A full fathom long and massively built, the Steel Cathexis is an imposing piece. While usually intimidated by the mammoth blade, characters of a martial persuasion are strangely drawn to it and greatly desire it for themselves.

The lore surrounding the Steel Cathexis is well known, if not entirely understood. Many scholars have had boastful warriors intrude into their offices, showing off their incredible new enchanted weapons, hoping for some explanation of their powers. These sages dutifully record the find for posterity's sake. These men of letters have been able to divine the sword's arcane properties, but never the magnetic appeal this weapon clearly has to its owners. They only note the unusual boorishness of those bringing it in for inspection.

While not bearing the elaborate filigrees or meticulously cut gemwork of the lavish court-swords favored by aristocrats, the Steel Cathexis is an ostentatious weapon. From the girthsome hilt to the half-foot wide blade, this gargantuan edifice looks simply too massive to be anything but ornamental. While constructed mostly of simple drop-forged steel and bearing a cord-wrapped hilt, a perfunctory examination of this apparently simple weapon reveals thin veins of amethyst running throughout the metal. The surface of the blade glistens with an oily sheen.

Only when a character grasps the ropey hilt firmly in his hands does the true virtue of this tool of war become apparent. The Steel Cathexis pulsates with energy; it is shockingly well balanced, and its supple grip offers precise control. More than a few wielders have been heard to remark that the elephantine blade felt like an extension of their bodies.

Anyone who holds the sword can't wait to let it swing in battle. Sometimes a wielder of the Steel Cathexis will make a distasteful wager with his comrades as to who will be the first to slay an infidel. Invariably, the beefy blade finds its way into an orc (or some such rapscallion) shortly thereafter. Of course, warriors both noble and base have charged into battle with their hands clenched around the sword's hilt. While many demons have been brutally eviserated by the Steel Cathexis, several fair nymphs have been impaled on it as well.

At will the wielder can call forth from the terrible sword a mighty blast of molten hot magma. Although this spray is dangerous at range (and certainly a dramatic surprise for one's foes), wielders of the Steel Cathexis have throughout history favored employing this potent ability while spiritedly cleaving the flesh of their victims. However, such an attack has an enervating and soporific effect on the wielder. Wise fighters save their energy for the climax of a battle.

Characters are unlikely to find this monstrous sword unattended, and any possessor would be loath to give it away as a gift or payment. Most likely it will be pried from the dead fingers of a narrowly bested foe.

Magical Properties:

Whosoever owns this sword soon grows to love it, and in turn loves himself for wielding it. By merely grasping the hilt the owner stirs potent feelings within himself. This pride manifests itself in the most obnoxious ways.

Any owner hates to keep the blade in its sheath, and will brandish it at the slightest provocation. In social situations, he will draw the blade and expound on its virtues to a bored (or sometimes frightened) audience. If the situation dictates that drawing a sword would be wholly inappropriate, it will nonetheless seem to throb at his side, and he might compulsively flick the hilt, exposing an inch or so of the blade before quickly pushing it back into the scabbard.

When the owner is alone he will take great pleasure in polishing his sword. This accounts for the piece's ever-present oily sheen.

Needless to say, for an owner obsessed with the Steel Cathexis, breaking or losing the sword would feel like losing part of himself. He will become paranoid and guard it jealously even while proudly displaying it. In a melee, he would feel reluctant to use the sword against a foe that seems to pose an especially serious threat.

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