Azorath
Long ago during the first War of the Courts.
Exeter Daegle distinguished himself at the Battle of Titan’s Reach. Winning the
day against the surge of Trolls and Goblins. The Queen of the Winter Court
awarded him with a magic blade to match his warriors’ spirit.
Such is the nature of the Unseelie Queen,
that no gift from her is not without price. The War Blade attracted many a good
warrior to Exeter’s
banner, rendered him vulnerable despite his Brilliant armor. Exeter,
mighty champion of the Winter Court met his end during the Battle of the Phoenix Plains. The Warblade
was lost for many years after that battle. It showed up again in the hands of
Mandros Throhm, yet it disappeared once again, when he fell at the Battle of
Skeleton Springs.
Many righteous warriors have accepted the
fate Azorath inflicts, some have escaped with their lives, and some have not.
The blade was last seen in the hands of
Mordacai Drax during the battle to establish Drake’s End. Mordacai fell to a
green drake’s razor sharp claws that day. And no living soul has laid eyes on
it since.
Be you a strong soul, willing to make the
deal, go seek the Warblade. But beware, many a stout heart have come before
you.
Bazkoare the Heroes’ blade
In eons past, when
Dragons ruled. The Mistress with Five Faces sought dominion over all dragon
kind. To this end she bent the mighty magics she controlled, and crafted with
those magics the Dragon Crown. With the power to control any dragon, She of
Five Faces thought herself unstoppable.
The Platinum King of
Dragons Titan learned of the Crown and tried to assure his brothers and keep
them from despair. Titan set out to destroy the Dragon Crown, but even he,
with all his great power could not get close to the crown for he would fall
under its power. The Platinum King decided to enlist human aid, and set about
crafting a blade of such power, that he could send a human against the Dragon
Crown to destroy it.
Titan applied his
will to the task of crafting a blade. After a year and a day, he had produced a
platinum blade representative of his power, and he would make a gift of this
blade to a human champion.
Bazkoare Kirin
proved worthy to wield the Platinum King’s blade. For many years Bazkoare
fought battles against the forces of She of Five Faces. Many times was he
wounded, many times was he on death’s door. The power of the platinum blade
healed him, so he might continue the fight. Eventually it came to pass that Bazkoare
found himself facing the evil Queen herself. An epic battle ensued. Try as she
might the Queen was unable to strike down Bazkoare; such was the power of the
Platinum blade. With a mighty stroke, the Queen lashed out once again, and this
time, mortally wounded the human champion for good dragons. Knowing he was the
only hope of saving the dragons, Bazkoare rallied all his strength, and struck
one last blow. Such was the force of the strike, that he sundered the Dragon
Crown.
In a tremendous
flash of released power, the Dragon Crown shattered into three parts. The power
released struck the lesser dragons dumb. Only the most aged and powerful of
dragon kind kept their intelligence, the younger dragons reverted to a
primitive mind and became as animals. The great power was too much for Bazkoare;
only his spirit remained, inhabiting the blade that has saved him so many times
before.
The three pieces of
the Dragon Crown were lost into the world. She of Five Faces sought them for
many years, and she seeks them still. Once a generation the Evil Queen summons
a foul champion to seek the Dragon Crown and restore her power.
Evil
does not die
There are names so black and evil, that even
mothers don’t use them to scare children. These names, no one utters for fear
that which is named will hear and come smite those who dare utter it. Names so
black, speaking them as a curse will make the offender pause. Nemerothys is one
of those names. I spoke it once so you know the evil by name, but I will not
speak again, I refer to it in other terms so as not to invoke it’s
wrath.
No soul within living memory can tell you
the name given to it at the beginning. Only what the world knows of it know.
All the powers of Wizard, refined by the powers of Undeath, almost god like in
it’s capacity for evil. It seeks power over mortal man, but it trapped but the
true gods.
It is a Lich, a being powerfully evil. So
much will power dedicated to not dying. Death has no dominion over it. It’s
plans are unknown to mortal men. Some men call it Master, and do it’s bidding.
Men have fought it, and died trying.
The Lich is
said to have been around since before the time of Madros Throhm, since before
the lesser dragons were struck dumb. It is ancient beyond time, and it haunts
us still.
The
Darkness in the East
Many years ago, before Mandros Throhm
founded his empire, the wizard king Zehrahnd ruled the lands to east. Over the
mountains we now call Cilmorn’s Shield. He was not a despotic ruler, but firm
with those under his protection.
Zehrahnd used his magics to build himself a
tower and establish Citadels at the edges of his realm. Wealth flowed through
lands and his people prospered. Of course, such an abundance of wealth and
prosperity cannot go unnoticed for long.
It started in the southern reaches of
Zehrahnd’s lands. Slowly at first. A darkness was growing. The Darkness
gathered it’s power and bided it’s time. For many years the Darkness blighted
the southern lands, turning everything around it into fetid swamps, and rotting
bogs. The darkness attracted all manner of fell creatures to it’s side, and the
land suffered.
Evil has no patience, and is not generally
weak. The darkness that slithers is no exception. It did not wait long, it
struck with great force, in the blackest night of the year.
Zehrahnd was a powerful wizard, but the
Darkness is an ancient evil, known consort to She of the Five Faces. The wizard
king did not withstand the onslaught for long. In the end Zehrahnd fled his
tower, blackened as it was by the attacks.
Before he met his end, Zehrahnd fashioned a
blade to be the instrument of his revenge. Crafting the weapon is eventually
what killed him. He put every last ounce of his strength and power into the
making of the blade, so that one day he might be redeemed and his lands
restored to their former glory.
Throughout the long years since his death,
the world has forgotten Zehrahnd and his kingdom. But the darkness that
slithers remains in the east, a threat hanging over the head of us all.
The Brave men of Drake’s End hold back the
tide of darkness and keep us all safe, and I hope they always will.
The Sidhe
In the time before they ascended to the courts, the Sidhe ruled
what we now know as the Gnoll lands. Truly their influence can still be seen,
numerous tombs still dot the landscape. The Sidhe were masters of powerful
magics, and a very curious people.
Who is ultimate responsible for the deal, is lost in the sands of
time, but some of the most powerful wizards of the Sidhe struck a terrible
bargain with the powers of Fate. They agreed to trade their passion for eternal
life. The Fates saw an opportunity and asked if they would like even greater
power. In their lust for power, the Sidhe wizards readily agreed, and did not
foresee the mistake that cost them so dearly. Fate is fickle, cruel, and petty.
So did the Sidhe become much as the power they wished to master.
We know of two of the Sidhe that resisted and fought the deal. So
great was their power, that when they fought the change, their very essence
distilled down into symbols of the resistance they offered.
Sarakina became the Emerald Blade. A weapon of pure willpower. The
blade of Strength is said to be so perfect that a person can see the reflection
of their truest self in the mirror of the blade.
Sheeg, one of the Sidhe's most powerful warlords did not wish to
give up his passion for war. It was all he had to let him know he was alive.
His rage at the deal being forced upon him was so great and so focused, he too
became a weapon. The Red Blade of Hate. Only those fully possessed of self
discipline dare wield the red Blade.
