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

A Mythology

By

Kit Rae

Of the Valdris

When the immortal Ancients began to disappear from the world, the order of the Mithrodin was created by mortals in the one hundred and third year of the Fifth Age to watch over the Ten Swords. The Mithrodin, or Mith as they were called, were a highly secretive cadre of warriors and protectors in service of the Great Realm. Dating back over three hundred generations, to the time of the Ancient Ones, the Mith were guardians of the sacred steels bestowed with powers by the Ancients. They were charged with the full knowledge of the Ten Swords of the Ancients and they alone knew of the swords’ powers and lore. It was the duty of the Mith to keep order and balance in Ammon by directing the use of the known swords, and keeping secret the unknown ones. Each sword required counterbalance by it’s opposite. When a sword of power appeared and was used to shift the balance of Ammon, the Mith, through careful counsel and deliberation, would seek the opposing sword and release it into the world. They alone were also responsible for recovering and protecting any sword that fell from its master’s hand at the edge of another. The Mith understood the mystery and power of enchanted steel.

Mithrodin temples numbered in the hundreds and were spread across Ammon in each of the Great Realms. Only a select few were ever admitted to their ranks and even fewer passed the rigorous training, which lasted several years. They were masters of the mental and physical arts of combat. At the completion of each level of training, the Mith tattooed a portion of their bodies in sacred designs of the Ancients, thus the highly skilled were adorned the most. The chosen weapon of the Mith was the Valdris, a double bladed sword of strange design. The hilt of the Valdris, like many weapons of the Great Realm, was fashioned from the bones and armor of Baelin, great brutal and ruthless beasts created by the Dark One for his Black Legion. Its twin blades, forged of extraordinary Elvish steel from the mines of Lokonia, were designed for the intricate blocking and offensive fighting style of Mithrodin combat. Only they could wield the Valdris rightly and many were skilled at using two at one time, honing the mind and flesh to become one with the blades. A high level Mithrodin could disarm and subdue an enemy with this weapon at lightening speed; or destroy with the same precision.

The most skilled user of the Valdris was the great warrior Aluen, high soldier of the Mithrodin, under the command of Vaelen, Queen of Lumenia, in the war against the Black Legion of the Dark One. Aluen was orphaned at a young age when a siege by nomadic thieves on her village left her the only survivor. By chance, she was discovered by a company of Queen Vaelen’s cavalry returning from the realm of Deylund. They brought her to the Queen’s palace in Lumenia. It became clear to Vaelen that Aluen, although wild and undisciplined, was quick to learn and skilled in the arts of hand to hand combat; hence she was enrolled into military training for Vaelen’s personal guard; and her life was given greater purpose other than revenge against the destroyers of her kith and kinsman. Aluen quickly excelled beyond all other soldiers and therefore was recruited by Vaelen to become one of the Mithrodin and serve the Great Realm.

Aluen was trained by the highest master of the Mithrodin for seven years before being released into the world to carry out her duties. She had the distinction of being the only Mith in ten generations to have defeated a Baelin in single combat. Aluen forged her own Valdris hilt from that beast. She bravely served in the war against the Black Legion for Vaelen, defeating many Barumen soldiers with that blade; and also returned the sword Kilgorin to the Mithrodin when the Dark One was defeated, with the Valdris as her only defense in taking it out of the his dark caverns. She was saddened greatly when Vaelen was lost to the Neverworld and vowed to find a way to free her friend from that deathless prison. Only a blade of the Ancients could accomplish such a deed and Aluen knew not of one with such powers, but she would to learn the myths and legends of the Blades of Chaos and find such a talisman.

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).