Starforge Swords

The **Starforge Swords** are seven unique blades with extremely powerful magical abilities.

They were forged by the High Elven sorceress-smith, Masamura of Brecilidia, around the year 2000BE as a gift to the Stormlord High King, Gordon I of the White Oak. It is said that Masamura saw a star fall to earth, and mounted an expedition to the place where she had seen it land. Upon discovering the crash site, she found a large sphere of glowing white metal buried within the ground, and set to work studying its properties. She found that the material had a certain resonance to it that responded powerfully to magic, and that any enchantment worked into the craft took on a mysterious life of its own. Masamura separated the metal into seven swords, and found that each took on a different color of the light spectrum as she enchanted them. One blade was her crowning masterpiece, a magnificent golden sword that glowed like a miniature sun.

While each of the seven swords was held in possession of the Stormlord monarchy for countless generations, they seemed to have wills of their own and soon, one-by-one, began to slip from their masters' hands. By the time of the last King, Jason Blackthorne, there was only one of the Starforge swords left in the treasuries. The rest had scattered to the four corners of the Realm, some in the hands of great warriors, and some lost forever.

## Weapon List

 Bask
 Unholoth
 Wyrmfang
 Crescendo

## Red Blade

**Redwing** has been in the Blackthorne family for generations. It is a greatsword or claymore in its style, designed to be wielded with two hands. Jaster Blackthorne observes that the blade is surprisingly light despite its size. He also notes the "hypnotic" fresh-blood color, and when he holds it he hears a "discordant melody" sang by a woman's voice. The blade is engraved in swirling patterns of Stormlord runes, spelling out the same message over and over again;

*"I am of the Red Winge*

*None shall holde me,*

*save the True Kinge in the Weste,*

*whose name is of the Black Thorne"*

Its enchantment causes the immediate negation of any magical effect it is turned against. Spells cast upon the wielder will fail in their effect, and projectile-based magic will seem to be absorbed by the blade itself. If it is used to hit a creature of magic, such as a Demon, it will completely destroy most of their physical makeup--this was exemplified when Jason Blackthorne slew the Demon King, Vermithrax, by striking it through the eye with Redwing. The sword is irrevocably bound to the Blackthorne bloodline and anyone who does not have Blackthorne ancestry claims to have trouble even lifting the weapon. It is a status symbol denoting true Lordship among the Blackthorne leaders, and its current wielder is the latest head of the House, Dominic Blackthorne.

## Orange Blade

**Bask**, a blade originally owned by House Monmoth bequeathed to House Mac Tir. Is currently hidden in the Tropics, awaiting a time when it is needed.

## Yellow Blade

**Unholoth** was considered to be Masamura's finest achievement, with a blade that was colored gold like sunlight. This, however, was the key to the weapon's power; the metal is capable of shapeshifting according to the wielder's will and mimicking the properties of other enchantments--those who praised the blade's beauty were merely seeing what its creator wanted them to see. Unholoth is arguably the most powerful of the Starforge Swords, as it is capable of taking upon any shape or enchantment that the user wishes. it is even capable of changing its substance, allowing it to generate poisons and its one drawback is that it responds the most strongly to users with magical power, and is therefore nearly unworkable for users who are not mages. This was the first of the blades to be lost to the Stormlord aristocracy; in 400BE, King Arthur IX took it with him on a voyage to the Storm's Eye, where he believed he could find a cure for the disease that ailed his son. His ship was consumed by the mighty whirlpool and Unholoth went down with him. A weapon resembling its description surfaced in 1014AE, wielded by the Void Elf, General Malakai, during the Massacre at the Riverford.

## Green Blade

The current location and details of the Green Blade are unknown.

