Beacon of the North
The Beacon of the North is a bullseye lantern designed to be hung on the prow of a ship and possesses extraordinary powers of transportation by portals.1
Appearance
The Beacon is an unusually large and heavy cast-iron bullseye lantern with a lens of dull blue glass. The iron is etched with frost-themed scrollwork.2
History
It was created centuries ago by the since-destroyed Frost Floe Coven of Irriseni White Witches as a means of controlling access to the seas. Despite being a landlocked nation, the lantern's ability to create portals allowed Irriseni ships to strike the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Ironbound Archipelago, and Steaming Sea.
In 4698 AR, Queen Elvanna ordered the coven's members to be executed after a perceived betrayal. Only Natalya Yagevna, a low-ranking member, survived by escaping with the Beacon to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Despite Ulfen prejudices against White Witches, she managed to join the crew of the longship Saltspray and eventually married its commander Haldyr Bjornsson.3
Yagevna could not make the special oil that fueled the lantern, limiting its usefulness to the Saltspray as an emergency weapon and prow decoration. As of 4714 AR, the Saltspray had last been seen at port in 4708 AR, and the fate of the ship, its crew, and the Beacon were unknown.2
Fate
This page contains spoilers for the following products: The Frozen Fingers of Midnight.
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In truth, Bjornsson had died and the Beacon had been mounted to his funerary ship. However, the Ulfen raider and secret Pathfinder Skelg the Ripper raided the funerary ship and looted its treasures, including the Beacon. He also saved Yagevna from being burned along with her dead husband, and "gifted" her the funerary ship (leaving her alone aboard it).
Bjornsson's son Bengeirr Haldyrsson in turn raided Skelg's Absalomian villa and inadvertently activated the Beacon, which invoked a freezing curse, slowly killing Skelg and causing Bjornsson's funerary ship to freeze in supernatural ice. To lift the curse and rescue both Skelg and Yagevna, a team of Pathfinders were tasked with recovering the Beacon and restoring it to the ship's prow.4
Usage
The Beacon's activation requires an oil whose creation is known only to members of the destroyed Frost Floe Coven.2 It can hold enough of this oil to burn for eight hours. When lit, the lantern burns with a cold light, and if the burning oil is used as a weapon, it burns with intense cold rather than heat.12
The Beacon of the North has three main powers:2
- It allows the wielder to focus a beam of cold light that both harms and fatigues a living target.2 This works by creating a small portal from the frozen north to inside the creature's body. Any creature who dies as a result of this damage rises as a draugr the following midnight.52
- When the cold beam is focused on a picture of a particular ship, it creates a five-foot-wide portal that allows instantaneous travel between the picture and the actual vessel.2 The portal remains open for as long as the lantern is lit, even if it no longer shines directly on the portal. The portal appears as a shimmering blue-white patch of light, and it is impossible to see what is on the other side.12
- When hung on the prow of any ship, the Beacon of the North creates a teleportation portal large enough to transport the vessel and its crew to Whitethrone harbor in Irrisen.2 It attunes to only one ship at a time and cannot be used with a ship it is not attuned to. The process of attuning it to a ship is unknown. If the Beacon is used to open a ship-sized portal, all other small portals created by it close immediately.6 Creating a portal of any size consumes 10 minutes of the lantern's special oil.12
- In addition, if the Beacon of the North is lit while separated from the ship it is attuned to, the ship slowly turns and drifts in the direction of the Beacon unless actively steered in another direction or moored in place. This continues even after the Beacon is doused and ends only when the two are reunited or when a knowledgeable spellcaster attunes the Beacon to a different ship.7
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 . The Frozen Fingers of Midnight, 9. Paizo Inc., 2008
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 . “Lost Treasures” in Lost Treasures, 19. Paizo Inc., 2014
- ↑ Details of Natalya Yagevna's history and her relationship with Haldyr Bjornsson conflict between The Frozen Fingers of Midnight and Lost Treasures. See Talk:Natalya Yagevna/Conflicts.
- ↑ This refers to the events of The Frozen Fingers of Midnight. Lost Treasures mentions these events as one of several potential fates of the Beacon. Skelg and Natalya Yagevna survive to appear in Red Revolution, which suggests that a successful outcome to The Frozen Fingers of Midnight in which Skelg and Yagevna became a couple is canon.
- ↑ . The Frozen Fingers of Midnight, 9. Paizo Inc., 2008 In this statblock, the Beacon creates a frozen zombie instead of a draugr.
- ↑ . The Frozen Fingers of Midnight, 9. Paizo Inc., 2008 These requirements appear only in this work's statblock, and not in the statblock in Lost Treasures.
- ↑ . The Frozen Fingers of Midnight, 9. Paizo Inc., 2008 These requirements appear only in this work's statblock, and not in the statblock in Lost Treasures.