Shrouding mantle

Shrouding mantle is a relic of Reverie, the affinity of dream, illusion and mind. It holds an old piece of Covenant-stuff, the substance of the Seal-shards, bound into a heavy mantle, and its treasure spirit answers to Wefan, the Weaver.

While it is held, every attempt to spy out what lies in its holder's kingdom is turned aside. Rivals who send their sight across the border come back with nothing. They must fight blind, or guess.

There is one thing the mantle cannot hide. Heaven still counts it in its holder's Weight, a reckoning that is never stated and does not depend on being seen. So the Law of Equals still sets the kingdom among heavier rivals, even if none of them can see inside it. A conqueror who gets through can also carry the mantle off as spoils.

No one knows who made it. Some Sealborn say it was woven so that a newcomer could wait unseen, and they think of Wen Sarai, who returns each Turning, builds nothing past her first foothold and waits. Why she waits is not told here. That the mantle was made for anyone like her is their belief.

Tellan, the Keeper of Tallies keeps the mantle among the Mnemoliths between Turnings. There is one in each Turning, and if it is lost, its shard returns to his keeping for the recasting.

Player-visible facts