Angul

Angul was a longsword made from a soul shard of Nangulis, a Keeper of the Cerulean Sign, around the year. The intelligent weapon bore an overwhelming force of personality that threatened to subsume the will of most who attempted to wield it.

Powers
Angul couldn't penetrate alcohol haze (DV-71) Angul could be used to open the doors of the Underdungeon, just like a Cerulean Sign (SD-228) The weapon could heal those who wielded it, if it so preferred.

Creation (ca. 1364 DR)
The weapon was created around the year, during an escape attempt by the Traitor in Stardeep. The Keeper of the Cerulean Sign Nangulis sacrificed himself to power the artifact; the weapon was created with the aid of Cynosure, a constructed intelligence that oversaw the fortress. The weapon was in turn wielded by Nangulis' fiancee, Kiril Duskmourn, who managed to weaken and subdue the Traitor, then return him to his prison.

Kiril Duskmourn (1364-1386 DR)
Kiril kept the weapon afterwards. Its influence eventually drove her to slay a number of young elves who had become too curious about the gates of Stardeep in violation of the Compact of Yuireshanyaar. After she realized what she did under its influence, she fled Stardeep, and became a brigand. She kept the weapon throughout this period, bearing the weapon throughout the year, when she became involved in the battle against Pandorym. She often disregarded the weapon's tactical advice, but a barrage of foes of overwhelming power eventually forced her to resort to the artifact multiple times, even where other weapons without an ego of their own were available, as the situation was dire enough to render half-measures unworkable.

After Pandorym was sealed anew, she resolved to return to Stardeep. While lingering at Laothkund, her weapon was stolen by the Shadow Tongue crime ring. It was retrieved from the lair by her friend Gage; he too was forced to resort to Angul during his escape from the Shadow Tongue lair, despite it destroying one of his enchanted gloves, the Hands of Paymon. He too became overwhelmed by the weapon. Kiril relieved him of the weapon at the Green Warrior Inn and Tavern, relating to him afterwards the story of Angul.

Kiril continued her path to Stardeep afterwards, accompanied by Gage. The weapon slew Sathra of the Shadow Tongue along the way. Once she arrived at Stardeep, Kiril had to defend herself from the Empyrean Knights, who wanted to take away her weapon; the sword itself chose not to help. After the fight, Kiril parted ways with the thief, and was joined by two others, Raidon Kane and Adrik Commorand on a quest for a hidden path to Stardeep: Angul slew nilshai in Sildëyuir, where the hidden path lay. The weapon then accompanied her into the Underdungeon, where the sword smote down revived fossils until Kiril's courage failed her, and then helped Keeper Telarian, who was armed with its twin sword, slay the relic lich. Kiril bore the sword and joined Telarian's party as it returned to Stardeep. When Telarian, whom the sword saw as still keeping faith with the Cerulean Sign, attempted to slay Kiril, she blocked the strike with Angul; on contact, Nis absorbed it, merging both weapons into Angul-Nis.

As Angul-Nis, the weapon became Telarian's to wield. Within moments, he used it to strike down Keeper Delphe and sunder her Cerulean Sign, smash Kiril's pet dragonet Xet, destroy Cynosure's body, and break the wards keeping the Traitor imprisoned. At the same time, the reconstructed soul of Nangulis, whose halves had been used to create the twin swords, reached out to Kiril Duskmourn. After learning Telarian was actually trying to release the Traitor, the full soul attempted to part itself and the sword back into its component parts. It did not succeed, however, until the thief Gage made his appearance again, and struck Telarian from behind, breaking his concentration. Angul-Nis was once more split into two halves; Angul landed on the ground of the Chamber of Observation, while Nis was lost in the Traitor's prison.

The newly sundered Angul almost allowed its half of Nangulis' soul to move on to the afterlife, but at the last moment, Kiril took the weapon, thus binding the half-soul to continue on.

Raidon Kane (1396 DR)
Kiril kept the new Angul until one point after the Spellplague, when she traded it away to the Chalk Destrier at the Plaguewrought Lands of the Vilhon Reach in exchange for passage to Returned Abeir. It remained there until it was retrieved by Raidon Kane and Cynosure in 1396 DR. Though the weapon was at first intent on abandoning its own existence, Raidon managed to reawaken its lust for destruction. The monk then teleported to Taunissik on Cynosure's advice, looking to slay the kraken Gethshemeth, who wielded the Dreamheart, an aberrant artifact of the Abolethic Sovereignty. At the island, Angul battled several kuo-toa and a dragon, Scathrys, before its wielder decided to go straight for Gethshemeth. The blade later inflicted severe damage on the kraken, disarming it of the artifact and forcing it to flee.

Before Angul could sunder that artifact, it was stolen by the warlock Japheth Donard who used it to teleport away. Some tendays later, Raidon caught up to Japheth, and attempted to run him through with the weapon; Japheth managed to escape at the last minute again. Raidon made his next target the Eldest in Xxiphu, an abomination he glimpsed in the Dreamheart just before Japheth took it. Once in the underground city, Angul wounded the kraken Gethshemeth again, slew a guardian aboleth, and fought against the strange silver grass of the city.

Unfortunately for the sword, Raidon became disabled when the Eldest employed phantom children to attack his mind, which was still reeling from the loss of his daughter; disturbed almost to the point of catatonia, Angul took full control of Raidon's body and slew the phantoms. Wielding Raidon Kane, Angul proceeded along the way to the top of the city of Xxiphu, where aboleth were attempting a ritual to awaken the Eldest. The sheer number of aboleths in the area forced it, however, to attempt to empathize with Raidon Kane, so as to be able to call on the power of his sign. Angul eventually managed to rouse Raidon from his hopelessness; with his power and that of the Sign, the weapon managed to destroy scores of aboleths and scribe a sign of Sealing that completely thwarted the ritual. Unfortunately, the sign's power fell short of actually killing the antediluvian horror, perhaps due to Japheth's meddling again.

Destruction (1396-1475 DR)
After the battle at the Citadel of the Outer Void, Anusha Marhana pointed out that Raidon's spellscar was a Cerulean Sign, and thus could be used to seal anew the Far Manifold. Raidon agreed to do it, sacrificing himself, as he was one with the sign; he considered relinquishing Angul, but the weapon explained this was to be its final task as well. Together, Raidon and Angul sealed the Far Manifold again, and were destroyed in the process. Angul's shell was laid to rest in Natlekh, on the, atop the grave for Raidon's spent body.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Darkvision • Stardeep • Abolethic Sovereignty (Plague of Spells • City of Torment • Key of Stars)