The Spear of Destiny – Document #8353

By Jonathan Turner, ©1999

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DOCUMENT #8353

TO:   Adam
FROM: Alphonse
RE:   The Spear of Destiny
DATE: March 21, 1999

As requested, here is a summary of our files on the artifact known as the Spear of Destiny. I trust you will agree with me that there is little doubt somewhere along the line it will be a target for the Karotechia. I would have to agree with Cell D’s assessment that it should be at the very least placed under surveillance, or more likely removed for safekeeping’ by ourselves.

The Spear allegedly belonged to the centurion Longinus, who plunged it into Christ’s side on the Cross – thus saving him from the slow death from suffocation which characterized crucifixion.

Almost from that moment, many powerful men believed that if they possessed the weapon which had ended Christ’s life, it would bring them control of the world. So, like the Ark of the Covenant, it is an artifact with a history steeped in blood.

For over a thousand years, the Spear was regarded as a symbol of ultimate power by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire.

Over the centuries it has been given many other names, including the Holy Lance, the Spear of Longinus, Spear of Mauritius, Spear of Hofsburg and the Spear of the Holy Grail.

Herod the Great was the first to take possession of the Spear, but it has also been in the hands of Emperor Constantine, Justinian, Emperor Charlemagne, Otto the Great, Kaiser Wilhelm, the Hapsburg Emperors, and of course – Adolph Hitler.

All these men had one thing in common. While they had the Spear, they were invincible. But as soon as they lost it, death was never far behind.

It appears to have played a crucial role in European affairs for centuries. Saxon King Heinrich had it in his possession when he defeated the Magyars.

Pope John XII is said to have used it to christen Heinrich’s son Otto the Great as Holy Roman Emperor. Otto himself carried it into battle against the Mongolian Hordes in the Battle of Leck, where they were soundly defeated.

Constantine the Great claimed the Spear guided him by “divine providence” in his victory at Milvian Bridge, which established Christianity as the official religion of the Holy Roman Empire. He also had it at his side while surveying the plans for his new city, Constantinople.

The Frankish General Karl Martel was also said to have used the spear successfully in battle, while Emperor Charlemagne lived and slept within reach of it – attributing 47 victories to its powers.

In all, 45 emperors over 1,000 years claimed the “Spear of Destiny” for themselves.

In one unattributed case, an emperor was said only to have lost in battle after he dropped the Spear while fording a river. Within seconds, an arrow struck him in the eye, and he died instantly.

Hitler first set eyes on the Spear while in the Hapsburg Treasure House in Vienna in September, 1912. He later said it was clear that it was his destiny to possess it for himself.

“I knew with immediacy that this was an important moment in my life, and yet I could not divine why an outwardly Christian symbol should make such an impression on me,” he said.

“I stood there quietly gazing upon it for several minutes quite oblivious to the scene around me.

“It seemed to carry some hidden inner meaning which evaded me; a meaning which I felt I inwardly knew yet could not bring to consciousness.

“I felt as though I myself had held it in my hands before in some earlier century of history – that I myself had once claimed it as my talisman of power and held the destiny of the world in my hands.

“What sort of madness was this that was invading my mind and creating such turmoil in my breast?”

Over the next three years Hitler made many trips to the museum to see the Lance. One day he claimed to have slipped into a trance as he stood watching it.

“I slowly became aware of a mighty presence around it – the same awesome presence which I had experienced inwardly on those rare occasions in my life when I had sensed that a great destiny awaited me,” he later said.

The German composer Richard Wagner, another influence on Hitler, was also obsessed with the Holy Lance. His opera Parsival revolved around a quest for the Spear of Longinus.

It is sought by Klingsor, a black magician who is a mortal enemy of the Knights of the Holy Grail. Hitler was said to regard this saga as a parallel of his own attempts to purify the Aryan blood-line.

In April, 1938, Hitler marched on Vienna and finally took possession of the Spear, returning with it to Nuremberg. Rumor has it that the Spear remained close to his side until the very last days of his life.

Somewhere in the confusion of the last days of the war, Hitler and the Spear became separated. Independent evidence has confirmed that American soldiers took possession of the Spear in Nuremberg on April 30, 1945 – 30 minutes before Hitler took his own life in the Berlin command bunker.

