Three Tears

Description

The Three Tears is an immensely powerful magical standard that takes its name from the ancient symbol for Wintermark. It is very expensive to make, and so it is most commonly seen carried by a Wintermark general's banner-bearer. As a result, the ability to make the banner is widely considered the high-point of a runesmith's craft, the acquisition of which marks the transition from journeyman to master. Only the most loyal banner-bearers are trusted with the Three Tears and so only the most trusted artisans are usually asked to make one.

Despite the name, it is possible to produce a version of the Three Tears with a different design on it. The artisans of Gildenheim made a version of the banner with a golden sun on it - which they presented to Emperor Hugh when he took the throne. The banner, named Burning Sun, was re-enchanted every year of Hugh's rule, and eventually gained a strange quirk that affected those who bore it in ways that some people found disconcerting. It was lost fighting the Druj in the Great Forest of Peytaht and never recovered.

Even more famous than Burning Sun was the Three Tears banner carried by Empress Britta when she was but a callow youth. It was considered a sign of her greatness even then that she should carry such a banner at such a young age. According to the rumours, this banner was in fact Foe-Slayer, the legendary artifact born into battle by Emperor Guntherm's banner-bearer until the Emperors death in 248YE. It was said that the banner was interred in the Kallavesi swamps alongside the Emperor when he died - and that his ghost personally gave the banner to Britta when she came of age.

Whatever the truth of that story, the banner was definitely not lost when Britta died. For reasons that are still unknown, neither Britta's banner-bearer nor Foe-Slayer were seen at Anvil at the summit where the Young Empress met her fate. Their whereabouts were never discovered, but they definitely didn't take the conjunction with the Empress. The only lead to its whereabouts is a rumour that the Empress discovered that the banner would be lost if she took it to battle that summit, while undergoing a Goosewhisper vision. Thus she ordered her banner-bearer to return it to the Marsh from whence it came.

Rules

• Form: Magical standard. The phys-rep requirements for a magical standard are more stringent than those of similar items. You must be bearing this banner aloft to use its magical properties.
• Effect: While wielding this standard you gain four additional hero points.
• Roleplaying Effect: When you take hold of this banner, you see hawks, rooks, and owls circling overhead. No-one else can see these birds but you can feel them urge you on to victory.
• Materials: Crafting a Three Tears banner requires sixteen ingots of Green Iron, ten ingots of orichalcum, fourteen measures of dragonbone, ten measures of beggar's lye, and ten measures of iridescent gloaming It takes one month to make one of these items.

Runesmith's Law

This magic item is part of Runesmith's Law rather than Imperial Lore. Any Wintermark character with the artisan skill can learn to make this item. Before they are able to do so they must swear a powerful geas, and if they later leave the nation they lose the ability to make this item.

Hroth clutched his stomach, teeth clenched against the agonizing pain, frantically trying to keep the wound from gaping open. Like a fool he'd tried to dance back out of reach of the Jotun's axe but he'd misjudged it badly and the blade had sliced his belly open like a ripe fruit. Now he was lying in the gopping mud, his life-blood slipping through his fingers. He was getting dizzy, the pain was receding, but he was feeling faint. That was a bad sign... it meant the end was close.

All around him he could hear the clash of steel on steel, the shouts of battle, but the noises were getting quieter now. For a moment he thought the fight might be moving away from him, but then he realised it was him that was slipping away. The butt of a thick stave of wood hit the ground close to his chest, hard enough to drive the pole several inches into the thick mud. He was so dizzy now, he couldn't see enough to know if it was friend or foe. Desperate he reached out to push the weapon away but he didn't have the strength to move it.

As he pushed against the rough wood, he saw the strangest thing, a rook on the wing, circling so close to his head he thought he could reach out and touch it. His mouth ran dry as he realised what it was. Odd that it would be a rook though. He'd always imagined a hawk or a falcon would come to take him when the time came. The bird circled rapidly lower and lower and then with a rush it flew towards his face.

"Hroth! Hroth!" The bird was shouting his name. That seemed peculiar. He had never expected his bird would know his name, but he supposed it did make sense.

"Stay with me Hroth! Stay with Me!" the bird shouted in a voice that brooked no argument. He felt cold water splashing over his face and then he realised he was spitting and spluttering.

The bird was gone, in its place was Inga Icedottir, the thane's banner-bearer. She was crouched over him, clutching her banner in one hand, the three golden rings on a red background that formed the symbol of their hall hanging over both of them.

"Fight's not over yet Hroth. Get on your feet, and get to the grimnir fast. We'll save some Jotun for you if you're quick."

She was pointing off away from the fighting. He opened his mouth to explain that he was dying and that he couldn't get up, and that was when he realised that neither of those things were actually true.