Post by Eioin Boughsinger on Mar 29, 2018 21:06:27 GMT -6
TALON - The Sword
A vision of the past came to me, a moment of clarity of something the spirit of the elf did long ago. It was nice to remember, for a time. Here was my vision of T'Rxcin and Rah. The vision was symmetrical with what I had just learned from Mateo at the Doomgrinder.
After all this time you finally decided to use your arcane ways and see into the history of this sword of yours, named Talon by someone or something so very long ago. As you prepare the sword for the incantation, your mind drifts back to a tome brought to you by an old dear friend, recently departed from this world. This book mentioned something about Talon becoming a great sword in the future. Talon has always been a well crafted and valuable weapon, but it has never exhibited any signs of being magical or of having any special powers for that matter. The time has come, with the threat of this new enemy, to learn what the past can reveal about this sword.
Long ago, around the year 3003, in the kingdom of Drezba, The Caliph ruled the land with justice and mercy. The laws of the land were different than what the western kingdoms know, even different from the demihuman kingdoms. One of the biggest differences is there was no recognizing divine right, or even hereditary titles. People ruled because they were wealthy enough to create a village, then a town, then eventually an empire of economic power. The Caliph was the richest man in all of Drezba so he could pay the mamluks the money. Everyone held The Caliph (whose name was Sim-sala-Bim) in high esteem, for he was a pious man who only had 7 wives, and was very benevolent to the mosques and charities.
He also made sure the ancient laws were obeyed, even by his family and friends, especially the laws about being poor. Being poor was not a very good thing back on Zakhara, and many poor or outcast people, ex slaves, and even banished people came to Mikhal in search of freedom and a chance for a better life. Many died on the journey, and many more died once they made it to Mikhal. Eventually a city grew from the settlers and it was named after Pharon-Ala-Camdos, the first elder.
The city in 3003 was called Pharos, and it was the city where The Caliph always held residence, no matter who the Caliph was at that time. Sim loved his city, loved his wives, and loved his money. He loved birds more than that, and had a monument of himself with a bird's head built ona a hill, looking out over the ocean. incoming ships would always look for the Birdman of Pharos as a sign of their journey's end.
One day a messenger came to Sim and told him a great bird had settled in the open beak of the monument. The messenger described this great bird as "The wingspan of a royal carriage and the claws to carry one away. He flies down and has already killed several of our flock". The Caliph thought this to be a bad omen and called his smith. "Forge me a sword, one that shows respect for the birds but will allow me to slay this giant thing."
The smithy began work, and in an em and a day he brought his weapon to The Caliph. The smithy said "This sword is near flawless, it's balance is the best I've ever made, and it's sharpness is second to none. Use it well Caliph, for it is made to rebuke the claws of the beast". The Caliph called for the city to follow him and watch his triumph over the giant bird. Many people came out and it was almost a carnival at the foot of the statue when the Caliph finally arrived.
The Caliph had not actually planned to slay the beast but when seeing so many people and hearing the cheers his mind swelled and his bravery grew. He banged his sword upon the monument and called forth the beast, calling it EAGLE, or great bird. Nothing happened for several moments and the crowd howled. The Caliph called again, this time saying how the Eagle was a coward for not coming and meeting it's doom. This time the crowd howled with terror, not glee, because from out of the sky the Giant Eagle dove down and pierced The Caliph's chest with its claws, and carried him away.
As the Caliph was being flown upwards, he slashed at the great bird with his sword but could only hit the beast feebly, causing no damage to it. The Caliph's dying words were these "Though I love the winged folk with all my heart, I curse thee and your kind from this day forward. I call upon the spirit of retribution to enter this sword and smite down those who kill me now, with this Talon of Vengeance." He died and the sword slipped from his hands, falling somewhere in the Great Forest and not being found for many years. No spirit entered the sword that day but the beginnings of a legend were imprinted upon the length of the blade that day.
A vision of the past came to me, a moment of clarity of something the spirit of the elf did long ago. It was nice to remember, for a time. Here was my vision of T'Rxcin and Rah. The vision was symmetrical with what I had just learned from Mateo at the Doomgrinder.
After all this time you finally decided to use your arcane ways and see into the history of this sword of yours, named Talon by someone or something so very long ago. As you prepare the sword for the incantation, your mind drifts back to a tome brought to you by an old dear friend, recently departed from this world. This book mentioned something about Talon becoming a great sword in the future. Talon has always been a well crafted and valuable weapon, but it has never exhibited any signs of being magical or of having any special powers for that matter. The time has come, with the threat of this new enemy, to learn what the past can reveal about this sword.
Long ago, around the year 3003, in the kingdom of Drezba, The Caliph ruled the land with justice and mercy. The laws of the land were different than what the western kingdoms know, even different from the demihuman kingdoms. One of the biggest differences is there was no recognizing divine right, or even hereditary titles. People ruled because they were wealthy enough to create a village, then a town, then eventually an empire of economic power. The Caliph was the richest man in all of Drezba so he could pay the mamluks the money. Everyone held The Caliph (whose name was Sim-sala-Bim) in high esteem, for he was a pious man who only had 7 wives, and was very benevolent to the mosques and charities.
He also made sure the ancient laws were obeyed, even by his family and friends, especially the laws about being poor. Being poor was not a very good thing back on Zakhara, and many poor or outcast people, ex slaves, and even banished people came to Mikhal in search of freedom and a chance for a better life. Many died on the journey, and many more died once they made it to Mikhal. Eventually a city grew from the settlers and it was named after Pharon-Ala-Camdos, the first elder.
The city in 3003 was called Pharos, and it was the city where The Caliph always held residence, no matter who the Caliph was at that time. Sim loved his city, loved his wives, and loved his money. He loved birds more than that, and had a monument of himself with a bird's head built ona a hill, looking out over the ocean. incoming ships would always look for the Birdman of Pharos as a sign of their journey's end.
One day a messenger came to Sim and told him a great bird had settled in the open beak of the monument. The messenger described this great bird as "The wingspan of a royal carriage and the claws to carry one away. He flies down and has already killed several of our flock". The Caliph thought this to be a bad omen and called his smith. "Forge me a sword, one that shows respect for the birds but will allow me to slay this giant thing."
The smithy began work, and in an em and a day he brought his weapon to The Caliph. The smithy said "This sword is near flawless, it's balance is the best I've ever made, and it's sharpness is second to none. Use it well Caliph, for it is made to rebuke the claws of the beast". The Caliph called for the city to follow him and watch his triumph over the giant bird. Many people came out and it was almost a carnival at the foot of the statue when the Caliph finally arrived.
The Caliph had not actually planned to slay the beast but when seeing so many people and hearing the cheers his mind swelled and his bravery grew. He banged his sword upon the monument and called forth the beast, calling it EAGLE, or great bird. Nothing happened for several moments and the crowd howled. The Caliph called again, this time saying how the Eagle was a coward for not coming and meeting it's doom. This time the crowd howled with terror, not glee, because from out of the sky the Giant Eagle dove down and pierced The Caliph's chest with its claws, and carried him away.
As the Caliph was being flown upwards, he slashed at the great bird with his sword but could only hit the beast feebly, causing no damage to it. The Caliph's dying words were these "Though I love the winged folk with all my heart, I curse thee and your kind from this day forward. I call upon the spirit of retribution to enter this sword and smite down those who kill me now, with this Talon of Vengeance." He died and the sword slipped from his hands, falling somewhere in the Great Forest and not being found for many years. No spirit entered the sword that day but the beginnings of a legend were imprinted upon the length of the blade that day.