The Crown of Horns was an evil, intelligent artifact of great power.[4] While its origins were murky, the Crown was believed to have been forged either in ancient Netheril,[2] or by Myrkul, the former god of Death.[6][3] The artifact carried with it a long history of corruption, mayhem, and tragedy.[2][7]
Description[]
In its original form this crown was a helmet made of electrum and fully covered with small horns, and a row of black gems,[9] the center one of which was black diamond.[3]
After its destruction and subsequent reformation, the Crown of Horns appeared as a silver circlet with a black diamond set on the brow and four bone horns mounted around its edge.[5]
Powers[]
It is unknown what powers the artifact had before it was possessed by Myrkul other than its sentience and its capability to interfere with the minds of its wearers. After its possession however, the Crown imbued the wearer with several considerable necromantic powers.[10] They were granted an aura of undeath similar to those that surrounded liches, became immune to necromantic spells[4] and all manner of death magic.[3]
Following the god's destruction, the vestiges of Myrkul could strongly influence the actions of whomever wore the Crown of Horns, making suggestions within their consciousness, possessing them outright, and even altering their moral and ethical outlook to more closely resemble his own.[4] No individual could remove their crown unless Myrkul's essence wished for his artifact to find a new host.[3][5][10]
Over time, anyone wearing the crown became increasingly paranoid, specifically about their possession of the Crown itself. Eventually, they succumbed to the call of madness and undeath, and became a lich themself.[3][4][5][10]
Additional powers the Crown possessed or granted to its wearer, included:
- The power to command undead.[3]
- A fear aura similar to that possessed by liches.[4][5]
- An aura that compelled anyone within a 100 ft (30 m) radius to claim the Crown for themself.[3]
- The ability to teleport without error once every tenday.[3][4][9]
- Emit the unique ray of undeath, which slew creatures where they stood and raised them as lesser shadowrath.[3][4][10][11]
- Myrkul's Hand, which surrounded the wearers hands with black flames; their touch engulfed creatures in dark conflagration, possibly transforming them into greater shadowraths.[3][5][10][4]
History[]
The origins regarding the Crown of Horns were not entirely clear. Some scholars believed it was created by the God of Death, Myrkul himself,[3][4] yet others say it was designed by the Netherese archwizard Trebbe, the founder of the flying Netherese enclave Shadowtop Borough.[2] Regardless of how it was created, the Crown was known to have played at least some role in the fall of the original Netherese Empire.[3][11]
It was said that in −2237 DR, the Crown exploded while being worked on by Trebbe, destroying an entire block of the enclave. The Crown itself wasn't destroyed, but it was lost.[2]
In −1423 DR, the Crown was seen again, this time in the hands of another archwizard, Requiar. Requiar used it to slay 30 other archwizards and conquer Shadowtop Borough. The artifact drove Requiar mad though and he was rendered incapable. After the insensate arcanist was overthrown, his killers searched for the Crown but despite powerful divinations, a thorough search of the city, and many parties of adventurers scouring the Eastern Forest over the next 150 years, they failed to find it.[2]
In −644 DR, the Crown was finally rediscovered by the archwizard Shadelorn. Shadelorn was working on a project to succeed where Ioulaum had failed in creating an improved mythallar. In −342 DR, another archwizard, Shenandra, was working on countering the lifedrain magic of the phaerimm at the same time. As misfortune would have it, the two successfully completed their projects at precisely the same time on Shadowtop Borough. The Crown, wanting revenge on the city for its previous defeat, had been imperceptibly corrupting Shadelorn's work and when he activated his new mythallar, it drained all magic and memorized spells from everything and everyone within a 20-mile radius. The enclave fell, its inhabitants died, the threat from the phaerimm persisted and the only thing to survive intact was the Crown.[2][7]
At one point, the Crown was in the possession of the Netherese lich Aumvor the Undying, who wished to use the crown to make Laeral Silverhand his bride by leaving it for her adventuring band, The Nine, to find. Laeral donned the crown in the Year of the Wandering Maiden, 1337 DR, but Aumvor's plot failed when the Crown's powers conflicted with Laeral Silverhand's spellfire power and drove her into madness.[11][12][13]
