Ten Sabers of Aruned

The Ten Sabers of Aruned refers to a collection of ten legendary Heil ion sabers crafted by their warrior deity, Aruned, and his council of ten closest friends. Most accounts of the Ten Sabers vary widely, but there is some agreed upon history to them. Two additional sabers were crafted millions of years after the original ten, in the hopes of duplicating the incredible power of the weapons, but these attempts were only moderately successful.

### Creation of the Ten Sabers

Following the defeat of the Rohsin Empire at the hands of Aruned and his forces, the remaining army rebranded themselves as "the Heil" - a term meaning "Victorious Ones" - and began devising a new method of government. An overwhelming number of Heil supported installing Aruned himself as a supreme leader of the planet, although he had no such desire and actively fought against this. Instead, he attempted to convince the population of the benefits of a parliamentary government or council instead of a dictator. To illustrate this, Aruned took his ten most trusted allies, friends and advisors aside and explained his hopes to them. Hopes for a united Heil empire that spanned the stars, bringing light and protection to all in need and dethroning tyrants wherever they hid. A beacon of light in a dark universe - protectors of the weak and a bulwark against the forces of evil, tyranny and dishonor.

Ultimately, after several years of pressure, Aruned agreed to take the mantle of leadership over his people, but only until they were able to install a more permanent form of government for them. The Heil were scattered and still reeling from the war with the Rohsin Empire and needed firm leadership to survive. As such, Aruned once more stepped in and began the tenuous effort of building a new government for his people with his trusted allies at his side. He set up a Council formed from his ten closest friends; allies and generals he had fought with during the war, advisors, close friends, tacticians and humanitarians. Heil from all walks of life and allies he hoped would be able to carry his hopes for the future with them. Each one swore a blood oath to Aruned to carry out his wishes and ensure greatness for the Heil. As such, each Councilor was given dominion over a different aspect of Heil culture and civilization. Aruned himself worked to connect the disparate parts of the planet and establish trade routes, monuments and neutral zones. These Heil became known as the legendary Council of Ten and are still represented in the present day mythology, history and artwork of the Heil.

In order to mark these ten Heil as the vanguard of the future, Aruned met in secret with several hundred artisans, inventors, smiths, scientists and even former members of the Rohsin Empire. Together, they devised the ultimate symbol of the pact made with Aruned - ten weapons of unparalleled power. Ten sabers forged with techniques now lost to time and a blend of what Aruned hoped would be the past and the future. A blend of Rohsin and Heil technology, fused with remnants of what would later be known as "Old Race" technology that had been hidden away by the Rohsin. These ten sabers were gifted to each member of Aruned's council as symbols of their station. Plans were originally made to forge an eleventh saber, one for Aruned himself, but those plans never came to fruition.

### Aruned's Disapperance

Shortly after gifting the sabers to his allies and entrusting the hopes and dreams of his people to them, Aruned and his family vanished from their palace. While foul play was initially suspected, no evidence to support this was ever found. Ultimately, three theories remained on the table. The first was that Aruned and his family had, in fact, been killed by loyalists to the Rohsin Empire (who had been staging minor guerilla raids on the new Heil Empire since the end of the war). The next was that Aruned had taken his family and fled, possibly to return to his old life of being a farmer again and to spend the rest of his years in solitude. The third and final theory was that he had been 'taken' to become divine, ascending to some form of godhood for his heroic and miraculous acts as a mortal.

Aruned's Council attempted to keep the peace and maintain their oath as they fought to keep the Heil Empire from coming undone as news of Aruned's disappearance spread like wildfire. However, as weeks became months and years, this became harder and harder to do. Some members of the Council began to suspect and accuse one another of having a hand in Aruned's disappearance, which led to paranoia driving a wedge between them. Finally, things boiled over when Aruned's oldest friend, Engod Varen, was accused of having murdered him. Kiklan Mitras brought the accusation forward, claiming that Engod's long history with Aruned let him get close enough to kill the leader of the Heil. However, despite this plausible explanation, Kiklan also believed that Aruned had ascended to become a Warrior God in the afterlife and was watching over the Heil now. Kiklan also believed that because Aruned had become a Warrior God, this was symbolic of his desire to see the one who killed him brought to justice.

Engod obviously disputed these claims, attempting to appeal to Kiklan's rational mind and to convince him that Aruned would never have wanted them to fight amongst one another. He pointed out that what they needed the most was to honor Aruned's wishes - to lead the Heil to greatness - and not to bicker and fight, let alone spill each other's blood. Kiklan's counterpoint was to accuse Engod of hiding behind their oath to Aruned in a desperate attempt to hold onto power and prevent a war from breaking out.

#### The Fragmentation

The infighting in the Council of Ten eventually spilled out into the streets among the Heil themselves, resulting in feuding and chaos. Not even two decades after Aruned's disappearance, a massive civil war broke out among the Heil which resulted in millions of lives lost. The Council was split evenly in half, with five of them leading an offensive charge against the others who attempted to quell the fires and restore peace.

