Arms of the Worthy (Karanduun Setting)
The universe of Tapiserya is filled to the brim with magical items and wonders, from old to new. Various stones imbued with elemental power, or vast artifice during the Age of Heroes, swords forged from the furnace of stars, bows with strings made of twinkling starlight, shields made of the sun’s gleam.
All items fit for the Worthy.
There are three types of these Magical Items that a Hero will encounter during their time romping about the Three Worlds.
Butang are items that come from the Golden Age of Heroes, technology that currently cannot be replicated in the current Time of Malice. These can be weapons and bolos that have blades made of pure, concentrated Bala, or even vehicles that fly in the sky, like airboats.
Agimat are items found naturally in nature, imbued with elemental diwa. Agimat can be powerful stones that can be socketed into your weapons and armors and grant you greater abilities, or they can be powerful pieces of technology on their own, creating hurricane winds with a whisper, or summoning lightning from a piece of damp rock. Or they can be placed into necklaces so that you always have them around, protecting you from bullets even without any armor.
Aghimuan are items crafted during the time now. Either from reverse-engineering concepts and blueprints of Butang, or crafted with the Blessed knowledge of the Gods or their own Heroic Bala. These are the ones currently being manufactured by Kapnayanan in Al-Kaig, the Metropolis of Indigo, and Effisia. These are the ones currently being heralded as advances in technology.
Flamedust, Firearms, and Gunwitches
The first type of firearms are the simple hand cannons brought by both Al-Kaigians and Effisians alike. These hand cannons, called arquebuses, were easier to use, although supremely difficult to use more than once in combat. Crossbows and bows were still the preferred personal artillery.
A strange, almost arcane mixture of fireleaves, ash, obsidian, and a hard to find, dense stone that can be mined only in the trenches of Lakungdula (known as Seaflame Ore, for when it is struck outside of water with an open flame when in contact with obsidian, it creates a large burst of concussive force enough to propel a small missile forwards) is known as Witchdust, because it is the mangkukulam that first developed it. For it to work, however, the fireleaves and ash must be enchanted by a special ritual of force that can only be performed by mangkukulam, hence the term gunwitches. In fact, the Zuhayran military has begun to recruit mangkukulam as a special unit of gunwitches, those that can fire off firearms through their hexes. Creation and trade of Witchdust is highly regulated and monopolized by the Zuhayran Government (and by extension, the Church and the Al-Kaigian Government).
The second most common gunpowder is known as drakeflame powder. Drakeflame powder is mined directly from the volcanic lands of the Qirong Naga, also deep under sea, but seemingly compressed and mixed with some form of undersea demons' blood, allowing it to combust and create massive force. The Al-Kaigians have only recently established trade with the Qirong Naga for these inventions, which is revolutionizing standing warfare. The Qirong Empire, however, holds an iron grip on the drakeflame powder monopoly, and the Al-Kaigians can be cut off from trade whenever they wish.
The latest firearm is known as the "hand slugger," or "carousel". It uses a chamber of six rounds, each fitted with a small leaden ball, and with a steel hammer that strikes down to ignite a primer, which ignites the drakeflame powder or witchdust and sends the ball, or the slug, flying forward at high speeds. Each time a ball is fired, the witchdust is released out of a chamber to the left, wherein it becomes little sprites of bright vermilion, and are always accompanied by little giggles. Seemingly, the ritual to create witchdust seems to involve minor diwata of concussive force and flame.
Despite this being an easy way to deal fatal wounds, the technology is highly regulated, and even the more powerful rifling type firearms aren't available outside of the military and militia just yet, although black markets have taken advantage of this.
Various Zuhayrans who've studied the arts of hidden symbolism have found ways to customize carousels, allowing them to imbue the carousels with various spells, such as coating the ball with necrotic energy, or making the ball explode on impact, or even launching balls of pure elemental force. This has been a major boon to war mages of Zuhayras.
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