This page is part of the The Dragon and the Bear: The Novgorod Tribunal Open Content

Mystical Artifacts

Every land has its legends of magical objects and sacred relics. Russia and Poland are no different. The unique items listed below mostly date from the old pagan period of the 9th and 10th centuries. Their powers are formidable and they would be valuable to any Hermetic covenant, whether for their virtues, or as objects for study. Rumors of them are constant, and may form the basis for treasure hunting forays or sleuthing challenges.

The Shield of Oleg

When he left Constantinople, the great prince and Volkhv, Oleg, hung from the gates his shield, a symbol of peace. The shield of Oleg was returned to Russia in later centuries, and is said to have remained in the treasury of the ruling prince until the civil wars began. Where it is now, none can say.

The shield of Oleg is a powerful magical object, endowed with strong Volkhv spells and hallowed by the ancient pagan gods. It has two principal properties. First, if displayed at a peace conference, it exerts a mixture of calming and lie inhibiting effects on the attendees. Any violent or contentious Personality Traits are reduced by 3 points; any moderating or generous traits are enhanced by 3 points. Resistance to spells or supernatural influences intended to set people at odds is increased by 3 points. At the same time, it is very difficult to lie in the presence of the shield. Anyone planning to deceive or mislead those to whom they talk must make a skill roll (Guile for instance) adjusted for suitable Personality Traits against a 9+ ease factor just to get the lie out. Failure means the liar cannot bring himself to utter falsehood in the shield’s presence for the duration of the conversation. If he does manage to utter a lie, the victims’ chances of detecting it are 3 points better than normal. Note that this does not compel someone to tell the truth. It only hinders active lying. Though these immediate effects cease as soon as people leave the presence of the shield, any agreement that they reach while under its influence will always seem reasonable and sensible to them. This effect is not subject to Hermetic methods of dispelling. The shield acts to bestow a pagan blessing on those in its presence, and nothing less than exorcism by a Christian priest with True Faith can dispel the effect.

Second, if hung from the gates of a city, the shield will make it impossible to bring the gates under close attack. Enemies quite literally flinch from approaching. The area of effect is approximately 100 paces, and the shield can therefore completely protect small villages or fortresses. Note, however, that the settlement protected must have proper, defensible gates, and that once an attacker gets clear of the area of effect there is nothing to stop him from assaulting another portion of the fortification or launching long range weapons against the gate. This is a special Volkhv magical effect, not a pagan god’s blessing. As such it can be suppressed by any PeVi spells that make a penetration of at least 35. This is not, however, sufficient to completely purge this power from the shield; it will resume operation at the next sunrise. To completely expunge it would require a PeVi spell with a penetration of at least 45.

The Shield is a relic sacred to the Slavic goddess of peace, Beilbog, with a rating of 5, and an additional +3 to any use of the Remove Curse discipline.

The Skull of Sviatoslav

At the end of prince Sviatoslav’s last campaign he was slain by the Pechenegi nomads. The Pechenegi Khan took Sviatoslav’s skull and had it made into a gold-chased goblet.

It is believed that the skull is sacred to Perun. If a man pours wine into the skull it issues forth from the mouth as blood. Drinking even a single drop will create a terrible berserk spirit so that the drinker will fly upon his enemies relentlessly, not ceasing his attack until they or he are dead. In ancient times, it is said that whole companies of men together would drink from the skull before battle.

This effect is a pagan god’s blessing and cannot be dispelled short of counter-blessing by a Christian cleric with True Faith. Anyone drinking from the skull gains +1 to Str, Sta, Dex, and Qik and –3 to Int, Per, and Com. All drinkers gain a temporary Personality Trait Enraged +6 until they lose consciousness or until the next sunset or sunrise. Furthermore, people who drink from the skull take no effects from lost Fatigue or Body levels until they are rendered unconscious or wounded to incapacity. They never make any form of morale check, cannot be frightened by mundane or magical means, and won’t retreat.

The skull can also be used for divination. If human blood is placed in the skull cavity a skilled diviner can often see visions of the future. Treat this as a bonus of +5 to anyone with the Virtue Divination. The Skull is a relic sacred to the Slavic god Perun with a rating of 5, and gives an additional +3 to any use of the Prophecy discipline.

The Ewer of Ioann

The Ewer of Ioann is one of the few truly divine items known to the Russian Orthodox Church. Ioann was one of the early Metropolitans of the church. His ewer was a small, silver bowl, which he used as a baptismal font.

The ewer can trap demons. If a demon sees its reflection in the bowl it will be caught within it, held fast and powerless. This virtue even works against invisible or possessing demons. In either case the demon is plucked straight into the ewer. Being trapped in the ewer is a ghastly experience for a demon and it will make any promise and reveal just about any secret in order to get out. Demons released from the ewer always return directly to hell, and are forced to remain there for a very lengthy period of time — decades at the least — before they are restored sufficiently to return to or even perceive the mortal world.

The ewer is a divinely blessed object. It contains 5 Faith points.

The Golden Cock

The Golden Cock is an automaton of Hermetic manufacture, given to one of the early Russian princes. It’s virtue is to cry out whenever danger approaches. The Cock is an invested object with a powerful InMe spell and a weak CrIm spell.

The InMe spell is a greatly enhanced version of Sight of the Transparent Motive. Both range and target are Sight, which raises the spell’s level and penetration to 50. Whenever any person or group becomes visible to the cock it perceives whether they harbor malice. It then employ its CrIm ability and cries out loudly. The Cock easily identifies the object of its cries, as it faces its target.

