The Nine Swords Of The Nine Hells

## The Early Years And Foundation (4300-4400)

When Valinor felt that Melech's and Valahar's training was done he spoke with both of them of his grand plan to make an order to give renown to the Nine Hells Melech immediatly showed great interest and started to plan how to raise funds for the order. In the other hand Valahar couldn't care less for the order but the promisse of war would allways leave him on the edge. So the three of them started their raids first against travelling caravans, then settlements eventually they started to gain some followers and attacked towns. All the gold they gathered had a single purpose, to feed the vaults for the construction of what would become their fortress. On the year of 4330 of the IV era they had decided to honor their ancestors and their fortress should be built on the lands of the Horned Society, but although extremely strong they were still a small group of two leaders a mighty captain and about 300 blades, so they decided that underground would be the best place for them to build their fortress and so the building began. They used some of the knowledge of old slave trade routes on the underdark for them to find manpower to build their fortress this combined with a distinctive spy abilities made Varis Galadriel discover about the order and he found it fitting that his daughter Zendra should join him, besides he had recently adopted a drow a baby named Tiranus and this seemed a good place to educate him. Zendra and Varis quickly proved of great interest for the order Varis could easily spread word on the underground of this new order rising and Zendra's abilities were those of a unique kind she also was devoted to Glasya and together with Valinor, Melech decided to make a Sword out of her, from here on was this term adopted Sword what being a Sword meant was being amongst the most powerful servant of the Hells if you are a Sword then you are the most powerful and devout warrior of a deity and in order to prove yourself has a Sword several requirments had to be met. With Varis network word was spreading word that eventually reached Shalimar's ears, word that made him gain interest in the order and he too departed to join this order. He was put through all the tests required and all the others recognized him as worthy of becoming a Sword. Now with Four Swords, a frightning military force under the command of Valahar and Varis spies and assassins it was time to inhabit the underground fortress and so the order began to rise.

## The Golden Age (4400-4500)

The order had attained some recognition now and more and more soldiers and cultists were arriving to the fortress. With them came a strange minotaur that went by the name of Kir he was arrogant and devout to the cause he also proved more then worthy to fight amongst the order and the order found on him another Sword.

With more and more power their riches grew and their legions got bigger it was around this time about the year of 4410 that the first attacks against cities began the order devastated the entire County of Urnst almost reducing it to ashes with a surprise attack from the lake Nyr Dyv behind its capital. The amounts of gold the order was stacking were unbelievable and they allways knew where to strike next. While planning an attack to Keoland arrived a Young shifter named Ea with her father Bergren, Bergren and Ea spent their lives on the woods and provided an unique insight on terrain a strategies to use while fighting in the woods thus Bergren became a member of the war counsil of the Swords together with Varis and Valahar nothing escaped their grasp and they where the fearsome three on preparing raids, first Varis would order to create political and social struggle within the target as well as to steal their food supplies, while Bergren was mapping the region and searching for the best paths through whatever terrain surrounded the target, meanwhile Valahar and his armies were attacking and raiding randomly around the target which would later be destroyed by the combined forces of the Swords and their armies. Of course Ea also became a Sword and she was a powerful one during the siege of Keoland she cast such powerful Magic that even to this day the area is a dangerous swamp where many warriors drown. Gorundir the great was the Sword that followed after Ea he was a sadistic creature who loved to torture and he spent weeks studying the best way to do this. By now the Nine Swords reputation was great and anyone on the Flaeness knew who they were, some lords of cities even went further and tried to make other orders to fight them, actually the Protectors Of The Flaeness is one such order it was created after the attack of Keoland to try to prevent the advances the swords were making in the south. To the order this was a minor setback and why attack the south if the north and the east were free to plunder? So a great campaign started this time a campaign against The Great Kingdom beyond Nyrond, and like anything else done by the Swords the campaign was a success, by now the Swords had more then 40.000 blades, 20.000 slaves, with cultists and priests of the Nine arriving daily, with spies in every corner of the Flaeness nothing could happen without their knowledge and this was why the arrival of Galgarth was such a surprise. The Swords were enjoying their feast after anihilating The Great Kingdom and suddenly he arrived screaming Galgarth and saying that he was a Sword the rest of them were so amused that they decided that if he could pass on their intelligence test he could sit as one of them, but first they had to drink and Galgarth got wasted, once again surprising the Swords but this time with his supreme intelect suddenly all saw his abilities and immediatly he was made a Sword. The next morning some news arrived that another order had been revived to hunt them down the Scarlett Brotherhood was back in action and the targets were the Swords. Amongst the Swords some tensions were starting since Melech decided that Ea would be his concubine he had everything even a massive throne of gold, Shalimar began to feel some envy of Melech but he could control it as long as he could insert someone in the order and so he searched and met Morkai, he made of Morkai a Sword and this were when the Swords were at their greatest nothing could stop them. They marched north and attacked Blackmoor which Shalimar found fit to build a palace for him within. War ravaged the land and for 50 years the order lived luxuriously but then came the  war against Iuz that would change everything.

