The Staff of Unquiet Cousel
"I heard it speak, but not with words. It rattled in my bones, whispering all the ways I might burn the world down… and all the prices I would pay."
The Staff of Unquiet Counsel is a cursed relic of immense, ruinous power, coveted by Liches, feared by mages, and whispered of in taverns in curious but fearful whispers, unwilling to invoke its name too loudly lest they bring it into their lives. At first glance, its form is almost regal, a long haft of darkly varnished wood wrapped in purple silks, its length accented with silver filigree dulled by age. At its crown rests a leering skull of gold, not bone, its jaw hinged to clatter open and closed whenever magick courses through it. In its sockets burn two unblinking gems, one a fiery ruby, the other a cold sapphire, their mismatched gleam lending it the aspect of a creature forever torn, fire and ice. Yet beneath its beauty festers a terrible hunger. When wielded, the staff amplifies necromancy and evocation alike, turning sparks into infernos and whispers into deathly commands. But this potency comes with an ever-deepening curse, the wielder’s very soul is leeched with every casting, whether their own spell or one the staff eagerly “teaches.” Over time, this drain hollows the body and mind alike, until the wielder dies, their husk reduced to ash and their soul left gnawed thin by its parasitic counsel. Only liches, whose souls already dwell safely in their phylacteries, can wield it with relative impunity, their disposable shells immune to the worst agonies of the damage it causes. Even then, the staff is no true servant. It whispers, tempts, and twists its bearer, steering even the undying into ruinous bargains. Coveted for its might, reviled for its curse, the Staff of Unquiet Counsel endures as one of Everwealth’s most infamous necromantic relics, never resting long in any one hand.Mechanics & Inner Workings
- Dual Gem Focus: The ruby empowers fire, lightning, and destructive evocations; the sapphire amplifies frost, shadow, and necromantic control. Together, they magnify the staff’s channeling by nearly double, though using both in quick succession worsens the soul-drain.
- Counsel of Ashes: The skull murmurs spells long forgotten, offering instruction in evocations or necromantic rites. These are genuine, potent incantations, but each use exacts a tithe of vitality.
- Hollowing Drain: Every cast made through the staff, even minor ones, siphons some of the caster’s soul. Early signs include nosebleeds, frost-bitten fingertips, or smoldering skin. Continued use causes hallucinations, seizures, and eventual death.
- Mockery of Silence: The skull’s mouth snaps open and closed whenever the staff channels, loosing ghastly laughter or shrieks that unsettle allies as much as enemies. Some claim these are not echoes, but the voices of past wielders crying out in warning.
- Lich’s Loophole: While liches are not entirely immune, their hollow vessels bear the curse better than mortals. Their phylactery anchors their soul beyond the reach of the staff’s hunger, allowing them to endure years of wielding where mortals last mere weeks.
Manufacturing process
The Staff of Unquiet Counsel was forged in the twilight of The Lost Ages, said to be the masterwork of an Orcish necromancer-prince of Kathar who sought to bind two opposing schools into one weapon. Fragments suggest the skull was once a gilded relic stolen from a temple of a forgotten goddess of judgment, its golden sheen wrought through alchemy and then defiled. The ruby and sapphire were torn from the brows of twin elemental titans, their essences forcibly shackled within. The haft was steeped in the marrow of sacrificial corpses, then wrapped in silks embroidered with binding runes. The final act was the necromancer’s own death, he fed his soul into the skull to “give it voice,” expecting eternal wisdom in return. Instead, it became a maw that whispers ruin.
History
The staff’s history is one of endless rise and fall. Its first bearer, the necromancer-prince, is said to have toppled three rival kingdoms before he was consumed by his own creation. During The Great Schism, it resurfaced in the hands of a Dwarfish warlord who used it to immolate an entire valley, only to die shrieking in his sleep, his flesh rotting from the inside. Later, it passed between rebel magisters, zealots, and even a single knight of the Horns, each leaving a trail of devastation, each falling to the curse. The staff’s most infamous tenure was under the lich-lord Seras Calgrave, who wielded it for over a century, laying waste to armies and raising entire cities as his undead courts. Even he, however, was eventually undone, not by the staff’s curse but by a betrayal from within his own phylactery cult. Wherever the Staff of Unquiet Counsel appears, death and obsession follow. It never vanishes forever; it simply waits for another desperate hand to claim it.
Significance
The staff is regarded as both a supreme weapon and a poison chalice. To necromancers, it is a relic of unmatched utility. To evokers, it is a tool of unrivaled destruction. To liches, it is a crown jewel of their kind, almost tailored to their hollow condition. But to all else, it is a snare, baited with brilliance, lined with teeth. Its existence also serves as a cautionary tale, that power without restraint devours even the mightiest, and that some relics are less tools than predators.
Creation Date
Final century of the Lost Ages, shortly before the Fall.
Rarity
Unique. No other staff bears both its dual focus and its parasitic curse.
Weight
Heavier than most staves due to the density of the gems and gold.
Dimensions
A haft of 5 feet, dark varnished wood, wrapped in purple silks. Head: Golden skull with hinged jaw, ruby in left eye, sapphire in right.
Base Price
Its value lies not in coin but in conquest.
Raw materials & Components
- Gold-forged skull reliquary.
- Ruby of Fire, Sapphire of Frost.
- Darkwood haft.
- Binding silks inscribed with runes.
- Necromancer’s soul bound into the mouth.
Tools
Forged in sacrificial forges, requiring enchanted bellows, soul-binding runes, titan-crystal chisels, and ritual inks. The final binding ritual demanded the forgemaster’s own soul.
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