The Demonscope
Properties
Magical properties
Description
Rising from the floor of the heart chamber is a well of arcane power. Filling the well to within a couple inches of the top is an inky black liquid that drinks in the light. Within this liquid, shadowy landscapes rise and fall sprinkled with dozens of tiny red blips. Evenly spaced around the side of the well are three niches, each containing a bone fragment within an ornate reliquary.
The Demonscope serves three crucial functions. First, it serves as a potent scrying device focused solely on demons. It automatically senses the location of any demon in a 5-mile radius, bypassing any spell resistance they possess. Second, it focuses divine energy to power the wardstones, a series of smaller artifacts that together create a physical barrier against demons (see below). Finally, the Demonscope creates a massive dimensional lock effect that extends in a 250-mile radius around clydwell Keep. Although this effect does not prevent demons from entering the Worldwound from the abyss, it does prevent them from teleporting from the Worldwound out into the surrounding lands, and it prevents anyone from teleporting into Mendev. The Demonscope serves a vital role in containing the demons in the Worldwound, and preventing them from overrunning Mendev.
To safeguard the Demonscope, its care passed into the able hands of St. clywell's three most powerful disciples. along the pedestal, three celestial glyphs allowed them to focus their own power to control the device, each representing the sentinel's personal virtue. Only when all three sentinels were present could the artifact function properly.
When the first of the sentinels died, arcane artificers took the bone from his right forearm and forged it into a magical key to assure the continued activation of the Demonscope. Each of the Sentinels passed in turn and from their forearms were carved two more shards. Shards were then passed to new protectors dedicated to safeguarding the people and protecting the Demonscope. For years, the shards have been passed down through the order, bestowed upon generations of successors. Each shard is a 6-inch fragment of magically petrified bone, burnished black and polished to a high sheen, and placed within a crystal reliquary. The surface is intricately scrimshawed with sacred blessings dedicated to a specific sentinel. Along the rim of the Demonscope pedestal are three sacred glyphs set before three sockets. Carved in celestial, the three glyphs represent Truth, Valor, and Sacrifice; one for each of the virtues for which the original Holy Sentinels stood: niamar for Truth, Guenarog for Valor, and arymril for Sacrifice.
Destruction
The Demonscope requires constant attention and maintenance in order to function. Powered by a combination of intrinsic magical power and the magical potency of the demon that is imprisoned within it, the artifact requires that a careful balance of power be maintained at all times, and the demon kept in check. It takes the combined efforts of three strong-willed paladins to maintain control over the demon. If one of them fails, the demon eventually overpowers the other two and begin to corrupt the artifact itself, although this takes several days. The easiest way to destroy the artifact, however, is to remove the bone shards. Without the shards, the paladins are unable to control the demon, and it only takes a few hours for it to break free from its prison.
See also
Tags
ArtifactSources
- The Demon Within
See something wrong? Tell me and I'll fix it.