| Category | Magic Items |
| Type | weapon classification |
| Forge | varies |
| Smith | varies |
| Enchanter | varies |
| Location | varies |
Cairn Scythes are a category of magical items characterized by the soul-siphoning property. The earliest examples of these weapons emerged during the Dawn Era, created as a means to funnel more souls into a specific Soul Gathering System. In those ancient times, the primary method of empowering such systems was to draw in a greater number of souls. This predated the establishment of the Wells of Afterlife and the systems' specialization in collecting souls of particular alignments.
When it was discovered that demons were using soul-snatching scythes to steal souls and carry them back to the Abyss, others sought to emulate this practice. The idea was replicated and eventually adopted by all ethical orientations. Virtuous wielders of a Cairn Scythe were naturally the most constrained, as they could only capture the soul of an evil entity. The extracted soul would then be drawn through the weapon, sometimes drained of a portion of its life energy, and subsequently sent to a righteous system matching the weapon's alignment. The evil creature would then undergo a redemptive process, becoming either neutral or good in alignment. Conversely, evil wielders, and some neutral parties, harbored no such qualms about taking any alignment and channeling it back to their own system. Toward the end of the God Era, the deities agreed as part of the Rule of Divine Governance that all such weapons should be collected and destroyed. However, this proved impossible to enforce, resulting in many Cairn Scythes being left behind, scattered across the mortal realms.
Cairn Scythes were purpose-built to strengthen the Soul Gathering System to which the weapon was tied - with those forged of Abyssal energies sending the slain to the Abyss, or one of pure neutrality sending their victim's soul to Equipoise. After the God Era, an enterprising mortal necromancer obtained one of these weapons and fused it with necromantic energies. This resulted in a weapon with a vampiric hunger that sought to feed on souls rather than blood. This practice has continued since that first weapon, always producing a profoundly evil instrument. Soul-devouring Cairn Scythes are the most dreaded, for those killed by them have their souls utterly destroyed, with only a wish capable of restoring them. Examples of true Cairn Scythes include Bleeberghast and Sanglamore, while Sarquiness, Grarg, and the Helms of Molakh are the more baleful types that annihilate souls.
The Cairn Scythes, such as the Bileddanul Slayer, function as conduits for souls, channeling them to a specific entity where they are utilized as energy or simply devoured.