Kiklan Mitras took command of the offensive forces along side Avit Deldas, Faras Novek, Ilin Jikar and Veron Laqiara. Opposing him and attempting to restore the fragile peace was Engod Varen, along with Hemis Daqria, Vordas Montik, Karss Bitlin and Gelvas Votori. Individual Heil not affiliated with the Council of Ten began to choose sides, rallying either under a red banner representing Kiklan or a green banner representing Engod. This war eventually exploded outward, resulting in bloodshed around the planet. When the dust settled, eight of the ten members of Aruned's council lay dead. Ironically, only Engod Varen and Kiklan Mitras remained standing. The brutality of the civil war was so great that the death toll was over seven billion, cutting the planet's total population down to under five-hundred million.

With a heavy heart, Engod Varen finally conceded that Aruned's dream of a united Heil was broken. The Heil Empire that should have risen to glory and greatness had claimed more lives than the decadence and tyranny of the Rohsin Empire ever had. Aging and near the end of his life, Engod cast aside the saber he had been given, stating that he was unworthy to even utter Aruned's name, and chose to split off from the Heil Empire, forming his own group that believed in peace, diplomacy and goodwill: a group that later adopted the name "Clan Engodor". Kiklan Mitras still held to the belief that Aruned's ascension and position as a Warrior God meant that he wanted the Heil to rule. He renamed the remnants of the Heil Empire "Clan Mitragan" and swore that he would lead the Heil to become the greatest warriors the Universe had ever seen.

Most Heil were happy to choose one side or another, and the two Clans initially divided the territories of Sovereign amongst themselves in a diplomatic summit known as "The Cleaving of Sovereign". However, this act angered or enraged many Heil who had been part of the outlying territories and who had no voice at the summit. Those who had originally been overseen by Faras Novek, for instance, took great umbrage and being governed by Kiklan Mitras. While both Kiklan and Faras had been aggressive and dominant, they also had many key differences. Faras had been disciplined and honorable while Kiklan was willing to sacrifice his honor to accomplish a goal. Likewise, although many Heil who had followed Gelvas Votori believed in diplomacy and communication, they shunned war entirely while Engod's followers saw it as just a facet of reality and often accepted it as necessary. Soon, smaller groups began to split off and form their own Clans, carrying with them the names of their original leaders. This gave birth to the eight other Clans seen today: Clans Laqian, Hemiark, Illyich, Vorken, Bytkam, Gelmond, Delques and Umarak. Clan Umarak originally went by the name Clan Noveriak, but it was widely acknowledged by his followers that Feras Novak would have hated having his name attached to such a fragmented, broken organization. As such, they chose the name "Umarak", meaning "Honorable".

#### The Loss of the Sabers

As with most property, the Ten Sabers of Aruned were passed down through the Clans. Originally held by the ruling bodies, they were eventually given over to museums or temples to be enshrined. Over the thousands and millions of years that followed, most of these sabers were lost.

Nul-Kakal is one of the few that had a stable location for much of this time. It was kept in the armories of Clan Mitragan and enshrined there, where it remained on its altar for several million years. Although Clan Mitragan removed it periodically for ceremonial purposes, it wasn't used in combat until Nyylu'Doran kan Mitragan stole it and attempted to use it to kill Senate Hunter 055-Edge. After a series of unsuccessful attempts, Nyylu lost the blade and it was reclaimed by Edge just before the events of the Tenth Galactic War. He proceeded to use it until his death/disappearance on Earth at the conclusion of the conflict.

### Possible Sentience

Some stories posit that the Ten Sabers of Aruned were sentient, capable of deciding if their wielder was worthy. They also allegedly responded to emotion, growing larger or hotter depending on the mental state of the wielder. This is widely considered a myth, and with none of the sabers available for regular testing, it is unlikely to be answered.

### The Ten Sabers

Each of the Ten Sabers of Aruned has a name comprised of a numerical sequence and one of the ten fundamental elements in Heil mysticism. Records of the movement of these artifacts are very closely guarded and are disturbingly accurate up to the point of the blade's disappearance. It is worth noting that while most ion weapons have a gold glow to them, each of the Ten Sabers has a different color.

#### Nul-Kakal

Meaning *First Sun*, Nul-Kakal was kept in the armories of Clan Mitragan until Nyylu retrieved it and used it in battle against Edge. Edge defeated her and eventually took Nul-Kakal for himself, keeping the blade on him until his death. It was lost after that and its whereabouts are unknown. It is the blade of Clan Mitragan, named for Kiklan Mitras, and has a brilliant red glow.

#### Heg-Dirar

A sword whose name translates to *Second Heart*. It was lost during the civil war which divided Clan Mitragan and Clan Engodor and was the first blade to go missing. It is the saber representing Engod Varen and is the blade of Clan Engodor. It glows with a pale green color.

