Hamiathes's Gift is a sacred stone central to the plot of The Thief.
Appearance[]
The Gift is marked with the four runes of Hephestia on one side and a blue gem in the center.
Origin[]
When a king named Hamiathes saved Eugenides, God of Thieves, from a blazing fire, the Great Goddess Hephestia rewarded the king with an ordinary stone dipped in the Waters of Immortality. As long as the bearer wore the Gift, he would be ensured immortality.
History[]
Hamiathes, the initial recipient of the Gift, reigned as Eddis's king and the Gift freed the bearer from death.
At the end of Hamiathes's natural lifespan, he passed the stone to his son and died. The Gift was subsequently passed on to successors of the crown and became synonymous with the right to rule the country. It is understood that the power of the stone is valid only if the Gift is given to the bearer; an usurper who stole the Gift died soon afterward.
Through the power of the Gift, the throne of Eddis was able to change hands peacefully for centuries in conditions where other countries would have been embroiled in civil war.
The Thief[]
The Sounis, ruler of the country of the same name, seeks the Gift in order to claim sovereignty over the Eddis and her country, as she had agreed to marry him if he obtained the Gift. He sends the Magus of Sounis and his apprentices to obtain the stone on his behalf. To ensure success, the Magus also recruits Gen, a boastful young thief imprisoned for stealing the Sounis' ring.
The plan is ultimately thwarted when Gen steals the Gift and presents it to the Eddis, revealing himself to be Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis. Though the Eddis briefly bears Hamiathes's Gift, she elects to destroy it by dropping into the Sacred Mountain, a volcano in Eddis, believing that its purpose in the world has become detrimental.