Armour of Bronze

The Armour of Bronze was the legendary armour of Orien, the Battle King of the Drenai.

Hidden away by Orien upon his abdication, it was uncovered by the assassin Waylander during the Vagrian Wars and passed into the hands of the Drenai general Egel. Upon Egel's ennoblement as the Earl of Bronze, the Armour became part of the earldom, passed down through the family line. Thought of as magical or ensorcelled by most, the Armour is actually mundane; the 'magic' of it derives simply from the effect its presence has upon the battlefield, as the armour is held in reverenence by all Drenai, whose courage and will to prevail can be counted on to soar upon seeing the armour or knowing the wearer of it is with them.

History

Worn by Orien throughout his succcessful campaign to create the Drenai nation, the Armour of Bronze became famous amongst the Drenai people, who came to look upon it as a national symbol. Sometime past his middle age, Orien became convinced that the future days of his people would become days of blood and darkness, but that the Armour would provide light and purpose during that time, giving the Drenai strength to fight for their existence. To achieve this end, he had the Armour hidden inside a cave in the side of the mountain, Raboas, outside the borders of Drenai, awaiting the arrival of what he termed a "Chosen One" to claim it.

Known wearers of the Armour of Bronze

• Orien
• Egel
• Regnak
• Arvan
• Alahir

Appearance

The Armour of Bronze was not a set of full-body plate, but rather a number of individual pieces. The helm of the armour was winged, the breastplate engraved with a spread-winged eagle. The armour set also included two gauntlets and a pair of scabbarded swords*.

_{*In Legend and The Swords of Night and Day the armour is accompanied by a golden, two handed sword around two feet in length rather than the two short swords in Waylander. It may be that Egel had the twin blades recast as the longer, two-handed sword, but this is never explicitly explained.}