The Hundred: Zunamondin

From afar, this weapon is an ill-crafted object of wrought iron, perhaps a blank pallet of crude steel or something cheaper. It is only when you come closer that you begin to feel the first pricklings of a terrible unease. For you will see that it is perfectly smooth along its length and width, like a pure archetype in darkness. And something is calling to you, in the depths of your being, saying that it will divide bone from marrow and self from self.

For Zunamondin (the etymology of its name is unknown) is the Glaive of the Void, a trump of the Fifth House and an artifact of another realm. In its true shape, it resembles a flamingo, a sun, a matchstick, a mushroom. It is hard to say what it is, but about a handspan beyond its perfectly sharp tip is something so small it shouldn't exist – a singularity bound by the High Art of the College of Stars.

The trump, you see, hides its own trump. In the right context, it is an ace of the highest order, and its name is Destruction. It is said that the owner of Zunamondin is the spirit named Azrael; it is also said that the owner of Azrael is the spirit named Zunamondin. For all we know, the two are one, and maybe more. The person who wields this artifact should read the Book of Swords, for the instructions given therein regarding the care of safety and the burden of ownership are accurate and invaluable for the preservation of one's sanity and physical integrity.

The Glaive is easily summoned or invoked; its spoken name is potent magic. It comes from a time before the written glyph, and so runes and such have no effect upon it. Similarly, its name may be written freely without geas or binding. Most often, it takes the form of a longsword, perhaps a katana, or a weapon of equivalent class and status. If it has a discernible hilt, quillons or other appurtenances, they are often in a subdued but capable metal such as brown iron or green steel.