Arkanotana (Patreon)

Weapon (longsword), very rare

Arkanotanas are blades from a far-flung age and can sometimes be found in the lairs of sphinxes that have traveled through time.

The item appears to be a longsword hilt. While grasping the hilt, you can use a bonus action to cause a blade of electrical force to spring into existence, or make the blade disappear. The sword's crackling blade emits bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet. While the blade exists, this magic longsword has the finesse property. If you are proficient with shortswords or longswords, you are proficient with the arkanotana.

You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon, which deals lightning damage instead of slashing damage. When a creature made of metal or wearing metal armor is hit by the sword, it takes an extra 1d6 lightning damage. When the sword deals this extra lightning damage, you can choose to shock the target. A shocked target's speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn, and it can't take reactions for the duration. Once the sword shocks a creature in this way, it can't do so again until the start of your next turn.

The weapon runs on a power source that's fueled by magic. The blade can persist for up to 1 hour before the power source is empty. Deduct the time it persists in increments of 1 minute from the power source's total time. You know how much remaining time the source has while holding the weapon. Any creature can use an action to expend a spell slot level of 1st level or higher into the power source, adding to its total remaining time, by touching the sword as the spell slot is expended. The power source regains a number of minutes of power equal to the spell slot level that was expended into it. When found, an arkanotana has 3d20 minutes of power remaining.

Mender picked up his loupe, giving the odd hilt-shaped bauble a close examination. "Now where'd you say ye found this again?"

"Desert, sir."

"That all?"

"Nothing else but a trinket or two. Busted lenses, a bit of metal tile. Those sorts of things, sir."

Mender went silent again, then whistled quietly.

"Well, it's magic, but hardly what we'd call that. Nae what I've seen before. Unmatched blade, but burns out when there's nae a mage to keep it. An elegant weapon, but against all ways ye'd normally make one. The one who figures out how to make these sortsa things…."

He trailed off again, holding the pause before continuing. "Anyway, lad, ye'll get the usual fee fer bringin' it all in. I'll take the tile and other trinkets ye said, too."

He counted out a purse of coins and handed it to the boy, who quietly nodded and ran off.

Mender turned back to the device and whispered to himself, "As fer me, I've got some hands-on studyin' to do."