I, Ad Dakhla, scribe and chronicler to the court of the Sultan of the City of Bronze, do here set down with contrition the story of a sword the Sultan revoked my access to. The blade was a fine crystal, clearly useless for combat but nevertheless a masterpiece of several arts intended as a display piece. I was warned not to remove its protective case, and warned not to touch it.

Nevertheless, my curiosity got the better of my judgment and I removed the blown glass cover from the sword and filter gave it a slight tap with a wooden pin. My simple objective was to note the resonance of the sound it produced, and perhaps thereby ascertain the sort of crystal that the sword was made from. But the warnings had been given in earnest, and that small tap was enough to set off a resonance that caused the whole room to vibrate, several glass enclosures throughout the palace to crack or break, and bits of masonry to rain down upon the head of the Sultan himself.

Needless to say, my access was quickly revoked. If he had a hammer and could be assured that he would survive the resulting blow, the sultan told me, he would destroy the infernal thing. When I asked for further details, he refused to give any, simply saying that his family had lost too many armorers to the cursed thing.

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