The Spear of Zilopnou

A man is only as strong as his spear, and a spear is only as strong as the man who wields it.

— Tichan Zilopnou

The Spear of Zilopnou is a powerful weapon, previously wielded by the great Tichan Zilopnou himself— until his very death. After which, none have seen the spear. The spear possesses several unique properties, which has led to numerous myths surrounding its usage and disappearance.

Zih-lahp-noo

Item type

Weapon, Melee

Weight

1lbs, thought often feels weightless

Dimensions

5' 3", 1.5" radius

Of Mysterious Make

The spear is built from materials that are not readily known to any who have seen it up close, unknown woods, metals, and fabrics combine together to create a strikingly unique weapon that none could mistake for anything but that belonging to the late Tichan.
The weapon's core is a pale-black wooden pole with orange striations throughout, attached to the bottom is a golden sphere which witnesses have claimed emanates a faint green light.
The spearhead is made of a dull green metal which appears to be cracked along its surface— despite this, It has never so much as chipped in battle. Various sharp angles are cut along the edges, giving the spearhead a serrated form.
This connects to the pole via a golden cylinder, which tightly closes around the bottom of the spearhead. The cylinder runs about six-inches down the pole, with several holes punched through its surface and the pole beneath. Its surface is also graced by various geometric patterns. From the holes in this cylinder, three strips of red cloth hang freely.

It is a work of art, did you fashion it yourself? I've never seen anything like it...

— A general, to Zilopnou

In hidden scrolls

Now effaced from history, the late Tichan was a noted scholar of the occult— especially in his younger days. He would seek out forbidden scrolls and knowledge wherever he could, even the great archives residing within the watcher— Ul'jvot. Within these nebulous archives, Zilopnou would discover a method through which he could gain great strength— by stealing away the child of a slumbering god. This child he would raise as his own— as a weapon. Tireless nights were spent severing the child from its parent, and more still were spent attempting to teach it to manifest itself in the physical realm.
Eventually, however, he would be successful— the legendary spear being a manifestation of only part of the stolen child, loyal to the soon-to-be Tichan's very will.

The Legendary Spear

The Spear of Zilopnou moves with a mind of its own, precisely because it has one. Its locomotion is neither magic nor telekinesis, but instead simply a result of it being a limb of a larger being. It can still be wielded as any other spear, though it will guide its wielder towards openings and weak spots. It cannot sense thoughts or feelings, as the legends may claim— but it does experience time in a nonlinear fashion. This allows the spear to react before an enemy swings on its wielder, blocking the blow or outright cutting down the foe before they can strike.

A Dull End

After Tichan Zilopnou's death, the legendary spear disappeared— none knew of the relic's whereabouts, and none had witnessed its departure. In truth— it was Zilopnou's very weapon that cut his life short. Unbeknownst to Zilopnou, the child he had stolen away was not, in fact, a child at all— it was the dream of the slumbering god given form. As one would expect of a god, this one could control its dreams— and simply grew bored of being by the Tichan's side. And so, it left, demanifesting its physical form— the spear— and left to wander the world in search of something more exciting.
It has appeared a handful of times since then, in the hands of other warriors throughout Qet— beyond the red sands of the Cipou Canyon.

Reappearance

The spear has, in fact, returned to its homeland in recent years.
A lone mercenary had been spotted wielding a weapon that matched the spear's description, at least, what could be seen of it— as it was wrapped in red fabric.
This was only a brief reemergence, however, all sightings took place within the span of a year before the mercenary was killed by a Heutoue and the spear disappeared once more.