Slightly curved for balance, the handle tapers toward a golden pommel shaped like a blooming rose, symbolizing the beauty and pain of transformation.
• Enhancements:
  Small golden threads coil around the handle like vines, pulsing faintly with Crazu’s divine energy, allowing the chain to respond as an extension of her will.

Movement

• Grace in Action:
  The chain moves with a hypnotic fluidity, as if alive, undulating like a serpent in sync with Crazu’s every motion. When wielded in combat, it seems to dance, cutting through the air with both precision and elegance, leaving faint, shimmering trails of light in its wake.
• Haunting Sound:
  When the chain moves, it sings—a soft, mournful melody that rises into a keening wail when swung with force. This "song" is said to be the cries of the souls bound to its links, amplifying its eerie, reverent aura.

Aura and Presence

• Ethereal Beauty:
  Despite its lethality, the Wailing Chain radiates a mesmerizing beauty. Its golden links and faint glow give it an almost celestial quality, as if it belongs to the stars themselves.
• Imposing Dread:
  The weapon carries an undeniable sense of dread. Those who see it in motion feel a chill, as if they are glimpsing the inevitability of their own mortality. This duality—beauty and fear—is a perfect reflection of Crazu’s nature.

When Dormant

When the chain is at rest, it coils around the handle like a serpent preparing to strike. Its glow dims, and the haunting melody fades to a barely audible hum. Mortals who gaze upon it feel as though it is watching them, waiting for a reason to awaken.

When Fully Awakened

In Crazu’s hands, the Wailing Chain appears to come alive. The faint hum rises into a chorus of whispers, and the glow intensifies, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow that seem to tell stories of lives long past. The blades glisten as if drenched in fresh dew, and the chain itself appears endless, as though it could stretch across the entire expanse of Shinlaris.

History

Early Usage: The Dance of Souls

The first use of the Wailing Chain was during the Dance of Souls, an event where Crazu wielded it to bind the spirits of Shinlaris in harmony. With a flick of the chain, she wove the souls of the restless dead into a beautiful, celestial dance, calming their anguish and helping them find peace. This act cemented the Wailing Chain as a symbol of balance and transformation.

1. Defender of Shinlaris:
   In the age when the realms were under threat from primordial forces, Crazu used the chain to protect her domain. She unleashed its fury upon invaders who sought to exploit the souls of Shinlaris, scattering their armies with cyclonic strikes and trapping their leaders in an endless spectral waltz.
2. The Binding of the Phantom King:
   One of the chain’s most famous uses was against the Phantom King, a powerful undead warlord who sought to conquer Shinlaris. Crazu used the Wailing Chain to bind the Phantom King’s soul to the Grove of Whispers, where his voice now warns others of the consequences of hubris.

The Mortal Age: A Gift to Champions

As the mortal ancestries awoke and began shaping the Macrocosm, Crazu occasionally entrusted the Wailing Chain to worthy champions. These mortals, often at critical crossroads in history, wielded the chain to bring balance and justice to their worlds.

1. The Weaver of Fates:
   A mortal priestess of Crazu wielded the chain to end a decades-long civil war. Using its power to expose the hidden truths of both sides, she forced the warring leaders to confront their failings, leading to a fragile but lasting peace.
2. The Chainbreaker:
   A slave who escaped captivity found the Wailing Chain during a celestial event. With Crazu’s blessing, they used it to lead a rebellion, liberating thousands and becoming a symbol of freedom and defiance.
3. The Banished Guardian:
   A fallen hero, exiled from their homeland, sought redemption in Shinlaris. After surviving its trials, they were granted temporary use of the Wailing Chain to save their people from an invading force. However, they returned the weapon voluntarily, understanding that true redemption lay in their actions, not their power.

Legends and Myths

1. The Chain’s Tears:
   It is said the Wailing Chain "weeps" for the souls it binds. Mortals claim that when the chain glows faintly red, it reflects the sorrow of those caught in its grasp.
2. The Festival of Chains:
   In honor of the Wailing Chain, some mortals hold a yearly festival where they reenact the Dance of Souls. The festival celebrates the beauty of life’s fleeting nature and the hope of renewal.
3. The Unworthy Seeker:
   A mortal king once tried to steal the Wailing Chain, hoping to use it to conquer neighboring realms. Crazu allowed him to wield it briefly, but the chain’s power overwhelmed him, showing him the suffering he had caused. The king fell into despair, and the chain was returned to its resting place in Shinlaris.

The Current Era (1136Q)

In the present day, the Wailing Chain remains in Crazu’s possession, kept in her personal sanctum within the Golden Glade of Shinlaris. Legends say that only a mortal who fully understands the balance of life and death, joy and sorrow, can be deemed worthy to wield it. For now, it serves as both a reminder of Crazu’s power and a tool to guide the souls of Shinlaris in their eternal waltz.

Significance

The Wailing Chain was created long before mortal histories began, during a rare celestial event known as the Eternal Convergence. This convergence aligned the planes of life and death, causing the boundaries between the realms to blur. Amid this union of opposites, Crazu, Goddess of Shinlaris, sought to craft a weapon that embodied her domain’s themes of revelry, transformation, and the eternal cycle of life and death.

1. The Forge of Shadows:
   The chain was forged in a grove known as the Obsidian Cradle, where light and shadow intertwined. The process required divine materials and energies:
2. Starlight Alloy: Collected from the falling meteors of Shinlaris’s skies, this rare material was smelted in a fire kindled by Traeron, God of The Inferno.
3. Echosteel: Sourced from the latent energy of the spirits in Shinlaris, this metal captured the whispers and memories of the dead, binding their stories to the chain.
4. Soul Threads: Enchanted fibers from the great Vine of Souls, a mystical plant said to connect Shinlaris to the mortal world, were woven into the weapon, giving it the ability to tether life and death.
5. Illounn’s Influence:
   Illounn, Goddess of The Speculum, was invited to add chaos and reflection to the weapon. She infused the chain with illusions, granting it a haunting, melodic presence and ensuring it would reveal the hidden truths of its victims.
6. A Purpose Beyond War:
   Unlike other divine weapons forged purely for destruction, the Wailing Chain was designed to test, guide, and transform. It was intended to serve as an extension of Crazu’s will, capable of both inflicting sorrow and delivering joy, depending on the wielder’s intent.

Current Location

Shinlaris

Current Holder

Crazu, the Goddess of Shinlaris

Weight

15 pounds (6.8 kg)

Dimensions

25 feet (7.6 meters) long, each link is 4 inches (10 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide, Each blade is 6 inches (15 cm) long spaced at 2-foot (0.6-meter) intervals.

Base Price

500,000 to 1,000,000 gp