Cold Light: the Enigma of Truth
By Andrew Besuden
"There are only three things a sluagh loathes: losing their voice, not discovering a secret, and losing Cold Light." - Yuri Verisov, hermit and sage

Cold Light, the words make older sluagh have both wet dreams and a bitter rage when the word is mention. One of the sluagh's most prized treasures, Cold Light's origin is shrouded in as much as mystery as its disappearance. The other kith fear that sluagh are holding out and waiting for the right time to unleash this awesome treasure. However, even the sluagh don't know for sure where the treasure is or who might have it. What is known is Cold Light's ability to command truth from whoever is caught in its light.

Origins
The sluagh have many theories about how Cold Light was created. One theory is that Cold Light was one of the Tuatha de Danaan treasures and was given over to the sluagh as a part of the sluagh's agreement to join the kithain courts. This theory comes mainly from royalist faction in the kith, and also the usual response that royalists will give to other kithain. Some sluagh believes that Cold Light was the remaining treasure of an ancient race of the Dreaming. Sluagh sorcerers often take this theory citing that even through all their arcane studies, even though have not found any treasure made by the kithain courts, adhene courts, or even the slow empires. Another theory is that Cold Light originally came from the merfolk courts. This has come from sluagh who have actually had contact with merfolk and have seen their art Kryos. There are more theories of course ranging from the practical to the ludicrous (like Cold Light being made up of all the truths told by pooka), though these three have the strongest support.

A Blinding Blade of Truth
No matter what way the sluagh obtained Cold Light, this treasure was quite a formidable weapon in their hands. Anyone who stood against the wielder of Cold Light was brought down by the sub-artic winds the dagger could produce, or blinded by the light contained in it. However the power that made other kithain fear the sluagh for having Cold Light was the dagger's power to compel a person to tell the truth to wielder. Descriptions of the treasure are all nearly identical, a medium sized dagger, carved from a single icicle of eternal ice. Inside it there was a light that gave the dagger a faint glow of blue. The dagger could make anyone tell the truth, even the Fomorians and Tuatha de Danaan. To this day no one in the kithain courts or outside them know where Cold Light, not even the sluagh.

Disappearance
Perhaps the disappearance of Cold Light is one of the things that sluagh hate to have upon them, though they sometimes say they have it hidden just to scare away a haughty sidhe noble or a nosey pooka. The truth is the sluagh don't know where the bloody thing went after the Shattering ended. Cold Light was kept in a freehold somewhere in Russia when the Shattering began and when it was over, the freehold was in a mess and the guardian of Cold Light was knocked out. The Balefire was kept intact; one small sign of luck, but the guardian had no clue what happened to the dagger or how he went unconscious. At first, the sluagh thought that other commoners, who blamed the sluagh for the Shattering, stole Cold Light but only the sluagh knew Cold Light's location. Then it was thought that a group of mages might have located the treasure but the Balefire was left intact, a target for the mages. More theories began to arise: Baba Yaga, an ancient vampire; rogue sluagh; or even that the dagger just up and flicker-flashed away. The point the sluagh have no clue whatsoever as to what happened to Cold Light, though they've kept a calm face about for all this time so far.

Who Took It? While the sluagh guessed here and there as to who or what took Cold Light, the truth is actually something that the sluagh absolutely didn't think of at first. When the Shattering began, the Moiræ began a somewhat errant collecting spree of powerful treasures all over the Dreaming and the Autumn Realm, the most notable of these treasures being the Triumph Casque of Sorrows. The Moiræ had been given the location of Cold Light by the Fates themselves seeing as the representation of truth was too valuable to be left on the Autumn Realm with the Shattering going on. The Guardian was knocked unconscious by magic and what happened as the Moiræ took Cold Light and removed as much of what transpired from the Guardian's mind. Cold Light is under the safe hands of fate but if the sluagh should ever learn the truth, well they might just be heading over for a little teatime to discuss with the Moiræ about stealing.

Recent Discoveries
In more recent days, the sluagh have uncovered some information concerning Cold Light, and may even have found evidence as to just who might have Cold Light. The Kingdom of Pacifica's renewed meetings with merfolk courts have given the local sluagh a chance to communicate with some of the representatives of the aquatic fae. And with several meetings between both groups, the sluagh have been to obtain information about some rather unusual treasures. Three gems made of cold ice that faintly glowed blue, though the merfolk couldn't reach the gems, some odd magical seal of sorts. The sluagh offered to help out if they could get their hands on some of the "gems," and with the members of the merfolk that told them of this information, House Melusine, as their guides, the sluagh were able to locate the Shards of Cold Light. There were three in total and the sluagh gave one of three to the merfolk while the other two were secreted away by the sluagh to secret locations. Once in a safe location, sorcerers of the sluagh kith began studying the shards. What they found was the shards possessed some similar properties to Cold Light, being made of eternal ice, though they were vastly weaker than the legendry dagger. This led the studiers of the shards to believe that the Shards of Cold Light were from the same icicle of eternal ice that Cold Light came from, while a smaller group claimed that the shards are the remains of Cold Light. With this news in tow, new ventures to find Cold Light have begun again with the oceans as the primary searching grounds.