User:Silver fox
A Sword of Light and Darkness
From various legends of Artamark.
Our story begins with a big war that took place in the land of Artamark during the days past. Nobody remembers when it was exactly, but the legend lives on. Back then the wars broke frequently between the ancient races, and the human land that borders both Nor Plat and Tyr Lysia often became a battlefield. This war was especially long and hard. Elves, orcs and humans were fighting to either occupy or defend the lands. Some people say that even the dwarves left their caves for the fight. The humans have no chances against more advanced elves, more furious orks and more skilled dwarves. They needed a miracle to survive this war. During this war the humans forgot about all the inner troubles and fought together, or worked together to prepare for the fight. So the most skilled weaponsmiths of the human lands gathered together in order to create an ultimate weapon, the one that would give their nation a chance in war.
During those days the elven magic was so strong that it could stop any spell the human wizards could create. So the new weapon could not rely on magic, but on the brutal force. During those days the dwarven armour crafting skills were supreme. So the new weapon should be able to avoid any armour and hit the target directly. During those days the orcish furious assault was unstoppable. So the new weapon should be able to kill them before they move.
The best weaponsmiths of Artamark spent seven days trying to come up with the way to create such a weapon. They tried one idea after another, refusing to stop even for a minute, because every minute might be the last for their country. But their efforts were piontless, all the prototypes they created were not powerful enough. Then one of the youngest smiths, being disappointed as he was, left the forge. He was just standing outside and looking at the darkened skies, not knowing what to do next. Feeling little and helpless, he started praying. He prayed to all the Gods he knew, he asked the Earth under his feet and the Sky above his head for help. He was so desperate that he noticed nothing but the black sky and shining stars. Then, one of the stars begin to move, like it was answering his calls. It moved faster and faster, and suddenly fell from the sky, disapperaing somewhere in the woods. The smith considered it a sign the Gods sent him, so he ran to the woods in a search for the falling star. After some hours he found it. It was not a star, but a piece of ore. It was dark as a night and hot as a fire. Without a shadow of a doubt, the young smith picked up this piece of ore, though it was heavy and burned his hands. He managed to carry it to the forge. By the time he came to the forge, all the weaponsmithes left their hammers and stood still, being sad and disappointed. When the young smith came to them shouting about the Gods' help, they decided that this piece of ore he brought was the last thing left to try. It was not big, so they melted it and mixed it with the steel. The resulting metal was more firm and more ductile than the usual steel. So they used it to create a sword. Its dark blade was so strong and sharp, that it complied with all their demands. They named their creation 'Redeemer', because it was meant to save the land of Artamark.
The weaponsmiths proudly presented the Redeemer to the king of Artamark. Admiring the weapon, the king tried to lift the big and undoubtedly powerful sword. But he was unable to even move it. The same things that made the Redeemer able to crash any armour and to injure enemies badly also made it very big and heavy. Only the most skilled and trained warriors were able to use it in a fight. But to wield such a sword was an honour, so all the king's vassals tried to lift it and swing it a bit. But even those who managed to lift the sword, dropped it the very next moment.
Since all the nobles failed to lift the Redeemer, the king decided to take a look at the ordinary soldiers. The officers were ordered to fell their men in. All the soldiers were ordered to stand in order and not to move. Surrounded by his guards, the king was walking along the array, trying to notice if one of the soldiers differed from the others. Suddenly an elf appeared out of nowhere. That was probably an elven magic that helped him to just appear in front of the human king. He then threw a spell to the place where the king and his guards stood. So the intruder's intentions were clear enough - he came to assassinate the king and to destroy the humans' last hope for victory. The king's guards were shocked by the spell and could not move. They were unable to stop the assassin in time. But at this moment one of the private soldiers left the order and rushed to the assassin. Before the elf managed to cast the next spell, the soldier lifted his sword and killed the intruder. This soldier disobeyed an order, but saved the king's life. The king was grateful and decided to talk to that brave soldier. 'What is your name?', the king asked. 'My name is Aarnum Richfield, my lord '[a reference to the sworsman's set 'Aarnum's Regalia' from Sacred 1 + the unique two-hander 'Sir Richfield's Objection' from the same game], answered the soldier while kneeling down before the king. 'You disobeyed your superior's order, Private Richfield. Why did you do so?', asked the kind trying to test the soldier. 'I did so because I serve not my superior but you and the land of Artamark', answered Aarnum without having any doubts. The king was quite happy to see such an attitude. He decided that Aarnum's feat of arms should be rewarded. Since the king needed some allies among nobility, and his people needed heroes, he decided to bestow the small land and the title of Knight upon that soldier. He asked Aarnum for his sword to knight him. Surprisingly, the soldier gave the king not a simple sword that were typical for human army, but some huge ancient-looking sword. He claimed this sword to be his heirloom. The king was surprised to see a sword that big and heavy. 'Who if not him', the king thought - and ordered to bring the Redeemer. 'If you could lift this sword, you would become a noble Knight and a hero of this land', he told Aarnum. The warrior took the sword and lifted it easely. It seemed to fit him perfectly...
