What’s an ax sceptre exactly? It looks more like a walking stick.
I think they're trying to turn the bones into a former king. More grant money that way...
Holding an axe as the symbol of power isn’t that unusual. The local council heads in some places in Europe, even today, carry wood scepters carved to appear to have an axe head somewhere along their length. That’s what it means. “I’m holding the axe in a position where I am ready to strike, because I’m the leader.”