Spear of Fate

Epic Weapons

Simultaneous with the discovery of Kunark, several adventurers began to speak of fabled weapons of unfathomable power.  They told tales of marathon quests that yeilded these weapons to members of each class from Bards to Warriors.  These quests would each span the world and often into the planes of the gods.  Some tasks could be completed alone, but many would require a small army of commrades to complete.  Each class' weapon is easy to spot, not just for their unique design, but because of the particle effects eminating from the weapon.  Through the hard work of many pioneers, each class' epic weapon was discovered, some easier than others. 
   

The Spear of Fate

The Spear of Fate is constructed of a lion matriarch's shoulder blade, a young sapling wittled with Thalger's bare hands, and the magical feathers of an aviak elder.  The spear offers a shaman boosts in strength, dexterity, stamina, wisdom, health, and mana.  It is infused with the power of a spell known as the Curse of Spirits, which consumes an enemy with raging spirits over time.  The spear itself is eternally enveloped in a resonating ring of colors. 
 
  

The Epic Quest

The shaman epic can begin in one of four places.  A lesser spirit will appear following the death of any of the following: Blindle the Cutpurse, a Half Elf bandit in Rathe Mountains; Captain Surestout, a Halfling pirate in the Ocean of Tears; Peg Leg, a Dwarf bandit in Butcherblock Mountains; or an Iksar Manslayer in the Field of Bone.  The spirit will question why one of these men's lives was necessary to be ended.  Answering honestly is best, for the spirit agrees that the man's heart was black and now his body will return to the grass.  The spirit offers a gem to be taken to a fellow shaman in Freeport in order to learn more about the spirits.  The shaman they speak of is Bondl Felligan in West Freeport, who happily accepts the gem in order to buy more booze.  Following him to the Jade Tiger's Den basement will reveal a greater spirit that questions the gem deliverer's allegiance to either justice (Barbarian), war (Ogre), fear (Iksar), or hate (Troll).  The answer elicits different responses, but ultimately, the conversation leads to an explanation that the spirits are only understood by a handful of mortals who've been judged as worthy.  These few mortals are known as the Heyokah, and Bondl is one of them.  The spirits believe truth to be the glue that holds the universe together, as trust in others to do their part allows one to focus on their own objective.  Greed, as exhibited by the likes of the bandits that were slain to get here, is what destroys this glue.  To judge the worth of a new applicant to the Heyokah, the spirits have constructed a test.  The test includes three parts, the paths of patience, wisdom, and might.  The greater spirit suggests delivering a new gem to the Kerrans of Erud's Crossing to begin the test of patience.

The Kerrans refer any carrying the opaque gem to an Ogre woman on the island known as Ooglyn.  The dimwitted Ogre is quite friendly, and a few moments trying to remember where the test begins, Ooglyn dives into the ocean.  Following her requires the ability to breathe underwater, either through a magical item or spell.  Eventually she stops on the ocean floor and advises that one must wait here to complete the test.  After a while, Srafen the Soaked arrives and explains that he's been waiting here for a forgotten number of years, but that Dillon the Drowned and Froham the Forgotten have been here longer than him.  Dillon has apparently been down here since before the blast that created The Hole. Froham remembers when the Erudites first crossed these waters.  And there is apparently another, named Abe the Abandoned, whom Srafen has never seen who mumbles about the Combine Empire.  Froham speaks of a treasure buried not too far away, invites any who are curious to come along, then wanders off.  Remember that this is a test of patience.  A while after Froham leaves, Abe arrives and, although a bit loopy, speaks of a broken arrow which was split amongst the final surviving members of the Combine Empire.  Abe says he has been waiting here to return the arrow to the spirits.  Abe fears he cannot survive much longer, and requests that a younger man or woman deliver the arrow to the spirits for him in thanks.  He hands over the broken arrow then requests that he be followed deeper into the ocean, but the correct action is to be patient and not to move.  A greater spirit will arrive and congratulate the patience exhibited here.  The spirit teaches that patience is required to be able to strike with a cultivated energy only at the most opportune time.  The timing is key.  In order for the spirits to know that even a patient one will strike at the right time requires a test of wisdom, which is offered by a wandering spirit somewhere in the world.

The wandering spirit can be found in West Karana and looks like a wisp.  The wisp suggests quickly heading to Rathe Mountains in search of a Human paladin named Tabien the Goodly.  Tabien is preparing a defense to protect his shield, which was once carried by one of Marr's angels in the Plane of Valor, from one of Bertoxxulous' servants.  The shield is priceless to the Hall of Truth.  After searching through the mountain range, Glaron the Wicked is found to be the Plaguebringer's agent.  Surprisingly, Glaron believes that a shaman has been sent to him in order to help him protect his blades, which were constructed in the Crypt of Decay, the home of Bertoxxulous himself.  A decision must be made here, for one of these men must die.  The wise decision though would be to slay both men, for they have lost sight of their virtues in favor of material goods.  Returning both of Glaron's blades and Tabien's shield to the wandering spirit is the only path to success here.  The wandering spirit will combine the three items into a Shield of Falsehood as a reward, citing that it should be used to defend against greed and lure of hoarding treasure.  One final path awaits, the test of might in the Emerald Jungle.

