Of the Sedethul Sword

In the four hundred and eighteenth year of the Fifth Age, the Red War had come to its bloody end on the hills before Deylund City. The great Mithrodin warrior Kethol Av Torketal had mortally wounded Evruc, the Dark One, before he himself was slain in the final throes of battle. With Evruc’s enchantment broken, his massive army comprised of sorcerers and Uldurin soldiers splintered and was defeated by the forces of men and elves that day. Prince Athollos, commander of Deylund’s army, thence brought forth Anathar, the tenth Sword of the Ancients, to imprison Evruc’s spirit. A sword forged by the powers of the Ancient Ones, Evruc’s own brethren who he despised and had all but slain.

As the Mithrodin had instructed him, Athollos pierced the heart of Evruc with Anathar’s blade. It’s bright steel changed to the color of dark iron, and by the enchantments bestowed upon that sword by the Ancients, Evruc’s black spirit became trapped within the steel. His spiritless, mortal body was thence devoured by Ourn, the Orwenoch beast brought forth from the Neverworld by Evruc’s brother, the Ancient One Atnal. With this act the Orwenoch had their ultimate revenge upon Evruc, for he was their father and creator, but he had betrayed them to his enemies and caused their kind to be cast out of Ammon. Once the deed was finished Ourn said a bitter farewell to his companions. A haze then surrounded him and he faded out of this world, returning to the realm of the Neverworld of Avollos. Athollos and Ellexos would never see his kind again.

The combined plans of the Mithrodin and the great kingdoms had finally succeeded in the utter defeat of the enemy, his army of sorcerers, and the Uldurin horde. The source of true evil in the world had been vanquished. Although Evruc’s mortal body had been destroyed, his spirit lived on, imprisoned in the blade of Anathar. It too must be destroyed to truly remove that Dark One from the world. Ellexos, the Mithrodin who had slain Evruc’s high sorcerers in the final battle, instructed Prince Athollos in the manner for which the blade must be destroyed, for she had been given this knowledge by Kethol, her former master.

Before the deed was accomplished, the chiefs of the Kingdoms held a great council and questioned whether this should indeed be done. Atnal, the last Ancient One, slain by Evruc’s hand, had told thus to the Mithrodin; the fourteen Ancients were the first immortal beings created by the Anath to dwell upon and rule Ammon, but it was inevitable that their flesh and blood bodies would fail or be destroyed in time. Even so, Atnal told that their spirits would live on as shadows in the Neverworld of Avallos. They would still continue to guide mortals in the world of Ammon by speaking to them in dreams. However, at the moment a single one of these fourteen spirits became destroyed, the bond between all Ancients and mortals would be forever broken. Their presence would thence leave the worlds of Ammon forever and return to abode with their creators in the heavens. The Ancients would never have influence over the world again, leaving mortals to guide their own destinies.

Even though Evruc was deemed evil by the Ancients, and had been cast out of their order, the council questioned whether Atnal’s words would still hold true, for Evruc was now the last Ancient One to have his mortal body destroyed. He would be the first to have true death if the destruction of his immortal spirit were to be accomplished. The Ancients had always guided mortals, and the council feared doom would fall upon the peoples of Ammon without their influence. Thus the decision was made that the spirit within the sword Anathar would not be destroyed, but would be taken deep into the bowels of the earth, and there guarded for all time to prevent Evruc’s escape. The bond between mortals and the Ancients would remain.

Although Ellexos and Prince Athollos voiced strong opposition to this, they agreed to abide by the council’s will and see that the Dark One was imprisoned. The Evesfael, ruling clan of the Dark Elves, resolved that they would allow Anathar to be placed deep within the bowels of their underground kingdom. It would be sealed behind solid rock, with the guardian city of Barkonia above to forever watch over it. Barkonia would be renamed Lokonia, for the ‘dark kingdom’ would now be the ‘kingdom of light’. The name would let all know this place was there to hold in the darkness. Its caves, recently defiled by the Dark One when his army used its passages for their entry into Deylund, would now be the final prison of the Dark One.

Athollos and his two younger brothers, Sarafel and Morweth, were sons of King Koelyth of the line of Avonthia. The Avonthians were the first kings of men in Ammon, proudest and most honorable of all of the great houses which came out of the First Age. Lord Koelyth was a direct descendant of that line. When King Elliasthol was slain by Evruc, Koelyth was called to replace him as ruler and King of Deylund, for no other royal family remained in line of succession after the Red War. Athollos was the eldest and wisest of the three princes of Avonthia, and next in line to be king. He wielded Sedethul, the first sword of Avonthia, a cherished heirloom of his family line. Sedethul was ancient, for it was forged in Deylund for the first king of the Avonthian line, and was passed on to each successor through times of war and peace. In the First Age there were three Avonthian swords, one for each of the kings who ruled across the expanse of the Great Realm. Athollos’ two brothers each wielded the other two.

The three princes of Avonthia assembled an armed caravan for the nine-day journey South to the Tellorien Mountains, and into Lokonia beneath. Each commanded a company of men to protect Anathar, for the Dark One still had loyal agents throughout the lands. The sword was wrapped in a Mithrodin cloak, sealed in a steel coffin, and placed inside an armored carriage. The Mithrodin warrior Ellexos and a company of Mithrodin accompanied the caravan to ensure that Anathar and the Dark One were properly entombed beneath the earth in Lokonia. Even though she still grieved at the death of her sister Enethia, she would finish her charge and see to it that the Dark One found his eternal prison.

The caravan was well protected for the journey. Even so, Evruc’s spirit, trapped in the steel of the Ancients, was aware of the doom planned for him by these men and elves. He began to search the minds of his jailors and enemies, seeking for one that was weak with whom he could control and force his will upon; one that would facilitate his escape before he would be entrapped behind stone. After a time he sensed one that could be molded to his needs, and this was the youngest Avonthian brother, Morweth. In that one he found a brash youth with seeds of jealousy for his elders, and a lust for power. And thus Evruc worked his dark will to make those seeds grow…

To be continued.

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,©2005, ©2008, and ©2010 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). Avoloch is a trademark of Kit Rae.