Black Spear Wyter

[PhilHibbs]

I'm wondering when the high holy day of the Black Spear Wyter might be.

Perhaps the day that the Black Spear Clan was formed by Colymar, in Kethaela, when Belintar ascended as God-King? Or the day that Colymar crossed the Deathline into Dragon Pass? Incidentally The Guide gives two dates for that - p.240 says 1318 and p.141 says 1300. Which is neither here nor there when it comes to the holy day!

I guess I'll pick something relevant to my game unless anyone has any suggestions.

I was thinking as a spear it might have fire connections, so Fireday or Fire Season. I think I'll discount Fire Season as it doesn't work for my game, being as it's just crossed over into Earth Season now. So maybe a Fireday in Storm Season would be good. Movement Week.

So in my game Colymar crossed the Deathline on Windsday, Movement Week, Storm Season. Orlanth's high holy day. An auspicious day for doing something new. The following day, Fireday, the Black Spear awoke as the new wyter of the Black Spear Clan. Or it re-awakened, having been dormant since the clan left its former home. But something about it was different, so it was welcomed as a new spirit for a new land.

I just want an opportunity to do something with wyters, to introduce the party to the concept. Then there's THE scenario to come next Sea Season.

[Squaredeal Sten]

Obsidian spearhead. FIREDAY, yes that sounds believable. 

Is there a legend about the origin of the black spear?  It might be a Lodril thing.  I'm just ideating.  What are Lodril's holy days?

Putting the wyter into it may have just been a later event than obtaining the spear, using it as a suitable magical object.  Presumably the Colymar tribe  formed before they crossed the deathline into Dragon Pass.  If you were going to take a big step like that, wouldn't you make your Mayflower Compact (sacrifice to the wyter) beforehand rather than afterward?  That would indicate you can use a previous Fireday.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Squaredeal Sten
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[Darius West]

18 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

I'm wondering when the high holy day of the Black Spear Wyter might be.

I just want an opportunity to do something with wyters, to introduce the party to the concept. Then there's THE scenario to come next Sea Season.

It sounds like you've already given the matter a good deal of thought Phil.  You are following the Raymond Chandler advice of "showing the gun before using it in later scenes", and this sense of foreshadowing is important for immersion.  You can drop hints about its powers from when the players and their characters see how it actually acts upon the world.  

Given the location of its origins, I have always thought the Black Spear likely had a connection to Argan Argar (only Old One/Shadow Plateau) and/or Lodril (Caladraland).

What we know is that Chief Colymar Hordrosson hurled the Black Spear across the Line of Death and followed it into the Nymie Valley.  This raises questions.  Did the spear dispel the dragonewt death magic?  Did it absorb the death magic?  Or was that magic already weakened by the Pure Horse Tribe coming to live in Dragon Pass?  I have read that when the Colymar tribe entered Dragon Pass, it looked as if they had been eaten by a dragon to those watching from behind the line (illusion?).  I understand that dragonewts sometimes use obsidian instead of flint too (Hidden Colymar EWF sympathies?).

I only raise this as it is possible that Freeze Day (darkness rune) might also be an option for a Holy Day.

It might be that there are layers of mystery involved in the Black Spear, known only to those who commune with the Ancestor Spirits of the Amangarn Clan of the Colymar Tribe, and perhaps the spirits of past Chiefs, Kings, and famous warriors who have been called upon the wield the Black Spear.

 

[Brian Duguid]

It's not mentioned explicitly here, but we do know the Black Spear's (canonical) Rune affinities: Air 95%, Darkness 85%, Mobility 100% (GM Screen Pack, Adventure Book, page 14). Its "Cuts Light" ability is also suggestive of the strong Darkness connection.

Given that it can cast the True Spear Rune spell, you'd have to either assume it also has a high Death rune affinity, or it bypasses the requirement for normal Rune spell casting (I'd go for the latter, 100% casting chance upon itself).