A spirit sentinel in the shape of a wolf is the one who offers the final test to become a Heyokah.  The wolf speaks of the lost City of Mist here in the Emerald Jungle, as it has been long since void of spirituality.  The wolf speaks of a brother of his whom turned his back on the spirits as well in favor of following a particular Dark Elf across the world.  The Dark Elf that the wolf speaks of is the ancient vampire Mayong Mistmoore of Faydwer.  Although Mayong has not been seen for ages, his wolf, Black Dire, can still be found in Castle Mistmoore front yard.  Black Dire speaks of great wealths and pleasures he's amassed over the ages.  After declining his offer to join Mistmoore, Black Dire attacks with a pack of lesser wolves.  His pelt should be brought back to his brother.  The sentinel is pleased, yet saddened with the death of his once noble brother.  He requests that his brother's death always be remembered and fashions a pair of boots from the pelt as a reward.  The boots are infused with the spirit of wolf.  The sentinel then congratulates the newest member of the Heyokah.  Time is of the essence though, for now a mantle looms over the City of Mist that scars the universe.  Only a Heyokah will have the skills to remove the scar, but must first reveal why the once wealthy city fell to ruin.  The sentinel offers a journal to document any information found within the former Iksar city of Torsis.

Pages can randomly be found on the many undead denizens of the City of Mist.  The ones required are a personal diary page, crier's scroll, merchant's letter, written announcement, priest's diary page, and student's log.  The completed report reveals that Lord Ghiosk ruled the once thriving city, then denounced his god, Cazic-Thule the Faceless, after the loss of his queen.  This lack of religion is what caused many to leave and eventually the city fell to ruin.  The sentinel suggests that one could learn more about this queen by dismissing Ghiosk's ghost.  The ghost indeed has more information, as it carries a historic article, head housekeeper's log, and the Crusades of High Scale.  The books tell the sentinel more about Ghiosk's affair with a woman named Neh.  He requests that an icon of the High Scale be found in the city and be taken to an Iksar shaman named Kirn who is currently researching in The Hole.  The icon rests quietly on the ground in the deepest part of the city.  High Scale Kirn can be found in the revenant castle in some of the deepest parts of The Hole.  He questions why anyone would bring him the icon, thinking it is an accusation that he killed the queen.  He speaks of a ring on his hand that the queen would remember, then issues a challenge to remove it from his hand.  This will require the help of several skilled friends.  Handing the ring to the ghost of Neh'Ashiir in the City of Mist causes her to be overcome with rage at the thought of the truth being set free.  After defeating her, her diary should be taken back to the sentinel.  The truth is that Rak'Ashiir mourned the loss of his daughter, who was taken by Cazic-Thule's denizens of the Plane of Fear, and in doing so turned his back on his god, the Faceless.  His wife and the High Scale left him in disgust.  This led to the demise of the city.  The sentinel realizes that the son is the key, and must be found.

Occasionally, an Iksar broodling can be spotted in the Plane of Fear after the death of one of Cazic-Thule's three golems falls.  The child must be slain in order to end its suffering and prove to Rak'Ashiir that his son is finally at peace.  One of the child's tears should be taken back to the City of Mist.  With the help of many friends, Lord Rak'Ashiir will sometimes appear after the death of many of the city's golems known as black reavers.  The Iksar lord accepts the tear, then suggests that his only pennance is death, so he attacks in hopes that his wish will be granted.  One of his scales should be taken to the sentinel.  The sentinel becomes confused, for Rak repented, yet the mantle still looms.  It is then that the sentinel realizes that Rak only pointed his people towards a faithless life, but the thousands of citizens are the ones who accepted it and led the city to ruin.  The mantle will remain, but the sentinel rewards the efforts of the newest Heyokah with a spear constructed thousands of years ago by the first Human Heyokah.  The sentinel speaks of the arch necromancer Miragul, who discovered a way to create black holes such as the mantle that envelopes the City of Mist.  Thalger, a powerful shaman, was the first to pass the tests of the spirits and was successful in removing the mantle that Miragul created over the frozen northlands of Everfrost.  He was able to do this after constructing a spear that could pierce the very fabric of the cosmos.  Thalger was lost in his selfless act to save his people, but the spear survived.