Weapon #4405

The precious stone known as jade is known to shine even in the darkest night.
When carved into a bow, they say that the arrows fired from it would seek out and destroy all evil.

The gaze of the lord of the mountains remained resolute and cold till the end, chilling and contained like the eternal glint of golden jade.
In those endlessly turbulent years, the tremulous, resounding howls of the bowstring replaced comforting song.

They say that that god who once had great insight into the weakness in mortal hearts was slain by this very bow.
Her eyes were keen and her mind was sharp, and she excelled in dominating the wills of those who served her.

"See, my child, how this dauntless hero is gnawed by fear. See how selfless rulers bow as if they lacked spines."
"Behold, my child, how those lovers who swore by the sky and earth betray and torment another with lies."

Surrounded by hatred and resentment, the god reclined upon her throne, savoring the fruit of joy, watching the juices flow between her fingers.
And with the sound of formless, clattering chains, blood-drunk on agony and frenzy alike, the loyal bloodhound at her feet devoured "dreams."
Those unbending bones resisted the piercings and floggings, though each heartbeat would bring fresh agonies.
The wondrous taste of those blood-drenched dreams was matched only by their transience, and the pure hatred and revulsion they produced indeed brought the god to ecstasy.

"Then tell me, child, tell me! How do those sweet dreams you have devoured taste?"
"Child, know that love is but a fleeting fog. It is power that forms the stuff of sweet dreams."

Pain and cruelty were but the ripple effects of power. It was shattered dreams that were the joyous, sweet wine.
But the god who was herself so sharp never expected that her heart, too, would be pierced by arrows of jade.
When her form crumbled, the unnumbered fragments of dreams would also scatter and fade into nothing...
Thus did the god who pursued and chained human hearts go to her destruction, when the bow, its power like a towering mountain, pronounced retribution upon her.
Such an end was to be expected, that one who delighted so in tyranny should come to a cruel end.

When peace was restored, and the nights were no longer filled with lamentations and mourning, the mighty jade bow would be carefully sealed.
There, it would patiently await the rise of another tyrant, to one day again pierce their heart with a light that no darkness can hide.