Eventually, Khelben was forced to beseech his goddess Mystra for aid, and challenged Laeral to a terrible spell duel in the High Forest.[3][14] In the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR,[15] the Crown was sundered by her future consort, the archmage Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, who locked its pieces away within the heavily protected walls of his tower, Blackstaff Tower. However, when Myrkul died at Midnight's hand during the Time of Troubles that same year, the god tore the broken shards of the Crown from Blackstaff Tower, reforged it into a new shape, and infused it with the remains of his sentience before teleporting away.[5]
Myrkul, through the Crown, continued to spread evil through the Realms,[16] tormenting members of the Church of Cyric as well as hapless innocents, avoiding allies of Khelben and temples of Mystra.[3] People and creatures who had remained dedicated to Myrkul, or who had become dedicated to him following his demise, devoted themselves to him through the Crown of Horns by touching it and were known as Horned Harbingers.[17]
As of the Year of the Tankard, 1370 DR, the Crown of Horns was in the possession of a yuan-ti pureblood Horned Harbinger named Nhyris D'Hothek.[5] He had eventually disappeared from his haunts in Skullport after the Crown transformed him into a lich-like being.[18]
There remained conflicting accounts regarding the Crown's whereabouts in the decades that followed. It was said by some that Nhyris lost the Crown of Horns, but retained the horrific transformations it had inflicted upon his form.[18] Yet others stated that Nhris became "fused" with the Crown when the Spellplague struck the Realms in the Year of Blue Fire, 1385 DR. It was said that the Horned Harbinger lost his mind, and was transformed into a feral creature known as the Murkstalker, lurking in the lower reaches of Skullport, and feeding on careless locals well into the late 15th century DR.[19]
Rumors and Legends[]
Following the fall of Netheril, a group of surviving arcanists fashioned the helmet The Black Hands of Shelgoth out of the remains of the lich Shelgoth. Later historians speculated that this was an attempt to create an item similar to the Crown of Horns.[20]
The ray of undeath let loose by the Crown was said to resemble "spell of Undeath", as described by the self-proclaimed Harper King Rundorl Moonsklan.[11]
It was rumored that the Crown of Horns could be destroyed by being placed upon the brow of Kelemvor, who succeeded Myrkul's replacement as the God of Dead, or by being submerged in the blood of the divine avatar of Garqos the Reaver.[5]
Notable Owners[]
- Nhyris D'Hothek, a yuan-ti pureblood from Skullport who bore the Crown for over a year.[3][17][18]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
Evermeet: Island of Elves • A Slow Day in Skullport • Blackstaff • Elminster Must Die • Bury Elminster Deep
Video Games
Icewind Dale II
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Jennell Jaquays (1988). The Savage Frontier. (TSR, Inc), p. 58. ISBN 0-88038-593-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 87. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), pp. 99–101. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Sean K. Reynolds, Duane Maxwell, Angel McCoy (August 2001). Magic of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 171–172. ISBN 0-7869-1964-7.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (1996). Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. (TSR, Inc), pp. 101–102. ISBN 0-7869-0446-1.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid, Sean K. Reynolds (Nov. 2005). Champions of Valor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 8. ISBN 0-7869-3697-5.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 88. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham (1999). Evermeet: Island of Elves. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 3rd Ches, p. 177. ISBN 0-7869-1354-1.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 (1998). Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four. (TSR, Inc), p. 71. ISBN 0-7869-1212-X.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Monstrous Compendium included in Ed Greenwood, Steven E. Schend (July 1994). City of Splendors. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 34. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
- ↑ Jeff Crook, Wil Upchurch, Eric L. Boyd (May 2005). Champions of Ruin. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 126. ISBN 0-7869-3692-4.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 139. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Dale Donovan, Paul Culotta (August 1996). Heroes' Lorebook. (TSR, Inc), p. 63. ISBN 0-7869-0412-7.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), p. 31. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 45. ISBN 978-0786903849.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 197–198. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd, Darrin Drader (July 2004). Serpent Kingdoms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 143. ISBN 0-7869-3277-5.
- ↑ Matt Goetz (March 2012). “Backdrop: Skullport”. In Miranda Horner ed. Dungeon #200 (Wizards of the Coast) (200)., p. 10.
- ↑ Black Isle Studios (August 2002). Designed by J.E. Sawyer. Icewind Dale II. Interplay.