Eartshaking Wonders

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The most powerful magic artifacts date to the First Age, when the Solars ruled Creation. At the height of that golden era, the secrets of magic were more fully known and the Exalted crafted wonders of unmatched might. While the return of the Solars could restore some of its glory, so much of the lore of the First Age has been lost that even the god-kings would have incredible difficulty reproducing works of such power. The discovery of one of these great wonders may change the fate of nations, and wars are fought for their possession.

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Daiklaive of Conquest (Artifact •••••)

Forged for the greatest generals of the Old Realm, this weapon is designed exclusively for use by the Dawn Caste. No other Exalted can attune themselves to this weapon, nor wield its fantastic powers.

When used in battle, the daiklave glows with a bright, unearthly light. As long as this daiklave is unsheathed, all opponents and other hostile individuals within 10 yards of the bearer must make a Valor roll at +1 difficulty or flee in fear. Those who hold their ground lose a number of dice from all attacks (even those not targeting the wielder) equal to the bearer's Valor score.

So long as the bearer is using this weapon in combat, friendly troops fight with improved morale that gives them one bonus die to all combat-related dice pools. They also automatically gain one success on all Valor rolls. In addition, all opponents suffer a -1 internal penalty to all combat-related dice pools and receive a +1 penalty to the difficulty of their Valor rolls. Both of these powers affect combatants within one mile of the Exalt wielding the daiklave. These bonuses and penalties do not apply to civilians or neutral soldiers.

A Dawn Caste Exalt must commit 10 motes of Essence to attune to this blade. Both known examples of this rare and deadly treasure act as standard orichalcum daiklaves in hand-to-hand battle, though each has a setting for three hearthstones.

Speed	Accuracy	Damage	Defense	Rate	Minimums	Attune	Cost	Tags
5	+3	+5L/2	+2	3	Str ••	10	•••••	O

Orichalcum Daiklaive of Conquest When Used By Solar Exalted

Speed	Accuracy	Damage	Defense	Rate	Minimums	Attune	Cost	Tags
5	+5	+5L/2	+3	4	Str ••	10	•••••	O

Soulbreaker Orb (Artifact •••••)

Repair: 5

Weapons of mass destruction built in the High First Age by the Solar Exalted through studies of necrotic Essence vortices in the deep Labyrinth, these devices would certainly qualify as Artifact N/A if they were not one-use items (and like Artifact N/A artifacts, they should not be available for purchase at character creation). The weapon appears as a foot-wide sphere of soulsteel encased in an outer sphere of smoky quartz. Starmetal pegs riveted to the crystal hold a dozen concentric orichalcum rings set so that they can rotate freely in separate axes of movement. To arm a soulbreaker orb, the user must touch it and spend 50 motes (uncommitted), then position all 12 rings in the correct orientation (Intelligence + Lore, difficulty 3). The devices can be set for any time delay from one second upward, so theoretically, they could wait millennia or more before detonating. Disarming an armed soulbreaker is far more difficult, requiring that the technician cut through crystal paneling (20B/20L soak; 100 health levels of damage required) and then break key connections (Wits + Lore, difficulty 7; each failure halves the remaining time before detonation, while a botch triggers the weapon).

When the time elapses, the orb levitates, and the rings all begin spinning and accelerating as a low keening emits from the soulsteel. In a matter of seconds, the artifact shatters and implodes, creating a vortex of golden light and singing shadows that stretches out to fill a five-mile radius. An Essence roll (difficulty 3) must be made for every living being in that area who does not immediately use a perfect parry or perfect soak Charm in defense (or some form of perfect dodge that completely removes them from the area).

Those who fail die instantly, and any fractured ghosts they leave behind have at least one derangement and only a single dot of each Virtue and Willpower. (Hungry ghosts rise normally, and typically in large numbers.) Those who succeed might survive, but they suffer 20 levels of aggravated damage, soaked with their (Willpower + Essence). This damage is entirely spiritual and leaves no actual mark. Beings simply writhe in agony as the vortex flays their souls. Because it is mathematically impossible for Essence 1 beings to pass the initial roll, no roll should be made for them. Every plant, animal and mortal in the area of effect dies. As a rough estimate, if the vortex kills more than 500 sentient beings, a shadowland will almost certainly form in the area when the sun next sets.

Fortunately for the inhabitants of the Second Age, only one soulbreaker orb definitively survived the Great Contagion, and this was deployed by the Seventh Legion against the Sixth and Ninth Imperial Legions, earning grim victory at the price of creating the large shadowland known as the Mourning Fields. Lookshy has never confirmed or denied whether it has other soulbreaker orbs in its arsenals, though the very possibility has gone a long way to deterring further Realm invasions.