XP Value: 50,000 GP Value: 150,000
Strictly translated, the kiira (formally the tel’kiira) are lore gems. Wearable only by elves, kiira are semi-sentient depositories of knowledge; whatever is known to a wearer of a kiira is recorded into the gem and can become known by future gem-bearers accessing those memories. The magic of a gem attaches it physically to the forehead of a new wearer and psychically to the wearer’s mind.
Worn almost exclusively by elven nobility, the kiira are irrefutable symbols of power, judged by the color and clarity of a lore-gem. This lore gem was crafted from a bloodstar, a very rare form of a star ruby of the darkest hue, said to be the droplets of great wyrm dragon blood.
The Tel’Kiira of Truth is no larger than the nail of one’s smallest finger, and it is polished smooth and slightly mounded, without facets. The natural color of the gem is accented and deepened with each successive mind-meld of a new bearer, and a number of elder Houses have kiira nearly jet-black in hue to show their accumulated knowledge, much as this one is in present day Faerûn. Since its creation, it has gained the knowledge of well over 2,000 years experience of at least five different bearers, each having been an elven True Blade, the utmost elite warriors of the Seldarine.
Two prerequisites exist in order for a kiira to be worn: The wearer must be an elf and must possess an Intelligence score of 15 or greater. All others are assaulted with a feeblemind attack (save at +4 penalty or suffer effects permanently) each turn a gem is worn.
Even those who meet the requirements and wear the kiira of their own clan find the gem hard to control, given the great knowledge within them: The new bearer must succeed a number of Intelligence checks equal to one-third his Intelligence score (rounded up); elves of higher Intelligence make more checks, as the gem tests their ability to wield greater and greater knowledge. For each failed check, the elf suffers a l-point reduction in Intelligence and (if the score drops too low) possible permanent feeblemind effects from the kiira. After all the checks are made (at the rate of one per hour), the wearer is either a gibbering fool or a proud kiira-bearer.
Rarely does a kiira-wearer learn all the lore of a gem instantly upon accepting one; only through age and acquired Intelligence can one continue to learn more and unearth the full potentials of a tel’kiira.
Once acclimated to the kiira, a wearer can access memories of many things elven, including ancestral spells, battle tactics, folklore, lost knowledge, and so on. The kiira teaches the elf through memory flashes about many things, including magic; add 1d6 spells to the character’s spellbook per year, beginning immediately after acclimation and on each anniversary thereafter, to a maximum of 4d10 spells from one kiira in a lifetime. The bearer also gains a sense of unity with the clan of the True Blades, since his ancestors’ spirits are all part of the gem and the bearer receives the benefit of their wisdom, knowledge, and experience.
The powers of a kiira are explained simply. It stores in the gem all unguarded knowledge contained within the mind of a person who wears the kiira. It then provides a shorter learning time for information and spells within its memory by channeling the normal learning experience through the kiira (half the normal study time for spells, translations, lore searches). Further, the kiira can be rendered invisible at the will of the wearer (for it is pretentious to wear it openly at all times). Furthermore, it provides a constant mind blank (as the 8th-level wizard spell) effect within the mind of the bearer against all mental intrusions, save those of the kiira’s clan (i.e., the Kiira of Truth is proof against all non-true blade elves’ and N‘Tel’Quess’ mental invasions).
While all the noble families of Cormanthor once had an active family kiira, the only clans at present that acknowledge the existence of a family kiira are these: the Alastrarra, Aunglor, Durothil, Haevault, Iliathor, Neirdre, Nimesin, Orbryn, Raedrimn, Starym, and Ulondarr.
Within this potent kiira, are the knowledge of many spells and in addition, it possesses the full knowledge of the Ahmaquissar Bladesong style.
