Stone Sword of Flint

*You are right here in your story. Don't skip ahead.*
Massie Burnson, *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*, p. 32
**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR *PRINCE LANDER & THE DRAGON WAR* ARE AHEAD; CAUTION IS ADVISED.**

## Stone Sword of Flint

Smalls holds the broken Stone Sword aloft, as pictured in Ember's End.

## General information

### Title

• Stone Sword of Flint
• Starsword

### Owned by

• Flint
• King Whitson Mariner
• Smalden Joveson

## Book information

### Appears

• *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*
• *Ember's End*

### Mentioned

• *The Black Star of Kingston*
• *Ember Rising*

The **S****tone Sword of Flint**, also known as the **Starsword**, is an ancient weapon that was owned by the father of rabbitkind, Flint.

## History

### Origins

The exact origin of Flint's sword was lost to history, but there were different legends that described how it came to be. One legend asserted that it came from the stars, specifically the warrior's cluster. Smiths among rabbits later came to believe that Flint forged the sword from a falling star of unbreakable steel, or else freed the sword from within a meteorite. Sometime after the sword was crafted, Flint wielded it against the first foe, felling that hated enemy. However, the sword proved to have a corrupting influence upon its wielder and was believed to have eventually contributed to the fall of Flint Firstking.

In her book, Fay warned against overuse of the sword, and Flint's heirs made attempts to break the sword and thus remove it as a threat. However, the weapon proved unbreakable, and the kings of rabbitkind took to keeping it hidden away until a means could be found to destroy it. Fay prophesied that this breaking would only occur when all conflict had ended, signaling the beginning of the Mending. Unfortunately, as the centuries passed, study into the matter ceased, and the danger posed by the sword became obscured so that it was seen only as a sacred, if dangerous, relic.

Another stone sword, treasured by the royal family due to its own history, eventually came to serve as a counterfeit starsword. It and the genuine weapon were eventually given to King Whitson Mariner by King Gerrard prior to the former's departure from Golden Coast.

### *The Black Star of Kingston*

A stone blade, whether the actual starsword or its stand-in, hung on the wall of a secret chamber of King Whitson's home in Seddleton. Whitson mentioned the sword while speaking to Fleck Blackstar aboard the *Lillie* about the Green Ember.

### *The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner*

The sword was aboard the *Vanguard* as it sailed to a new home. After Captain Grimble and his father Lord Grimble betrayed the *Steadfast* and those on board to the river-rocks as they sailed westward in order to find a good place for a settlement, King Whitson Mariner lamented the apparent loss of the sword as well as the Stone Book of Fay. After the Grimbles' defeat, Whitson was approached by Mother Saramack, who directed him, Lillie, and Lander to the wreckage of *Vanguard*, where a crate had been found with King Gerrard's seal on it. Inside, much to their awe and relief, they find the Stone Sword of Flint, though somewhat to their sorrow they found that it was unbroken. Lander and his father, the latter of whom handled the sword, thus resolved to do whatever was necessary to bring about the sword's prophesied breaking.

### *Prince Lander & the Dragon War*

Starting on the night following the one instance where he ever held the sword, Whitson began to experience a recurring nightmare in which he took up the starsword and wielded it against the enemies of the Trekkers, from the former Captain Grimble to his vile ally, Namoz Dragonking. However, what began as a heroic victory over the enemies of rabbitkind turned into the slaughter of everyone and everything he loved and ended with Whitson himself becoming a dragon. Fearful of the portents of this dream, Whitson buried it in a secret location near Lener's Crossroads. Queen Lillie and Mother Saramack, among others, dedicated themselves to examining what lore they retained from the days of Flint and Fay in an attempt to rediscover the truth about the weapon. They found that the kings tried to break it, and King Whitson thought that this was why the previous kings held on to it and kept it secret: so that someday they could figure out how to destroy it.

For some years, Whitson and Lillie kept this dream secret from Lander, not wanting to add to his burden as a commander in the ongoing war with the Grimbles and dragons. However, some months after Whitson was diagnosed with a fatal medical condition, Lander questioned whether the time had come for his father to take up the weapon. Whitson and Lillie then confided in Lander regarding the ominous dream, and the fear that it would come true. They told Lander about what they knew, and Lander hypothesized that Fay might have meant that the sword needed to break in order for a mending to be possible. Whitson shared his fear that, after some time, the sword might use its user. The royal family agrees that they do not have much information about the sword, but that it is certainly very dangerous.

