Odyssial's blade, forged in the fires of countless battles, quenched in the freely-given blood of the Maiden of Battles, was ever his companion in the Age of Dreams. Through endless trials they labored together, always towards greatness. The path was not short, nor was it easy, but through the millenia they persevered. And in the end, they discovered greatness, perfection such as would daunt the wonders of the Age, and found it wanting.
What was its name, that sword of ten thousand endings?
[ ] Ambition - A gleaming longsword, double-edged, cut from a single faultless block of white orichalcum. For the value of its material alone, it would be priceless beyond measure. Ten thousand monsters from the Age of Titans were sacrificed on its pyre-forge, and the tallow of their primeval flesh burned away even the idea of impurity from the blade that would follow. In the light of dawn it flashes like bar of raw sunlight, light and heat and glory hammered into physical form. Whisper-sharp, it slides through solid steel as though it were parting silk.
The powers of Ambition reflect Odyssial perfectly. It is excellence beyond excellence, harder than the Sun, a peerless killing tool. Among all blades, Most High. It forges the path to victory, even in the most dire of circumstances: its Evocations are particularly well-suited to facing foes vaster than one's self, or numerous weaker enemies.
*Incredibly powerful and useful Evocations from a mechanical standpoint, near-flawlessly filling any holes in Odyssial's personal techniques, or even in the nature of Solar power itself.
*Naturally shines in situations that would otherwise be disadvantageous.
*The wielder of Ambition is driven always to great purpose. In a mortal's hands or a god-kings', the blade grants an unceasing perpetuity of will, such that the wielder will always be pressed towards self-improvement, and towards the same ultimate goals as Odyssial. They could even take up this blade with a desire to harm him, but through them, it would find a way to advance his greater agenda.
*In this way, the Lord Strategos may empower his lieutenants, from the lowliest squire to the mightiest Vizier, to face the greatest and most terrible horrors that this world can produce.
- Supreme power comes with somewhat limited themes. Prowess that transcends Perfection, as Odyssial transcended the Most High himself: that is its purview.
Example Evocations:
Terrestrial Evocation, Saber-Mirror Shield - The character's Bulwark Stance (and Fivefold Bulwark Stance, if applicable) may reverse Onslaught penalties into bonuses. The more attacks he faces, the stronger his defenses become.
Celestial Evocation, Beyond Perfection Ascendancy - Once per Essence level, the character may treat his permanent Essence as one dot higher for purposes of learning a Charm. Ignore that Charm's training time. Knowledge of the Charm fades if the wielder is separated from Ambition for more than one month. This Evocation may be re-purchased upon unlocking an Adamant Evocation.
Adamant Evocation, Eightfold Immortal Bulwark - The character's Fivefold Bulwark Stance, Immortal Blade Triumphant, and Ready in Eight Directions Stance may be simultaneously activated with a single Simple action. This counts as a Form Charm.
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[ ] Unnamed (Away) - A reaper daiklave, slightly curved, of unusual heft and killing power. Unadorned, it used to be simply Odyssial's favorite mundane sword. So many daevas fell to its edge, however, that it spontaneously acquired the traits of soulsteel. Starmetal and soulsteel alloyed in a single seamless metal, folded ten thousand times upon itself, once for each monstrosity Odyssial slew. The pressure of its advance buckles shields, shatters bones, and brought Titans to their knees. Runes of infinitesimal fineness are etched upon the flat of the blade, calligraphic depictions of a particular sutra. They are its only adornment. Its edge does not shine in any sort of light. The metal itself is matte. The hilt is undecorated and sparse. It is the part of Odyssial that destroys. That is all.
Odyssial did not name this blade, no more than one would name a limb. Colloquially, Pearl named it "Away," for the reaction of his enemies upon seeing it, for the status of those who had faced it, and because, no matter where Odyssial may go, no matter who he may face, he always finds Away.
*Unparalleled powers of reaving and severing. A weapon embedded in the idea of violence since the world was young.
*Immense destructive force allows the wielder to perform attacks of shocking obscurity or apocalyptic scale. Having slain both those who created this world, and those who threatened to unmake it, it is fully steeped, every molecule, with conceptual might. It is just a blade without name, but it is also a lever by which worlds are moved.
*Blessed by Endings, Battle, and Serenity, and containing the reified deaths of ten thousand daeva-lords, jouten, and giganoths, the unnamed blade is capable of a dizzying variety of effects.
*If use is attempted by someone who is not part of Odyssial, that wielder is not protected from the blade's destructive force. They may find themselves 'accidentally' losing limbs when they attempt to sever a nation from existence, for example.
- The philosophy of Odyssial is thus: murder your enemies before they know you oppose them. Attack from every possible angle. Break them with overwhelming force on every front. While broad and esoteric powers are in its domain, virtually all of the blade's effects focus on destruction. It defends, but often only in the sense that the best defense is a good offense.
Example Evocations:
Terrestrial Evocation, One Strike Kills: The character's attack ignores half of enemy soak or Hardness. This Charm may be re-purchased upon unlocking an Adamant Evocation, allowing it to, at significant cost, ignore enemy soak or Hardness, even if such values are infinite.
Celestial Evocation, The Best Defense: The character may reflexively clash an attack from any range. This does not count as his action for the round. At Essence 4+, reduce the TN of his clash by 1, to a minimum of 4. At Essence 5+, the cost of this Evocation is reduced each time it is used in a turn.
Adamant Evocation, Masterstroke: This attack does aggravated damage, and damage is doubled after it is rolled. If the enemy is permanently slain, and that enemy governs, administrates, manages, or oversees some domain, and his authority is widely recognized (though official legitimacy is less important), one aspect of that domain falls to ruin in a manner that benefits Odyssial. A general dies, and his army dissolves into chaos. The God of Pestilence falls, and disease rates plummet across Creation. These effects can be prevented or reversed by heroic action, with difficulty dependent on the strength of the being and the totality of his influence over the given domain. Battlefield-wide effects occur almost instantly, but Creation-wide effects may propagate over weeks.
. It also lets get around to actually being able to wield the blade (Solar melee whooooo) - it was a gift from a friend, even if that is a little weird.
