Heart of Bane

The Heart of Bane was a powerful artifact and an evil relic that possessed a fearsome power to corrupt.

History
The Heart of Bane was believed to had been stolen from the Outer Planes sometime before the by a bold or foolish adventurer. The artifact was hidden within Ravens Bluff. By 1370 DR, it became overly clear that the hidden evil relic possessed a powerful corrupting influence and served as a beacon, attracting creatures from the lower planes to the Living City. The number of planar interlopers in Ravens Bluff was swelling, and soon, chaos, property damage, and civilian deaths began threatening the city as another threat – war in the Vast against warlord Myrkyssa Jelan continued ravaging the region.

As the strife continued, Lady-Lord Mayor Amber Thaden decided to assemble a group of adventurers to be sent into the Ravens Deep in search of the artifact said to be able to counter the darkness of the Heart of Bane. It was called the Orb of Protection. The Lord Charles Blacktree was to helm the expedition for the lost artifact, missing for over 750 years after the last great drow invasion of the Vast. The expedition of numerous descents began around a tenday before Eleasis 10 of 1370 DR. The steaks were real. Not just the lives of the citizens of Ravens Bluff but also the dark deity Bane's possible return.

Meanwhile, the Heart of Bane continued endangering Ravens Bluff. In Uktar-Nightal of 1370 DR, two temples of the Bluff fell to the Heart's corruption. The news of the Temple of Lathander and the Temple of Mystra both falling to the corruption made headlines of the Ravens Bluff Trumpeter, and the cause of chaos became public knowledge. The reporter from the Trumpeter named Nadd Parker interviewed a renowned sage, Carlisle, on the subject of the corruption's source. The wisened man revealed that the Heart of Bane corrupted all through mere touch. The Orb of Protection of the ancient fallen Sarbreen that the city-sponsored adventurers were searching for could end the crisis by fully absorbing the Heart's magic. The same issue of Ravens Bluff Trumpeter publicly announced Lady-Lord Mayor Amber Thaden's sponsorship of expeditions in search of the Orb of Protection.

The threat loomed over the city as the year 1370 DR ended. The editorial staff of the Trumpeter and Fred Faber looked with hope into the. The search for the Orb of Protection continued as the Heart of Bane continued to attract clerics of Bane, Cyric and Iyachtu Xvim to Ravens Bluff, adding to the tumult of the city, on top of the on-going war against Myrkyssa Jelan, despite her unsuccessful attack on the Bluff. Desperate for another solution, the Mayor ordered the Wizards Guild to find an alternative to the seemingly unending search for the long-lost artifact. In the Tarsakh issues of Ravens Bluff Trumpeter, the broadsheet reported on the recent kidnapping of Mayor Thoden during the winter festival. Banites held the Mayor hostage and had her replaced with a doppelganger, eventually demanding the Heart of Bane in exchange for the Mayor's life. But the plot was foiled thanks to the efforts of several adventurers of the Living City. By Kythorn, Heart of Bane's corruption spread on the city's livestock. Animals were born deformed and twisted by Bane's foul magic. Secretly, fields created a magical device that, if not stopped, would allow the Abyss to swallow Ravens Bluff, delivering the Heart of Bane to the tanar'ri. Meanwhile, demons and devils continued appearing the Ravens Bluff, turning the city into periodically flaring localized Blood Wars. The same month, nearby volcano, Firestorm Mountain erupted. Some blamed the volcano's activity on the Heart of Bane.

In Eleasis of 1371 DR, the town of Mossbridges fell under an assault from hellish creatures. It was later revealed that Lord Lorien took the Heart of Bane for study – the action that provoked the deadly attack.

However, by Marpenoth of 1371 DR, no solution to any of the crises was found, and tanar'ri attacks were only getting worse across the Vast. Attracted to the radiating evil of the Heart of Bane, fiends had already raised several villages, including the settlement called Big Moe. The following month, a bewildering thing happened. The Bard's Guild of Ravens Bluff plastered the city with posters that advertised that the "Heart of Bane" would be making an appearance at a performance. The aforementioned "Heart of Bane" was not the infamous relic but rather a new bardic troupe that stupidly decided to adopt the name for publicity. The band consisted of Firmal playing illithid bagpipes, Havoc Sen Thornclaw with the ax of deafening and destruction, Vanduhar Gerenstalt Eisner playing the Illmataran organ of pain, Everett Taber and his drums of panic, and lastly, Nassar – the lead wailer...err...singer. Unsurprisingly, the advertisement brought a band of tanar'ri, led by a marilith, to the performance. The ensuing slaughter ended the lives of a dozen innocents, and the Bard's Guild was lit aflame, severely damaging the building.

As of Hammer of the, the Heart of Bane remained at large. Dame Irwina Austentell of Ravens Bluff was abducted by a mysterious lower planar creature that demanded the Heart in exchange for the woman's life.