Heart of Halai-Aem
- Creator
- Halai-Aem
- Type
- Stone
- Renowned owners
- Khodole clan
- Abilities
- Its user can control the earth itself and can call the power of Halai-Aem to gain powerful blessings or inflict her wrath on their enemies
The most sacred relic of the Khodole clan, the Heart of Halai-Aem is a living symbol of the clan’s pact with the spirit of the earth Halai-Aem, who gave her heart so their mountainous lands could prosper and bloom. Because of this ancient deal the Khodole protect their patron’s heart with their lives since they believe that if it were ever lost it would cause mean the end of the Khodole clan.
The exact origin of the heart goes back to the age of the First Incarnate, a time where Shinri was torn by conflict between the spirit and human worlds. Khodole clan legends claim that the great earth spirit fell in love with the patriarch of their clan and had many children with him, all born with mastery over the earth. As the Khodole clan began to prosper it drew many enemies jealous of their rich lands and growing prosperity, who tried to invade with great armies. Lord Khodole tragically perished in one of these battles, leaving Halai-Aem grief-stricken and furious.
To protect her children she surrounded their lands with great mountains they could be safe from any threats and struck her enemies with a powerful earthquake that reduced their domains to rubble. Before parting to the Spirit world she planted her heart in the Khodole lands and made them fertile and prosperous, a blessing that would stay with the Khodole for generations. While this tale seems beautiful at first, many similar stories were discovered to be fabricated by the Seishin-Gumi making some question its veracity.
The mountain where Halai-Aem placed her heart would become a sacred site for the Khodole clan and after centuries they excavated a great underground complex where they would bury their dead clan leaders. The Seishin-Gumi collaborated with the Khodole to create a complex system of traps to deter any thieves from stealing the Heart, ensuring the safety of the Khodole.
These defenses were put to the test when the new Incarnate’s companions attempted to steal the heart in a bid to delegitimize the Khodole leadership at the time, but in the end they were incapable of stopping them and the Seishin-Gumi were forced to directly intervene. This battle would be disastrous for the spirit hunters, who lost many powerful agents and were blamed by the new Incarnate’s companions for the theft so they could seem like heroes in the eyes of the Khodole. The heart then returned to its rightful place as a new lord closer to the Incarnate ascended to the Khodole throne, remaining there to ensure the survival of the clan.
The Heart of Halai-Aem grants whoever touches it mastery over the earth beyond that of even the greatest earth elementalist. Those attuned with the heart can create devastating earthquakes or even move mountains, but so far its full power has not been unlocked as this artifact has remained sealed away for most of its existence. In addition, the land around the artifact will be unusually fertile even in harsh conditions and earth spirits will manifest with greater frequency.