Warriors Rite
Pulsating dry white, red, orange and amber hues—- the air shimmered as the fire spirits leapt forth to and fro in the pyre. Tendrils of black carnal essence twined and twixed into the night sky barring the waxing moon from sight. The pyre burned bright as the brave and the cowardly both made their passage in preparation for the next battle and deep within the hellish inferno a golden hue developed separate from skeletal coals that breathed life with every breath of the conflagration.
The searing radiation of the holocaust gave way to the black heat as dawn emerged victorious of the night. The souls of the warriors had departed, but in corporal ashes remained a warm and coppery glow.
Surely a strange and masterful artifice of ancient origin. Armor of this nature has not been seen in frequency in the Cradle of Man since the armageddon of ancient times when the emperors and druid kings ruled as gods and Ciirn claimed all Caraecyn lands as its fifth province.
As uncommon as this style of armored jacket of segmented plates laminated over one another is in the current era, it was the hallmark of the elite legions of Ciirn known for a disciplined army that fought in the thousands and tens of thousands in an uncanny, mechanical unison. Those ages are long gone and no army of any measure exists as such these days.
The style of the plates is the least notable of its oddity. On first glace the burnished warm glow of the armor appears to be that of a polished copper or bronze or even a red gold, it is instead an unfamiliar alloy of remarkable effect.
As strong as a tempered steel though not as tough as forged adamantite it has a weight approaching that of mithral and steel alloys, but with a warm red and coppery hue that seems to have a fiery coal-like glow in the light.
The fixtures within are of exacting tolerances and are made of the same remarkable alloy. The armor has no ties, no straps, and no padding whihc would be neccesary for wear.
Although the armor has marked stylistic and material qualities, standing out from those aspects is the intricately detailed knots etched into the metal on both the interior and exterior of all the plates, clear evidence of ancient druidic origins. The strange angles and twists of the unending knots seem to make the armor come to life as if a multitude of fire spirits danced on the surface of the armor at sunrise and set or in firelight.
Although no specific magic runes glyphs or symbols appear on the armor close observation will reveal a constant never-ending and uninterupted line of the inscribed knot that crisscrosses over the entirety of the metal.
Druids or scholars of the Demiurgic Law will recognize the eternal knot readily.
Those cabale of seeing or sensing the aura of magic will feel a hazy field of fire magic thats nature is impossible to place. Moreso there is an air of the spiritworld and the putrid reek of necromancy.
Magical Properties:
Apart from the natural ability to protect the wearer from swords, axes, and arrows that normal armor of superior alloy and craftsmenship would confer, the armor also is completely impervious to heat or fire of any kind. Furthermore it's magic appears to be impossible to negate or counter, even against powerful ritual magic, or the breath of godlike beings such as baalrogs or dragons. (this protection is not passed on to the wearer) The metal remains completely cool even under the most intense flame.
The armor's second magical property is that it infers some not understood protection from spirits or animus, as Aetheral beings like ghosts or Skraelings cannot penetrate the armor and such that the wearer cannot be possessed by spirits. This 'barrier' applies tot he wearers soul as well, for as long as the wearer's body is intact and wearing the armor, their soul will not leave the body.
The third ability gives clues into the origin of its power. The armor takes damage and wears and corrodes like a copper alloy armor would, bending, tearing, and otherwise sustain damage. However, when placed in the funeral pyre of a burning warrior the spirits alive with in the armor sing the last rites of the warrior and escort him on his journey to the battles of the next life. Furthering the miricle is that with each note and verse of the spirits accolades the armor seems to gain life and heals itself, becoming the new and untarnished armor it once was, ready to serve the next warrior until it is his time.
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? Responses (4)
It could be used as a form of punishment for a traitor. Dress him in the armour, execute him and deny his body cremation, burying it instead, trapping the soul within the rotting corpse.
Maybe after a few centuries the trapped soul would animate the corpse, creating a skeliton warrior, who would go after the decendants of those who trapped him in his dead body for so long.
And you have a mini-quest for the PC's to do. :)
Thomas.
I must say that I really liked this. Great descriptions of how it looks. The magic is nice and moderate with a nice unusual spirit resistance with it. The funeral pyre was an awesome idea.
An armor of antiquity, with many interesting details. The armor is awfully powerful, with no apparent weaknesses, but may be suited for a game of epic scope.
I like the history provided for the armor and the description given.
I would like to see it revised to make it easier to read: It seems as if it was checked for spelling, but not reread afterward to ensure that everything scanned properly.
Epic armor of fire resistance - great details. Its not too overpowered since it is not impenetrable, nor does it confer full immunity to its wearer. The Phoenix-like regeneration is a cool touch.