The Swords of Power

Arondight – Sir Lancelot’s sword

 

The sword looks like a functional and lethal warriors weapon with a dark pommel and cross guard. Close inspection of the latter reveals faded and worn water motifs of waves, shells and water life. The blade itself always maintains it’s bright flawless mirror like polish, a quick flick makes all paint, mud and other similar material slide off like water. The edge of the blade glows with a faint blue light when not in active use, while the whole blade itself glows a brighter blue when in active use.

Arondight is said to enhance the wielder’s natural abilities to beyond normal men. And to give a supernatural fighting ability. It is sometimes paired up with Lancelot’s shield, which grants the bearer the “unflagging endurance and the strength of three men.”

 

Current user is Crusader a member of Storm Patrol in Seattle.

 

 

Excalibur aka Caledfwlch – King Arthur’s sword

 

From the Dream of Rhonabwy –“Then they heard Cadwr Earl of Cornwall being summoned, and saw him rise with Arthur's sword in his hand, with a design of two chimeras on the golden hilt; when the sword was unsheathed what was seen from the mouths of the two chimeras was like two flames of fire, so dreadful that it was not easy for anyone to look. At that the host settled and the commotion subsided, and the earl returned to his tent.”

It’s abilities are unknown.

Excalibur has only been used by one man. That is King Arthur himself. It waits for him to be reborn to reclaim it.

 

 

Shén zhī jiàn aka the Sword of God – Atilla the Hun’s Scimitar

 

The Roman historian Jordanes, quoting the work of the historian Priscus, gave the story of its origin:

"When a certain shepherd beheld one heifer of his flock limping and could find no cause for this wound, he anxiously followed the trail of blood and at length came to a sword it had unwittingly trampled while nibbling the grass. He dug it up and took it straight to Attila. He rejoiced at this gift and, being ambitious, thought he had been appointed ruler of the whole world, and that through the Sword of Mars supremacy in all wars was assured to him.”

The Sword of God is very deadly scimitar that has a bronze pommel and elaborate abstract etchings along its blade. When it is used it always seems to catch the sun’s light and flash and sparkle.

The user is said to gain great charisma, stamina, the power to turn invisible and the ability to summon a flying spectral steed, sometimes known as the King of Ghost Horses.

 

It is being used by a man also called The Sword of God in the northern region of China.

 

 

Heaven’s Gift – The arming blade of Joan of Arc

 

Heaven’s Gift is the most unassuming and plain of all the Swords of Power. It looks like a simple knights arming blade made out of a dull redish metal with a black crude forged pommel and grip that are a single piece. The grip is wrapped in a stained white cloth.

Fire is the source of this weapon’s power. An interesting quirk of the sword is that it can only be used by a woman. A man trying to use it will get burned. When activated the user is given wings of fire and is surrounded by a corona of fire and flame that does not harm her but will hurt her foes. The sword has an ability called the Dragon’s Breath, which produces a cone of flame at the users demand. Unlike most of the other weapons it does not enhance the users natural abilities in any way.

 

The current user is unknown.

 

Taming Sari – The Kris blade of Hang Tuah

 

The Taming Sari kris, which was named after its original owner an invincible Javanese warrior also named Taming Sari, has a unique construction. It is constructed out of twenty-one different types of metal forged into a unique dark iron colored alloy. It has a solid polished wood handle of dark stained wood. The wavy triangle shaped blade seems to shimmer internally.

 This magic blade has more properties than the other blades, making it one of the most powerful.  It empowers its owner with invincibility, grants him the ability to turn ethereal at will and move with great speed. It was said that Taming Sari could do the bearer’s fighting for him - if the bearer was menaced or in any danger, the kris would leap out of its sheath, fly through the air and attack the assailant.

 

Its current whereabouts are unknown

 

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi ("Grass Cutting Sword) – the Blade of Yamato Takeru

 

A fine simple looking Katana made of a white metal and a red wrapped hilt, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is one of the finest swords ever created by Japanese sword masters. It is always accompanied by a fine black lacquered wooden sheathe. It’s simple appearance belies its strength and power.

The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi gives its wielder the ability to control the wind itself. It has the need to make its new master prove him or herself before unleashing its true abilities. When the blade is mastered it enables to user to fly and summon whirlwinds at will in addition to the wind powers.

 

Its current whereabouts are unknown

 

Hungering Tooth – The Macuahuitl of Tlacaelel

 

A primitive vicious looking weapon made of sharp obsidian points imbedded in a blood stained wooden blade the shape of a cricket bat. It is worn and damaged looking but has a resilience that prevents it from breaking. It has a handle wrapped in dried shark skin. Of the eight Swords of Power it is debatable if it or the Crocea Mors is the elder.

Rage. Power. Strength. The three words that describe this weapon. Its user gains a great strength and resistance and becomes capable of berserk blind rages. The blade hungers for blood and drives its users to destroy the weak and those it considers beneath it. And in its centuries of use has been quenched with the blood of an innumerable horde. The Hungering Tooth is said to actually be possessed by a malign intelligence.

 

Its current user is Blood Wrath who haunts the larger cities of the eastern coast of the United States.

 

 

Crocea Mors – The Gladius of Julius Caesar

The Crocea Mors, which is Latin for Yellow Death, is a shiny steel gladius forged by Rome’s finest metal workers during the height of Caesar’s reign. It has a soft white suede handle that is lightly wrapped in a thin bronze cabling. The rounded pommel and the hilt are decorated with the imperial eagle, tooled in the golden iron. It is a fighting general’s weapon. Both ceremonial and functional.

The bearer of this weapon gains great personal magnetism and charisma, limited precognition and supreme mastery of battle in all its forms. Be it the court or the skirmish lines. It is also said that everyone cut by the blade would weaken and die, their strength wasted away.

 

Its current owner is unknown.