Left Hand

Left Hand of the Heretic. Artist: malevolent.eth

“Left Hand” is a term for artwork referencing the Left Hand of the Heretic. Often used to sow chaos and fear, the art depicts a left hand as a lit candle of black wax accompanied by a skull with the Roman numerals XIII carved into the frontal bone. Public display of the Left Hand symbolizes support for The Heretic.

Origin

Left Hand of the Heretic is the position held by the necromancer, Wraith Knight Bayard of the Worms (7088), within the dark faction of Sorcerer Aldus of the Morning Star (6491). On many occasions, artwork displaying the Left Hand was graffitied across various locations of a city in the days leading up to an invasion by The Heretic’s legions. It is rumored that prior to battle, Bayard sent his Worms ahead into a targeted region to mark the walls in public view with the Left Hand as both a fear tactic and a method to rally sympathizers to their campaign. Although The Heretic’s legions fell and Bayard is presumed dead, reports of vandalism in which the Left Hand is displayed still persist throughout the Runiverse. Some experts claim the increased sightings of the Left Hand suggests a resurgence of The Heretic and his dark forces, but these claims have yet to be confirmed.

Meaning

The black left hand symbolizes the contrarian nature of necromancy, with the five fingers as lit candles representing the five points of a magical circle (four elements plus the soul). The skull references The Heretic’s magical item of a shadowy skull with XIII carved into the frontal bone, representing Death in the tarot Major Arcana.