The Proximian Icon

The Proximian Icon is as an artifact as old as the temple’s establishment, dating its roots back to the end of the Aevum Avos. When the tribal leaders of Ebira gathered for the Covenant with Akeron and Delcore and their accords were concluded; the Icon—the temple teaches—was forged by the gods in their mortal visages as a physical representation of their communion.

Created simultaneous to the Incorporeum, the Icon mimics its astral cosmology on a smaller scale. During the Aevum Ortus, religious leaders used it to perform miracles  and to enhance their own Divus Arcanum. When construction began on Nova Carthago, it was placed at the mountain’s peak with an altar built around it. As construction of the city continued, the Parthenon was constructed around the Icon and its altar.

Arguably, it is the most powerful artifact in existence capable of substantially increasing a practitioner’s power by drawing energy directly from Elysium. It is the size of a grape fruit and crystalline in appearance, like a gemstone cut from the most perfect diamond. Visually, it is without flaw or tool marks. At its core, black and gold flames dance about casting a soft glow from its transparent edges.

For over eighty millennia, the Icon remained in the Parthenon as a piece of religious splendor adorning the great cathedral’s primary altar. That changed at the end of the Aevum Ira. On the day Alexander and Azazel seized power in the Illian Empire, the Icon was removed from its altar. Through the use of Divus Arcanum; amplified by the artifact’s power, Alexander merged with it—implanting the Icon between his pectorals. As a matter of policy, the Temple maintains this was done for the artifact’s security, Alexander concerned by how easily accessible it was. There are those who have other beliefs regarding his decision, though they aren’t discussed in polite company.

The limits of the Icon’s power have never been truly identified. What is known, is that its connection to Nova Carthago has created a sort of symbiosis—the Icon is strongest in the Parthenon. Its use does take a toll on those who use it, and that toll is higher based on the amount of energy harnessed. While no one, outside of those who have used it are sure of its exactly properties—scholars have theorized it is more than a battery or a siphon. Some speculate; that as a physical Incorporeum, it is capable of soul bending as well as magical disruption and control. These however, are only theories.