Black Dagger

Description

A black dagger, typically constructed out of obsidian glass or dark iron, is an Amarrian implement used to mark a soul as corrupt. It is used most commonly in criminal sentencing performed by the Theology Council, which has the authority to convict a person accused of crimes against God, the Emperor or the Imperial Rite. The dagger is typically used to carve a symbol into the flesh to denote heretics, apostates, and those struck from the Amarr Book of Records.

A person marked with a black dagger by the Theology Council courts can never return to the Amarr faith in this world. The best such an excommunicate can hope for, if they have worked to redeem themselves, is mercy from God when they meet their final judgment. When a black dagger is used for executions, Amarr believe that the soul of the sentenced is sent to God bearing what is essentially a note from the executioner declaring that this person is irredeemable.

Black daggers are not the only ritual weapons used in Amarr. In ceremonies involving purification or atonement, Amarr priests use white-colored implements. Red daggers were once used in the ancient rites of the faith, in ceremonies of symbolic sacrifice and similar such rituals. The association with Sani Sabik heresies involving actual bloodletting has made such usage rare, although certain Sarumite sects continue to use red daggers in ceremonies of martial induction and the like.