2025 Jul 10: Horned Helmet

 Originally invented by the humans of the northeast, Horned Helmets have been widely adopted by the Invaders, then after having seen them in action, even armies led by mighty Sorcerer-Kings decided to make their own variants. The Helmets were originally worn by priests of Kertoi, known to the humans as Pawu. While nowadays more of them are worn in combat than during rituals, they retain Kertoi's blessing.

Most Horned Helmets carry two blessings. The first simply makes the spirits of the winds take notice, and try to help the wearer out. This usually isn't much, but people routinely wearing these helmets usually have good luck with the winds, and get set upon by storms noticeably less. As the Invaders mostly get around by boat, this is obviously a huge perk for them.

The second blessing allows the wearer to sprint fast, as the wind, though they will be hit with unearthly fatigue when they take off the helmet. The Invaders use this ability charge at the chariots of their enemies, often taking them by surprise, and taking over or destroying the chariot. Some Sorcerer-Kings on the other hand managed to figure out how to apply this benefit to the wearer's chariot, negating the advantage the Invaders have.

Horned Helmets are almost always made from bronze, with the horns being either the cut-off horns of cattle, or just bronze decorations meant to evoke them. They also often feature a stylized depiction of Kertoi's face.

Nationalmuseet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons