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

A Mythology

By

Kit Rae

Of the Umethar and 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. The mortals, though wise with many strengths, were also unstable through the weaknesses of the flesh, and there was much hatred and jealousy amongst them. Thus the Ancient Ones created the first enchanted talismans to temper the mortals and restore order and balance. They were given to mortals and each took the form of bladed devices bestowed with powers of many forms. 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. The hand guard of the Blade of Isis 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. 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 mortals misused them and were corrupted by the new power, and there were many wars fought and much blood spilled by reason of them. 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. Thenceforward the talismans became known as the Blades of Chaos, for that is what they created.

The 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 first Ancient One to be slain by a mortal, Thorcan. The pommel was fashioned in the image of the Anath, who created Ammon. The blade was quenched with the blood of every immortal Ancient 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.

It came to pass as has been foretold that the Dark One’s offspring, Vardor, came into power, and with the aid of the evil sorcerer Navros, became the Lord of the Shadows. Thenceforth the high priests of the Mithrodin ordained that the known Swords of the Ancients must be protected lest he seek for them. The leadership of Vaelen, whom herself was of the order of Mithrodin and had slain the Dark One, was sorely needed in this dismal time. Thus the Mithrodin commanded that the warrior Aluen and a company of seven Mithrodin search the lands of Ammon for knowledge of the fate of the Umethar, which had been lost for over ten thousand years, and with it attempt to release Vaelen from her prison in the Neverworld. Their quest led them to the far corners of the Great Realm; Lumenia, Deylund, Deylindor, and Ammunach, with no wisdom of the blade she sought.

Aluen’s company then set sail with the mariners of the Rocinante, a white sailing vessel of the great fleet of Lumenia, and they crossed the sea of Valesthia to the Southern realm of Loringel wherein lay the Mithrodin hall of records in Athelstan. For seven moons Aluen studied the ancient scrolls and tablets of the Fourth Age. It was there she found knowledge of the Blades of Chaos, the first to be given powers by the Ancients. Indeed, the Mithrodin still held one of those blades, the Isis, in their possession; but its power was for harnessing the sun and the earth, and could not open the gate to the other worlds. The others were mostly weak talismans, lost over time, but one blade, the mythical Umethar, was accounted to be the true blade of creation and destruction, harnessing the original force the Ancients used in the conception of all mortal creatures in Ammon. The Ancient texts told of a great battle between Elves and Uldurin many thousands of years earlier and of its hiding place in the realm of Ulaine. The Umethar had long ago passed out of memory and was recorded to have been destroyed; but Aluen knew a blade of the Ancients could not be unmade. Thus Aluen’s company and the mariners of the Rocinante made for the frozen lands of the North. All the while, back in the homeland of Lumenia, their King had been slain and Vardor’s Shadows swept over the land.

The journey took three moons time, with one sojourn on the isle of Kelledros off the Northeastern coast of Dagorlund, before finally landing on the frozen Eastern shores of Ulaine, which were strangely broken and in upheaval as if the earth had been twisted and wrenched. The Elves making their abode in the villages of the coast had no word from the Mithrodin for many a year and were elated by Aluen’s visit. She learned from them that the Uldurin, who had degenerated into vicious savages since the time of the Ancients, harshly ruled Ulaine. The king of the Uldurin possessed the sword of the earth, Anathros, and he used it to govern the Elves by threat of its power, which could melt the ice and crack the earth. With it he had all but destroyed the great cities of the Elvish kingdom and the Elves now lived in many scattered villages. Anathros had been given to the Elves long ago, but was later stolen by the Uldurin, who now resided on the shores of the West. It was there that the Temple of the Anath was rumored to lie, hidden in the Eldriun Mountains. The mariners transported Aluen’s crew to the Western shores where they parted company. The main host of the Uldurin dwelt there and Aluen chose to travel around the city to the foot of the mountains by night and avoid detection.

The ascent through the mountain pass was harsh and cold, but this did not distress the Mithrodin, and after many days travel they finally descried the three great peaks of mount Eldriun, wherein the temple should reside in the valley between the peaks. The company took rest for the night but were assailed in the twilight hours by an Uldurin patrol; and they were twisted beings, savage and unrecognizable, with bare, scaly spined black skin, and taloned hands and feet. They fought fiercely and three of Aluen’s company were slain, but Aluen also took six of the intruders to death with her Valdris before the others retreated. At dawn they crossed the mountain and advanced into the valley below, which was peculiarly devoid of snow or even cold, but was bright, green and warm like midsummer as if some magic had averted the elements. In the center of the valley stood a great ring of immense fir trees, but when they came closer they could see a grand palace hidden within, ancient and in disrepair, but still majestic and beautiful: The Temple of the Anath, now vacant of the Ancient Ones since they passed from the world ten thousand years beforehand.

Upon entering the magnificent temple halls, which were carved of a polished black stone, the company was beleaguered by more of the Uldurin, deranged guardians set to watch ages ago, their minds bent by long abuse of the Blades of Chaos. A prolonged battle ensued but the Mithrodin were triumphant, and proceeded into the inner labyrinth in search of the chamber that held the talisman they sought. Aluen, using all of her skills and training, deciphered the puzzle of the labyrinth and found the great hidden chamber within, a circular room ringed by fourteen statues of the Ancient Ones, each holding a bladed scepter. In the center of the ring there was a stone pedestal that firmly held the Umethar, and Aluen knelt in front and grasped its hilt; and by invoking the names of the Ancients she asked for it to be released from the temple. It broke free of the stone and a brilliant light shone from the blade as Aluen held it aloft, and through it she was given a vision by Vaelen from the Neverworld. In the vision the hoard of the Orwenoch were coming out of Dagorlund to destroy the Great Realm, commanded by Vardor; but Aluen was also in the vision, commanding an army of the undead against them, and she held the sword Anathros in her hand. Aluen then knew that her fate was to lead the Elves in conquest of the Uldurin and wield the sword Anathros against Vardor.

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).