The Tale of the Swords of the Ancients And Other Blades of Power

A Mythology

By

Kit Rae

Of the Blades of Chaos

Long ago in the Fourth Age, the age of chaos, there was malcontent among the three mortal races created by the Ancient Ones: Elves, Men, and the Uldurin. Though Mortals were wise and with much strength, were also unstable through the weaknesses of the flesh. Through greed, the lust for power, and jealousy, they were tempted to war amongst each other and there was much bloodshed in the beginning. Thus the Ancient Ones created the first enchanted talismans to temper the mortals and restore order and balance. They took the form of steel bladed devices, for blades were among the first tools to be used by mortals in Ammon. There were many of these enchanted weapons, but chief among them was the Umethar, which could open gates to other worlds, and The Blade of Isis, which harnessed the power of the sun and the earth. There were others that have been lost over time, one of which was the Serpent Dagger, the most vile of all of the Blades of Chaos. The Ancient Ones gave these talismans in good faith, but the mortals misused them and were corrupted by the new power, and much blood was spilled by reason of them. The Uldurin waged war upon Men. The Elves moved underground to escape the chaos above, and they became the Dark Elves of the underworld of Barkonia. The Uldurin surmised that the Ancient Ones did not favor them as equals to the other mortal races because they were only granted one of the enchanted blades, while Elves were given three and Men two. Thus they demanded the Ancients make more of the blades, and when the Ancient One sent to them as emissary refused, the Uldurin killed that one and set out to destroy any enchanted blade they could find. This was the first slaying of immortal by mortal and Ammon was forever changed. Thus Ammon entered the Fourth Age, the age of chaos. Thenceforward the talismans became known as the Blades of Chaos, for that is what they had created.

Evruc, one of the Ancients, now known only as the Dark One, perceived how easily mortals were corrupted, and how vulnerable his own kind were to them. In his mind he had dark thoughts over how best to rule them, and he opposed the other Ancients, causing much turmoil. He forsook them and left to dwell in the Underworld, and there he became dark and twisted. He took many men as his slaves and many women as his concubines. The Elves, who also dwelled in the vast Underworld, eschewed Evruc, and named him the Dark One, but some were corrupted by his power and they joined him as subjects and they became the Black Elves. In this time the Orwenoch, mysterious dark beasts, appeared out of the depths of the Underworld, and it was said that they were the creation of the Dark One.

The remaining twelve Ancient Ones, seeing the grave mistake they had made, set forth to create the Umethar, a talisman to restore order to the chaos. It was given the shape of many blades within blades, for it held powers within powers. The hilt was carved from bone of the Ancient One who was slain, known as Thorcan, and the pommel was fashioned in the image of the Anath. The blade was quenched with the blood of every immortal Ancient One, save Evruc, and within it was held their greatest power. The Ancients commanded mortals use the blade to heal the hurts they had caused, lest ere long they destroy themselves by their own hands; and they took it and by the power of the Umethar they brought life back to the dead mortals who had been slain in wrath over the Blades of Chaos. Order and harmony were restored between mortals, for a time at least, until the Dark One came and unbalanced the world once again; and when the Dark One was captured the first time and brought to justice, the Umethar was used to unlock the gate to the Neverworld and seal him in, for it had the power to open doors between worlds.

The Known Blades of Chaos

The Blade of Isis – Harnessed the sun and the earth’s power. The hand guard was crafted in the shape of intertwined serpents. The grip was covered in serpent scale, and the pommel displayed the symbols of fertility, a sun disk and horns of a beast of burden. The face adorning the pommel was that of Isis, an Ancient One.

Nasek (Serpent Dagger) – The Serpent Dagger was called Nasek in the Ancient’s language and it was fashioned in the shape of many intertwined snakes and held a serpentine blade of unbreakable metal. Six spikes were thrust into the hilt to represent the six Ancient Ones who had each given it part of their powers, the power to command the serpents, worms, and belly crawlers of the land. Worms of the earth could be made to make infertile ground fertile for growing. Crop devouring insect hoards could be vanquished by calling forth the snakes of the land to destroy them.

Archeros - Its hilt was fashioned in the form of its namesake, an ancient poisonous sea drake that lived in Ardere, the sea of fire. The blade was decorated with the form of the drake and one stroke of its steel would cause time to slow to a crawl for the one touched. If the user were to touch the blade that one would be unaffected, but by drawing a drop of the users own blood with the blade that one would gain the knowledge needed to accomplish almost any goal.

Navros Dagger (Sorcerer’s Dagger) - Could absorb the power and living essence of any being into its steel, but only a direct strike to the heart would awaken the ancient blade to do its deed. Once done, the power and life with which it had stolen could be passed on to another. Its grip was of carved Thorcan, its pommel twin hawk heads, and engraved into its blade was an incantation written by Evruc, an Ancient One of the Fourth Age, said to be the father of the first sorcerer in Ammon.

Umethar – Possessed the ability to open the door to the Neverworld, among its many other powers. Harnessed the power to bring life back to the dead. The blade of creation and destruction. It was given the shape of many blades within blades, for it held powers within powers. The hilt was carved from bone of the Ancient One who was slain, known as Thorcan, and the pommel was fashioned in the image of the Anath. The blade was quenched with the blood of every immortal Ancient One, save Evruc, and within it was held their greatest power.

The Tale of the Swords of the Ancients and Other Blades of Power and its previous versions, The Swords of the Ancients and its abridged excerpts, and other forms, are ©1997 and ©2005 by Kit Rae. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any other form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, computer networking, or otherwise without prior permission in writing by the copyright holder(s).