Chapter Five: The Sword of Suna
Above all else, Ely’s fingers ached to hold the hilt of the Sword
of Suna, which rested in the Tower of Suna high above Land Gate.
His thoughts had lingered over it during his whole voyage
north, the most magnificent of blades that had been passed down from the hand
of the father to the hand of the sun in a direct line of heritage dating back
to the dark years before Amlor became what it had become, before the old gods
lifted their harsh justice from the fate of man.
Although Ely’s by birth rite, the sword still belonged to
the King.
Blyord, however, had convinced the king (when the king was
first crowned) to relinquish is claim to the sword, so that the sword’s
ownership would pass on to his first born – which turned out to be Ely.
“This is not the time for that magic blade to be unsheathed”
Blyord argued, “lest you be tempted to use it for a lesser purpose. Renounce
it.”
None, not even the ever-wise Blyord, knew the whole of the
tale that had brought about the demise of Suna, forcing her to pass her powers
into the body of a single blade to be born by future champions on her behalf on
earth.
Amlor early on had foreseen a day when he would have to
gather his earthly forces against Suna.
Perhaps none understood completely what went wrong, perhaps
some flaw in the fabric of creation, and unsuspecting other power which had twisted
the designs of the three great gods into something other than any of them had
intended.
The elves called its “Yathos Mincus,” or the division of
races.
The dwarves called it Ulam or the waking.
The elves long suspected that happened began as a plot by
Suna that went completely wrong.
The dwarves claimed that this other power was a product of
Kotine (chaos) itself, rising up to twist the designs the gods had made,
wresting control from their hosts, allowing each race to develop its own consciousness
– no longer tied to the will of the god that created them.
From this, the dwarves believed, came the root of real evil,
and alternative races with powers that far exceeded those they imitated.
This evil imitation, they called Thaos-meind or The Mistake.
It was these evil elements Suna later harnessed to build her
queendom on earth. She became the goddess of evil, and when she appeared
finally in human form, she was so utterly beautiful and horrible, none who
gazed upon her could resist her influence.
At first, few realized that this queen was really the goddess
on earth, nor understood her evil intent.
Some elves of the higher orders suspected truth and managed
to survive by hiding themselves from her. But the dwarves were fully deceived,
and this eventually led to the great war.
The elves prevailed; but not without cost.
Suna died at their hands, forcing the remaining three gods
to meet.
While Suna had broken her promise to refrain from direct
interference with the world, the other gods could not blame her completely for
what had transpired.
The new fierce independence of their creations terrified
them.
Amlor and Toush ordered the elves banished to remote areas of
Clyan, out from their sacred lands, surrendering their rule over watery regions
the gods had given them.
Some elves, the red elves, rebelled, refusing to leave their
sacred lands, using what powers they possessed to defy the gods.
Some elves, known as the gray elves, gave up their magic in
exchange for freedom to wander as they would, their punishment to never cease
their wandering without rest or real home, often envisioning themselves as
victims of prejudice and malice.
Only those known at the high elves acceded to the will of
the gods, and for this received some forgiveness. They were given three jewels
by which they could still be masters of their small lands. These jewels became
known at the Jewels of Lana, Lade and Krath. Each had differing powers. The Jewel
of Lana controlled the waters of the gulf and its tributaries and was often
thought to be the jewel of the ruling race.
The Jewel of Lade was one of communication and gave its
elves the ability to speak to those beyond the sea and even directly to the
gods themselves.
The Jewel of Krath was one of craft, the ability of its
elves to create things of magic.
When used together, the three jewels were said to be great
enough to keep evil at bay.
The dwarves and men were never really punished for their
part in the slaying of Suna (who in passing her power onto the sword had become
mortal). Dwarves and men had already split themselves into numerous races, which
the gods saw as punishment enough.
But for all this, evil was not vanquished even with the
death of Suna, and the remaining gods grieved for their inability to return to
the surface of the world. Amlor and Toush foresaw a time when evil would
destroy their creations.
Eventually, they decided to put an end to the world, but not
a permanent end.
Suna, while alive, had wanted to end the world with fire.
The two remaining gods decided to put the world to sleep by creating the Great
Winter – in which men, elf, dwarf and their evil imitations would slumber
giving the gods time to ponder on a possible solution.
While winter came, these races resisted sleep in various
ways. And the power of Suna passed on into the hands of men through her sword.
Blyord knew the sword was dangerous to use, even if he didn’t
fully comprehend why, seeing it as more as a deterrent than a weapon of war.
“Other people know we have it,” he told the young king. “We
do not need to wield it.”
In truth, Blyord did not trust the young king’s lust for
glory, and why later, he worked to make certain that Ely became heir to it rather
than the even more ambitious Ajax. Some believe he cast a spell to make certain
Ely emerged from the birth canal first, making him heir instead of Ajax.
Age, perhaps folly, divided the king from the wizard, and in
later years, the king regretted his choice and blamed Blyord for deceiving him.
Initially, Ely wanted to retrieve the sword before his
venturing south, and Blyord, as he had advised his father, argued against it.
“Not yet,” the wizard said. “Not until doom hangs over
Amlor.”
“I will not relinquish my claim over the sword the way my father
did,” Ely told the wizard.
“I have not yet asked you to, though a time may come when I
might have to,” the wizard said. “Neither you nor your father have any good
purpose for such a weapon.”
In this, Ely felt the same pang of loss his father had felt,
since legend claimed that the king who finally raises the sword in battle will
become Amlor’s greatest king.
Yet generation after generation, the sword remained unused.
Ely believed the time had come to use the sword and had come
back for that very purpose.
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