A I: Wendy “Axeform”

Written by Neons-Mindrealm

Wendy “Axeform”
A Possessed Weapon of Alterna I: The Lands of Paradise

Origin:

Back on Narcana, rumors about axe-swinging serial killers trace back to even the earliest times of the Throne War of Origin Race.
Although back then, most have just thought that these crazed people were simply driven insane by the endless bloodbath of the never-ending war, and had lost themselves completely to its madness.
Around 200 years before the Rupture, however, one rumor stood out amongst the rest, where a young courier claimed to have witnessed a sight of unspeakable horrors, at the castle of one of the Evergreen Veldt's six lords.
Out in his courtyard, the young man wasn't greeted with the usual pompous statues made of fine marble, or luscious green gardens, decorated with various exotic flowers, nor has he seen any of the lord's guards standing at their posts.
Instead, the statue of the lord was roughly decapitated, and splattered with slowly drying blood. Whilst countless dismembered body parts were scattered across the courtyard, painting the luscious green gardens in a sea of deep crimson.
Further in, the young man was able to follow a bloody trail of dead guards and maids alike, all who looked like they were savaged by a horde of wild beasts.
But as he reached the chambers of the castle's lord, it was not a beast nor monster who he found standing over the lord's corpse, but a tall young maid with dark orange hair, holding the severed head of the lord in one hand, and a bloody axe in the other.
Paralyzed with fear, the courier froze in place as he watched the maid turn to him slowly, whilst licking off the blood from the axe's blade.
But instead of immediately slaughtering him as well, the maid simply looked at him with her red glowing eyes and calmly asked him if he was a courier.
Unable to speak, the man simply nodded whilst shaking with fear, before the maid asked him about his route to the capital, and followed by an innocent laugh, also told him to warn every settlement he was passing, that Wendy will be on her way.
The following days, panic spread across Narcana's Evergreen Veldt like wildfire, as every settlement and small village between Sovera and the 4th lord's castle was mercilessly slaughtered by a ravenous monster in human form. Until at the white walls of Sovera, the royal Valkyries were finally able to put an end to her merciless rampage, by killing her after severing her axe bearing hand.
Following her death, however, her body wasn't acting like a normal corpse, but instead disintegrated into a fine ash like powder, leaving only the blood stained axe behind.
Curious about how a simple lumberjack axe could so easily be used by an untrained maid as a weapon of mass murder, a foolish human guard tried to pick her up and swing her around himself.
But as soon as his hand wrapped around the wooden grip of the axe, he was no longer able to control his own body, and started screaming for blood whilst wildly swinging her at his fellow guards. Confirming that it was no ordinary axe, but a powerful demon in disguise.
Although other than the tall maid, he didn't pose nearly as big of a threat as her, and was easily released from the demon's influence, after his comrade cut off his hand with only one swift swing of his sword.
And after her failed attempt to immediately possess yet another soul, to enable her to attend to another feast on a banquet of fresh blood, both the guards and royal Valkyries tried everything at their disposal to destroy this demonic weapon once and for all, keeping her from going on another rampage ever again.
However, no mater what they had tried, the axe either remained undamaged, unyielding to both physical and arcane force, or simply reappeared somewhere on Narcana after being tossed away into the depths of the world.
It was even tried to seek out the help of the world renown blacksmith Faber, and let him forge a gauntlet that could potentially even withstand the dark influence of an arch demon, to wield the axe in battle.
But the more enemies the axe was allowed to kill with her merciless blade, the stronger the demon inside seemed to grow, until not even the gauntlet was considered a save solution. And the axe was tried to be disposed off once again.
Centuries later, after the day of the Rupture, rumors about axe wielding murderers then started to spread like wildfire yet again, and sowed fear amongst all who remember the harrowing tales of the Demon of the Axe.
Although instead of spreading on Narcana, this time the axe was supposedly found stuck in an old stump inside the Endless Forest of the Lands.
Dooming the Lands of Paradise to now become Wendy's new hunting ground.

Appearance:

With a simple wooden grip and a single bit axe head, this cursed weapon does not look any different from an ordinary axe of a lumberjack. And can easily be mistaken as such, resulting in a demonic possession of any careless being who happens to pick her up.

Main Use:

If not handled carefully, with the aid of a specially enchanted gauntlet, the axe will turn her wielder into a tool instead and use them.
As even gripping her with glove covered hands will allow for the demon to fully possess her wielder. And turn them into a mindless vessel whose only purpose is to carry the demonic entity around, and help her to quench her endless thirst for freshly spilled blood.
However, if the wielder somehow manages to suppress the demon's attempts to possess them, the axe can then be used as a fearsome weapon, against anything or anyone with fresh blood flowing through their veins.
Whilst also taking on a risk that will potentially threaten more than just their own life.

Special / Unique Properties:

Even after a successful suppression of the demon's attempts to fully possess her wielder, she won't simply vanish or give up on trying to take over their body.
As any conscious wielder of the axe, who lived long enough to discard and free themselves of this cursed weapon, spoke about an ever present voice in their head. Who constantly urged them on to spill the blood of both innocent and foe, as well as to never let go of the axe's wooden grip.
Besides the axe's possessive nature, the blade on its head also appears to have a rather curious property. Since whenever someone tried to use the axe on a bloodless object or being, the blade became as dull as weathered rocks. Almost as if she was refusing to take a bite out of a dry meal.
However, if it was used to strike a knight in plated armor, the axe's blade was able to effortlessly cut through the armor, and also sever the flesh beneath in a clean cut.
Which was always followed by maniacal laughter, and an even louder voice inside its wielders head, pushing them to continue feeding her more fresh blood.

Additional Insights:

Despite countless desperate attempts to seal away or destroy her, the axe was always found again by another unfortunate fool.
Whether she was thrown into the hellfires of molten rock, and observed to disintegrate into flames, or carried out at sea to sink down to its depths.
She always reappeared in her solid form and at a reachable place, ready to get picked up again and have her unyielding thirst for blood quenched.
Until she would one day be able to reform her true host again, and traverse the Lands on her own free will to drown it in an ocean of deep crimson.

Item type

Weapon, Melee

Rarity

Legendary / Unique