Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Magic Item: Heaven's Glass

Heaven's Glass: Ancient literally beyond reckoning, Heaven's Glass is a roughly circular slab of obsidian an inch thick, or thereabouts, and just the right size to be cradled comfortably in one's palms. Roughly shaped around its circumference, though one broad side is simply stone-pecked to a slightly convex, pitted surface the other has been polished to such a high degree that the surface is unblemished as still water. Perfectly smooth, the polished side can act as a fine -- if dark -- mirror.

Those who peer into the silky smooth reflective face of Heaven's Glass long enough, however, see floating within the midnight depths a rendition of the starry skies in smoky points of light. Focused on the zodiacal constellations, these tiny dark "stars" change with the day and the seasons in perfect step with those in the sky above.

Concentrating on Heaven's Glass will produce a specific effect once a day, depending on the nature of the individual holding the disc. Those without connection to a greater power or principle may receive a single clerical spell of 3rd-level or lower as they wish. Those who serve a force greater than they (i.e. a cleric) may instead ask any one question and have the answer -- though often obscure, or riddling -- whispered into their minds. Heaven's Glass will serve in this manner ten times before requiring a ritual of exposure to starlight and terebinth incense to be performed every night for a stellar month.

Though no name or discrete legendry remains attached to Heaven's Glass to suggest a connection to the primordial forces, its sheer antiquity combined with the failure of even the greatest of seers to divine its origin suggests just such a connection with all the due caution such a thing entails. One question Heaven's Glass will never answer is any such thing that will reveal its origin or creator.

2 comments:

Chris said...

That should be a specimen example of how to write a good magic item.

Interesting, evocative, fairly humming with mythic resonance. This is one of your best.

Matthew Slepin said...

Agreed. A good magic item is not a powerful one, but a flavourful one. Nice.