The Celestial Cannon

The Celestial Cannon (Artifact Designation: Star-Breaker Model I) is a chilling reflection of the skies' enduring memory, a masterpiece of destructive ingenuity. It is not a conventional siege weapon, but an object of immense theoretical power, believed to have been engineered during the twilight years of the Aerilon Ascendancy. Its primary components, visible even through the grime of centuries, are elaborate helices of pure Aetherium, designed to draw and compress ambient Auric Resonance into a focused beam. The barrel itself is a massive Sunstone Shard, likely a fragment derived from the greater Sunstone of Aethelgard. The function of the Cannon was simple but catastrophic: to weaponize natural celestial phenomena. Ancient schematics suggest its operation required a localized, miniature version of the dreaded Celestial Alignment Ritual, forcing the raw energy of an imminent Aetherium Storm into a destructive discharge capable of piercing the strongest subterranean fortifications. Its existence offers compelling evidence that the Cloud Keepers sought terrestrial dominance, shattering the fragile peace preceding the Great Sundering. The Cannon was clearly intended as a countermeasure against the deep-delving factions, perhaps even targeting the strongholds of the precursors to the Deep-Delvers. Its complexity dwarfs the attempts of modern artisans like the Gnomish Tinkers, who possess only fractured knowledge. Ironically, the weapon's true power seems reliant on a power source—celestial alignment—that the hostile Order of the Azure Hand now seeks to master. Finding this artifact confirms the aggressive capabilities of the ancient Sky-Dwellers and demands immediate analysis by the Abbey’s Keepers of the Cog.