Aldana Steel

Interesting or Powerful Artefacts in the Game

Listed in their order of appearance in the game.

The Prophets' Cross

A large Prophets' cross of silvery metal, hung from a silver chain, found by Lucas near the location from which an assassin struck at Prince Sandoval in 1665.  The cross was recognized as having belonged to the assassin, a Vodacce cardinal, Monsignor Giovanni Teglionni, although it had been decorated with jewels before.  The jewels must have been held to it with silver wire, for no trace of them could now be seen, and upon closer examination, it was discovered that the metal it was made of was practically impossible to work, so hard it was.  This metal is a rare substance used only in some Syrneth artefacts, far older than the silver chain that ran through it – older, perhaps, than the Prophets.  Lucas is still wearing the cross to this day.

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Prophets' Cross

 

King's Men's Pins

Those who helped save Prince Sandoval from the assassin in 1665 were given pins of the noble order of the King's Men as a symbol of his thanks.  The knightly order was officially disbanded shortly before by the Concilio de la Razon, so it is dangerous to wear them in Castille.  Those still holding such pins include Lucas and Constanza and, if she ever wakes up from her coma, Lucas's twin sister Miranda.  Then Good King Sandoval gave similar pins to Melisandre, Juan, Ferdinand, and even Vlad (I think) after their heroic actions at La Ultima Muralla in 1668.  The pins don't do anything fancy, they're just insignia, but they make us feel fluffy and special.

(There were three other player characters who received such honours: Richard "Ricardo" O'Bannon – believed to have returned to Avalon since; brother Cadfaello – probably meditating in a cloister somewhere or "disappeared" by the Inquisition; and Angela, the psycho lesbian swordswoman that Ron played all of two games, believed to have been killed off in a drunken brawl somewhere offstage.)

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King's Men Pin

 

Æther Compasses

The Æther Compasses are those described in the Erebus Crosstrilogy from AEG: The Lady's Favour, Scoundrel's Folly (p. 8), andThe Arrow of Heaven (p. 8).  Originally, there were two compasses made of brass-like metal, twin Syrneth artefacts that always pointed to one another rather than to the pole.  Strange inscriptions are carved onto their bottom, forming symbols in an unknown language, and what looks like and abstract pattern is actually a representation of the constellation of the Erebus Cross.  Used together, these compasses are able to open any door or ward on the Ile de la Bête, a Montaigne-controlled Syrneth site in the Western Isles.  One was lost in the destruction of the site and the other was turned in to the Explorers' Society for study and safekeeping.

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Aether Compass

Syrneth Gauntlet

An ornate metal gauntlet found by don Juan Orduño, which he now wears constantly – since it won't come off.  It has a large inset gem and only two fingers and an opposable "thumb."  Although it makes him look quite remarkable, and more unpopular than ever with the Inquisition, it has granted him an increased strength.  This is similar to the object described on p. 57 of AEG's The Arrow of Heaven and reprinted in the 7th Sea Compendium and, I believe, in reprintings of the7th Sea Gamemaster's Guide, but has only three digits.  On top of that, it's now started sporting tentacles – not a pretty sight.  However, of late he has developed the ability to make it look like or change back to a normal-seeming hand when not using it as a gauntlet.  He has also studied the art of the Panzerfaust in Freiburg, to put the gauntlet to better use.

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Hand of Glory

A rather strange, copper looking collar worn by don Juan's sister, Rosa, fastened around her neck and disappearing up, under her long black hair. She also wears a copper like glove on her left hand, and a sort of device attached to the index finger.  The glove is attached to the collar by some sort of tube running down the wearer's arm, the end of which is connected to the device on the index finger of the glove.  To use the artefact, the wearer clicks her neck; her collar begins to grind and whirr.  Thin plates of metal slide across other plates and Rosa’s complexion begins to turn very red.  Her eyes roll back and she begins to froth at the mouth, etc.  A long needle begins to emerge from the device and Rosa plunges it into the patient.  Within seconds the patient's fever ends, the bleeding from wounds stops.  The patient looks totally relaxed and at peace, while Rosa comes to and looks extremely pale and weak.

[The "Hand of Glory" is the otherwise unnamed artefact described in Peter Atkinson's adventure "In the Name of Theus", available on Revenant's 7th Sea Site.]

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Meli's Blooded Pin

Doña Melisandre de Ramirez always wears a pin made from the bullets dug out of her patients at El Moro.  It was a gift from the men when she left and broke all of their hearts.  Unbeknownst to her, this includes the blood of a Porté sorcerer, making it a Blooded object... (also known in technical terms as a "plot hook.")

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Perfect Diamond

A Syrneth artefact which Eisenfürst Stefan von Heilgründ gave Don Lucas in in thanks for helping him against an infestation of Kobolds in Corantine 1668.  This diamond can cut through any material.

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Syrneth Clockwork Cannons

Reis and his crew, working on commission for Prince Vincenzo Caligari, somehow obtained three Syrneth artefacts (as described on p. 59 of AEG'sThe Arrow of Heaven and reprinted in the 7th Sea Compendium and, I believe, in reprintings of the 7th Sea Gamemaster's Guide.)  These were later captured by Constanza.  The three small cannons, about fifty pounds each, were fitted with lenses of green crystal where the mouth should be.  Constanza took them apart and discovered they were made of an intricate clockwork mechanism, but couldn't ascertain the source of their destructive power.  She managed to repair and rebuild two, while the third was irretrievably damaged but was used for spare parts.  When she found herself having to leave one behind in enemy territory, viz.: Prince Caligari's island, she destroyed it.  The remaining cannon was used up to battle a Mumblety Peg construct in the battle against Robert de Méchant and his undead minions at the top of the Spear of the West Wind.

