Ur
Eons ago, before the human race developed even the most basic metallurgical skills, primitive bands of hunter-gatherers crafted weapons from the stones of the earth, the bones of their prey, and other simple materials. For hunting, these tribes favored simple bows, spears, and slings, but for warfare, many preferred a crude hammer & axe made from a wedge of flint or obsidian. Although brittle in comparison to the iron and steel weapons used by modern warriors, these stone axes held an edge sharp enough to shave with and could inflict devastating wounds. Many warriors ascribed totemic attributes to their weapons, hoping to draw upon the strengths of animal spirits by carving their likenesses into the stone.
Although it is nearly impossible to garner the history of a specific weapon crafted tens of thousands of years before the invention of the written word, it is clear from its multitude of animal glyphs that Ur was the weapon of a great warrior, perhaps even a chieftain. They must have undergone many spiritual ordeals in order to gain the favor of their tribe’s shaman, whose powers would have been necessary to bind animal spirits into the axe. The oldest carvings on the weapon appear to be those of deer or antelope, so Ur’s first owner was probably a scout of some sort, fleet of foot and keen of eye. The puzzle is how such an individual could become a renowned warrior with enough wealth and prestige to have his axe bound with such potent shamanic magic.
After the deer carvings, the next oldest appear to be of a pack of wolves. This change from prey animal to predator might mark the wielder’s transition from lookout or scout to hunter or raider, with the attendant ferocity attached to such a change. To these ancient people, the wolf was a symbol of stealth, cunning, and keen senses, with a profound connection to the supernatural and mystical. In many early cave paintings, for example, the sun and moon are depicted as a pair of wolves circling each other, testing for dominance. Wolf pelts and skulls found in many prehistoric gravesites hint that wolves were considered guides to or messengers from the afterlife. Above all, though, these primitive people saw in the wolf packs both a terrible enemy and a structure to be emulated—wolves are, in many ways, the perfect hunters. Thus, many hunters and shamans took the wolf as their totem.
The most recent (if anything on a such an old axe can be called recent) figures adorning Ur are those of great elephants, twice the size of either the deer or the wolves. The elephant was the symbol of the warrior—specifically, the warrior as protector of the tribe, just as elephants fight most fiercely to protect their calves. Also an icon of great wisdom and leadership, the elephant hints that Ur’s original owner rose from humble beginnings as a scout to a dominant war-leader in a relatively short period. It is unknown whether Ur’s attendant animal spirits were a factor in this ancient warrior’s rise to supremacy, or if the axe gained its true power only when the warrior was influential enough to command the tribe’s shaman to ensorcel the stone. What cannot be disputed is that the magic bound into Ur gave the weapon a primitive, animal intelligence that has lasted to this day.
Ur is currently wielded by Sarya