Heaven

Anson's and then Rillian's wakizashi.   The savage lands of Kythas have managed to avoid the conflicts of the rest of the world but their internal struggles are as old as time itself. The ancient race known as the Sho'Torr are enigmatic at best. Few have encountered them and lived to tell the tale. However, over countless centuries some artifacts have made their way from their home, known as The Hive. During one of the many civil wars among the minotaur tribes of Kythas, a warrior of the Black Hoof clan managed to slay a Sho'Torr warror, the only time this has ever been recorded as actually happening. This warrior retrieved several objects from the slain foe and returned them to his tribe. The clan shaman immediately felt the power of an inconspicuous clay jar with a woven straw lid. Once fully understood, this object was used to terrible effect in the ongoing wars. In the language of the minotaur, "Shamsakara" roughly translates into "Menagerie of the Fallen". Those persons slain by one who carries with them Shamsakara, have their souls pulled into the jar which hides a purgatory like wasteland where their powers, abilities and knowledge are transferred to the bearer of the jar. Perhaps more terrifying is that the bearer of the jar can summon that soul from the jar to do his or her bidding. That person returns as an abomination trapped between life and death. Admiral Sark personally seized the artifact from the Black Hoof tribe. Many minotaur as well as his own troops perished in order to obtain it.