Sark's List

“Items Known To Be In The Possession of Admiral Sark”   The Rhumann Tablets - Three stone tablets, measuring roughly 10 inches by 14 inches by 1 inch with holes that indicate that at some point it was a bound triptych. Their discovery in the country of Karnas in the Desert of the Twin suns was a complete accident during the return journey of a failed archaeological dig led by Doctor Oliver Rhumann of the Stratford Museum in Avindor. Seeking shelter from a severe sandstorm, they happened upon a cave and discovered the tablets among a cache of other artifacts all of which appeared to have once rested on a crude alter at some point. The inscriptions are pictographs as well as writing in a language that has not been deciphered. A motif of serpents, pyramids and a man descending from the sky dominate the piece. Scholars indicate that it likely dates to the Age of Wonder, roughly 5,000 to 7,000 years old.   A Shard of Kasheal - A small shard made of Heartstone (or Arcanite) that rested at the core of the planet Kasheal. Arcanite is solidified arcane energy made manifest by the consciousness of all living beings. Arcanite has incredible powers as a focus for the creation of magical items or dramatically augmenting the powers of existing objects imbued with arcane energy. Admiral Sark stole the shard from Dartimen Silvernight in the course of a setup in which the notorious thief and his barely escaped execution by order of the Estanian Royal Family. Dartimen has been searching for both Sark and the shard, as he is aware of its power as well as its personal value to him as it is literally the last fragment of the planet Kasheal to which Dartimen feels personally responsible for destroying.   'Sorrow' - This thin, elbow length gauntlet created from some unknown metal with a strangely organic shape, seamlessly forms and fits the right hand of the bearer. This object was the creation of Clavien Seinril, Baron of Areeott and given to Lucien Voldrani, a former master of the druid order of Iorill Forest, known as 'The Blue Dawn'. Lucien saw the incursion of the Sylvan races from the portal to J'Orell in the heart of the forest (near the abandoned elven capitol) as a threat to the sanctity of the natural world and despite his formidable power and that of his order, nothing could be done to stem the tide nor close the portal. In desperation, he traveled to Areeott and made a bargain with the Baron Seinrill, asking him to grant him the power to oppose the advance of the Sylvan races. Seinrill, of course, had his own agenda. Using his vast knowledge of the Traditions, he created the gauntlet called 'Sorrow'. Lucien put it on and attempted a ritual that he thought would close the gate to J'Orell. It did not. Sorrow is, in fact, an object of unspeakable dark, necromantic powers. The gauntlet corrupted his mind and rendered the living flesh under the gauntlet into bone. Lucien succumbed to evil powers and ripped open a portal to a dimension of aberrations that brought more corruption than the Sylvan ever could. After Lucien's death, Cassandra Silvernight removed the gauntlet from his body and hid it in Sea Dragon Castle in the Xi'an Empire. It is roughly 300 years old.   The Codex of Sir Kylus - This collection of six books are the diaries of a Knight of the Word, Sir Kylus Dragonbane. In it, Sir Kylus details his experiences traveling the world during his period of missionary fieldwork before his knighting. It goes on to explain the circumstances behind the dragons insurrection which resulted in the Battle of Bastion, the fortress of Bastion itself, the return of the armies of Areeott, the murder of its king and the subsequent "Curse of Areeott". The Codex are an invaluable historic resource, however they have no inherent power, arcane or divine. It is roughly 500 years old.   Chorus Amulet - An amulet worn by the monks of the House of the Sovereign Chorus. It hums with a curious resonance but is otherwise an unremarkable gray stone in which the symbol of 'The Maker' (The being to whom the monks direct their devotion) has been etched. Legend says that these amulets have inherent powers but are accessible only to a member of the Chorus. The nature of these powers is unknown. These amulets pass from one monk to another after death or transcendence. It is unknown how Sark got this object but rumors indicate that he hired a member of the League of Watchmen to obtain it.   Davion Crill's Hand of Glory - A venerated artifact from the end of the Second Prophet's Crusade. Davion Crill was the High Priest of the Church of Man. He died at the Battle of Icewall while performing a ritual that would have seen the resurrection of the dead God Malkaviss. The few Mirrin troops that survived the battle escaped but not before attempting to recover the remains of Davion Crill and the other High Priests. Upon arriving in Mirrok, the remains of those priests were torn to pieces by the various faction under the Doctrine of Man to be venerated as holy relics. All that remains of Davion Crill's body is his mummified left hand, which is allegedly pulsing with unholy energy.   Emmegrath's Eye - This metallic sphere is etched with draconic runes and is said to have been the false eye of the Gray Dragon Emmegrath who convinced the Prime, Paragon and Awakened Dragons to come together to settle their differences and voice their grievances without plunging the world into war. Despite his wisdom, Prime Dragons subverted the Conclave and divided the True Dragons into their respective houses. If the story is true, this object has unknown powers and is at least 10,000 years old. It is unknown where or how he obtained it.   "Shamsakara" - The savage lands of Kythas have managed to avoid the conflicts of the rest of the world but their internal struggles are as old as time itself. The ancient race known as the Sho'Torr are enigmatic at best. Few have encountered them and lived to tell the tale. However, over countless centuries some artifacts have made their way from their home, known as The Hive. During one of the many civil wars among the minotaur tribes of Kythas, a warrior of the Black Hoof clan managed to slay a Sho'Torr warror, the only time this has ever been recorded as actually happening. This warrior retrieved several objects from the slain foe and returned them to his tribe. The clan shaman immediately felt the power of an inconspicuous clay jar with a woven straw lid. Once fully understood, this object was used to terrible effect in the ongoing wars. In the language of the minotaur, "Shamsakara" roughly translates into "Menagerie of the Fallen". Those persons slain by one who carries with them Shamsakara, have their souls pulled into the jar which hides a purgatory like wasteland where their powers, abilities and knowledge are transferred to the bearer of the jar. Perhaps more terrifying is that the bearer of the jar can summon that soul from the jar to do his or her bidding. That person returns as an abomination trapped between life and death. Admiral Sark personally seized the artifact from the Black Hoof tribe. Many minotaur as well as his own troops perished in order to obtain it.   “Thunder” & “Heaven” - A daisho (katana & wakizashi) that are the stuff of legend in the Xi'an Empire. Legend has it, that in antiquity their creation came under the guidance of five Awakened Dragons, each representing earth, water, fire, air and the void from which all things come and to which all things return. The Dragons then bestowed the swords upon a hero who would become the first to sit on the throne of the Xi'an Empire. So great was their power and so weary of bloodshed, the First Emperor surrendered them to a Kumahito monk and bid him to bring the blades to the shrine atop the Mountain of the Three Monks to await a time when the Empire needed a worthy hero to defend it. This has only happened four times in the history of the Empire. Most recently, another Kumahito – Arashi, has taken up the swords after a vision of the five Awakened Dragons told him a great evil threatened not only the Empire but the entire world as well and that he was to retrieve the swords but that he would not be the one to wield them. They said a gaijin warrior who's will burned like fire and whose soul had forsaken the darkness of his birthright would become his student and in turn, serve the will of the First Emperor. Since the Battle of Icewall at the end of the Second Prophet’s Crusade, the swords and the warrior wielding them have vanished.