Bloodstones of Arazni

Aura strong abjuration and necromancy [lawful]; CL 20th Slot none; Weight 2 lbs. each

DESCRIPTION

Although they seem to be sculpted from rich red clay, these grotesquely shaped canopic jars bleed as though they were living organs.

Each of these distinctive jars contains an organ associated with both a trait of the valiant knight Arazni and an aspect of the lingering power of the god Aroden. Any cleric who bears one of these jars is granted an additional domain, with the associated granted powers and domain spells, for as long as he possesses it. The domain granted depends on the Bloodstone possessed. If the bearer is not a cleric, he is granted the lowest-level domain power, but no spells or other related abilities. In addition, the bearer of a Bloodstone is inspired by some trait of Arazni, gaining an ability she possessed in life. The bearer does not need to meet any prerequisites or requirements to gain this ability.

DESTRUCTION

Together, the tyrant Geb and the lich Arazni can destroy any of the Bloodstones, binding the organ inside into the withered form of the fallen hero as part of a 24-hour-long ritual.

HISTORY

The fall of Arazni, herald of the god Aroden, is a famous tragedy. Sent to rally the spirits of the Shining Crusade, she met her end at the hands of the Whispering Tyrant. Yet her sacrifice inspired the heroic Knights of Ozem, signaling the end for the infamous lich.

More than 60 years later, in 3889 ar, the aging Master and Commander Claidius Barronmor sought to rekindle the flame of the Shining Crusade by raising his voice and sword against the distant, undead-haunted land of Geb. Six Knights of Ozem were sent to infiltrate Geb's capital of Mechitar and gauge the nation's defenses: Bhedlis, Fallenstag, Ghuzmaar, Ilverazto, Yhalas, and Barronmor—the commander's grandson.

Over a year later, the knights returned to Vigil. Yet, rather than entering the city as heroes, they devastated the city, besieging the monument holding the body of Arazni. Few of the mausoleum's defenders survived, with those who did telling of the black-clad corpses that were all that remained of the knights sent to Geb. The six vanished back into the dark, returning to their new master.

Refusing to give up their fallen heroes so easily, a contingent of knights marched to Geb. What they found shocked them. Arazni had been defiled, her body wrapped in the gowns of a princess of Geb and reanimated as a undead terror. The knights attempted to destroy the newly risen abomination, but found their six brethren, reanimated as graveknights, standing in their new queen's defense. Those few knights who returned to Vigil in subsequent months carried with them a tale of horrors, warnings never to return to Geb, and four crimson jars, each with one of Arazni's still-living organs pulsing within.

RAMIFICATIONS

The Bloodstones of Arazni are both a blessing and a curse to any who discover them.

• • Arazni's Ashes: The lich Arazni seeks her lost organs. Her agents search for the Bloodstones far and wide—her graveknight bodyguard among them—and offer the organs' bearers no mercy. Supposedly Arazni knows the location of one of her organs every time it is employed, feeling a tinge of life in the cavities of her rotted form.

  • Relics of Aroden: If Aroden's church still survived, the Bloodstones of Arazni would be among their holiest relics, as they still possess an ember of the god's divine radiance. Zealots seek the Bloodstones in the hopes of either redeeming Aroden's fallen herald or—unrealistically—reviving the fallen deity. The power of the stones is like the light of a dead star, however—brilliance from a beacon that no longer exists.