For that was the first time that the Swords didn't win the fight they just decided to retreat this made the already eager for power Gorundir challenge Melech once again to combat, this challenge were quite normal for if you kill a Sword you become a Sword, however amongst the Swords themselves this was quite unusuall although Gorundir had been insisting on this lately. Melech got tired of the insulence and said he would accept the fight and that if Gorundir defeated him Gorundir would also rule over all that belonged to Melech but if he lost he should lose his eyes and tongue and be thrown to the Azure Sea. Melech showed and remembered everyone why he was the leader, he defeated Gorundir with such ease that it actually scared some of the other Swords, as others such as Kir only learned how to hate him. After the battle Gorundir's eyes and tongue were cut out but before this was done Melech made Gorundir swear loyalty to Melech himself and he also said that this was the faith of those who defied him, although he praised Gorundir for such a direct atempt and that if he ever found a way back with his new oath to Melech he would be welcomed back in the ranks of the Swords, then he cut of his eyes and tongue and threw him to a small rowboat in the Azure Sea.

## Kir's Treason (4500-4600)

All the power the order had passes through Melech the leader of this infamous order and some of the members were growing tired of this amongst them were Shalimar and Kir. Shalimar envied the power Melech had but back then he was too much of a coward to attack Melech head on, but Kir wasn't and Shalimar was allways ready to poison Kir's mind against Melech and with given time the poison took root. Shalimar convinced Kir to make a move against Melech and Kir joined all his resources and started to weaken the power of the Swords first he sent some letters to the Scarlet Brotherhood informing the location of their spies and armies, this made the Brotherhood send Assassins to kill Valahar's captains and Varis's spies. When the blood had been shed Kir sent word to the Protectors Of The Flaeness about what had happened and how unorganized and weak their troops were right now and with this the paladins attacked all the known frotresses of the Swords. Quickly the Swords power was decaying and Melech was growing unstable Kir thought he just had to do one more thing to throw him over the Edge in order for him to be able to strike and get the desired throne. Kir spoke to Bergren and told him that he found a temple were he might find a way to cure him of his disease forever and with this free him and Ea from Bel's shackles and from the Swords. Bergren immediatly went to that temple it was a temple of dwarven making were dwarves went to worship Moradin and he could find nothing that was close to a cure but suddenly something happened a army of werewolves stormed through the temple Bergren was bitten but he still managed to escape he cursed the temple so that it may only appear on full moon nights. Upon returning he confronted Kir with what happened were proudly stated it was all his doing Shalimar couldn't be happier for he knew the order would hardly recover from such a hit and he also knew that Melech would most likely kill Kir for he's treason. However he was wrong about one thing instead of death Melech condemned the one that aimed to kill those above to be thrown to the depths so froze Kir and threw him to the underdark where he would be unable to move but he would suffer by seeing and hearing about Melech's success. The order was now broken on the year of 4550 no one knew about the order they were no longer feared and had returned to be an unstable group of cultists however both Ea and Bergren departed in order to find a way to save Bergren from lycanthropy. Valahar also declared his new intentions to slay a god and departed seeing everything ruined and the brotherhood between Melech and Valahar meeting an end Valinor also departed  Shalimar climbed his way to Melech's right hand and advisor and now was his time to strike with a plan that would almost end the Nine Swords.

