Legend of the Nine Swords

The **Legend of the Nine Swords** tells the story of a mysterious man known as Reshar the Swordsage, who traveled the world and mastered all nine of the martial disciplines. Reshar's home nation and heritage have been largely lost to history, but he is believed to have come from the continent of Sarlona. After becoming the greatest warrior in Eberron, Reshar returned to his home - accompanied by warriors of many races, including hobgoblins, shifters, and elves. Eventually Reshar departed the world to do battle in Shavarath. When he did, he left each of his apprentices a gift: a legendary sword that embodied the principles, skills, and philosophy of their discipline. In his absence, however, the nine masters turned on each other. At the same time, the nations of Sarlona entered a period of war now known as the Sundering. When the conflict was over, the Temple of the Nine Swords was no more.

## History - Spoilers

Reshar the Swordsage was an oni born two thousand years ago in the nation of Borunan. The ogres of Borunan were in an eternal war with the invading fiends of Shavarath, and Reshar wished for nothing more but to take the battle to them. Thus, Reshar decided to travel the world in order to prepare himself for this great pilgrimage. When he did so, he wore the guise of a human. First he explored Sarlona, and then traveled across the seas, following in the wake of Lhazaar. Reshar had ventured into the caverns of the Dhakaani clans and rode across the Tairnadal steppes, learning the styles of every culture he encountered and drawing an apprentice from each nation. One by one, Reshar sought out the greatest warriors of Eberron. In the space of only three years, Reshar did what no one else has ever been able to do: He mastered all nine of the great martial disciplines. Returning to his homeland of Borunan, he established the Temple of Nine Swords; here Reshar and his nine students honed and perfected the divergent disciplines gathered from across Eberron.

After a century of study and teaching, Reshar called his masters together and told them he was leaving to wage battle in Shavarath. Age had never touched him, other than to whiten his hair and line his face. The masters begged him to stay, but Reshar refused. Before he left, though, he gave each master a gift: a sword that embodied the principles, skills, and philosophy of the recipient’s first discipline. *“As long as these swords remain together, the Temple will never fail,”* he told the Nine Masters. *“Now I go.”* And he set off alone, on foot and unarmed, because he feared nothing in the world. No one ever saw him again.

A lifetime passed, and one by one Reshar’s original disciples died or returned to their own lands. The students they left behind became masters in their own right, and they guarded the nine swords with great care. But one night, the rakshasa lord Kaziir-Thet came to the Temple of the Nine Swords. He adopted the guise of a weary traveler and was given welcome at the temple. Kaziir-Thet stole Supernal Clarity, the sword of Diamond Mind, and fled with it into the wastelands. The masters pursued, but they could not catch the clever rakshasa prince.

From that day on, the temple began to fail. Slowly at first, the students of the various disciplines fell to bickering, consumed by the question of which path was best. These tensions were spurred on by the quori, who wanted nothing more than for Borunan's greatest defenders to turn on each other. Boasts and arguments became intrigues and deadly duels. In time, the remaining masters exiled the Tiger Lord and the Shadow Master, who had plotted to murder the rest, from the temple to restore order and harmony.

Enraged by their exile, the two outcast masters allied with each other, and together they raised an army of monsters and fiends in the wild mountains. A year after their exile, they returned at the head of a fearsome horde and destroyed the temple. It is said that all nine masters died that night. According to legend, the Spirit Seeker slew the Shadow Master and was then torn apart by demons. The Windlord and the Ironmaster defeated the Tiger Lord but afterward fell in battle against the giants and dragons of the evil army. Many treasures of the temple, including the eight remaining swords, were scattered to the four winds. Most were carried off by monsters from the Shadow Tiger horde, but at least two were rescued by temple students who managed to escape. This civil strife decimated Borunan, and left it vulnerable to outside attack.

## The Disciplines

### The Nine Disciplines

* Aerenal Elves - "Diamond Mind"
* Borunan - "Fettered Heart"
* Dhakaani Goblinoids - "Hesh Sharaat’a’kuul," or "Way of Blade and Chain"
* Eldeen Shifters - "Bloodied Claw"
* Noldrun Dwarves - "Stone Dragon"
* Nulakesh - "White Raven"
* Ohr Kaluun - "Shadows Seize the Sun"
* Pyrine - "Devoted Spirit"
* Talenta Halflings - "Thunder's Claw"

### SHADOWS SEIZE THE SUN

Before the rise of Riedra and the Inspired, Sarlona was home to many different nations. One of the most infamous among these was the kingdom of Ohr Kaluun, a realm known for its sinister magic and worship of the Dark Six. The swordsages of Ohr Kaluun specialized in a technique knows as Shadows Seize the Sun – a style merging the disciplines of Setting Sun and Shadow Hand. Many objected to Reshar’s decision to bring a Kaluunite master into the Temple of Nine Swords, and these fears proved justified when the Shadow Master betrayed the temple.