The rest is history. Three month later the war was over. Humans managed to defend the land of Artamark. Being a kind person and a brave warrior, Aarnum made a good name for himself and proved that his sword is worth its name.
Sadly, the end of Sir Aarnum Richfield's life was not as bright as his young days. His sons who were about to inherit his name and land were nothing but a huge source of disappointment and worries. One of them was a weak airhead, the other was a wicked schemer, and none of them was the one Aarnum might be proud of. So just before his death, Sir Richfield said: 'I want only the ones who care about Artamark to wield my sword. I want the Redeemer to be earned, not inherited.' - and ordered to return the Redeemer to the king, hoping that the king would give this sword only to a true hero of the land.
The Redeemer spent a lot of decades lying in the Royal Treasury. The kings of Artamark knew that their people would pay a special attention to the one who would wield this weapon, so they did not want to give it away easely.
The time when the sword appeared again was a dark one for Artamark. But this time there were no intruders nor foreign enemies. The forces that tore the land apart were inside it. The powerful vassals of the king refused to obey the king's orders and continued fighting with each other. The civil war was slowly wiping out the human race. The king tried to settle the nobles down, but his authority was too low and his army was too little. He desperately needed an ally among the nobles. During that time, the most power of his vassals was Baron Johann DeMordrey, the owner of Skook's Corner. But the Baron was powerful enough to ignore the king completely. He wanted power, and he had a lot of it. One day the king found out that one of the Barons offered his corps to lay siege to the capital city of Griffinborough. His own army was too small to stand a siege, so he decided to ask Johann DeMordrey for help. Knowing Johann's thirst for power and fame, the king offered him a title of the First Knight and the Redeemer to boot. The next day Johann DeMordrey send his corps to assist the royal army. After the battle was over, the Baron became the Redeemer's new owner. That day was the last time when the king of Artamark actually ruled his land.
During the next years, the civil war stopped. But that was not because the peace came to the human land. That was because of fear. Everybody feared the actual ruler of Artamark. No, it was not the king, who could do nothing during these days, but Baron Johann DeMordrey. He was so cruel and stern, that the people called him Johann the Terrible. [sorry, couldn't stop myself from referencing the infamous russian ruler Ivan the Terrible (don't believe wikipedia article about him, there are quite a lot of mistakes in it). And the german variant of the name 'Ivan' is 'Johann'] He could tolerate nobody who stood in his way. His corps immediately stopped all the attempts on mutiny. It was said that Johann enjoyed killing the enemy leaders himself, finishing them by his legendary sword. Because of it some people began to call the sword 'Dark Redeemer', but the ones who remembered its history continued calling it 'Redeemer', since it was known for bringing not only Darkness but also Light to the land of Artamark.
Twenty years passed, Johann the Terrible became older and could not react on all the events with his former quickness. So various mutinies became frequent. Once the Baron got a news about the mutiny in the west lands and ordered his corps to move there. As always, he led his soldiers himself. The battle took place near the town of Wargfels. Luckily for all the people of Artamark, Baron Johann was killed in this battle.
His sword's fate remains uncertain. Some people say that it was lost in the battle and may be found in any place of Artamark. Others assume that one of the soldiers picked it and, following the legendary Sir Richfield's order, returned the Redeemer to the king. Some people even suspect that the legendary sword is hidden somewhere in the DeMordrey family castle...
Now the Redeemer, which witnessed the Light and the Darkness, which was used to save Life and to bring Death, lies somewhere, patiently waiting for its new owner. Only the time will tell, what power this sword would serve the next time.
