Sepal Glave

I- Overview

Among the holy relics revered by the faithful of Dar Heran, few carry such a reverence as the Sepal Glaive, the weapon wielded by Saint Eldoria, the Twilight Orchid during the Cataclysm of Shattered Skies. Unlike most other sanctified arms, which are gilded with celestial metals or wrought by the hands of the gods themselves. The glaive was, by most surviving accounts, utterly mundane. The haft was made from simple ash wood, wrapped in simple dyed cloth, adorned with hand painted orchids. And the blade was forged from common iron, neither enchanted not blessed. yet in the hands of St. Eldoria it became the tool used to tip the scales during the Cataclysm at the end of the 2nd Era.
  This simplicity has long fascinated theologians and pilgrims. Many seeing the glaive as the physical embodiment of the truths that define St. Eldoria, namely; that greatness can rise from obscurity, that light may blossom from ordinary blood, and that the divine often reveals itself through mortal courage and compassion rather then through celestial ceremony. The glaive's reverence today nearly matches that of the saint herself, and many a tradition, legend, and controversy have sprouted around the weapon and what became of it after the saints death.
 

II - Origins

Very little is known regarding the creation of the Sepal Glaive, most of the speculations arising well after the saints death, rather then from the accounts of contemporaries. The Canticle of the Spiral Vale refers to it as only a "humble polearm of ash and iron, bound by faded cloth." The ash wooden shaft was said to be well balanced and smooth, but non of the surviving texts mention the weapon being crafted by a master artisan. Some sects claim St. Eldoria painted the orchids on the shaft herself, as symbols of quiet beauty and fragile endurance, but there are only a few texts that support their claim.
  The thing that distinguishes the glaive from other divine arms is the utter absence of any divine or arcane augmentation, as no scholar has ever manage to procure evidence of enchantment. Priest of Luxira, Goddess of the Sunhave long insisted that its radiance came not from the sun goddess, but from St. Eldoria's own heart. Clerics of Arcturus, God of Order claim its precision was born from her unwavering heroism. And followers of Amariel, Goddess of Lovesay that its strength came forth from the saints compassion alone. Because of these claims the glaive is not merely a saintly artifact, but as a reminded that sanctity dwells in will and courage first, not in weaponry.
 

III - The Glaive in the Cataclysm.

The Sepal Glaive first shows up in historical records during the Battle of the Spiral Vale, at the end of the 2nd Era. Accounts differ on the exact events of the battle. But all agree of the brilliance of St. Eldoria in that time, and that she wielded the glaive to exorcise the fiends from the lands. Hymns insist that where the blade fell, the earth briefly blossomed, and that the air shimmered with dawn where the blade arced. Although believed by many faithful, whether these phenomena where literal miracles or metaphors embellished by centuries of retelling is debated by sceptic historians. The symbolism of blossoming amid ruin and destruction however, became forever tied to the mythos of the weapon.
  The most iconic event, as described in The Canticle of the Orchid, was when St. Eldoria faced of against Vargorath the Night Hewer in the final moments of the Battle of the Spiral Vale. The canticle describes how guided by Order, Sun and Compassion, she drove the Sepal Glaive into the demon lord's spine, severing its shadow from its flesh, slaying him. The impact of this blow and his following death mended the torn heavens and ended the Cataclysm. It was that act that turned St. Eldoria from an ordinary woman into the Twilight Orchid, and the moment a simple glaive became the subject of centuries of veneration.
 

IV - A Weapon Without Ornament

Following the Cataclysm, just like the saint herself after her ascension, the glaive remained unaltered and mundane. As for the remaining decades of St. Eldorias live she kept it with her as she roamed the lands, using it to ward lingering demons and to protect villages still recovering from the collapse of the 2nd Era. St. Eldoria is said to have refused embellishments despite the insistence of kings, clerics and grateful communities. The Codex of Eternal Sunrise recounts a moment where a lord sought to plate the weapon in gold, only for St. Eldoria to decline gently by saying "Gold blinds, Iron remembers.
  It was only after the passing of the saint that her followers decorated the glaive with gilded fittings, ceremonial wrappings and an orchid motive carved and silvered by elven artisans. Despite these embellishments, though beautiful, many religious followers consider these additions to be of minor spiritual relevance. As to most the relics sanctity lies not in the ornament, but in the raw grain of its ash wood pole and the humble weight of the crude iron blade.
 

V - Fragmentation.

The faith of the Sepal Glaive after the interment of St. Eldoria in the Lost Temple remains one of the most disputed claims in religious history of Dar Heran. It is unknown if the glaive was buried with the saints body in the sealed temple, or if it was preserved separately. At this time, no fewer then six temples, sects and monastic orders claim to posses either a fragment or the original weapon. These alleged relics can vary greatly;
 

• A sliver of ash wood, preserved in the Monastery of the Golden Pulse.
• A rust darkened shard of iron, in the vault of the Grand Temple of Arcturus.
• A length of cloth said to be from the original bindings, in a temple in Sylvaris.
• A shard of the silvered orchid petal engravings claimed to be chipped from the posthumous decorations, in the dwarven great vault in Kadrin Thaig.
• A shard of the silvered orchid petal engraving in possession of a Therinium Magistrate in Clairmont-Noir.
• A, very disputed, complete Sepal Glaive, in a grand elven temple The Luminous Sanctum of Amarië.

  The controversies surrounding the authenticity of these artifacts are intense. Most pilgrims often accept the claims of their own temples without question, while most scholars remain deeply skeptical. Some priest and scholars argue that the glaive was never broken to begin with, and that it remains sealed in the grove buried along the saint. Others propose fragments where distributed by early disciples. Though there are nearly no canonical text supporting any of these claims.
 

VI - Legacy.

The Sepal Glaive has endured as one of the most religiously powerful icons of the 3rd and 4th Eras. Even as the true faith and whereabouts of the relic remains unknown. Its image adorns temple murals, prayer books and religious artworks. It speaks to the heart of St. Eldoria's legend: that a mortal, armed with nothing but compassion, order, and courage, may illuminate even the darkest sky. And it has inspired many a mortal to do great deeds.
  Whether preserved in the Lost Temple or scattered among the temples of Dar Heran, The glaive's legacy remains unbroken. Like the orchid that gives it its name, it blooms endlessly, fragile in appearance, indomitable in truth.