Dread Crown

The Dread Crown is one of the holy artifacts for Ril, the god of death. It's an incredibly powerful artifact, and it's only been stolen once. No one knows exactly what the dread crown is made of. It appears to be metal, but it's almost weightless and has a strange shimmer to it. It allows the user to be able to see and interact with dead spirits. It also amplifies necromancy abilities or grants them to people who didn't have them before. For some people, there is a desire to steal the crown for the clout and power it would imbue upon them. It's also one of the most difficult relics to obtain. The crown sits on Ril's head, and he lives in the land of the dead with the entrance to his realm deep underground. Replicas of the dread crown exist and are worn by high priests during special ceremonies. They're made from metal and tooled to look like the real thing, but there, everyone knows that they aren't real. One Speaker reported having a piece of scrap from the same metal block that was used to forge the dread crown, but that is assumed to be a fabrication. Reports of the metal's power aren't substantiated. The crown, out of all the symbols for Ril, is seen as the real symbol for the god. The lantern may be what's on shields and banners, but among the faithful, they recognize the crown above all. It was forged by Hathchan as a gift. Ril was the only god not to reject him when he was cast out. It's made the same metal as the Soul Lantern which is Ril's other main symbol. The name Dread Crown comes from the association with death. In myth, it was said that Ril looked youthful. When he put on the crown, he immediately aged, and his hair turned white the weight of the dead on his shoulders.

Item type

Unique Artifact