Anvil of Emptiness and Hammer of Souls

Only recently-rediscovered by an incidental incursion by Didacy operatives in Dying Light 9047, the Anvil of Emptiness and the Hammer of Souls were used during the War of the Starfall by the Didacy to create the Warforged. Its primary function was to give the spark of life to Warforged through the creation of Soul Cloisters. At some point after the war, it was sealed away in the Basilica of the Fallen Moon on the island of Obsidian as a "prisoner," along with several fallen Warforged, multiple soul cloisters, and many other relics guarded by The Keeper and a Warforged Titan. The nature of the Anvil exerts a strong pull to sentient beings in its vicinity to use it. The Keeper and Immolate of the Didacy have both described it as inherently evil and strongly implied that it cannot be destroyed. Other than its role in the creation the Warforged and its nature at present, very little is known about the Anvil by those who currently live.

Physical Characteristics

As observed by the Didacy Asset Retrieval Team in 9047, the Anvil and Hammer are of a wholly unique design unlike most any piece of technology observed in the modern age. The Anvil is made of a deep black metal with braces around its edges of tarnished brass and silver. It is wide and low to the ground, standing about 3 ft high and 8 ft long. In its center is a shallow indent about 1.5 ft wide from which a narrow channel runs to a spherical divot. Around this channel are wholly unique and complex magical runes which faintly glow a golden orange. On its front rim is etched a faded dedication which reads:

Dedicated to the strength, primacy, and unfettered destiny of the Didacy
May the Light of the Didacy never fade from the Face of Perradin

The Hammer is made of a similar composition of dark heavy metal with accents of brass and silver. The head of the Hammer is a make similar to a ball-peen or machinist's hammer with a spherical center, a flattened face, and a rounded back. Across the head and down the handle are dozens of unique and bafflingly-complex runes which glow in faint tones of orange, blue, and red. At the base of the handle is a flared ring which appears to be a socket of some kind.

Properties (According to Immolate in 9047)

The Anvil of Emptiness works in conjunction with the Hammer of Souls to tear the soul from a sentient being whose head was placed upon the Anvil. According to Immolate, when the Hammer makes contact with the individual's head, their soul is instantaneously destroyed. The soul, its spark of life, the memories of the individual, and the very will to exist are torn apart by their magic and fully erased from all planes of existence. The Hammer and Anvil then create an exact copy the soul which is disconnected from the natural world, which is then placed inside a soul cloiser. Should this artificial copy of the soul ever leave the Hammer and Anvil apparatus or the soul cloister, it is permanently dispersed and destroyed with no potential to be reconstituted.
Any soul that is encased in a Soul Cloiser by the Hammer and Anvil is fully aware and sapient, containing the memories, emotions, and experiences of the one who had been used to create it. However, it was not that individual in actuality, its memories and experiences simply being a factual statement about its past. From the point of creation, the new individual would be a new entity entirely, often with a perceived emotional and spiritual distance from their "original" life.

History

While it is known in the modern age that the Anvil and Hammer were used during the War of the Starfall to create the Warforged, all the details of their creation and the nature of the rest of Warforged construction have been forgotten or buried intentionally by the survivors. After the war, they were sealed away in the Basilica of the Fallen Moon until they were rediscovered by agents of the Didacy. During their encounter with the Anvil and Hammer, the operatives by the name of Milos and Throden were influenced by their pull. Milos took the Hammer while Throden placed her head upon the Anvil. Only through the intervention of their allies did Milos Danzog and Throden make it out of the situation unscathed. The agents left the relics in their prison and departed Obsidian.
Days later on a shipping barge returning to the Didacy, an unknown creature in the cargo hold affected the dreams of Milos, plaguing him with dreams of using the Hammer on Throden. After repeated exposure to this creature's influence, Milos somehow found the Hammer in his possession in his bag. After this, he was consistently being influenced by the Hammer's will to be used. It came to a climax during the Test of Knowledge celebration when Milos used it against Immolate in a mock battle. Immolate was unaffected by the Hammer and did not appear to recognize it on sight. Milos was overcome with despair and dissatisfaction with the lack of results from using the Hammer and dropped it on the ground. Throden then picked up the Hammer and kept it with her afterward. The Hammer began influencing her from this point, and exuded a desire to return to Obsidian and the Anvil to be used as soon as possible.
After revealing to Immolate that the Hammer was, in fact, the Hammer of Souls, Milos and Throden were told its true nature by Immolate. On examination, Immolate determined that in the days since she had taken possession of it, Throden had become bonded to the Hammer; if the two were ever separated by a significant distance for any extended amount of time, her soul would weaken and separate from her body, causing a death that could not be reversed.

Children Technologies

• Soul Cloisters