The artifacts contained within these halls are the true witnesses to the deeds told in our stories. Every engraving on gold, every mark on iron, represents the will of those who wielded or wore them. Many of these objects are the physical manifestation of a law or an idea. Within them lies the power of the will that forged them, and if studied and wielded by a worthy hand, that will can be brought to light once more.
Circles
But beyond the divisions of judges, warriors, and scribes, there is a bond that unites all Arbiter: their belonging to the Circles. This is the name given to the generations, and their number is etched onto the bodies of every citizen through the golden rings that encircle their necks. The firstborn daughters of Serena bear only one ring, their daughters two, their granddaughters three, and so on. This mark is not merely symbolic but a sacred law, an immutable truth. No one may change their Circle, for descent from Serena is the foundation of all order.
The most distant generations, those who bear dozens of rings around their necks, develop a natural elongation of their skeletal structure, so much so that their appearance is often interpreted as a physical attempt to draw closer to Strength, a silent search for the absolute from the humblest of his descendants. This elongation is not seen as a defect, but a mark of devotion. The farther one is from the Mother, the higher they must look toward the Father of all things.
The Sandals of the First Grain
The sandals once worn by the first penitent who set foot upon the desert path toward the gallows still bear the weight of an unfinished choice.They are the symbol of an intention withered before it could ever bloom.
The metal that once shielded the legs is scorched by the desert’s fire, as are the bands that once bound the ankles.
What remains stands as testament to the abnegation of Serena’s children before their sacred task.
Te Mask of Sul’Aman
The Mask of Sul’Aman is one of the founding relics of Arbiter culture. While every Sentence wore a unique mask, hers became a symbol. Behind it were the eyes that glimpsed what even Serena could not see. Its perfect symmetry recalls the Point, the symbol of the Father, while its engravings bear the law inscribed on the day the Tribunal of Intentions was founded. It is the visage of she who weighed the future still in its potential.
The Twin Helmets
The masks of Suris and Surit bear unique forms and details unlike any other Shields’. They embody the finest image of a world in constant tension to find balance. Their rise as Serena’s shields, through strength and perseverance, is the perfect symbol of how true balance is revealed in rivalry and challenge. The only marks on their flawless craftsmanship are the strikes of their own lances, for since then, no one else has ever come close enough to leave a trace upon time.
Double Edged Love
Within this blade lies the double edge of love. This dagger, with which a Sentence was slain in her own home, is a testament to how far a mother’s love for her child can reach:
toward acts of boundless generosity and tenderness, or into terrible and ferocious extremes. The loss of her daughter taught Serena that a mother’s love could endanger the balance of an entire world. And so this dagger reminds us: before duty, before caste, before judgment a mother is, above all, a mother.
The Eyes of Cornelia
Destroy. Every day, every hour, every moment. And yet destruction carries a weight. The weight removed from the Balance of Equilibrium settles upon the heart of the one who lifts it. But, contrary to what one might think, Cornelia loves her children deeply. And on a distant night, in a past long forgotten by time, she understood that none of them should bear the full weight of their duty alone. So, she imposed a rule. By this rule, the Long Fingers, their heads entirely veiled beneath their pointed hoods, will never see the eyes of their victims. By this rule, the Heavy Fingers will distinguish nothing but vague silhouettes, mere shadows glimpsed through the narrow vertical slits of their helmets. And only the most seasoned executioners, those who have learned to endure the burden of the end, may meet, if only for an instant, the gaze of those who walk toward their final night, separated only by the iron grate that divides the world from condemnation.This is a mother’s mercy for her children. And for every eye closed to the suffering of the end, Cornelia will open one, one that will remain forever fixed upon the pain of those who were unseen in their final moments.
The Black Nail
The very fact that this blade has endured long enough to rest within this vault is a testament to its astounding craft.
More astonishing still, its edge remains keen.
A fragment of divinity, forged by the hands of creation itself and once wielded by the most formidable executioner to walk the earth.
Or perhaps merely the tribute of a mother, the gift of a sister, and the burden of a son.
The First Curtain
The first helm, wrought to shield the children of Cornelia from the crushing weight of their destined burden, became a living emblem of her boundless charity toward her offspring.
And it is said that even now, when one dons this relic, every shadow of guilt dissolves, and the world is seen through a veil of obsidian threads, an unearthly curtain that severs the wearer from the memory of their own deeds.
The Throne of the Saint
At first glance it is but a solitary mass of towering white marble, yet this very formation is the throne upon which the Saint of the Mine, Caratum, sat each evening
at the close of his toil.
Dedication, endurance, and iron discipline are carved into the very veins of this stone, so deep, that they awaken an almost holy obsession in all who behold it.