The Heart of Darkness

The Heart of Darkness is a dangerous item indeed. A large beautiful diamond with a core of Amber & Leviathen's Flesh, it is ancient indeed being millions of years old.

History

The Heart of Darkness formed in the Earth's deep mantle millions of years ago. In doing so, it formed fround a splinter of Leviathan's Flesh that was attached to miniscule Amber slivers. Buried deep for a good part of a few million years, it made it's way high enough to be mined by an unknown species of creatures in the Underdark. What it is said is that it was responsible for the destruction of that species at the hands of a mythic crystal dragon called Athrú Feola (he Changer of Flesh). What this species was nobody can tell, just bits & pieces of it remain in deep Underdark regions tucked away in forgotten corners.
Given it's nature, the Heart of Darkness has passed from Athrú Feole's clutches into others. First he fell himself, corrupted by the magic & darkness radiating from the Heart, then every other creature that encountered it. It seemed to ruin every Giant, Ilithid, Dwarf, and Drow enclave it passed through up to near the surface.
Eventually resting in the deep soil of a set of lightly forested plains inhabited by Celts, it radiated darkness up through the roots of the local plants. The Celts eventually cleared the area around it, and built an open temple of stone on top of it. There they kept a pit at the centre of it, and grew an oak tree in the pit. Every year they sacrificed animals & criminals there hoping to keep the evil at bay. Every 10 years, when the oak had grown somewhat, they would burn human sacrifices there then plant a new oak sapling, again to try to appease the evil & stop it from growing. Unfirtunately, time took it's toll and the Celts vanished from the land supplanted by Slavs, and Turkic tribes in the region. Eventually, they learned to avoid the region.
Since that time the local tribes will not go near it, even to hunt or travel from A to B given the 'sinister air' that has slowly built up there.Most Slavic & Turkic shamans will regularly try to suppress the evil aura with blessings of the gods, and warn others never to go there if they value their souls.
Recently, many interested parties have took notice of the old legends linked to it. The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ezra, the Necrocult, and the Children of the Nazarene have all sent agents trying to pinpoint the exact location. All the while adventurers try to find the Heart of Darkness, even if it's just for the monetary worth of it.
Many who seek it for it's power to act like a focus for magical power and it's ability to affect lesser undead. The latter appears to cause the holder to turn undead, to make the user a blank to undead or to appear as an ally.

Significance

As a powerful magical gem it is whispered that the diamond affects magic & the worship of gods in equal measure. Those that have heard of it place it as important an object as the Sangreal or similar. Since most have not heard of it, the Heart of Darkness has sunk into obscurity.

Item type

Jewelry / Valuable

Current Location

Europe

Rarity

Legendary is nature only one of this unique diamond exists.

Base Price

50000 gp