Arm Of Gbier

The Arm of Gbier is a machete venerated as a holy artifact within the Modhes faith due to its association with Saint Mukului. The sword was used by the Saint throughout the Modhesian Conquests, and is said to be embued with high amounts of sacret power, having been directly blessed by Modhes Ywl immediately after his apotheosis. Following Mukului's death, it was passed down through the generations of his descendants, ultimately ending up in the hands of Luyg Nz'raja, who gave it up to Modhes Temple. The Arm was kept in the Modhes Temple High Sanctity Worship Museum in Ywl for nearly three centuries, before being stolen in 44 PC. It is currently officially lost, but claims circulate that it is in the possession of the Qoeul-bo Hrnad.

Description

The Arm is a curved sword approximately 0.43 Ywls long, composed of silviron. The hilt of the blade is ornately designed to resemble green and blue cloth wrappings, such as would be found on a mummified king. Despite this ornateness, the hilt is itself solid metal of unknown composition (likely an alloy of silviron, due to the charicteristic sheen). The Arm of Gbier is in remarkably well preserved condition despite its estimated age, something often upheld as proof of its magic nature. According to legend, the Arm can cut cleanly through flesh and bone like an arm through water, cannot be stained or tarnished, and can strike many opponants across a vast area with a single strike. Less commonly repeated claims include that it will not wound a rightous warrior, that the screams of Gbier can be heard when it swings through air, that one who holds it is unkillable, can see the future, and can fly, and that it has power over the winds, fire, and natural cataclysm.

Name

The Arm of Gbier is named after Gbier Lhaishtahn, a deity worshiped by Muku L'buine prior to his Modhes conversion. That it holds the name of a Sasatanl'c god, and its hilt is designed after his most common depiction, has always proven controversial, both among Modhes for the perceived glorification of an Old God and among Sasatanl'c for the perceived replacement of their god by the Saint.

History

Origin

The origin of the Arm is a mystery, with numerous conflicting accounts. The official position of Modhes Temple is that the Arm is the literal arm of the trickster god, ripped off by Modhes Ywl in a duel for the freedom of Mukului. This account however only dates at its earliest to over a century and a half after Mukului's death, in the writings of the scribe Pahab. Prior to this, several accounts exist, all of which suggest that the blade was a pre-existing holy artifact of Gbier's worship, either created by Mukului himself, created some short time prior in a ritual by the god's cult, or being an already ancient, possibly Adeysal, artifact, passed down through generations. Historical consensus leans against the first of these, as accounts giving Mukului as the creator vary the most in detail, and bestow upon him a smithing or ritualist background not found in other accounts. The oldest full account, and only full account by someone who personally knew Mukului, is in the texts of his son Saint Kabul-i, who says only that Muku "found" the sword.

Use by Mukului

The Arm of Gbier is heavily attested in terror murals, being the second most commonly appearing symbol other than Ywl Modhes. Accounts of the Conquests, outside of Kabul-i and other very early sources, are litered with stories of Mukului slaughtering hundreds of soldiers with the Arm. While many of these stories are thought to be hyperbolic, some, such as Mukului setting fire to Obws Dwi'igab and leaving a pile of bodies three ywls tall, are supported by the archelogical record. Early sources differ as to whether the blade was embued with power to begin with, or if acrewed it as a result of its extensive use.

Sacred Artifact

When the Conquests ended, Mukului retired to the mountains, founding his monastery in Tal'huziedd. It is known that Kabul-i inheretted the blade, and that it eventually ended up in the hands of his descendant Pahab, but it is not certain that the blade was directly passed down through the generations or if it was held in the scribal monastaries for some time before being reacquired by the family. It is attested by Korum as being an object of worship, but it is unclear from the language used if it was in his possession or his vicinity. The main source for the blade as having been passed down hereditarially is Pahab, a source of routine skepticism by scholars.

Following his exit from the mountains and subsequent intermarriage to the Nz'raja Family, Pahab revealed the Arm of Gbier to the public for the first time in centuries, and would go on to do so several more times until his death. Despite this, he refused to give it to Modhes Temple, citing that his possession of it was ordained by his Saintly ancestors. Upon Pahab's death, the Arm was inhereted by his son Luyg, who gave it up to Modhes Temple two years later.

The Arm of Gbier was one of the most revered Saintly artifacts in the Modhes faith, with any ceremony involving it typically bringing in a crowd of more than a thousand.

Theft

On the night of 13-2 44 PC, a break-in occurred at the Modhes Temple High Sanctity Worship Museum, which resulted in the theft of several small items and the Arm. While all other recovered elements from the theft were later recovered in the Seige of Qoeul-bosken-ut, the Arm remains at large. It is not known for certain that the Arm was taken by the Qoeul-bo Hrnad but it is considered highly likely by authorities, due to it being the only artifact stolen and the only artifact at the museum with Mn'krapanti religious significance, the finding of the other stolen items on Qoeul-bosken-ut, and various claims that the Arm has been seen in use by Uc Praani.