Elven Hand

This organic material is the by-product of foul magic and violence. In the land of Erendor only elves, and those with elven blood, may channel the forces of magic through certain stones. This is due to an ancient pact with the elements themselves and down the long years, many human has tried in vain to find a way to master that magic.

The Problem

Humans don’t have the same bond with the world that the long lived elves do, and as such can’t channel the forces at all; that didn’t stop some of them from trying though. After years of failed attempts at trying to harness the forces of the world, one sorcerer found a horrid way to cast magic through stones and even master them. A severed elven hand.

The Solution

This is gained in only one way, by taking a wizards hand with a blade and working a ritual over it. The severed hand is then kept on the sorcerers waist and a stone is placed within, then the magic is channeled through it. The ancient pact senses the elven blood, dried or not, and comes when bekoned, lending the human sorcerer the power to battle the elven wizards. Worse still is the fact that the hand never tires like the elven wizards do, so can keep channeling the forces long after most elves have dropped form exhaustion.

Shyi saw a severed hand in his grip as she got closer and real fear crawled up her spine and kicked her brain. I just charged a sorcerer with only a sword, she thought as she kept going. Not much else to do now that she had gotten this far. That was the dangerous thing about human sorcerers, they never tired of pulling the forces around them. Since it was channeled through the elven hand, they ignored the strain of magic that every wizard felt. They could literally cast all day long. Then she had an idea. What’s the worst that could happen? Oh yeah, death... From Dragon caller, Rise of the Archmage book 1

Properties

Material Characteristics

The severed elven hand is set with a clasp at the severed wrist and hung from the sorcerer's waist. The hand itself is pale and cold, yet still pliable even after long months being dead.

Physical & Chemical Properties

The elven hand is able to channel the forces of the world through the stones placed within it's grasp. The more stones a caster places in the grasp, the more you can channel. The hand has other minor properties as well, endowed when it is created. Resistant to time and weather effects, and resistant to fire.

History & Usage

History

History tell us that it was a human sorcerer that origianlly came up with the idea to do this, though the specifics are lost to time now. What we do know is that it started the Dark War and saw the extermination of almost every sorcerer and elven hand that had been created.

Distribution

Trade & Market

These are not traded or sold, though in its day there was a black market for them.

Law & Regulation

Elven hands are outlawed and anyone caught having one on their person will be executed.

by K-J-Malings

Type

Organic

Rarity

Extremely rare, and illeagal

Odor

Oddly the embalming ritual that binds the hand after severing it removes the smell of death that would eventually come to most rotting flesh. Instead the hand has no smell what so ever, even after years.

Color

The color of the severed hands are usually very pale, grey skin tones

Tailor Made

Some sorcerers, back in the day, even decorated their hand with various cloth and other wrapings. Since some of the hands were mangled and not pristine, some users went to great lengths to make them more aestetically pleasing.