The Heart of Rath is a single solitary crystal gem that to ordinary folk would appear to be little more than a simple jewel.

Those with the gift of magic however would find a different appearance to the Heart all together. When someone with innate magic abilities observes the Heart itself they see intrinsic lines of arcane power running through the gem itself. Each of these lines appear unique and scrawled through the gem itself, a constant that was laid into the Heart upon its creation.

The more observant however would not that these lines not only shift, but grow. Each time the gem's power is utilized the lines throughout the gem change.

A wise person who sees these changes may be able to see and even guess just how much longer the gems power will last utilizing these lines. Many famous scholars who have written of the Heart also suggest that these lines could somehow be altered and changed, suggesting that there is a way to prevent the gem from breaking.

The Heart of Rath was created eons ago by an unknown being as part of a 'set'. The Heart itself was made not as a central piece of this set, but instead was crafted as a mechanism of ensuring the rest of the set survived.

To this effect the Heart of Rath draws desication, strain, erosion and even aging in upon itself.

To put it in more simple terms, the Heart of Wrath in effect stops things from degrading. Whether the effect comes from magic, physical damage, or the passage of time itself the Heart of Rath takes whatever it is upon itself. Of course, there are limits to the powers of the Heart, and sufficient magic or strength can shatter the gem just like anything else.

For instance the Heart could not be placed upon a building and create a structure that would last through a thousand years and a siege. At best it would allow the building to stand for a century more than it ordinarily would.

The Heart works through taking the damage of whatever it is attached to. As more strain is put on the item, more strain is put on the gem until it will eventually shatter.

Of course, just like any magic the Heart of Rath is not free of a cost. Though no one knows how it was originally crafted, many scholars presume it's method of creation was born of dark magics, and thus the cost for its initial "charge" was paid upon creation.

Many scholars around the world, especially in Elbion, have dedicated their entire lives to the study of magical artifacts and the people who created them. One particular scholar happened upon information about a Man named Rath.

Though the scholar was never quite sure exactly what the motivations of Rath were nor where he came from, the scholar was able to ascertain that this man held machinations of conquest; particularly of those lands now belonging to The city state of Vel Anir.

Through many months of research and delicate political maneuvering the Scholar was able to gain scant information about Rath, much of which detailed his standing as a great mage and artificer of his day. Through various texts the scholar learned that Rath crafted a set of armor, one that enhanced his magical ability and would allow him to survive any battle.

Just what happened to Rath or his armor is unknown, but the Scholar was able to ascertain the function of several of the armors pieces. This included the Heart of Rath, which of course went missing with Rath himself.

Information after this, the Scholar found, was scant indeed.

"Do you know what I love about your kind?

You're so delightfully creative. So wondrously adventurerous. It's different here, things are more…similar. We share a piece of the divine, we are above you, but we struggle for independence. We fight for pieces of ourselves. Sometimes I wonder if we could learn something from you, sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better if we had kept more of ourselves.

Then I look at you.

The way you snivel and beg. The way you gaze upon us when you realize what we are.

At home you were a mage. Back upon your own lands you dough conquest, you scrambled for any iota of power. You did your best, worked for decades to hone your craft and build this…this armor of yours.

Now you're here.

Rendered as helpless as a babe before something that you could not hope to comprehend. Your magic means nothing and your armor…your armor could not save you if it had been crafted over centuries.

All those sacrifices, all that death, for nothing.

I see the flaws in us. I see the pieces we have lost but then I look at you Rath. I look at the pathetic identity that you have created for yourself and realize it was all a hopeless mimicry of what you could have gotten with one quick word of submission.

It makes me wonder why we even want to return."
- Azget of the Seventh[1]

Image credit: Seraph777

1. ^https://chroniclesrp.net/threads/those-beyond.815/