When Lander and Lemual went to Mother Saramack to seek advice, Lemual asked if the stone sword mounted on the wall was Flint's, but Mother Saramack explained the nature of the decoy sword. She explained that many secrets surrounding the starsword had become lost during the prosperity of rabbitkind on Golden Coast, and her efforts and frustration in attempting to recover them. Following Captain Forne's attack on Lener's Crossroads, Whitson went to the site of the sword's burial, greatly tempted to unearth the weapon. However, he felt that the time was not right, and that only rabbitkind's king could rightfully wield the weapon if it were to be wielded at all. When he lifted a clod of earth from above the burial place, Lander briefly experienced a premonition of doom, but it passed as Whitson let the earth fall back onto the ground.

After the death of his father, King Lander decided that their best chance was not to defend, but to attack, which he hoped will wrong-foot the dragons. He then took Lemual, Massie Burnson, Captain Gavin, and Lord Blackstar with him to the site where the starsword was buried. He began to dig, telling them about the sword as they did so, and his comrades questioned his tactics but ultimately recognized the logic in his suggestion. To complete the plan, Lander drank a bottle of his father's memory tonic, which would kill him in less than a fortnight unless he had the antidote. Entrusting this substance to Lemual and swearing him to keep it from him unless he could willingly lay down the starsword in such a way that he could not recover it without Lemual's aid, Lander took up the sword.

Lander briefly feigned having succumbed to the sword's influence, in order to prepare Lemual and the others for what they might face. He soon discovered that the sword had indeed begun to affect him, as he felt a powerful compulsion to follow them to where they intended to hide the antidote as a precaution against him taking it from Lemual by force. Lander admitted as much to Fleck Blackstar, who escorted him away as a precaution against just such an act. Lander kept the starsword with him at all times as the army made its way to Dragon Mountain.

During the Battle of Dragon Mountain, the starsword allowed Lander to engage the dragons with devastating force at the head of his elite band of scalebreakers. The weapon was also of great use to him in defending his comrades, but the superior numbers and might of the dragons made the situation desperate. Still, Lander fought on, successfully wielding the blade even in his weaker left hand and later using his injured right arm in the final confrontation with Namoz the Destroyer. Using the sword, Lander cleaved the blades wielded by the dragon king, before removing the monster's head.

To Lander's dismay, the starsword remained unbroken after Namoz's fall, a sign that rabbitkind would face further conflict before the Mending would come. Passing out as a result of his injuries, Lander awoke and briefly panicked, fearing that Grimble-who had escaped the battle-had stolen the starsword while he was unconscious. However, Massie showed him that the blade had been returned to his scabbard by an unknown ally, and Lander reaffirmed his decision that the weapon must be hidden away where it could not be readily accessed. To that end, he ordered it hidden away within Dragon Mountain and the dragon hatchery rebuilt into a tomb for the sword and the dragon seeds. However, he also intended to insure that, should it ever been needed again, the starsword could be recovered by one of his heirs.

### *Ember Rising*

Hame Smith told Picket Longtreader of the sword's history, as well as rumors surrounding its fate. These included the belief that it had been lost when *Vanguard* sank, or that it was stolen by the Grimble faction before they collapsed. Hame asserted that he believed the sword was hidden in the Tomb of Lander's Dragons, where only King Jupiter's heirs could reach it.

### *Ember's End*

After finding a way into the royal vault within the dragon tomb, Smalden Joveson found the starsword and took it up, using it to slay the dragon prince. Upon agreeing with Heather Longtreader that they could not allow the hatched dragons to escape the tomb, Smalls wielded the starsword against the beasts as they sought to collapse the tomb. After they were rescued from the crumbling Forbidden Island, Smalls wielded it during the Siege of First Warren. Eventually, he used it to deal a mortal blow to Morbin Blackhawk, at which point the sword broke in token of the defeat of the final foe.

## Properties

The sword's blade was made of an indestructible stone, which was capable of cutting through any other known solid substance with ease. This included the thick hides of dragons, metal blades forged by their craft, and even the otherwise impervious breastplate of Morbin Blackhawk. Despite this, the blade was incredibly light and easily wielded, and seemed to energize its wielder so that they could fight on in spite of injury or exhaustion. Lander Whitson was even able to wield the blade with deadly effect using his nondominant hand and, later, using his badly injured dominant one.

Unfortunately, the sword's gifts came with a dark side, as its power could become intoxicating and acted as a constant temptation. Whitson and Lander both experienced this, with Lander feeling the desire to use the sword and lead rabbitkind in their own conquest of the world. The sword's influence was believed to have led to the fall of Flint Firstking, and Lander felt it working on him even after holding it for only a short time. His father, Whitson, was also plagued by recurring nightmares after handling the sword.

## Trivia

* S. D. Smith has said he may consider writing a prequel based on Flint and Fay's adventures explaining how exactly Flint got the Starsword, although he asserts that all one needs to know about it in order to enjoy The Green Ember series is in the books he has already written.

## References

1. ↑ Q&A with S.D. Smith - New Seddleton Official - YouTube