by Chatdemon (chatdemon@gamebox.net)
Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.

In the days of the Suloise Empire, the clergy of Lydia were generally a peaceful bunch, tutoring children in their letters and numbers, instructing young bards in the arts of music, and undertaking other such peaceful and pleasant tasks. But like every thing from the Empire, even the peace loving clergy of Lydia had a grim, unpleasant aspect.

In service of their goddess' Daylight aspect, a faction of her church known as the Sun Maidens had the thankless task of working with like-minded clerics of Wee Jas for one solemn purpose, hunting and destroying the undead. One such Sun Maiden was a young lass from Zinbyle named Mikarli, of the relatively unimportant Lerara noble house. Mikarli took great pride in her work and ensuring the safety of her city from the dark children of the night, and somehow managed to stay cheerful and keep a song in her heart through it all. For 40 long years Mikarli of Lerara performed her duties, growing in esteem in her church, but always refusing changes in duty that would take her away from her appointed task of fighting the walking dead. Her face showed a few more lines, and her bright coppery red hair had faded to a dull sandy pink, but her cheerful smile and hearty laugh stayed with her until she picked up her spear to seek out a unique manner of undead said to be luring young bards to their death near the town of Zeltra, a days ride to the northeast in the Crystalmist foothills. The beast she encountered was at first impression a beautiful young suel maiden, with an angelic voice and a skilled lute hand, but once Mikarli refused to join her foe in a song, the undead monster showed its true nature, and began tortorously extracting her soul through the songs in her heart. The Lhiannan Shee left her to die clutching her spear amid the brush and trees outside of Zeltra. Though she had bravely fought hundreds of undead in her career, and protected the lives of thousands of her peers, Mikarli wept and begged Lydia's forgiveness for her failure, pleading with her goddess to not be cast into Beltar's pit for not fulfilling her duty to her people.

Mikarli's cries that evening did not go unnoticed, and Lydia felt a deep wrath growing within her at seeing her most faithful and selfless servant humiliated and left to die. She began to sing a song of mournful rage that echoed through the walls of her palace and resonated all the way down to Oerth, where the divine melody infused Mikarli's spear with the might of Lydia herself. Mikarli sensed the presence of her goddess and struggled to her feet, stumbling into the woods after her foe. Hours later, Mikarli came upon the Lhiannan Shee in another clearing, draining another young bard of his songs and his life. She let loose a tearchoked cry of sorrow and fury, and drove her spear into the creatures chest, destroying the fell beast instantly.

Upon her return to the house of song, the temple in Zinbyle which she called home, she recieved a vision from Lydia in the form of a song in her dreams telling her to bestow her spear on the most worthy successor, for it was her time to join the endless dance in Lydia's palace. She did so, and ascended to her goddess' side. Her spear, now known as the Lightbringer, remained, and stabbed its way into the legends and history of the Suloise people.


Lightbringer

+4 Holy Shortspear of Disruption

Lighbringer is a gorgeously crafted masterwork shortspear, with a shaft of deep red gnalwood ( a tree whose wood becomes hard as steel when slowly baked over a fire for days, once common in the Suel Basin, but now thought to be extinct on Oerth due to the Rain of Colorless Fire) with a polished steel spearhead with gold inlaid etchings of whimsical patterns. The weapon feels pleasantly warm in the hands of a good aligned creature, growing to uncomfortably hot for nuetrals, and glowing with an intense red heat when held by an evil creature that causes 1d4 points of damage per round held (fort save dc 15 for half damage). Any undead who willingly picks up the spear must make a fort save at dc 25 or be instantly and irrevocably destroyed. If an undead creature is somehow coerced or tricked into picking up the spear, the dc of the fort save to avoid destruction drops to 15.

In addition to the normal powers of a Holy shortspear of disruption, Lightbringer has the following abilities:

The weapon constantly emits the equivalent of a Light spell, this cannot be turned off or cancelled by mortal magic. The light effect ignores any normal or (mortal) magical effects that would bring darkness into the area of effect.

When held by a NG character, the spear can be willed to begin singing loudly and clearly in the voice of its original owner, haunting wordless melodies that enact a Fear (as the spell) effect on any undead creatures, or practitioners of necromantic magic (arcane or divine, regardless of alignment or intent, if the creature has abilities that mimic necromantic magic, or has the ability to cast any necromantic spell, meaning the spellcaster knows the spell or has it in her spellbook, the effect is applied).

Once per day, any creature of good alignment may invoke a Sunbeam (as the spell) as if cast by a 17th level caster. A cleric of Lydia invoking this power causes the Sunbeam to be cast at maximum 20th level of effect.

When weilded by a cleric of Lydia, the spear grants a +5 synergy bonus to all attempts to turn undead.

Lastly, the spear counts as one singer if weilded in a spell or ritual effect that involves singing clerics (for example if you converted the 2nd ed AD&D spell Unearthly choir). Treat the spear as a NG 12th level cleric for resolving any mechanics of this power.