## Shalimar's Grand Betrayal (4600-4653)

Shalimar quickly arose to power and became Melech's right hand, he gave all the military advice and he made it his best interest to keep the order in the shadows this way he could operate freely he was the one that when EA returned told Melech he should throw her to some tavern for without her power she did not deserve his respect and so he did. He also got in charge of recruiting all the mercenaries that were to join the order or work for the order. He manipulated Morkai so that Morkai became his servant and started to research for the Arch Of Taurus. He then made Melech believe that the Arch was a great idea since he would be able to go to the Hells and so they recruited several mercenaries but Shalimar allways made sure that there was at least one thing in the recruits that Melech didn't like so that they turned to Shalimar in search of support. This worked perfectly and he eventually got the Arch he then started to plan how to use it to his favor, he manipulated Raditz and Reedtz to be present at the right time when he needed them for the ritual, he also went to recruit Hiro Kumata, Furd and Alborozie, and of course he prepared everything for Ea's kidnapping, he also made sure that Zendra was away by the orders of Melech. When everything was aligned Shalimar convinced Melech to attack Iuz head on once more. The battle was formidable many warriors died and Galgarth got lost in the fight, when suddenly the Protectors arrived from the south and turned the combat into a three front battle, of course this was all part of Shalimar's plan when Furd, Alborozie and Hiro Kumata arrived at the battlefield it was time for the Swords to retreat for they had lost Shalimar had weakened Melech beyond all that was believable. When Alborozie, Furd and Hiro Kumata were away Shalimar made his move, all the mercenaries he recruited turned against Melech, in the middle of the fight Morkai took the Arch with him and Shalimar kidnapped Ea they rode together towards the place were the ritual was bound to happen and where Raditz and Reedtz lives would change. Thankfully some parts of Shalimar's plan failed things like the fact that Hiro Kumata, Alborozie and Furd got to Zendra faster then expected which allowed Zendra to save Melech. The fact that this same party  joined forces with Valinor where Zendra and Melech with reunite with them creating a base on a church there were two things that Shalimar never predicted those things were Furd and Alborozie for even Hiro Kumata eventually joined forces with Shalimar but not those two they instead found more allies like Durgan to fight in the name of the Swords for whatever egocentrical reasons they may had been these two kept on recruiting and together with the Swords they helped to reconstruct what was once the Nine Hells greatest order.

