The Blood of Lathander was a minor artifact associated with the Lathanderian faith that remained unknown to or forgotten by most of the Realms. A relic of a long-ago battle between an avatar of the Morninglord Lathander and one of Mystra's chosen Sammaster, it was literally four drops of the Morninglord's blood suspended in amber,[1] and later installed within the haft of an enchanted mace.[2]
Description[]
Small and unremarkable other than in its rarity, the Blood of Lathander was at first, merely four drops of the deity's blood suspended in hardened amber the size of a clenched fist. However, whenever a follower of Lathander made use of its powers, it would levitate motionless in the air and burn with a warm pink light that, depending on the god's will and the actions and intentions of the follower using it, could be soft and soothing or blazingly bright. The blood would also pulse or blink when queried for divine wisdom.[1]
At some point, the amber that held Lathander's blood was set within an enchanted mace, empowering the weapon with the holy light of the Morninglord. The mace itself appeared to cast from metal, inlaid with gold, with a spherical head that housed a glowing core. The actual amber that housed the Morninglord's blood was set just a bit down the haft of the mace, within its own enclosure.[2]
The head of the Blood of Lathander mace resembled an ever-shining sun, with a dozen spikes that resembled sunrays, extending out from its iridescent core.[2]
Location[]
For quite some time, the artifact resided in the Lathander's Open Hand shrine[3] in the Dalelands thorp of Hap.[1][4] At some point it was stolen by agents of the goddess Shar, and taken to an outpost in the Western Heartlands. The Sharrans were thwarted by the Lathanderian paladin Vaseid, who relocated the artifact to Rosymorn Monastery for safekeeping.[2]
Destruction[]
The Blood of Lathander, it was said, would flare up and burn away if the amber holding it was ever broken. How that could be accomplished depended on the source. Some said, likely in reference to it having come about due to the creator of the Cult of the Dragon, that it could only be crushed in the jaws of the oldest dracolich still in existence; others stated it had to be taken to a dead-magic zone and kept there for ninety-nine years, while still others pointed to divine intervention by describing it meeting its end either by the boot of an avatar of Talos or the fist of the current god of the dead.[1]
Powers[]
Amber[]
A fake Blood of Lathander amber.
When called upon by a paladin or cleric of Lathander only, the piece of amber that held Lathander's blood be employed to cast cure critical wounds four times a day and raise dead once a day; every other day it could be used to regenerate a missing body part or to cast restoration. In all of these capacities it had to touch the one in need of healing, sent flying through the air to them by the wielder's thoughts.[1]
Additionally, it could be used, when employed by a cleric only, to detect lie, identify, or determine if one who professed a devotion to the Morninglord was being truthful.[1]
Anyone who attempted to touch or transport the Blood who did not follow Lathander would discover the amber burning brighter than a continual light spell, thereby causing all nearby to be aware of its presence. They would also suffer from horrific nightmares of dripping, fiery blood for three days, after which the Blood would rise in temperature in exactly the manner of a heat metal spell, and stay that way until they returned it to its rightful place and owner.[1]
Mace[]
After being reformed as a weapon, the Blood of Lathander mace possessed a +3 enchantment. It continually emitted light that could blind both undead creatures and fiends alike.[2]
Approximately once per day, on the occasion they fell in battle, the wielder could evoke the powers of Lathander's blood to heal themself and their allies. They could also invoke radiant energy from the sun itself and call down a magical sunbeam to smite their foes.[2]
History[]
Origins[]
The Blood of Lathander dated from a time long-forgotten by most—partly simply due to the fog of ages, but also because none in either the faith of Mystra or Lathander would prefer to remember such a dark event, seeing as it proved the goddess of magic to be neither omniscient nor infallible and the god of light and hope to be vulnerable.[1]
In the Year of the Sinhala, 916 DR, the maddened and fallen Chosen of Mystra, Sammaster, was well on his way to spreading great evil in the Realms, having created the first dracolich fourteen years before and through his prophecies and writings inspired the Cult of the Dragon. When the Harpers at last discovered that he and his followers were traveling to Cormanthyr so as to make contact with two green wyrms, they tracked down the relatively undefended archmage and ambushed him. But although they slew many of his followers, the power invested in him by the Lady of Mysteries protected him from destruction.[5]
Followers of Lathander among the Harpers prayed to their deity for intervention, and the Morninglord sent an avatar that then did battle with Sammaster. The god's power was at last sufficient to slay the wizard whose goodness, stability, and judgment Mystra had so sadly underestimated, but drawing upon his former goddess' magical bequest, he succeeded in badly wounding Lathander's avatar even as he died. From its side fell four drops of blood, which were scooped up and rescued from the scene by one of the priests of Lathander from nearby Hap. The magic imbued within it transformed the amber flask he used into a hardened sphere, sealing the blood within.[1]
Hidden in the Heartlands[]
Thanks to the deaths of so many on both sides of this skirmish, the relic was lost to history, with only the few survivors in Battledale to know of its existence and powers. Even the majority of Lathander's clergy were not aware of it.[1]
The Blood of Lathander remained within Lathander's Open Hand until at least the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR.[6][note 1]
Sharran operatives briefly stole the artifact some time in the decade or so that followed. They managed to smuggle it westward for miles, well out of the Eastern Heartlands, near the Sword Coast. It was believed to have been en route to a nearby Sharran enclave. Fortunately a group of Lathander's faithful led by the stalwart paladin Vaseid ambushed the Sharran thieves in a valley near the River Chionthar, and returned the Blood of Lathander to the nearby Rosymorn Monastery.[2]
At Rosymorn, the Blood of Lathander became a beacon of hope for all Lathanderian faithful. Folks from across the Realms would make pilgrimage to Rosymorn to bask in the artifact's glory.[2]
After githyanki from the Astral Plane invaded Rosymorn sometime during or before the Year of Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR, the Blood of Lathander mace was rapidly removed from open display and interred in a secluded vault deep within the heart of the monastery. There it remained inaccessible, save to anyone that puzzled out the various safeguards and traps that prevented it from being stolen once again.[2]
Notable Owners[]
- Cathalandra Dovaer, priestess of Lathander's Open Hand in Hap.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ While an exact year for the adventure Search for the Diamond Staff is not given, most 4th edition sourcebooks and adventures are set in or around 1479 DR.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), p. 96–97. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Larian Studios (October 2020). Designed by Swen Vincke, et al. Baldur's Gate III. Larian Studios.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (January 1996). Volo's Guide to the Dalelands. (TSR, Inc), p. 70. ISBN 0-7869-0406-2.
- ↑ Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 19. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 109. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Richard Baker (June 2013). Search for the Diamond Staff. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 9.