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The Five of Swords

The story of dragons and the man who sought to slay them.

By Seth ConleyPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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The Five of Swords
Photo by Gioele Fazzeri on Unsplash

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. Once, the Valley of Vah'khamann was a land of lush, rolling grasslands, with game to hunt and soil to till. The land was plentiful and generous, so much so that mankind from across the world gathered to take part in its bounty and still there was enough for all. It was thought that the sun would never cease to shine upon the Valley or it's people, but all that changed when a great shadow befell the land.

The people stopped and looked toward the sky, thinking perhaps it was a cloud that blocked the sun, but no cloud could bring such darkness. 'Perhaps it's an eclipse,' they thought as they stared upward, but of the two moons that danced among the stars in the night sky, neither had been present that day.

Then came the screams, as the people of the Valley saw what it was that blanketed their land in such darkness, a dragon. Dragons, true dragons, had been thought dead long ago, but there was no mistaking the creature as its wings bombarded the Valley with winds like a hurricane, as its roar pierced the air like thunder, and as its breath incinerated everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash.

The people of the Valley tried to escape, fearing the creature's wrath, but many found it was not the dragon they should fear, but those it commands. First came the sounds of wings flapping and shrill shrieking, as wyverns descended upon the crowd, snatching people in their talons and flying away. There were those who ran to the entrance of the Valley but were stopped by eruptions of lava from the ground, and from the molten earth came drakes, snapping at their frightened prey with their massive maws. There were those who ran towards the sea, scrambling to get aboard anything that would float, but they too were met with resistance, as the towering terrors from beneath the waves, sea serpents, thrashed the boats with their tails, leaving them in splinters.

Many died trying to escape, outnumbering those that did ten times over. The Valley in which so many had gathered to build life had in a single day become a place of death. Mankind had become a race of refugees, divided and spread to the four corners of the world. Humanity plead with the other races, begging them to send their armies to fight the dragons and reclaim their land, but their pleas fell upon deaf ears and uncaring hearts. The other races agreed to take the humans in but would not help drive the dragons from the Valley, and so it was for a hundred years, humanity, splintered as the embodiment of all their hatred and fear nested upon the graves of their ancestors, and for a hundred years mankind searched for a way to reclaim what was lost. Then, one day, they found it.

Historians scoured every book in every library in the world, looking for the answer to the question every human had asked for a hundred years; "How do you kill a dragon?" Lesser dragonoids, such as drakes, wyverns, and even sea serpents, could be killed were one strong or skilled enough, but to kill a true dragon takes more than an army, it takes the arcane. Legends of heroes past tell of only four weapons capable of killing a dragon; The Four Swords of Creation. Each of the Four Swords in magically imbued with one of the four elements, earth, air, water, and fire. Alone the Swords are powerful, but it is only by bringing the swords together can those who wield them bring an end to the dragon menace.

Though the Swords had been lost to time, hidden away by those before to prevent their power falling into the wrong hands, The Four Swords became a rallying cry for humanity, and the hope of reclaiming their ancient home brought many together in the search. One by one the Swords were found, and those that found them became heroes to all humanity, as it was said only those worthy could wield their power.

The first sword to be found was The Sword of Water, a blade of ice that could turn the roughest seas calm and stop the tides themselves. The Sword was found at the bottom of the Storm Sea, in an ancient shipwreck, still clutched in the boney hands of the ship's captain, and it was found by none other than Captain Jace Faergo, a celebrated sailor and adventurer.

The second sword to be found was The Sword of Earth, a hefty weapon, as strong as diamonds, as sharp as obsidian, and could cleave islands out of continents with a single swing. The second sword was found in the beating heart of an active volcano, by a human more unassuming than the last, Rhomi Lettsynn, the son of a miner.

The third sword to be found was The Sword of Air, which was said to appear as a simple dagger, but could fly as true as an arrow. The Sword was found in the nest of a grand griffon atop the tallest mountain in the land, far above the clouds, the one who found it was a woman, Zida Khaman, who was said to be the direct descendant of the Khaman royal family, those who ruled when humanity lived in the Valley of Vah'khamann, but it was only a rumor.

Last was The Sword of Fire, a blade that could slice through steel as if it were butter and turn its wielder's enemies to ash. This Sword had proven to be the most difficult to locate, and acquiring it would be even harder as its former champion had placed it at the center of a labyrinth, one none had yet survived, but the determination of mankind was unparalleled. This is where our story begins.

Fantasy
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