## Blue Blade

**Wyrmfang** is considered by many to be the least powerful of the Starforge swords. A hand-and-a-half style "bastard" sword, its most distinguishing physical feature is the baleful blue glow of the blade, said to resemble the eyes of a *Wyrm* or Wyvern from which it draws its name. A wound dealt by the sword cannot be healed from; it will continue to bleed openly until the victim is dead, in an effect similar to Haemophilia. While its enchantment is not as impressive as any of its brethren, Wyrmfang gives its wielder a strong edge in combat against other living beings as even the most minor wounds inflicted by it can soon become lethal. The blue sword has a storied history; it was lost to the Stormlords after King Talion I challenged a deceitful hedge knight to single combat and almost lost his life--he surrendered the blade to that hedge knight as forfeit. Its new owner was dead within a fortnight, his murderer having coveted the blade after hearing of its origins. Since then the owner of Wyrmfang has always been whoever has the most strength to take it by force. it has been wielded by some of the most famous and infamous of warriors through the years, and its current wielder is the vicious mercenary known as the Headhunter.

## Indigo Blade

The current location and details of the Indigo Blade are unknown.

## Violet Blade

**Crescendo**, The Blade of Rising, is a cutlass-style violet tinted blade with what seems like amethyst as it's pommel. The blade itself only has a slight faded look to it and thus is much more unassuming than the other designs, however as it charges energy it will slowly shift it's colors until an almost black shade of purple engulfs the entire sword noting it's at maximum capacity and ready to be released. A full release is said to crumble castles like sand and split the oceans with ease.

The blade absorbs any and all force applied to it or that it applies to others 'drinking' the force of each swing in a duel until it can be released and start the process over again. Releasing the energy is key, allowing it to store puts the user at greatest risk. The more your store, the more strain comes back into your body when the sword is allowed to express its power. While most of the energy is released along the blade, a quarter recoils back into the user and wounds them as well.

This sword is counted upon the most unwieldy of the Starforged Swords, but those who master the art of its proper use can rise to be some of the greatest duelists of all time. Single combat against Crescendo is a death ticket, the more you try to attack the most nails you hammer down into your coffin. However the same goes for the user, the more you rely on the blade the more it taxes you for the privilege.

Stories differ on how exactly the sword came under the possession of Xankresh Avani the 'Pirate King' as he is known in modern times. Legend holds that Xanvani boarded a transport ship headed by King Bors III of the Storm Kings, making a mad rampage to the ship's hold where he quickly made off with the strongbox containing Crescendo before the dumbfounded King could relay an order to kill the wild dark elf.

Xankresh personally refutes these claims, he states that he had been found by King Bors III on his way to transport a relic to a place of safe keeping, said relic being the sword Crescendo.

Upon their meeting King Bors III attempted to arrest the infamous pirate captain and his crew for the high crimes he had been committing across the world. Xankresh offered him a chance to duel him in single combat, if he were the winner Xankresh would allow himself to be executed and his crew would be forfeit, but if the crazed pirate won he would claim the blade under the Storm King's protection as his own.

He continues that the duel lasted five hours, the skies ripping away and the seas rocking back and forth as the two powerhouses clashed swords. The Storm King using Crescendo, Xankresh using but his own cutlasses, four in total. Eventually Xankresh states he was the victor due to having the stamina to remain standing after both men were unable to bring their swords up to clash any longer. Xankresh had gone through all of his blades, and only faltered a moment after the King fell to his knees in exhaustion.

True to their agreement, Xankresh was granted the sword and promised that the rampages would end as Xankresh turned his sights on his enemies in the Empire of Dusk, now that he had a weapon worthy of facing them.

There is no official record of any of these things happening however, and its doubtful if there were that the Blackthornes would allow anyone to know their ancestors as either taken by surprise, or to make a deal with pirates over a treasured artifact of the Stormlords. Xankrehs claims otherwise, stating the blade 'sang a melodious tune that rose into booming and boisterous overtures until I could bear it no longer' that the sword had a 'will of its own making, and longed for battle' and that the sword and he have developed a bond of trust. Each one relying on the other to do battle until the very end.