Horn of the Sundering Note
Also known as: Blasting Horn
Carved from the resonance-hardened tusk of a Stonehorn beast slain in the Talamhari's sacred Deepvault Passes, this war-horn is banded in dark iron runes that glow amber when its voice is unleashed. Its peal is no mere sound but a concentrated shockwave of earthen force capable of shattering fortress gates, caving tunnels, and rupturing the eardrums of all who stand too near.
Artifact Details
- Type
- Relic
- Rarity
- Rare
- Origin
- The Horn of the Sundering Note was forged during the Age of Sundered Gates by Gorrath Dunveil, a master relic-shaper of the Talamhari, who fused ancient earth-resonance craft with iron-rune inscription techniques borrowed, some say stolen, from THE DWARVES OF THE IRON MOUNTAINS. Gorrath intended it as a siege instrument for the Talamhari's war against the entrenched fortress-cities of the Eldorians, who had sealed the great passes with walls of magically bonded stone.
Overview
Horn of the Sundering Note is a rare relic in Landorya. Its known origin is The Horn of the Sundering Note was forged during the Age of Sundered Gates by Gorrath Dunveil, a master relic-shaper of the Talamhari, who fused ancient earth-resonance craft with iron-rune inscription techniques borrowed, some say stolen, from THE DWARVES OF THE IRON MOUNTAINS. Gorrath intended it as a siege instrument for the Talamhari's war against the entrenched fortress-cities of the Eldorians, who had sealed the great passes with walls of magically bonded stone.. Its most cited abilities include Emits a devastating concussive shockwave in a wide cone, shattering stone, timber, and un-reinforced metal fortifications within 60 feet., Creatures caught in the blast are hurled backward and deafened for hours, their inner balance shattered by the resonant frequency., and When sounded three times in rapid succession, the horn produces a sustained tremor that can destabilize tunnel ceilings and crack earth-packed walls, a technique the Talamhari call the Triple Ruin.. Accounts also warn of a drawback: The horn extracts a toll from its bearer with each full blast: the resonance passes inward as well as outward, and prolonged use slowly calcifies the bearer's…
History
The horn first proved its terrible worth at the Siege of Vel Andurath, where three blasts from Gorrath himself collapsed the Eldorian fortress's eastern gatehouse and ended a three-month stalemate in a single morning. After Gorrath's death at the Battle of the Ashen Rift, the horn passed into the hands of an Orcish warlord named Kreth Ironjaw, who used it to crack open the dwarven stronghold of Kharag Duum before being slain by a Dwarven ambush deep in the Iron Mountains. The Dwarves of the Iron Mountains locked it within the Vault of Broken Things, a repository of weapons too dangerous to wield and too significant to destroy, where it remained for two centuries. It is rumoured that agents of THE MYSTARANS recently brokered its removal from the Vault under false pretences, and the horn's current whereabouts are fiercely disputed by at least three factions.
Powers & Abilities
- ✦ Emits a devastating concussive shockwave in a wide cone, shattering stone, timber, and un-reinforced metal fortifications within 60 feet.
- ✦ Creatures caught in the blast are hurled backward and deafened for hours, their inner balance shattered by the resonant frequency.
- ✦ When sounded three times in rapid succession, the horn produces a sustained tremor that can destabilize tunnel ceilings and crack earth-packed walls, a technique the Talamhari call the Triple Ruin.
- ✦ The bearer may focus the blast into a narrow piercing tone, precise enough to shatter a single lock, chain, or gemstone without disturbing what surrounds it.
- ✦ Once per lunar cycle, the horn's full voice can be unleashed in an Earthsong Peal, a thunderous roar felt for miles that panics mounts, collapses poorly-built structures, and signals allied forces across vast distances.
Curse or Drawback
The horn extracts a toll from its bearer with each full blast: the resonance passes inward as well as outward, and prolonged use slowly calcifies the bearer's inner ear, dulling their hearing permanently over time. Those who sound the Earthsong Peal without proper ear-warding rituals risk instant and total deafness.