Ceremonial Knives
Very few relics survived the conflagration that destroyed Nergal, the empire of the sorcerers. Of the few objects that did survive, the most numerous are the ceremonial knives.
The priests of Nergal practiced all forms of sacrifice at their altars, dedicated to the worship of their empress, and to the so-called ancient ones, the primal forces of chaos who were reputed to give the empire of Nergal its motive force.
The empress of Nergal, who claimed to speak for the so-called ancient ones, demanded constant sacrifices – human, animal, plant, and even inanimate objects, notably works of art and craftsmanship. These were all continuously slaughtered at the altars Kh!’rk Q’m*, the capitol of Nergal. These knives, depicted here, were created solely for this purpose.
(*A note on pronunciation: Kh!’rk is the sound an old man makes when he clears his throat. Q’m rhymes with `doom’.)
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According to the sorcerer Cotitas (in his `Reminiscences’), and the sorcerer Slurimonious (in his `Sorcerer’s Almanack’), these knives were highly prized and greatly coveted by both the priests and the sorcerers of Nergal. The empress gave them out as favors, and several sorcerers had compiled collections thousands of these pieces (Cotitas).
As we can see from this very limited selection, the priests of Nergal put great craft into the making of these things, some of which were made for express purpose, perhaps as commemorative pieces used on but a single occasion, for a sacrifice of note.
We observe here, even from the small number of pieces that did survive, examples of several styles of knives, each reflecting what appears to be a differing aesthetic intent of the makers, or, as the wizard Toma suggests in his `History of the Dark Empire’, specialized use as implements of torture. Precious materials were used in the making of all of these knives, from gold, silver and platinum to precious stones, rubies, emeralds, and amethysts, as well as pearl and ivory.
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