Ohr Kaluun was devastated in the wars that formed Riedra. But there are many ways for adventurers to encounter Shadows Seize the Sun. The gnomes of Zilargo have a thirst for knowledge and could easily have plundered Sarlonan ruins, and this style is ideally suited to the agents of the Trust. This could be an interesting path for a gnome PC to follow, or an unpleasant surprise for the adventurer who thinks the gnomes are merely rogues or bards. House Thuranni may be working to uncover the secrets of Shadows Seize the Sun, to give its agents an edge against House Phiarlan. And it’s entirely possible that Heirs of Ohr Kaluun survived the destruction of their homeland and fled to Khorvaire; anywhere people are dedicated to the Shadow or the Mockery, you might find practitioners of Shadows Seize the Sun.

It’s said that the Shadow Sun ninjas emerged from the Temple of Nine Swords. When the Shadow Master betrayed the temple, the Sun Master took it upon herself to redeem the honor of the path, training the first Shadow Sun ninjas. While the order vanished when Sarlona collapsed, the Shadow Sun may still be in hiding, combining light and darkness into a force for good.

### DEVOTED SPIRIT

Devoted Spirit first took root in Sarlona, and when Lhazaar came to Khorvaire she was accompanied by crusaders and missionaries who brought Devoted Spirit and the faith of the Sovereign Host to the new land. When the Church of the Silver Flame drew followers of Severa to its newborn faith, Devoted Spirit crusaders came alongside paladins, clerics, and warriors.

Crusaders can be found across Khorvaire. While Thrane is known for its militant religious zeal, crusaders may follow Dol Arrah, the Blood of Vol, Kalok Shash, or any of the other religions of Eberron. However, few people can muster the pure devotion and martial skill required of a crusader, and those who can will be heroes of their faith. Even in Thrane, a crusader should be an inspiring sight on the battlefield… not something to take for granted.

### WHITE RAVEN

Reshar was born in the Sarlonan nation of Nulakhesh. The soldiers of Nulakhesh were devoted to the principles of the White Raven, placing teamwork, courage, and martial skill above all else. Nulakhesh was one of the greatest nations of Old Sarlona, and as the people of Sarlona explored and settled Khorvaire, they brought these traditions with them. This influence can still be felt today; even if true warblades are rare, White Raven techniques may be taught to fighters and warriors at the military academies of Karrnath.

### HESH SHARAAT’A’KUUL

The goblinoid Empire of Dhakaan was built on war, and the Dhakaani had much in common with the humans of Nulakhesh. But the empire was far older than Nulakhesh, and over the course of centuries the hobgoblins had developed additional techniques. The Dhakaani masters call this path *hesh sharaat’a’kuul*, “the way of blade and chain.” This art combines the disciplines of White Raven and Iron Heart, placing equal value on teamwork, discipline, and personal skill.

For the moment, the Dhakaani goblinoids are hidden from the public eye. However, adventurers who encounter the Dhakaani may have to deal with warblades trained in hesh sharaat’a’kuul; the war leaders of the Kech Sharaat and Kech Volaar may be warblades instead of fighters. Furthermore, while the Dhakaani have gone to great lengths to preserve these techniques, the Ghaal’dar are equally proud of their imperial heritage. It may be harder to find full warblades among the Ghaal’dar, but traditional fighters – such as the Lhesh Haruuc – may still practice some of the maneuvers or stances of these disciplines.

The Dhakaani disciplines use different weapons than the standard paths. The weapons associated with Dhakaani White Raven are longsword, spiked chain, greatsword, flail, and dire flail. The weapons associated with Dhakaani Iron Heart are bastard sword, longsword, dire flail, and spiked chain.

### ANCIENT BLADES

The island of Aerenal is home to two elf cultures, the introspective Aereni and the militant Tairnadal (best known as the conquerors of Valenar). While the Tairnadal are more aggressive than the Aereni, both cultures revere their warrior ancestors and have worked to perfect the martial skills of these legendary heroes. The discipline of Diamond Mind lies at the heart of the elf techniques, and almost every elf that becomes a martial adept begins with this discipline. From this foundation, the elves may explore Desert Wind (a favorite among the Tairnadal) or Setting Sun.

While an Aereni elf can choose his path in life, the Tairnadal follow in the footsteps of an ancestor chosen at birth. As such, ranger remains the primary martial tradition of the Tairnadal elves. Swordsages and warblades are held in high regard, but a character can only become a martial adept if his ancestor also followed that path. This also means that Tairnadal are unlikely to study martial disciplines aside from the three mentioned here. A player character can certainly choose to turn from the path of his ancestor and explore new disciplines, but he may be shunned by other members of his clan for betraying the memory of his patron ancestor.

The elf disciplines use different weapons than the standard paths. The weapons associated with Aerenal (and Valenar) Diamond Mind are scimitar, shortspear, Valenar double scimitar, and trident. The weapons associated with Aerenal Desert Wind are scimitar, light mace, falchion, spear, and Valenar double scimitar. And the weapons associated with Aerenal Setting Sun are scimitar, quarterstaff, sai, and unarmed strike.

