Oar of the Paragon
by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/11/15
Tool: Gondolier
Color: Apricot
Conditions: Small, Light
Keyword: Paragon
This tiny oar appears to have been crafted as a perfect miniature of its full-sized counterpart. Designed after the style of an oar used by a gondolier, it has been painted the color of ripe apricots. For one who has piloted a watercraft, simply holding it conjures vivid daydreams of gliding across the water as easily as a seabird flies.
This tiny oar appears to have been crafted as a perfect miniature of its full-sized counterpart. Designed after the style of an oar used by a gondolier, it has been painted the color of ripe apricots. For one who has piloted a watercraft, simply holding it conjures vivid daydreams of gliding across the water as easily as a seabird flies.
Regattas have long been a pastime of gondoliers, and winning the yearly rowing race can mean a season of only the richest and most prestigious fares. One such winner of the yearly regatta, known to legend as “the Paragon,” set records for speed and maneuverability that stood uncontested for generations. After the regatta was over, the Paragon sold his boat for a small fortune and retired.
While the Paragon’s boat has been sold and resold to those determined to win the regatta, his oar has gone relatively unnoticed and was believed to be lost...until at last the Paragon died and a perfect miniature of it was found among the objects auctioned from his boathouse estate. Skeptics claim that the Paragon destroyed his original oar and crafted the miniature from the scrap wood as a memento, but more superstitious sailors claim that the miniature is the original oar itself, shrunk down by supernatural means.
Regardless of its origin, the oar can be enlarged when its holder utters the proper command word, becoming a finely-crafted, full-sized oar worthy of the most expert gondoliers. In the hands of one piloting a gondola, it seems to propel the boat through the water with unrivaled ease and speed.
Because he had stolen the oar from Charon, the ferryman of Hades, incurring the wrath of Hades. In order to prevent his soul from being taken prematurely, he retired and went into hiding. But no matter how much he feared Hades, he could not bring himself to return that which he had stolen, which is why it was still found in his things after he died. His soul will continue to be tormented for all eternity until the oar is returned to it's rightful owner. Until then, Charon can only ferry the boat across the river through sheer will, resulting in an agonizingly long trip for the souls experiencing it.
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