The Bow of Svarozhich

Svarozhich is one of the sun gods, a patron of fire, and his idol bore a great ivory bow strung with a single hair from Pegasus. When Prince Vladimir the Saint cast down the pagan idols, the chief Volkhv stole the bow and hid it.

For combat purposes, treat Svarozhich’s bow as a longbow. Even in the hands of a non-pagan it is a devastating weapon. The Optional Longbow and Crossbow Damage Rule (ArM4 page 165) should be used, even if you do not employ it for other weapons in your saga. If you already employ the rule, enhance the combat statistics of the bow by Init +5, Atk +5.

In the hands of a committed pagan worshipper of Svarozhich, the bow will reveal its true strength. Any arrow fired from it bursts into glaring flame as soon as it leaves the string. This flame infallibly ignites what it hits — wood, leather, flesh, stone, or even steel — and it burns until its target is completely consumed (the maximum size of any one target is +4, or fifty square feet, but larger objects may be destroyed by multiple shots). The bow’s range is also enhanced in the hands of a true worshipper: each standard range category is doubled (Near, for example, is now out to 30 paces).

Caution should be used when employing the bow. Any attempt to turn it against a Slavic pagan, most especially against a Volkhv, is likely to come to a ruinous end. Consider, quite simply, that Svarozhich is not yet dead, and certainly is not ignorant of the use to which his bow is put.

The Bow is a pagan relic with a rating of 5, and gives a further bonus of +3 to any use of the Sun Magic discipline.

The Caul of Vseslav

Legend has it that Vseslav was born wearing a small hood of flesh. He kept this caul with him always, and used it in his magical operations. Vseslav was in fact a Dark Volkhv worshipper of Chernobog, and his caul was hallowed by that god to increase Vseslav’s strength. The caul is thus a relic sacred to Chernobog, with a rating of 5, and a further bonus of +3 to any negative use of the Remove Curse discipline. In addition, however, the caul is a source of Perdo vis. Small hard blisters form on it at regular intervals, and on each solstice or equinox one falls off, hard, black, and slightly acidic so that it stings the hands to hold. Unfortunately, the caul is also innately attractive to demons. Whether this is a curse of Chernobog or Vseslav or whether Vseslav had actual dealings with demons is not known. But the caul did, at one time, come into the hands of a Hermetic magus who concluded that demons could sniff it out and bedevil the owner in order to get possession of it.

The Horn of Vasili Okulevich

Vasili Okulevich was one of the Bogatyr, the hero-knights of ancient Russian saga, who lived in the age before the Varangians came to Russia. His horn was a magical item of unknown origin. In form it was a mighty aurochs’ horn, chased with silver. Its call could shake down mountains, level forests, or raise tempests at sea.

Cascade of Rocks (PeTe 40; R: Sight, D: Mom, T: Bound), Breath of the Open Sky (CrAu 40; R: Per, D: Spec, T: Spec), Wrath of Whirling Winds and Water (only at sea) (CrAu 40; R: Sight, D: Sun, T: Spec)

The Waters of Life and Death

The Waters of Life and Death are a well-known legend, not just in Poland and Russia, but throughout eastern Europe. The details often vary. In the Slavic version, the Water of death can do two things: it will kill anyone who comes into contact with even as much as a single drop spilled on his hand, and if sprinkled on a damaged or even completely dismembered corpse, it will reassemble it into a complete whole and restore the body to perfect cleanliness free of any blemish. The Water of Life, of course, brings the dead back to life. The Waters will certainly not be found in the mortal world. One could only hope to find the source in areas of extremely high regio (+9), or in Arcadia.

A note of caution in employing the Waters of Life: this fluid will not bring back from the dead Christians who have been properly buried in consecrated ground, or devout followers of other religions who have similarly been given the proper last rites of their religion. It will, however, work on pagans and unbelievers, or on a follower of one of the great religions who has not received proper burial. But be warned, the Waters of Life do not restore the body to a cleanly or wholesome condition! If a corpse has been rotting in the ground for a month before you resurrect it the result will be very unpleasant. The Waters of Death must be used first to restore the body.

A Hermetic magus could easily distill large amounts of Creo or Perdo vis from these two Waters: as much as ten pawns per pint.

Princess Kinga’s Ring

Princess Kinga was a lady of Hungary who came to Poland to marry one of the princes. Hungary at that time was a land with rich salt mines, while Poland was very poor in this commodity. Before she left Hungary, Kinga threw her ring into a salt mine. When she arrived in Poland she set miners to digging near Krakow, and very soon they found rich salt deposits. The very first nugget to be brought to the surface was split open. There in the center was Kinga’s ring.

The ring can be treated as an Hermetic invested object with the spell Miner’s Keen Eye cast on it, or as a Divine relic, or a relic sacred to an appropriate pagan god (such as Mati-Syra-Zemlya). It’s powers are certainly not exceptional: perhaps 2 Faith points, or a Volkhv bonus of +3.

The Knights of Boleslaw

It is said that under Gevant peak in the heart of the Tatra mountains in a sacred cavern, King Boleslaw the Brave and a hundred of his knights lie sleeping. They await some moment of Poland’s need when they can arise and fight for her honor and freedom.

There are no more specific details to this legend, but it should be remembered what a mighty warrior Boleslaw the Brave was, and how he humbled the Germans, Czechs, Pomeranians, and Russians. Perhaps it is nothing more than peasant superstition that loves to believe in mighty, just, and generous kings of the past to watch over their wellbeing. Then again . . . .

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