### THE LEGEND OF NOLDRUN

The dwarves of the Mror Holds don’t like to speak about Clan Noldrun, or the empty lands of Noldrunhold. The Noldrun dwarves were always few in number, but they were fierce warriors who held their territory against forces that should have swept them from the face of Khorvaire. It was said that the Noldrun dwarves practiced a warrior art that gave them the strength of the mountain itself, making them indomitable guardians of hold and hearth.

And then, four hundred years ago, they disappeared.

The fate of the Noldrun dwarves remains one of the unsolved mysteries of Eberron. Some say they were called to Shavarath to fight in the eternal battle. Others believe that they ventured down into Khyber, to defeat a horror that threatened all of the Mror Holds. A few think the truth is darker, that the Noldrun dwarves were lured into the darkness by the Dragon Below, and may some day emerge in a twisted form to threaten the world.

Whatever the truth, the Noldrun dwarves were the greatest masters of the Stone Dragon discipline, and likewise produced the Deepstone Sentinels. As Reshar brought a Noldrun dwarf to Sarlona to serve as Stone Master, the techniques of the Stone Dragon haven’t been completely lost to the world. But if an adept wants to learn the greatest mysteries of the discipline, he may need to travel to Noldrunhold… either to glean forgotten secrets from the ruins, or to venture into the depths and discover the fate of the ancient masters.

### WARRIORS OF THE WILDS

The Tiger’s Claw discipline is a paradox. It draws on wild, bestial impulses… but at the same time, the paths of swordsage and warblade require a level of discipline and sophistication rarely seen in truly savage cultures. When Reshar returned to Sarlona, he was accompanied by a grim shifter, a warrior of the Eldeen Reaches. Some say that Reshar himself trained the Tiger Master, helping the shifter hone his innate skills. But others believe that there is a tribe hidden in the Eldeen Reaches, secret masters of the Tiger’s Claw. Shifter warblades of this discipline occasionally appear among the Ashbound; they claim to be vessels for the fury of nature, driven by pure instinct as opposed to the careful training of most martial adepts.

These shifters aren’t the only wild warriors of Eberron. The folklore of the Talenta Plains tells of great hunters who fight with blazing spears and strike with the fury of their dinosaur mounts; halflings following this path might take the Desert Wind or Tiger’s Claw disciplines, replacing the falchion (Desert Wind) and greataxe (Tiger’s Claw) with the Talenta tangat in the list of associated weapons. Beyond Khorvaire, there rumors of shifters pressed into service by the Inspired; if the stories are true, these bloodclaw masters could be fearsome foes. And then there are the drow of Xen’drik. The Children of Vulkoor have long called on the spirits of the wild to gain strength in battle; adventurers might encounter a remarkably sophisticated tribe employing the Tiger’s Claw and Diamond Mind techniques.

## The Masters

With the fall of the Temple of the Nine Swords, the secrets of mastering these ancient techniques have been lost to history. You can’t simply learn the secrets of the Thunder's Claw at Gatherhold; instead you have to find the remains of the Swordtooth Titan that originally inspired the discipline. While anyone can study the techniques of a given discipline, to become a true *master* of the martial art requires that you learn the secrets of the discipline known only to existing masters.

* Sora Maenya (of the Daughters of Sora Kell) is a warblade and master of the Bloodied Claw; it is this skill that has allowed her to wrestle with dragons and fight armies with her bare hands. But what could convince the mighty annis to share her knowledge, and how will people react to Maenya’s protégé?
* The secrets of the Stone Dragon were lost with the Noldrun dwarves. What lurks beneath the ruined hold? Was a survivor of the fallen clan trapped in *stasis* in the depths? Or is there something far worse… a dark force that has perverted the Stone Dragon, which must be overcome before it rises?
* Lord Jael Vadallia was the last master of the Diamond Mind, and he died more than a millennia ago. But Lord Jael can still be found in the City of the Dead, as an undying champion of the Aerenal elves. A truly promising elf of his line might be summoned to the city and ordered to carry on his legacy; alternately, someone with enough skill to penetrate the defenses of the city and reach Jael might earn his respect and patronage.
* On her quest to discover a means to defeat Bel Shalor, it is said that Tira Miron discovered the secrets of the Devoted Spirit through divine inspiration. Now, the Keeper of the Flame is the only person who Tira could pass this knowledge on to... but the young Jaela Daran is hardly ready to accept such a task.
* Many of the original settlers who explored and settled the region of Karrnath were immigrants from Nulakhesh, and they brought the nation's martial traditions with them. There are some that believe that Karrn the Conqueror may have been a White Raven warblade -- perhaps even the master that taught Reshar the technique in the first place. This influence can still be felt all these years later; even if true warblades are rare, White Raven techniques are still taught to fighters and warriors at Rekkenmark to this day.
* The secrets of Shadows Seize the Sun are hidden in the ruined war mazes of Ohr Kaluun, labyrinths nearly as deadly now as they were two thousand years ago. An ancient skulk holds the knowledge of these two disciplines, and he sits in darkness waiting his final student. But what price does he require?
* Shaeras Vadalia – the high king of Valenar – might be one of the few Eternal Blades in Eberron, guided in his actions by the spirit of his fallen ancestor who helped discover the techniques of the Diamond Mind.