City of Swords

## **About the City of Swords:**

The 'City of Swords' is the main capital of a continent called Elgo. This city is mostly oval in perimeter and has many dock areas for boats to access and depart from with rivers flowing through the city. The buildings found in this area are advanced in regards to most of the known world's towns and cities with the majority of non-important buildings being constructed with techniques that someone could expect of roughly 16th to 18th century construction in ports dependant on area in the city. There is close access to beaches and off the coast there is a volcanic island that although it erupts occasionally has never threatened the safety of anyone in the city. Important buildings vary in their construction compared to the non-important buildings and despite having a large and solid defensive wall, the city often does not see problems from pirates or outward attack.

The main focus of the town is the giant tower which houses the craftlord's chambers of office when they have to meet for any critical matters, the craftknight tournament chambers and the path of trials, a dungeon that not only has stable floors, but also has tears allowing travel into the different connecting worlds that the partners of craftknights come from.

### **The history of the city of swords:**

The city of swords was initially founded by a group of expert blacksmiths, archmages and warriors who discovered a valuable and powerful material called Summonite. This gemstone which can have different colourations dependant on it's properties was found to be able to allow someone to breach the boundaries between Tierra and other worlds, down to even crossing into other timelines and dimensions. The name was granted to this special ore when by accident a creature was summoned from another world to Tierra... one with vast magical power and immense knowledge from having lived for over seventeen millenia. This creature, known as Goura saw the potential of the people of Elgo and taught them how by infusing a weapon with the spirits of two blacksmiths during it's creation, the resultant weapon could have magical effects, rivalling the powerful enchantments recorded in other kingdoms. This knowledge however would come at a terrible cost... a man by the name of Guren saw the potential for destruction and decided that Goura's talents deserved to belong to nobody but himself so that he could rule the kingdom of Elgo. By utilizing the arts taught by those who summon daedra and demons, Guren captured the soul of Goura and mutated, becoming a warped dark swordsman. Stealing Goura's knowledge, he went about creating a sinister weapon infused with the negative energies of Tierra, aiming to make it a tool that would conquer all lands by channeling the subsconscious desires all races had for destruction.

The surviving members of Guren Goura's attack realized that if they ever allowed this madman to continue, the entire world would be doomed to a horrific fate... but there was the risk that if they told the outside world the secrets Goura had shared it would spark a even greater war. In the end, they decided the only way to stop him would be to call for help from other worlds.. and thus, the first Craftknights were formed. After a long and fierce battle costing many of their lives, Guren Goura was defeated but unable to be killed... he had sealed his lifeforce into the demon sword, binding his eternal fate to the world's desires for destruction and ruin. Knowing that they could not slay him and removing such desires or thoughts from the world was a impossibility, they sealed him away from his demonic sword in a dimensional void, the sword becoming the key to that void... that sword was then sealed with four swords crafted by a knight from each direction of the kingdom who sacrificed their very lives and souls, along with the souls of their otherworldly partners to ensure Guren Goura could never resurface again. It was at this point the craftknights made their rules about how exactly their abilities and weapons should be used... along with their policies with regards to always using only weapons they themselves made with their partners or their blacksmithing hammers. The belief would be that by learning to fight with weapons formed of bonds with their partner and by using their hammers that they used to work with them, they would forge not only weapons but themselves to become the best they could be.

After the calamity, some people foolishly tried to summon using summonite without the proper teachings of Goura or the craftknights which let loose wild summons who were trapped in this world by the failed summonings. In response to this growing problem, the craftknights started to form guilds to train and teach future generations not only to help stop the wild summons who by now were coming into existance naturally by the dimensional tears left behind by the failures of the past... but also to strengthen the bonds between other worlds. The craftknights were truly formed at this point, their express purpose being to form bonds with partners from other worlds and by crafting together, bonding their spirits with their partners and using various materials gathered in the world, broken relics or from their fallen foes to act as a force to help those in need. The strongest of each guild who proved themselves by being the best not only at fighting, but at understanding the bond with their partner and crafting would be called a craftlord... and would become one of the main political leaders whenever something critical needed addressing.

During the third age of the city, other kingdoms began to have wars... knowing the teachings and lessons of the past, the craftlords decreed that the craftknights would never sell the items they made to outside kingdoms nor would they get involved in political struggles outside of their own kingdom. This was to ensure that they did not allow the outside kingdoms to obtain magic or technologies that would overwhelm others... on rare occasions they MAY order a craftknight get involved, but their policy is very strict so as not to upset the natural order of the world and cause another incident like Guren Goura.

### **The guilds of the city of swords:**

In the city of swords and all around Elgo, there are various craftknight guilds which over the years have developed into different roles and positions as was needed. These guilds were named after metals or gemstones, honoring the concept of the original blacksmiths of old. As of current, those guilds are:

Iron

Iron guild craftknights often have a firm belief in working hard to get their end goals achieved, often going the extra mile to ensure that when they set out to do something, they do exactly as they say they will. Putting a firm focus on the unity of craftknight and summoned partner, the iron guild has raised many craftknights who have gone to become adventurers and can be counted on when things go bad. The guild is run by the craftlord of iron, Blaire 'Berg' Demaar who is a avid lover of all foods spicy and is partnered with a demon prince named Loki who has a tendancy to challenge strong people... and regret it later on. His adoptive son is Zeruge Demaar, a Ysian roo who was warped onto his doorstep as a baby.

