Description:

(Unique, Legendary, Requires Attunement)

Forged in secret in caves hidden beneath the cliffs of Shungwe and rimmed with bone from a newborn leviathan, this shield holds a distillate mirror-eye formed from the eyes of a reef guardian. It neither rusts nor shatters—but it weeps. Always.

Item Type: Shield
AC Bonus: +2

Attunement:
To attune to the Mlinzi wa Mawimbi, a wielder must:

• Enter a natural body of saltwater (sea, reef, tidal cave, etc.).
• Submerge the shield and themselves entirely for a full minute.
• Remain silent, unarmed, and unarmored during the immersion.

Only then will the shield accept its bearer. If removed from its attuned wielder for more than 24 hours, it "forgets" them and must be attuned anew.

Abilities

Tide Mirror (Passive):
Whenever an attacker rolls a total that would hit the wielder if not for the shield's +2 AC, the shield automatically activates its defensive magic. The attacker must roll a d6:

• On a 5–6, the attack is reflected back at the attacker. The mirrored reflection lashes out from the shield's face in the form of a watery ghost wielding the same weapon, spell, or projectile. The reflection uses the original attack roll to determine if it hits.
• On a 1–4, the attack simply misses.

This effect occurs automatically and has no usage limit. However, it only activates when the attack lands in the narrow margin protected by the shield's magical AC bonus (i.e., the attack roll is exactly 1 or 2 points below the wielder's AC).

Ebbing Aegis (1/Day):
As a bonus action, invoke the shield to release a swirling tide that surrounds the wielder for 1 minute:

• Enemies within 10 ft. move through difficult terrain.
• Ranged attacks through the area suffer disadvantage.
• All sound within 10 ft. becomes muffled, as if beneath the waves.
• The area visibly takes on the qualities of being submerged in water: objects dropped within it sink or float accordingly, fabrics drift as if suspended, and flames sputter and fail. Though illusory in origin, the environment behaves with partial physicality—weight shifts, buoyancy emerges, and breath feels thick in the lungs.

Construction Materials

The Mlinzi wa Mawimbi was created using traditional Manyoya Uchawi methods for water-aligned magic. It was coated in frozen mercury and etched with binding runes before the distillate was fused into its face.

• Distillate made from the eyes of a Reef Guardian, a likely-extinct ocean creature whose innate "displacement" ability allowed it to magically bend light to create the illusion that it is a short distance away from its actual location.
• Leviathan Calf Bone, harvested during the creature’s stillbirth under a crimson tide.

Side Effect: The Sorrow of the Sea

The shield weeps.

• Always wet. The shield is perpetually soaked and constantly dripping with briny seawater. If left unattended in a container, it will fill the container and begin to saturate its surroundings.
• The closer to saltwater, the more it floods. In coastal towns, it leaves trails. On ships, it fills decks. In small boats, the party will need to bail water every 10 minutes to stay afloat.
• When submerged, the attuned hears quiet, childlike sobbing. It does not stop. It does not answer.
• While underwater: You gain Resistance to ranged weapon damage, but your speed is halved as the shield drags you toward the seabed.

Ritual Lore

They say a captain once strapped the Mlinzi to his back and dove off the cliffs of Sangwe. He walked ashore three days later—naked, salt-bitten, and no longer able to cry. The shield has known grief, and it does not forget.

Among the Mchanga Pwanii, the attunement ritual is called Kilio ya Bahari — The Ocean’s Cry. Only those who have heard its sobbing are considered worthy to wield it.