The Aegisstaff

The Aegisstaff was a legendary artifact created in ancient Aegea, long before the Fall of the Age of Wonders. It was crafted by Mageris, one of the founders of Aegea, together with the other great magical minds of the city. Magerris was later identified as the Keeper of the Aegisstaff before his ascension to godhood.

The staff was created as an artifact of preservation. Its most famous abilities were its power to cure and prevent disease and to protect the land around Aegea from the forces that threatened its survival. It preserved crops against plague and drought and helped produce exceptionally bountiful harvests, preventing the famine that had threatened the young city. Its preservation magic also appeared to extend to the people living in its vicinity, contributing to the unusually long lives of many Aegeans.

Creation

The Aegisstaff was created in response to the first great plague to threaten Aegea.

At the time, the city was suffering from drought, famine, attacks by wolves, and a mysterious plague that was eventually revealed to be connected to Filtiarn. The plague was not an ordinary disease. Filtiarn had infused his lycanthropic curse into an airborne disease with the intention of infecting the population of Aegea and eventually transforming thousands of people into werewolves.

The leaders of Aegea sought a way to stop the plague. After obtaining the magical crystal known as the Hag's Eye, the city's mystics determined that an artifact could be created that would both protect the people from the plague and preserve the entire valley against drought, flooding, and other disasters.

The artifact required unusually powerful components. Among them were the blood and a shard of the horn of a unicorn. The unicorn could not be killed, because its blood would lose its potency if it died. The heroes therefore had to earn the unicorn's cooperation and obtain the components without killing it.

A personal remnant of Filtiarn was also required to complete the artifact. The completed weapon became the Aegisstaff.

The First Plague

The Aegisstaff prevented Filtiarn's plan from succeeding.

The plague had been designed to spread through Aegea before Filtiarn triggered the lycanthropic curse in the infected population. The creation and use of the Aegisstaff gave the people of Aegea a means of curing and preventing the disease before that plan could be completed.

The artifact subsequently became associated with the survival of Aegea and its people. Its preservation magic helped protect the valley's crops and population for generations.

Magerris and the Aegisstaff

Magerris became the Keeper of the Aegisstaff before his ascension to godhood.

When the events leading to the Fall began, Magerris still possessed the staff. Historical records placed the Aegisstaff in his hands during his battle with Correries above Rictaria. The battle destroyed Rictaria and created Godsmount.

Correries eventually fled toward the End of the World, and Magerris pursued him. It was never established whether Magerris still possessed the Aegisstaff when he crossed the boundary at the End of the World.

After Magerris ascended, the Aegisstaff did not accompany him into the heavens. Its whereabouts became unknown.

Rediscovery

Centuries later, the party learned of the Aegisstaff while investigating the renewed plague afflicting the world.

Research into the history of Aegea revealed that the ancient plague and the modern werewolf plague appeared to be connected. The lost book The Quest for the Cure eventually provided the key to understanding how the original plague had been defeated.

The party's subsequent research established that the Aegisstaff was still potentially capable of combating the modern plague. They also learned that the artifact could not simply be recreated.

The search for the staff eventually led them toward Godsmount, the last place where historical records definitively placed Magerris and the Aegisstaff together.

The Modern Plague

After the party recovered the Aegisstaff, it became one of their most important weapons against Filtiarn and his followers.

The staff was used to cure infected people and prevent further spread of the werewolf plague. Its use significantly reduced the number of new werewolf transformations, although isolated outbreaks continued to occur.

The party was eventually forced to keep the staff constantly moving because both Cain and Filtiarn's forces sought to obtain it. The Aegisstaff possessed magical protections that prevented it from being located through divination, allowing the party to conceal it by frequently changing both its bearer and its location.

Samos and the Church of Demmazon also sought possession of the staff. The party used it to cure much of the plague within Toreon, after which Samos and his forces demanded that it be surrendered.

The Breaking of the Aegisstaff

The Aegisstaff ultimately became the focus of a massive confrontation involving the Gauntlet of the Moon, Cain's army, agents of the Church of Demmazon, and other forces seeking control of the artifact.

During the battle, the Aegisstaff was broken into pieces.

Its destruction ended the world's last known source of the ancient preservation magic embodied by the artifact. With the staff destroyed, there was no longer any possibility of using it to halt the spreading plagues.

The destruction of the Aegisstaff was one of the final major turning points of the Under the Bus campaign. Its loss forced the party to rely on Thorn Runehammer and the hidden Green Gift beneath the ruins of Aegea as the remaining means of confronting the forces threatening the world.

Known Powers

The full capabilities of the Aegisstaff were known only to its Keeper. The following powers are documented:

• Disease: The staff could cure and prevent disease.

• Preservation: It could preserve crops and protect them from plague, drought, and similar threats.

• Fertility and Harvest: Its influence produced bountiful harvests around Aegea and helped prevent famine.

• Extended Longevity: Its preservation magic appeared to extend to people living near the staff, contributing to the unusually long lives of Aegeans.

• Plague Suppression: In the modern era, the staff was capable of curing large numbers of victims of the werewolf plague and substantially reducing new infections.

• Protection from Divination: The staff possessed its own magical protections that prevented divination magic from locating it.

The Aegisstaff's other functions remain unknown. The artifact was destroyed before its complete capabilities could ever be documented.

Surviving Pieces

Although the original Aegisstaff no longer exists in its complete form, pieces of the staff survived into the modern era. These fragments retained small portions of the artifact’s original power, though the full capabilities of the individual pieces are not yet known.

One such fragment was recovered by the party at the conclusion of the Savorise Part 2 campaign, when they looted a treasure vault belonging to Marstalbin. The fragment is now known to be a surviving piece of the Aegisstaff.

The nature and capabilities of the surviving pieces remain to be determined.