Full Item Description
These wands appear as slender, leather-covered switches 3’ in length. The leather is dyed the color of dried blood and its length is enscribed with mystical runes.
History
The Wands were created by the Aldruku people as a weapon to finally destroy their Nyorian enemies (See Nethernimbus for more details). The Aldruku priesthood were assisted by their deities (who were also warring against the Nyorian Pantheon) in developing these accursed items.
Magic/Cursed Properties
The Wands are crafted from human bone,sinew and skin and infused with power both divine and from the slaying of human sacrifices. The wand’s power is simple, but dreadful. It will force the soul from a living being and tear it into fragments. Apart from causing the death of the victim, the now sundered spirit will be unable to proceed to the afterlife, as the components literally are scattered to the wind.
With sufficient divine magic - either directly wielded by a deity, or by a sufficiently strong priest, one can attempt to reunite the fragments, but they must be found and brought close together first.
Depending on the strength of the sundered spirit, the fragments may manifest themselves as non-corporeal undead of minor power. Destruction of these Fragments will cause permanent damage to the soul should the remaining fragments be collected and united.
Campaign Use
The power level of these items is quite high, and in the World of Neyathis, quite a number were created by the Aldruku. However, with the destruction of their fleet, the wands were virtually all cast into the sea and carried by tides to all ends of the world. Some were destroyed by the effects of weather, or through misadventure through the centuries, but some still remain. The undead spawned through use of these could alert various groups that one of these rods has been uncovered.
Their macabre origin and intense evil lends them to having dangerous side effects to the bearer. That which so readily destroys spirits might do so also to its bearer, perhaps slowly slicing away pieces of his spirit, creating additional Fragments. The Aldruku never found out about this side effect - they having created the rods only a short period before their one and only use.