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Music Box Collar

This collar is yet another Syrneth artefact.  It used to be on the neck of a monster in the Freiburg sewers; while fighting the monster, the party took grave wounds and Ferdinand's head was ripped off by the beast.  The heroes finally succeeded in killing the monster, when they noted a depression in the collar and figured out how that a music box fitted neatly in the depression and unlocked the collar – killing the beast.  (They had earlier found this other artefact, a music box which played its tuneinsidethe handler's head.)  Then somehow the collar was used to reattach Ferdinand's head to his body and he was reanimated (this happened through a miracle of his patron saint, St. Gregor, patron of monster hunters – read it in the fiction section.)  Ferdinand is now walking around with the collar, being highly unpopular with those who got to see his headless corpse earlier.  Granted a wish by the Queen of the Sky on Bryn Bresail, he asked for the collar to be removed but greatly displeased St. Gregor.  In order to regain the saint's favour, he had to do penance and accept the stigma.  The collar returned, but when Ferdinand picked up Reis' scythe after Constanza defeated the villain, the collar fell off his neck again.

[The artefact comes from the Music of the Spheres adventure published by AEG.]

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Mysterious Pirate Hook Hand

Rumour has it that in the altered version of events following Constanza's encounter with Mad Queen Morella, a strange-looking pirate-style hook hand was found by Constanza and fitted on Vincente after his hand had been lopped off in the fight against the Dauphin.  Constanza does not remember doing this, but everyone else does...  We don't know what it does, but it has its own picture in the book and the GM keeps dropping ominous hints.

[Straight from the card game and Waves of Blood.]

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Rune Pendant

Constanza received two pendants from the Vesten Oracle, Gunrud Stigandsdottir; they were made of bone ivory and metal, and strung on sinew cords.  Each was engraved with a rune: one was Fornuft (gateway) and the other Herje (ruin).  As she tried to follow the instructions which the Oracle couched as a Prophecy, Constanza brought the one engraved with Fornuft to the Undying Swamp in southern Eisen, and gave it to a large Vesten man who called himself "Ruin".  Since she had been instructed not to take the pendants off "before it was time", she wore the other one until the epic fight at the top of the Spear of the West Wind.  

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Drachen Skull

Having dealt the killing blow to the drachen that ravaged Freiburg, Ferdinand claimed the beast's skull as a trophy.  This turned out to be made of pure, "worked" dracheneisen!  Ferdinand then offered the skull to the Heart of Drachen Cathedral, for the creation of a shrine dedicated to Saint Gregor.

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Freiburg Medal

After slaying a drachen and negotiating a peace treaty with the armies of Pösen and Heilgrund, Lucas, Constanza, Melisandre, Juan, and Ferdinand were decorated again.  They received from Eisenfürst Nicklaus Trague medals made of dracheneisen, embossed with the sigil of the city (a man standing in the shadow of a tower).  Trague described this as the highest award in the königreich of Freiburg -- also the only one, since it had just been created for the heroes.  Once again, these objects don't actually do anything but they are cool.

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The Spear of the West Wind

This ancien Vesten relic was supposed to be the source of Comte Robert de Méchant's power.  The captain of the Black Freighter apparently drew from it the abilities to affect the weather, to control the dead, and to see everything on the sea.  The Spear appeared as an impossibly tall and slender tower of stone, reaching past the clouds and covered with Vesten runes that glowed in the dark.  When Melisandre attempted to control the artefact's power, she was overcome by its strength.  The heroes destroyed the spire with cannon fire.

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The Sword of Nibelungen

Martina of the Nibelungen brought a sword for Constanza to wield as the "Sword-Bearer".  When questioned, she said the sword had been forged hundreds of years before by a Nibelung in Bryn Bresail, and that it was meant to "slay legends".  Although the sword is very large, it is feather-light when Constanza wields it, but impossibly heavy for others.  Shaped like a flamberge, its blade looks like it is made of crystal.  It is so large that Constanza needs to carry it on her back, rather than at her side.  With it, Constanza was able to slay Reis.

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Mumblety Peg

The Syrneth-made Guardians of Cabora dispatched seven constructs to assist the individuals who had been determined most likely to raise Cabora.  Each construct passed itself off for a somewhat over-the-top pirate calling himself "Mumblety Peg".  The remnants of such a construct, still partly activated, remain in Constanza's possession.  Two others were destroyed atop the Spear of the West Wind and on the Island of the Fifth Switch, and a fourth was used to activate the Sixth Switch as Constanza's command.  The whereabouts of the other three are unknown.  However, following the rise of Cabora, the rest of the entire mechanical race apparently left for Theah.

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Reis's Scythe

Constanza defeated Reis, but his scythe was left behind and Ferdinand was foolish enough to pick it up.  For a while he seemed unable to let go of it, and was losing his mind and will to the Syrneth artefact, but finally managed to let go of the cursed artefact.  The scythe was thrown overboard off the coast of Vodacce.

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Tear of the Siren

The jewel-like crystal which solidify when a siren-like sea faerie cried after being incapable of following Lucas to the surface.  Melisandre collected the tear and brought it back to Lucas.  The object seems to be pure Glamour, and Constanza cannot see it. Contact with the tear seems to cause great pain to any Sidhe.

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Credits: The pictures of the Prophets' cross and the aether compass are from AEG's 7th Sea Site.  The picture of the King's Men pin is from the 7th Sea Player's Guide, and was obtained from  Elfe Noir - 7th Sea.  I think all three pictures are by Chris Dornaus.  In any case, they are used without permission, no copyright challenge intended.