Vestiges of Divergence

The Vestiges of Divergence are ancient and powerful artifacts from the Calamity. During the Age of Arcanum, siphons were placed at nexuses of ley lines across Exandria to gather raw energy for the crafting of powerful artifacts, including Vestiges. Since the Calamity, these items have been scattered around the world—lost to the history books, passed down as symbols of power through various bloodlines or government positions, or stolen and unrecovered for hundreds of years. According to Kamaljiori, the androsphinx mate of Osysa, some Vestiges have been destroyed over this epoch, while others lie scattered across the Planes of Existence, and some are sealed or hidden.

The Vestiges are legendary artifacts that grow in power with the experience, force of will, and strength of character of the bearer. Many Vestiges, if sealed away or left without a worthy attuned individual for a period of time, will revert to their dormant state. A vestige in its dormant state still imbues power to the attuned, but with time, perseverance, and personal growth, the Vestige can regain access to some of its lost abilities by reaching its awakened state. Eventually, through extreme personal challenge, evolution, and achievement, the Vestige can reach its full potential in its exalted state. This is the true power of the Vestige, the state in which it was originally utilized in the Calamity against battle-ready gods.

Over the course of their adventures, the adventuring party Vox Machina found and retrieved eight of these powerful items throughout Exandria and the various Planes of Existence bordering the Prime Material Plane. The Mighty Nein have also recovered one, Star Razor. Many other Vestiges have been claimed by other individual, and others still have been lost to the ages.

While the Vestiges were often created by the Prime Deities, there are darker counterparts to them created by the Betrayer Gods called the Arms of the Betrayers.



Cabal's Ruin
Cabal's Ruin is a cloak of dark leather and gold trim that seems to occasionally shimmer with small sparks of blue energy across the shadowed lining. Previously used by an assassin to eliminate the Den of Druja, Cabal's Ruin was worn by Mistress Asharru before it was stolen by Anna Ripley. As of 836 PD, it was in the possession of Percy de Rolo.

Deathwalker's Ward
Deathwalker's Ward is a black leather armor covered in intricate scrollwork bearing a mantle of the Raven Queen's black feathers. Previously worn by Purvan Suul, a champion of the Raven Queen, it was interred with his body in a tomb beneath the Marrowglade Loch. As of 836 PD, it was in the possession of Vax'ildan, who wore it as he followed the Raven Queen into the afterlife and as he became her ethernal champion.

Fenthras
Fenthras is a longbow made of everbark from the Feywild that seems to flex and shift like a living entity. Previously the personal weapon of the archfey Saundor, but, as of 836 PD, was in the possession of Vex'ahlia.

Mythcarver
Mythcarver is a silvered blade that once belonged to the White Duke himself, and many more master bards before him. It resonates with nearby musical tones. The Duke entrusted the sword to a sphinx named Kamaljiori, who bequeathed it to Scanlan Shorthalt.

Plate of the Dawnmartyr
Plate of the Dawnmartyr is a brass-and-gold armor adorned by silver scrolling and priceless, cut rubies. Worn by the High Priest Duana of the Dawnfather as she fell in the Battle of Ghor Dranas. Once a treasure of the Sutan bloodline, it was lost in a card game to the fire giant Juuraiel. As of 836 PD, it was in the possession of Pike Trickfoot.

Spire of Conflux
Spire of Conflux is a curling wooden staff made from Melora's breath and passed down from generation to generation of Ashari leaders. For a time, the Spire lay within the stomach of a goristro named Yenk, who devoured the staff along with its wielder. As of 836 PD, it was in the possession of Keyleth.

Titanstone Knuckles
Titanstone Knuckles are gauntlets carved from the heartstone of a ruined earth primordial, bestowing immeasurable might to its wearer. Taken from the corpse of its previous owner, the Knuckles were worn by Kevdak, Thunderlord of the Herd of Storms, before being claimed by his nephew, Grog Strongjaw.

Whisper
Whisper is a curved blade of mercurial metal pulled from the Far Realm. Lost to the depths of the Ozmit Sea aboard the wreck of The Shrew, the dagger was recovered by Kynan Leore. As of 836 PD, it was in the possession of Vax'ildan, who took it with him as he followed the Raven Queen into the afterlife and as he became her ethernal champion.

Circlet of Barbed Vision
Circlet of Barbed Vision is a circlet of gnarled onyx. Once attuned, black barbs dig into the wearer's head, imparting power and twisting their appearance to amuse Lolth, Spider Queen. It was robbed from the Blightstar by a group of rookie adventurers, who were inspired by the circlet to name themselves the Crown Keepers. As of 843 PD, the circlet was worn by Opal, the champion of the Spider Queen.

Condemner
Condemner is a shadow-touched heavy crossbow that once served as the weapon of choice for the legendary assassin Todora. As of 836 PD, it was in possession of Ixrattu Khar, a tiefling vampire and member of the Remnants.

Kiss of the Changebringer
Kiss of the Changebringer is glittering emerald set within the center of a silver chain, humming with power and possibility. As of 835 PD, it was claimed by a group of Aurora Watch soldiers after being found in the depths of Bazzoxan.

Pyremaul
Pyremaul is a massive hammer of deep red iron that houses a brilliant fire opal, shimmering with eternal flame. As of 836 PD, it is rumored to be in the possession of Grand Legate Phaestor, the fire giant ruler of Vulkanon.

Star Razor
Star Razor, better known in Elvish as Dwueth'var, is a longsword that was forged by a union of acolytes of Melora and Sehanine. It carries the blessing of the fiercest full moon and starlit night. Sundered and reforged by Dulgrim Smeltborne of Uthodurn, the blade was broken again in a battle in the ruins of Molaesmyr. Its pieces were scattered, eventually reunited and reforged again by Umagorn Smeltborne. As of 836 PD, it was in the possession of Fjord of the Mighty Nein, who did not know about the Vestiges until Allura Vysoren identified his weapon as one.

Wreath of the Prism
Wreath of the Prism established by a loop of golden thorns that are inset with dozens of gems, representing the five colors of Tiamat. As of 812 PD, it was in the possession of Arkhan the Cruel, who found it in the Vault of Shumas in Marquet with the assistance of Percival de Rolo and Keyleth, among others.

Behind the scenes
Creating the Vestiges for Vox Machina, Matt geared several of them towards specific players: Mythcarver for Scanlan, the Titanstone Knuckles for Grog, the Spire of Conflux for Keyleth, and Fenthras for Vex. The Deathwalker's Ward and the Cabal's Ruin were more open between Vax, Percy, and Pike, and someone could double up on vestiges. Matt assumed Deathwalker's Ward would to go one of the five who used leather consistently. Vax sealed that choice with the Raven Queen and the temple.

As he stated in Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, Matt prefers the Vestiges awakening as rewards for meaningful moments of either heavy character development or embracing a new level of adventurous heroism. Regarding the Vestiges in the first campaign, which all reached their exalted states, he did not want to give players dormant Vestiges toward the end of a campaign, necessitating them to both awaken and exalt it. To address this, he devised a system where a Vestige slowly reverts to its dormant state if it is unattuned or unused for a long time, allowing players to find Vestiges that had been already awakened but not exalted or fully regressed to dormant again.