#### Let-Ritlar

Meaning *Third Life*, this blade was last seen when gifted as a diplomatic present to Clan Bytkam. Their tapestries and carvings depict the sword as being in the possession of their ruling body until approximately 50,000 years ago. At this point, Clan Bytkam was embroiled in a civil war and the saber went missing. This is unsurprising, as it is not the sword associated with their Clan. Glowing with a vibrant purple hue, it is the sword of Clan Laqian instead, named for Veron Laqiara.

#### Kab-Lisym

Literally meaning *Fourth Stone*, this sword was supposedly the largest and heaviest of the ten legendary sabers. The last known wielder was a Heil warrior-monk who carried it with him on peaceful journeys as he and his followers established Clan Hemiark, named for Hemis Daqria. The blade is supposedly visible from far away as it glows with an intense yellow light.

#### Rof-Vanari

*Fifth Frost*. This sword was lost during battle with the Gatekeeper and is the only one of the Ten Sabers to possibly have a chance of being destroyed, although this is doubted by any with even a passing knowledge of the power of the blades. It is assumed to be in orbit somewhere around Sovereign or Dominance. It glows with a white light and is the sword of Clan Illyich, named for Ilin Jikar.

#### Gut-Dikad

A blade whose name means *Sixth Wind*. This weapon was once held by Clan Vorken, but it was lost shortly after the Clan's founding. It was later determined to be the ion saber wielded by Sir Retal. It's blade is a sickly gray color and it is the lightest of all the sabers. This was the blade given to Vordas Montik, for whom Clan Vorken is named.

#### Ral-Tokrat

Translated, this blade's name means *Seventh Moon*. It was held by Clan Bytkam for a very long time before it was stolen by Clan Illyich, who had a desire to attempt studies on it. Unfortunately, while it was stolen, the group sent to get it never returned, leaving many to assume that the team perished in the deserts of Sovereign with their ill-gotten prize. The blade may still be out there to this day, lost among the sand. It glows with a strange, light brown light and is the official blade of Clan Bytkam. It was originally owned by Karss Bitlin.

#### Nif-Aana

Meaning *Eighth Void*, this was the final blade to vanish from history - fading out of records only about five thousand years ago. It was last reported near the mountain known as the Shear in the possession of a Heil from Clan Gelmond. The blade glows with an unearthly pale, blue light that--according to legends--heals wounds and burns those of impure heart. It was originally wielded by Gelvas Votori, for whom Clan Gelmond is named.

#### Ser-Rovera

A blade whose name means *Ninth Fire*. It was retrieved from the corpse of a Mitragan General by an industrious merchant from Clan Vorken and later sold to a member of Clan Umarak. As this blade was wielded by Faras Novek, they desperately wanted it in their possession, but it was lost shortly after arriving at their province. The sword is a brilliant orange and allegedly emboldens the wielder.

#### Nem-Badot

Literally *Zero Mercy*. This blade burns with an unholy black aura said to strike fear into all who see it. It was originally wielded by Avit Deldas, who went on to inspire the creation of Clan Delques. It was allegedly taken from his corpse by someone who claimed to be descended from Aruned himself, and after that the blade was never seen again. Clan Delques has been hunting for the sword ever since its inception.

### The Twin Blades of Sovereign

In an attempt to re-create the power of the Ten Sabers of Aruned, a joint venture between Clan Mitragan and Clan Illyich attempted to recreate the conditions surrounding the initial forging of the weapons based on mythological accounts and what was known of the actual swords. This met with some mixed success, but two swords were produced during the project. That statement in and of itself might be a falsehood, however, as there are conflicting reports. Some state only one weapon (Dans-Vakai) was created while others state a second weapon was, in fact, produced.

#### Dans-Vakai

Meaning *False Promise*, this was the first blade created. While considered a failure, as it couldn't hope to measure up to the power of the Ten Sabers of Aruned, it was definitely an improvement over any other ion saber. Originally gifted to one of the Mitragan Hierarchs, it was quickly lost after his death and resurfaced in the hands of Araan'Megim kan Mitragan. Arguably, the fact that this weapon was a 'failure' is part of what led to Araan's death at the hands of Edge. The location of the blade after that is unknown. The blade glows with a silver color not unlike mercury.

#### Kik-Aklos

Translated, this weapon's name means *True Hope*. According to the questionable reports on the subject, this was a successful attempt and duplicating the Ten Sabers of Aruned that far surpassed any expectations. Instead of basing Kik-Aklos on what is known of the Ten Sabers, this weapon was based on what the (alleged) designs for Aruned's eleventh saber would have been. If it actually does exist, it is likely in the possession of House Doran, as it was one of their members in charge of the entire project. If the rumors are to believed, it is a blade that shines with every color imaginable.