Silver

Silver guild craftknights understand that working too hard can be detrimental not only for your health but your relationships... to this end, the silver guild puts a emphasis on trying to go with the flow, taking a gentler and more caring approach than the other guilds. Do not underestimate them however as the silver guild has a firm reputation of raising craftknights on par with the iron guild. The current craftlord of silver is called Odessa Whitewing and her partner is a three headed hydra named Arcos. She has two adoptive children: Ryouga, a sealed demon child... and Sanary, a lady who can be nice and gentle one moment and then a raging flurry of blades the next.

Gold

The gold guild was founded on the principles of luxury and economy... understanding the outside world's desires for import and export, the gold guild craftknights are always keen to learn new techniques and weapons from the outside world, often taking visits either to other worlds or to leading experts in the fields of progress. The craftlord of gold is named Mulnir Stoneshard with his partner being a mechanical rhino-like robot truly named Run-dor, but most people tend to call him RAM due to his tendancy to occasionally trip up and accidentally break a wall with his drill nose. A notable member of the gold guild is Varil, a expert spearman who unconventionally sometimes uses weapons that weren't crafted by him... with the belief that by learning to wield weapons made by others, you can truly come to learn how they fight.

Jade

The jade guild is possibly the most influencial guild barring diamond... and this is purely because for them, TRADE IS EVERYTHING. No matter where they have to go, they will go all out to ensure fair trade is given, no matter what the country, political situation or even population of their vending locations. It isn't publicly known who exactly runs the jade guild as the craftlord of jade, although rumors do suggest that they occasionally take to piracy and counter-piracy to ensure the poor people of the world have what they need to survive.

Amber

Amber guild is the guild that handles the medical requirements of the kingdom of Elgo... using magics and technology from other worlds and by going out and exploring, it is these craftknights who people turn to when they need help of a physical, mental, spiritual or emotional kind. Their leader is known as Lucrecia Arkensong and their partner is a phoenix called Ophelia... one very well known story is how Lucrecia deliberately bruteforced her way into Purgatory, fought against those who reside over death and went deeper into one of the many planes of the afterlife in order to retrieve water from the fountain of rebirth... all to save a angel who had tried to help a kingdom only to lose his ties to the heavens and be forced cruelly into a state of perpetual near-death suffering. For this reason, she is often called 'Deathless' or 'She who even death cannot slay'.

Sapphire

If Amber is the guild that handles medical requirements, Sapphire is the one that handles import and export. While the jade guild goes out to ensure fair trade, without the sapphire guild's hardworking craftknights who are masters of the air and the sea, the entire kingdom of Elgo's naval and aerial trade simply wouldn't work out. The craftlord of sapphire's identity is kept mostly secret so that pirates do not get the clever idea of trying to assassinate them.

Ruby

The ruby guild looks after the general population and acts as the main defensive force for the kingdom of Elgo. Each craftknight who is sworn into this guild undertakes the most extreme of training to ensure that no matter what attacks are thrown at the kingdom and it's people, the stalwart defenders will be there to fend it off. The craftlord of ruby is called Rek... towering at a massive 9 foot 8 and built like a living epitome of a fortress, his hammer alone terrifies most people before he can even swing a weapon or even his fists to fight. His partner is a tiny pixie named Mai who acts as the talker for Rek given his intimidating presence usually scares people off. Rek is also a fond lover of spicy food so he and Blaire get along well..

Crystal

Crystal guild craftknights are effectively the postmen and women of Elgo. Don't ever think that means they are weak however... training almost as hard as the ruby guild, the crystal craftknights will almost NEVER fail a delivery... this is especially true of 'Worldbreaker Jeanne', the craftlord who on noticing a ship was leaving in the middle of a massive tropical typhoon and during a time of one of the volcanic island's eruptions climbed the volcano to the top, glided to the ship using a specialized glider made by her partner only to realize she picked up the wrong package... so she jumped off the ship, swam all the way back to the city of swords, picked up the proper delivery and swam back to the boat to deliver the package. If she says she is going to deliver, SHE WILL DELIVER. No ifs, no buts.

Diamond

The diamond guild is the political guild... while this guild doesn't quite do the same training as the rest of the guilds, they dedicate all of their time and effort to manage all the political matters that the craftlords do not need to be disturbed for... such as planning developments in the kingdom, managing taxes, addressing damages, costs and reimbursements for those who have losses in the kingdom... and even down to food and drink rationing in times of extreme shortages. The craftlord of diamond is the oldest craftlord, master Arduxlan... who has been rumored to have been alive for millenia. It is also rumored that he has two partners... dragons bearing odd crests. Nobody has seen a weapon he has crafted.