I could tell you where it is, but that would spoil all the fun...
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The five sentient artifacts, or simply the Sentients, are a set of ancient mystical objects which have some degree of consciousness. These artifacts were used by ancient Keepers as a safeguard against corruption.[1] When placed in certain landmarks or "receptacles" built into the City, they would activate the Final Glyph and destroy all Glyph magic. Presumably, this could only be done by the One True Keeper.[2]
The five Sentients[]
- The Eye
- The Heart, also known as the Burrick's Heart Ruby
- The Chalice, also known as the Builder's Chalice or the Builder's Cup[1]
- The Paw, most commonly known as Jacknall's Paw
- The Crown, also known as the Crown of Power and the Kurshok Crown
Origin[]
The exact origins of the five artifacts are shrouded in mystery. It is very unlikely that the artifacts were created at the same time or for a single purpose; they are suggested to have been considered ancient by the time the Keepers endowed them with sentience, and had a reputation for causing "strife and chaos" wherever they appeared. The Trickster is typically credited with the creation of Gruliac's Crown, whereas the Chalice bears the trademark of the Builder. The Paw and the Eye are both associated with the Trickster as well, but may have their origins elsewhere, whereas the Burrick's Heart may be of a more recent and purely tectonic nature. After being made sentient, the five artifacts were kept apart from each other for most of their history; as a result, their whereabouts gradually became unknown.[3]
Story[]
In Thief: The Dark Project, the gemstone called The Eye is stolen by Garrett after which his eye is places into it by The Trickster. Later, however, Garrett managed to reclaim the Eye, and his eye, in The Maw of Chaos. It is not known what happens to the Eye next except that it eventually ends up in the Wieldstrom Museum.
In Thief: Deadly Shadows, Garrett is asked by the keepers to collect the Builder's Chalice from St. Edgar's Church in Stonemarket and the Jacknall's Paw from the Pagan Sanctuary in South Quarter which he does. Later he also retrieves the Kurshok Crown from The Sunken Citadel during his search for the Glyph Key. (He can keep to crown or sell it after which it ends up in the Wieldstrom Museum.) The Chalice and Paw are stolen by The Hag from the keepers and taken to her lair in Auldale. There Garrett steals them again and goes after the remaining ones in the Wieldstrom Museum and successfully collects all five. The Hag makes one attempt to trick Garrett into giving her the artifacts but fails and Garrett places the artifacts in their receptacles as the Hag tries to stop him and activates The Final Glyph resulting in the end of all glyph magic.
At the conclusion of Thief: Deadly Shadows, the Chalice and Paw - presumably no longer sentient following the activation of the Final Glyph - were returned to the Hammerites and the Pagans, respectively, from whom Garrett had originally stolen them.[4]
Sentience[]
Before the construction of the City streets and monuments, the five artifacts were gathered by the early Keepers and imbued with a will of their own. Five Keepers were "recruited to make the crucial sacrifices", possibly serving as sacrifices themselves and becoming part of the Sentients in the process. It was hoped that the desire for self-preservation would prevent the misuse of the Last of All Glyphs, as its activation would mean their demise.[5] Notably, the five artifacts were granted different levels of sentience; at least one of them was considered just barely sentient, if at all.[3] According to The Hag, the Heart and the Eye were "attention seekers", which resulted in them ending up at a museum, where they would be displayed for all to see.[6] Furthermore, once in Garrett's possession, the Eye communicates with him telepathically. Although a number of unused voice files suggest that both the Heart and the Crown possess this power as well, the Eye states to Garrett that "most of [the Sentients] cannot even speak yet".
The Sentients appear to be somewhat sadistic in personality, toying with mortal minds and bringing havoc and destruction wherever they go. They do, however, appear to ultimately consent to fulfill their benevolent purpose at the conclusion of Thief: Deadly Shadows.
Notes[]
- Albrech's writings state that they "[the Keepers] devised the Sentients, each a separate key, each with a will of it's own".[5] This implies[debatable] that the Keepers themselves created the objects, instead of simply imbuing pre-existing artifacts with sentience to be used for this specific purpose. This knowledge was lost to the later generations of the Keepers, who were unable to fully understand what the Sentients were or how they were created; Ogilvy, for example, speculated in his Treatise on Sentients that only some of the Sentients were truly sentient, and was unsure of whether or not they they shared a common sentience.[3]
- Although Albrech's writings clearly state that the activation of the Final Glyph would culminate in the artifacts' annihilation, it seems that it was only their sentience that was ultimately destroyed during the ritual, as at least two of the artifacts - the Chalice and the Paw - are seen intact (and, presumably, no longer sentient) in the ending cutscene of Thief: Deadly Shadows.
- This also implies that the unknown sacrificial rituals that imbued the artifacts with sentience were based on glyph magic, but the artifacts themselves were not glyph-derived.