Artifact · Gloves (wearable)
Its story
A matched pair of supple, close-fitting gloves sewn from dark blue velvet and pale dragonhide. Silver filaments trace intricate arcane diagrams across the backs of the hands, converging at a small glass eye in each palm. When danger nears, the runes shine like a warding circle and the fingers curl toward the nearest route the gloves judge safe. Their tug is unmistakable, but never strong enough to move the wearer against their will.
Lore
Known in old arcane circles as the Retreating Hands, these gloves were made to detect threats and guide their wearer toward refuge. They have outlasted their original purpose: what began as prudent caution has become an absolute conviction that danger must always be escaped, never faced.
History
Vael Tern commissioned the gloves after surviving a magical siege by fleeing before every battle. They guided him through hidden passages and away from assassins, but eventually urged him to abandon allies, a city, and finally his own tower. The gloves survived the tower’s collapse, still searching for a bearer who will heed them without surrendering every other duty.