Shears of Winter

Description

A rod and a one-handed axe are the most common combination for the Shears of Winter. They are usually both made using metal taken from the same mine, and then the hilt and the shaft of the implement worked with dragonbone and tempest jade. Some wielders make a point of keeping a small amount of shattered tempest jade on hand to keep their weapon and implement smooth, polished or sharpened as appropriate. Their common name arises because the weapon and implement are often marked with the rune Yoorn, sometimes called the Shears, which symbolises ending.

When using these arcane weapons, the magician-warrior usually touches the pair together, drawing destructive magic out of the weapon and then unleashing using the rod (or more rarely, wand). They are equally adept at blasting shields to splinters or ripping even magical weapons into shards, occasionally with a thunderous detonation.

The main value of the Shears of Winter is that there is, as yet, no rod available to Imperial artisans that allows a magician to perform the shatter spell without training. While there is a staff that provides that power, it requires the wielder to be a trained battle mage. The Shears of Winter also require a degree of training to use, but those battlefield magicians who favour them seem to appreciate the ability to remove a foes protection (whether that is a shield or a polearm) before delivering a crippling blow with the one-handed weapon

Rules

• Form: Weapon. A pair consisting of a one-handed weapon and either a rod or a wand. You must be wielding both the weapon and the implement to use the set's magical properties.
• Requirement: You must have both the ambidexterity and magician skills to bond to these items.
• Effect: You may cast the shatter spell as if you knew it.
• Materials: Crafting the Shears of Winter requires four ingots of tempest jade, and three measures of dragonbone. It takes one month to make a pair of these items.