Items · Melee Weapons · Combat
Phoenix Talon
The silver and gold longsword of a knight of flame.
This sword is long and straight, with a single edge and a curved tip, built for slashing. It has the elegant balance of an elven weapon, light and deceptively easy to handle. The slender blade is polished to a brilliant, silvery sheen, and it is inset with a series of connected, golden runes. An incredibly ancient, and now forgotten, elvish script, should these runes be read, they will be found to read, 'And thus is the end of the cycle, and its beginning.'
Magical Properties:
When a Knight of Zevarith is offered up to his Lord for rebirth in the Holy Flame, so too are his arms. His sword and armor are anointed with holy oils, and built into the fire that rages first at the knight's feet, then about his body. As the Knight is reborn, so too are his tools.
The Phoenix Talon is the sword that was offered up with Searren Flametongue. Originally a longsword of elvish manufacture, it was the blade that the young elf grew up with, learning the art of swordsmanship that his people placed such honor upon. Once Zevarith was done imparting his Fire to the man's eyes and spirit, he turned his attention first to the sword. The shape of the blade, and the reverence with which it had been treated in the now abandoned portion of the Elf's life pleased the god, and rather than completly remake it, he touched his will to it, runes of molten flame etching themselves, then solidifying into gold.
Like all blades of the Flame God, the Phoenix Talon may wreathe itself in holy flame when commanded, signifcantly increasing the damage it deals via the flame.
However, it is against the undead that it has its true effect. When the Phoenix Talon strikes down the aware undead, and frees their battered soul from the ties that bind, the attention of the Lord of Flame and Rebirth is drawn to them. Often, it is that they are sent onwards, not to the afterlife, but to life again, to be reincarnated and reborn, to live the life that should be theirs to the end.
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- Searren Flametongue by Siren no Orakio Bound
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- Searren Flametongue Siren no Orakio linked by Siren no Orakio
This introduces an interesting slant on the undead. The most terrifying thing about one slain by a vampire or taken by the Devil is that they are forever damned (in Dracula, the characters' main concern is that Lucy will not reach heaven; in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Faust cannot repent and be forgiven for he loses his soul). This item offers them a chance to have that afterlife they so desire. I envision repentant vampires actually seeking out Searren to ask for his 'services' in helping them make the final transition...It brings up the interesting moral dilemma of euthanasia, especially if the undead in question was (in life) close to the character who wields the sword. For me that's what lifts this item away from simply being a glorified 'sword +n vs undead' to being a thought-provoking and original submission.
And flaming swords always look cool too.
ephe!
Well....
Crap! Eph said everything that I thought of!
Well, then you already know what I was going to say.
Not unique? You gotta be kidding. How many other swords are there that give undead another shot at life?
I have to agree with Maggot here. Tim did we read the same item?
I like the bit about the undead getting a second shot at what was taken from them
The undead rebirth is a nice touch, although it seems only handy as a lore aspect for games. I wonder if - when these swords are pilfered or looted - the flames could be commanded by the new owner. Perhaps the flames would backfire to someone with whom the sword does not belong, burning the hands of the illicit wielder.
Searren's and Celsia's equipment are both boons of the Six Who Are - Where people are concerned, they and their items and holy places just exist, without care for mortals. If anyone wants to turn the sword into a gout of flame, they can go right ahead. There's no backlash or curse, just the natural consequences of wrapping your hands around a divinely fueled fire.
This is a great update of the typical flaming sword. I like it!