The Ford-Spear of Mournford

The Ford-Spear of Mournford is carried when a crossing must be forced, held, or closed against retreat. Its shaft is dark from river weather, its head kept oiled against rust, and its bindings replaced after every campaign by witnesses who name why it was raised. The spear can save a realm by blocking pursuit, or doom a hall by sealing the wrong bank. That is why Flintwarden captains do not carry it lightly. At Mournford, command and accusation share the same iron point, and every use asks who was left in the water. The oldest captains say the spear remembers hands before names were written cleanly, and each generation adds another binding to its shaft as if age itself must be lashed tight before war can trust it.