Plain of Ten Thousand Swords

From PathfinderWiki

The Plain of Ten Thousand Swords in Numeria's Felldales is the haunted site of a bitter conflict from centuries past. The swords of thousands of Kellid warriors jut from the ground, each cursed with the bitter spirit of a warrior slain in the pointless war and bound to their weapon.1

History

After thousands of deaths in a tremendous succession battle between two Kellid chieftains, Bechask and Naun Witcheye, led to a weary draw in 3489 AR, the relentless warlords' remaining warriors turned on their leaders. As they died, the chieftains cursed everyone on the battlefield to be eternally bound to it until their foolish conflict is resolved. The curse impaled every body on the plain with their wielder's own sword, including those still alive, and drove the corpses into the earth. Each sword's hilt remains above ground, its owner's soul bound within.1

Three shoki psychopomps dispatched to the site couldn't deliver the fallen's souls to the Boneyard, and the curse is so powerful that any mortals who die on the plain in the more than 1,200 years hence are also bound to its curse.1

The ten thousand swords

The spirit inside each of the Plain's ten thousand swords attempts to curse and possess any mortal who touches it, binding them to the field until the spirit's task is accomplished. The spirit's pain and rage is proportional to the sword's inherent power, with the blade of Rothka Spiteblade—the first warrior to betray her chieftain—storing the most sorrow and strength.1

Cult of Zyphus

A cult of Zyphus, the god of pointless deaths, venerates the site for its pointless violence and subversion of its bound souls' paths from the River of Souls. Cultists, led by Ichadros Chardris, attempt to lure others to their deaths on the field, but the shoki—who still ply the site seeking mortals who can free the bound souls—chase the cultists off the field itself.1

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Jim Groves, et al. “Plots & Perils” in Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars, 41–43. Paizo Inc., 2014