The Iron of Khthonia

Despite their obsession with order and hierarchy, very little seems to prevent the various Fire Princes from squabbling amongst each other. Entire hierarchies of Imps have been requisitioned to carry letters of hatred and nasty tricks between them, and they never travel lest one of the others or an upstart Noble try to assassinate them. But it was not always this way. In fact, the Iron of Khthonia used to crown Emperors that would keep the Princes in line. But centuries without them has left the Iron and the Empire it represented nothing more than a reminder of a bygone age.

Description

Much of what is known by sophonts about the Iron is found in vague descriptions in the margins of stolen books. According to these, the Iron is a rod made of pure blackened iron. Millenia have smoothed over any symbols and marks, leaving only faded grooves.

Rumoured Abilities

The Emperors wielded the Iron like a powerful weapon, and not simply for its heft. Since the Emperor had to keep the peace between extremely powerful Princes, the power that the Iron carried would have to be excessive. Since no one has seen it for centuries, rumours abound surrounding this power, including:

• It could gather magical energy from its surroundings, rendering magic useless near it;
• Anything hit by it would be instantly turned to dust and unrevivable; and
• The Iron would make the wielder of its power invulnerable to any damage or detection.

If any of this is true, the Princes have never discovered how to unlock these powers. Instead, they would use it to swear in other Princes whenever the need arose. When not in use for this purpose, they simply tucked it away somewhere and neglected it.

Item type

Unique Artifact

Current Location

The Tortuous Fire

Current Holder

Amriyel, Fire Prince of the Waves

Weight

8.5 kg (assuming it is made of pure iron)

Dimensions

50 cm long (allegedly)

Base Price

Unique

Rumours Surrounding the Iron

After having been used to crown Amriyel as Admiral of the Oil Sea, the Iron disappeared. Since no new Princes needed to be crowned, it wasn't relevant to keep track where it was currently located and now no one seems to know for sure. It's assumed that Amriyel still has it in one of his floating palaces, but very, very few would be interested in verifying that information.

All images in this article were created by me, EmperorCharlesII, unless otherwise credited.