Heart of the Sands (Scourgestone)

Description
"He it was who shook down the cliffs at Valkia, by his spells that enthrall the elementals of the earth-he it was who sent the creature of darkness into your tent before dawn."

- The Hour of the Dragon

Also known as the Scourgestone, this unassuming chunk of stone contains the elemental that plagues the Exiled Lands with continual sandstorms.

Enslaved by the Priestking in his desperation to end the war after the Shattering on the Plains, he gave it over to the Warmaker to release at the right moment.

When the time came, the Warmaker shattered the stone into fragments and scattered them across the battlefield, freeing the elemental to do its work.

It seemed to work, gathering a gigantic storm that crossed the Exiled Lands, moving towards the city of Xel-ha in the far east. But the Giant-kings had not reckoned with the power of the human spirit. A Lemurian priest named Petruso went out to confront the sandstorm. Using the power of Dagon, he anchored the elemental controlling the sandstorm to his flesh, preventing it from moving further east and destroying the Lemurian city.

He saved his people, yes, but Petruso paid a terrible price. His sacrifice had not stopped the sandstorm, it had simply put it into a temporal loop. It passed across the Exiled Lands, time and time again, stopping when it reached Petruso... then starting again.

Eventually this drove him insane.

This is one of the artefacts required to create the keystone that can be used to remove the slave bracelet.