## Recent Events (4653-Present)

The task ahead was hard and would be filled with perils but the through warriors would rise to the ocasion and the first step was to protect their ruin of a base together Zendra, Furd, Melech, Alborozie, Valinor, Durgan, Varis, Tiranus and Hiro Kumata fought a massive combat during what would now be known as the eclipse. Somehow they managed to survive and a plan was made all that they needed was a city, a dream thief, Ea's unconscious body and the Arch Of Taurus with this Melech would travel to the Nine Hells and return to punish all who dared to confront the Nine Swords. So in order to fulfill their goals and army was raised an army to attack the city of Furyondi while thr army was being raised Alborozie, Furd, Durgan and Hiro Kumata had to go to the underdark to rescue a dream thief. However the sly Zendra sent her brother to watch over the group since she could not trust Hiro Kumata and when a skirmish between Hiro Kumata and Alborozie happened her fears were correct for after that as soon has Hiro Kumata got a chance she betrayed the group and joined Shalimar's forces. The rest of them however picked up Kulak and Errol Flynn along the way and together Furd, Durgan, Alborozie, Tiranus Galadriel, Errol Flynn and Kulak marched against a drow city. They fought hard and Alborozie was even incarcerated for a while but when all was ready Melech and the Swords appeared to help the rest of the group. Varis died in the battle for control of the city making both Zendra and Tiranus quite unstable, however the mission was a success they had found the dream thief Ansis and they destroyed forces of chaos so it was for sure a victory. Near the place where Ansis stood there was also a door containing the frozen Kir who was liberated from his ice but since as soon as he was freed he attacked Melech he was immediatly beheaded by Melech himself. They returned to the surface and now it was time to conquered a city, Furyondi was the target and like a storm they struck the city the ground shook and death followed an entire city was razed. For their prowess in combat Tiranus, Alborozie, Furd, Durgan and Errol Flynn were given a piece of land to rule as their own some built churches, some built, mansions other inhabited ruins and others did not even cared about their lands.
The time had come to retrieve Ea the mission was simple strike the heart of Blackmoor and bring her body back, once again the group of mercenaries was hired for this and once again against all odds they managed to succeed and they took Ea from right under Shalimar's grasp. However while marching to Blackmoor they learned of the Sons of Blood, Skulls and War a fierce and strange cult that was growing quickly in power. Upon leaving Blackmoor a decision had to be made and since they were being persecuted by Shalimar's forces they made the armies of Shalimar and the Sons of Blood, Skulls and War clash. While the group hid on a cavern that later revealed to be the lair of Lich that later they would found that went by the name of Thalan. Together with Thalan and Ea they returned to Furyondi victorious. Together with Ansis the party invaded the dreams of Ea to find about the location of the several arch pieces and again they succeed. Meanwhile the rest of the order was reading the city of Furyondi to be invasion proof Thalan raised as many of dead as he could and now this city was a fortress, a base of operations for the Swords and it started to feel a bit like home. When Ea woke with her powers back the Swords knew it would only be a matter of time until the Arch was brought and the war won by the fires of the Hells. Tiranus even attempted to and managed to become a Sword himself. What the Swords did not account for was that while in the dreamlands the party would provoke the Aequilibrium and broke balance they also did not account for the possibility of them getting lost while retrieving  the arch and somehow return with Valahar. Now Valahar's return was a game changer for everyone first and foremost because he killed Valinor which almost ended Furd's existence were it not for Zendra's gift of vampirism, secondly because Melech promoted him to be his representative while he was away. Valahar also convinced everyone that attacking the fortified city of Greyhawk would be a good plan that plan almost killed all of the remaining Swords, were it not for the desperate alliance between the Swords and the Protectors Of The Flaeness. The warriors returned to Furyondi and there Melech departed for the Hells. During this battle there was also an investigation that revealed one of Thalan's necromancers Myrkun as an impostor and as the main responsible for the fight that occurred between Valahar and Valinor for although the fight was fair it seemed unrational for Valinor to accept it like that. Zendra now was in a powerstruggle with Valahar but thankfully she managed to send the party to investigate some strange events on a outpost up north where traces of Primordials appeared. The party even entered the tavern that belonged to Scorcha Santanico and truth be told that Tiranus went in and a doppelganger came out. Upon returning to Furyondi with the new information Zendra immediatly gave orders for the party to infiltrate and investigate a ball, while by command of the rising tenth she promoted Alborozie to Champion of the tenth. Many things were discovered in this ball but the most important one was the fact that the group had once again pulled through and that they brought Circinn back with them, Circinn was the center piece of a ritual to awake the Primordials in the Flaeness they returned then to Furyondi where they were forced to choose between protecting the city or marching with Valahar agains Iuz and Demogorgon. They choose to stay now recuced to Durgan, Alborozie, Furd and what everyone believed to be Tiranus, for every other member of the party had either died or disapeared however this was when MCX appeared and together they fought as hard as they could be defeat was in its way for although they defeated and killed Morkai, Zendra had also been kidnapped by the Black Hand and Ea was so injured that she went away to recover now the party was alone with a destroyed city. During its reconstruction Galagarth reapeared and talked to the party now that both Galgarth's and Zendra's advice had proven to be the same the group departed from Furyondi in search of the heart of Oerth. During that trip they met Belfer the demon hunter and they went to hunt one of Belfer's targets. This cost MCX and a new ally by the name of Zeref their lives but still they were determined to do whatever they could in the name of the Hells and the Ten Lords for nos Alborozie is the Sword of the Tenth and must fight in his name and in the name of both the Swords and the Hells.