Taychendi Relic-Lords are individuals, nearly always warlords, who use powerful Precursor artefacts, be they weapons or otherwise, to maintain their military power. Since the Day of Ashen Skies, Relic-Lords have been incredibly influential figures in Taychend, with the relics they wielded often becoming infamous for their destructive power. While there are exceptions, Relic-Lords are usually powerful or gifted mages, as most Precursor artefacts rely on magical ability to use. Relic-Lords are generally divided into Great and Lesser varieties.
Lesser Relic-Lords[]
While the term “Relic-Lord” is often used to denote only “Great Relic-Lords”, especially outside Taychend, so-called Lesser Relic-Lords are just as important. Though their power is not such that they can destroy entire armies by themselves with the aid of their relics, as the Great Relic-Lords were often able to do, many rulers in Taychend who rule through the aid of minor relics, such as particularly powerful Precursor Spellblades, staffs or other implements and artefacts can be described as Relic-Lords.
Even those who use the implements and knowledge of the Slaver-Nobles to empower themselves, such as through consorting with infernal beings like the Cennayakuta did, can be described as Relic-Lords. This is also how some came to call Laskaris the Conqueror a Relic-Lord, as his immortality was “granted” to him through a prophecy given to him by the Fateweaver of Korrimutren, a Precursor divination relic of immense power.
Great Relic-Lords[]
Great Relic-Lords are those individuals who have ruled or founded empires and influenced all of Taychend through the powers given to them by the relics they wield. Generally, scholars agree on a list of five Great Relic-Lords:
- Ebenanth Starshear – wielder of Starshear, from which he gets his name, a staff that could call down energy from the Astral Sky. Founder of Ebenanth’s Empire, the first unifier of Taychend. Assassinated by his generals.
- The Warlord-Emperor Yodhan – wielder of the Armour of Yodhan, a dragon whose shapeshifting abilities were manipulated by a Precursor Noble, turning it into a suit of armour. Founded Yodhan’s Empire, ruling for sixty years before going insane and dying in battle.
- Vehasha the Trickster – wielder of the Saviracuri, a mirror that could channel magic into powerful illusions. Used her power to start a rebellion against the late Mudaliar Empire. Killed by Varelrudu, the Tyrant-King of Pirisitel.
- Kadradar the Stormbringer – wielder of the Everstorm Gauntlet, a relic taken from the Steel-Scorched Citadel of Royakottar, which could summon and control immense storms. Attempted to conquer Taychend, but was defeated by an unprecedented coalition of warlord states.
- The Kamrayakval, Elrandar Silverspite – wielder of the Armour of Yodhan, which he retrieved after finding Yodhan’s corpse. Born to a Taychendi mother and Sun Elven father, Silverspite united the disparate cells of the Oren Nayiru, leading them into a holy war against Ameion and the other states of Taychend known as the “Kamrayakval’s War”.
There are also two more extremely controversial choices for Great Relic-Lords. As mentioned before, the first is Laskaris the Conqueror – “wielder of prophecy”, some hold that the foresight granted to him by the Fateweaver of Korrimutren (a Precursor relic) and that granted him technical immortality, influenced his actions so much as to make him a Great-Relic Lord himself.
The second is Veliara, the Pale Queen – “wielder” of the Rakakendram, or Blood Heart. Though many of her supporters during her reign proclaimed her as the next Great Relic-Lord, Veliara’s position is questioned on one count and discredited entirely by another. Firstly, the extent to which her impact could be considered “great” is questionable – she never conquered outside the Kalavend. Secondly, it is near-certain that her relic, the Rakakendram, was a forgery – following the revelations of Theodore sína Trinás, it is now near-universally understood that the theories that held Veliara to be a powerful vampire were correct (she was actually the Errant-Prince Mihaela, if sína Trinás is to be believed) and that her “relic”, that supposedly gave her immortality and a variety of other powers, was in fact the gift of Vampirism. Vampirism is not connected to the Precursors, and therefore she does not fit the description of a relic-lord.