Talisman Wards
The captain led us up and over the barricade, his hat perched upon the tip of his saber. I was a few rows back, but I still saw two of the defenders stick the tip of their muskets into the captain's side and fire. The captain tumbled back into us, and we caught him, worried that his ward hadn't held. Before we could examine him, he roared in defience and charged back up, leading us the whole way. We surmised that his talisman had protected him and followed with a roar to match. We only later came to the realization that the talisman had stopped the first shot, and not the second. He died in camp later, but not once did he betray such a fact to any of us before then. Given who was put in charge of us after, I wish he had said something. We would have moved heaven and earth to make sure he got out alright.
-From the diary of a Lebarallian soldier
People have always saught a way to protect themselves from harm. Who wouldn't? Preventative medicine, protective enchantments, and the like. In the era of the Old Empire, they inlaid Aether Crystals into suits of plate armor, creating protection near impervious to mundane and even enchanted blades, only being cut through by Aetherform Weapons. While the advanced techniques used by the Old Empire were lost by the end of the Dracanomachi, it was still a method that was used through the reconstruction period that was the Second Astral Era. In the modern world of musket and bayonet, this has become all the more of a concern. As the battlefield expands with the men and material being fielded, it becomes all the more likely that non-combatants get caught by stray fire or even in the midst of combat. Even the old suits of enchanted plate do not offer as much protection as they used to in the face of enchanted muskets and Crystal Rounds, even if the average farmer could afford and wear the armor at all times. To this end, the development of Talisman Wards has become rather popular and is viewed as the next advancement in battlefield and civilian protection. A Talisman Wards name is rather literal, being a small talisman of varying construction (often with an internal core of crystal) enchanted to create a barrier around the wearer at the time of impact of a weapon. In the Empire of the Sun, artistic renditions of the Empire's smiling sun taken from the nations flag, done in enamel for slightly cheaper options or wrought completely in gold, are a popular style. In the Alliance of Seventeen Nations , they tend to appear more traditional, being small figures carved from wood or stone and painted with natural pigments, often embelished with beads of catlinite, jade, and other materials valued by the culture in question. Not all Talisman Wards operate in exactly the same manner either, which has been a boon to those that use them to keep their bodies safe from hostile harm, as attempting to develop a one-size fits all circumvention of the Wards is made all the harder. Many Wards operate on the premise of instant protection. That is to say, it attempts to sense approaching weapons and projectiles that are heading towards the host and at the last instant create a barrier (usually of wind) that will stop or deflect the harmful object. Others, more expensive, versions will create a more permanent shield of raw aspected Aether which gives a more solid form of protection, while also giving a slightly higher ability to protect against spells of similar or opposing aspects. This barrier, while strong, is rarely enough to stop a bullet from a full on colision within aweapons effective range, and it certainly won't stop something like a cannon ball from tearing an individual in half. It should also be said that most talismen can only stop one or two deflections, at best, before needing to take time to recover it's Aetheric energies. To use a Talisman Ward properly is a skill that can only really be trained upon the battlefield. How to hold and angle oneself so that shots may deflect off instead of catch head on and break through. How to use it effectively in melee in a similar fashion, but keeping in mind that attacks can come from anywhere. It can be a tricky method, but can greatly increase the life expectancy of those equipped with one. Unfortunately for the average soldier of the line, the price to create a Talisman Ward of effective quality, while not terribly high, is high enough to make the general introduction of such magical devices to the ranks impossible. They are, however, cheap enough to equip pretty much any officer, commissioned or not, with one. Most armies have leveraged this increase the longevity of it's officer corps, and maintaing the veterancy even in high action environments. Ironically, some officers at the time of the first introductions of Talisman Wards argued that the Wards destroyed the motivation of the lower ranking officers as there was now less of a chance that they would be promoted upon the death of a higher up. I could never tell if this was simply two different eras and their thoughts on what is 'proper' clashing together, or if some officers were simply suicidal.
Item type
Magical
There is no one that can really claim to have invented the Talisman Ward, as it is largely viewed as a collective development across society similar to things such as math and general concepts of medicine. As of now the oldest Talisman Ward known to science is from the tail end of the Second Astral Era and was found in Undabarii.
- The turqoise and stone medallions of the Xotlic warrior lines.
- The gorgets popular in the Empire of the Sun, by actual members of the military, constructed of simple metals and crystal.
- Lebarallian officers are given stopwatches that are enchanted as as talisman Wards, while also serving as a symbol of rank.
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