The Capitulia
"I hear that the Juliania family might be looking to sell theirs. Apparently they got sanctioned by the Noble's Court for failing to pay for maintenance of the highways in their land and it might break them. No, I don't know how much, but probably enough to buy your own country in the north! Probably be bought by a temple, I hear they've got four already."The Capitulia are a collection of 20 stone heads depicting the twelve Inheritors, the three Keepers of the Dead, the three Lords of Order, Tistal The Teller, and Nexi the Unspoken one. Whilst the first 18 are well known amongst collectors, the existence of the statue of Nexi is considered a legend that many do not believe exists, and the one of Tistal is unknown to all but a very few individuals. Legend states that the statues are made of stone recovered from the remains of Turbal's Fortress, destroyed by the Primae using sky rocks in the last stages of the The Inheritance War. Whether this is true or not, they are made of a dark black rock of unknown type, which is harder than any known material except perhaps diamond. The statues are highly resistant to damage, displaying only minor weathering; a remarkable feat considering they are known to be over 2000 years old, and some have changed hands and been moved many times in that time period. The statue of Nexi is made of a light coloured material, and is stated to have cursed properties; it has a faint glow in total darkness, and ownership of the statue brings bad luck and ill health, and all who have owned the statue have come to ruin. In reality, this has some truth; the material by which the Nexi statue is made is mildly radioactive, and sustained contact results in surface burns, whilst prolonged proximity tends to cause cancers. The properties of the statue of Tistal are unknown, or even if it is made of the same material as the others. Within the small number of people aware of its existence, rumour persists that it grants the owner some measure of prescience, but cursed to never be believed. It is said that if all the statues are brought together in one place, it grants the owner the right to summon and speak with any of the gods, including the ancient and powerful Primordials. This is unlikely, although collecting of them all would surely be a significant enough event that one of the Inheritors may pay an interest.
Manufacturing process
The process of the statue's manufacture is unknown, given the remarkable properties of the material by which they are made. Divine activity is almost guaranteed, although no one can state which god or gods would agree to their construction, as none of the gods demand or even request creation of idols. There are no tooling marks, and no one can even postulate what material any construction tools would be made of.
Significance
Whilst copies exist of the 18 well known heads, the originals are unique and considered irreplaceable. Six of the main 18 were once thought lost after the Sakamohr invasion, but were found and recovered by Til-Yaltur's forces in the city of Cheingo in the south and brought back to the Empire with great ceremony.
For those who collect such things, the Capitulia are considered a holy grail of religious iconography. To possess even one is considered impressive, and great care is taken to put the statue in a prominent place, so that all can see. Only a few can claim to have more than one; the Elector Lords of Hoat and Keltas have two each, and there are four in the Temple of Yaltur in Belyos.
Exchange of statues is exceedingly rare, and almost always due to dire financial situations. Sale of a statue is almost guaranteed to generate enough wealth to see a noble house secure for many years.
Item type
Unique Artifact
Weight
~450 kg
Dimensions
0.4 x 0.4 x 1 m
Base Price
Priceless
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