General Patton was also impressed with the legend of the Holy Lance and was clearly disappointed when Eisenhower ordered that it be returned to the Hapsburg Treasure House Museum in Vienna.

It is still there, though now it consists of just the spearhead, with the shaft long since broken. The spearhead is held together with gold, silver and bronze thread and supposedly contains a nail from the crucifix.

What concerns me, however, is that there is strong occult evidence that the Spear is indeed a powerful relic – though I have my doubts that it have ever belonged to Longinus.

Certain texts – of which the Karotechia no doubt also possess knowledge – detail a ritual for returning the Spear to its former glory. If the fragments fall into their hands, they may well use this ritual to unleash the power of the Holy Lance once again.

The esoteric nature of these works leads me to believe that all is not what it seems about the Spear. It draws whoever possesses it into a spiral of blood and violence which ultimately leads to their destruction. Does that not sound like the work of the Old Ones? I am certain it predates Christ and has very little to do with the Grail legend.

If you are in agreement, I will contact Cell D and order them to retrieve the Lance immediately. Fortunately, we have a friendly in place at the museum.

The assistant curator at the Treasure House, Anton Milch, has carried out extensive research on the Spear in his efforts to confirm its checkered history. He is in no doubt that it has occult significance – and could prove disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands.

I met Milch several times over the last three years and he is now regarded as a DG friendly. He has been keeping an eye on the Spear for us, and D cell recently opened tentative contact with him.

With Milch’s inside knowledge, any attempt by us to secure the Lance is sure to be successful. I trust you will agree with my recommendations.

Retrieving this relic from the hands of the Karotechia would prove far more difficult – if not impossible.

Be seeing you.

MESSAGE ENDS

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Simulation Data

The true source of the Spear of Longinus is none other than Nyarlathotep. The trickster god created it as another of his black pranks on Humanity.

The ritual for reconstructing the Spear has indeed been passed onto the Karotechia by “Der Fuhrer”, though the triumvirate’s internal wrangling have pushed it down their list of priorities. Eventually, they will seek to obtain it for themselves.

The Ritual of the Black Lance is a long, involved process which takes several hours. One caster must lead the chanting, joined by at least ten assistants who all possess 10 POW minimum. As the simple wooden shaft is joined and bound onto the spearhead, the ritual reaches a climax and the assistants are all drained of their POW. They are reduced to bloodless husks in the process, leaving the caster with an unbreakable bond to the Spear.
Once bound in such a way, the bearer of the Spear will find many powerful advantages. He will never miss a luck or dodge roll and any attempt to strike him in combat is reduced to 5%. Any damage striking the caster while wielding the Spear is reduced to the minimum. Weapons do not impale.

In hand to hand combat, the Spear parries and strikes at 100%. It can be dodged at normal chance, however. The Lance inflicts 3D6 damage and drains all the victim’s magic points unless he successfully beats the damage rolled on the Resistance Table with his POW. The drain will otherwise knock the target unconscious.

The caster can also expend 10 magic points to fire a blast of magical energy from the Spear with a chance to hit equal to his Luck roll. This energy drains a point of POW from the target, who will lapse into a coma if he does not make a Luck roll.
The 100 points of POW invested in the Spear also make the bearer extremely charismatic. He will have little difficulty rising to a position of power in whatever sphere of influence he chooses, should it be commerce, politics or the military.

Such power brings with it enormous disadvantages, of course. Few make a bargain with Nyarlathotep and come out on top.

If the Spear is ever separated from the bearer by more than a few feet, they will automatically fail Luck and Dodge rolls and their combat skills all revert to base chance. They receive no further protection from damage.

The Spear will always draw the wearer into bloodshed. Those around him tend to die in the most horrible ways possible. Friends and family will be the first to perish, leaving the bearer twisted and alone.

Nyarlathotep also influences the bearer through dreams and visions, driving them ever onwards into more chaos. When the god tires of them, which tends to be quickly, he will cunningly engineer their ultimate defeat – usually through betrayal by whoever is still close to them.

Many bearers have had their throats cut in their sleep, with the Spear soon falling into the hands of the next victim.

For more information, see Trevor Ravenscroft’s books on the Spear.

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