Griffin Sword

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The Griffin Sword was a powerful relic blessed by Lorminstra and bestowed unto her warrior-priest Morfell. It is one of a few great swords that were made in antiquity. It was central to two different storylines, the Griffin Sword War in and later the Griffin Sword Saga. It was broken and remade twice, and then completely unmade.

The pommel was of a single great sapphire, grasped within platinum griffin talons. The hilt was of alabaster, wrapped with platinum and gold braid and enchanted to never grow cold or hot and always fit the hand of the wielder. The blade was forged by master smiths on Teras Isle and folded to an unbelievably keen edge. The quillions were made of gold and like the hilt and pommel, were encrusted with fine gems. Both sides of the quillions spread wide, like a pair of griffin wings, and gave the sword its name.

The First Griffin Sword War

The sword was forged in antiquity sometime long before 5096 and the first Griffin Sword War. It was enchanted by powerful mages, causing it to glow "like flame in the sun, a moonbeam at night and as a beacon in the darkest storm". Blessed by Lorminstra herself, it was presented to her warrior-priest Morfell, who wielded it and used it in great ceremonies. However, Morfell fell from Lorminstra's grace, succumbing to temptation and forming a pact with the forces that eventually became known as the Dark Alliance - followers of Luukos, Mularos, Sheru, and V'tull. Morfell performed a dark ritual upon the sword in secret, corrupting it and bestowing it upon them. Upon doing so, a great storm arose, and at the height of the tempest, the sword was shattered into four pieces that were scattered across the lands. The followers of the dark gods found all four and brought the shards with them as they sought to permanently desecrate the Temple of Lorminstra in Wehnimer's Landing, using the shards to do so with her own power.

This tale was told ahead of the invading armies by an unnamed prophet of Lorminstra. When the invading armies arrived, in many waves over many more days. Each invading wave was stronger than the last, and in between the onslaught, the prophet would emerge, increasingly weak. The invading forces were eventually repelled and all four sword pieces recovered by the defenders of the Landing. When the prophet emerged again, he seemed in much better health. He gathered the four adventurers that held a piece of the sword, tasking them with purifying the shards. Guillaume held the pommel, taken from the Mouth of V'tull; Shardik held the hilt, taken from the Sheruvian Nightmaster; Tedra held the quillions, taken from the Master of Pain; and Challen held the blade, taken from the Keeper of Lies. The four are sent, one at a time, to the Lake of Tears, where they were each tested in different ways by a guardian there. The four pieces were consecrated within the lake and upon the altar by it.

After the shards were consecrated, the prophet revealed that a final piece was still missing - a gem named the Eye of Lorminstra that held the power of the sword, and it needed to be found in order for the relic to be completely reforged. It was eventually found inside Darkstone Castle by Corwin. With the four pieces of the sword and the Eye of Lorminstra recovered, the prophet placed all inside of an enruned chest, alongside a black stone that had been outside of the Temple of Lorminstra, and which had been causing him some difficulty during the invasions. The prophet asked that all meet him at the temple, where he shared that Lorminstra was pleased and gave thanks to all that had helped to stop the forces of darkness.

Lorminstra's voice was then heard, acknowledging that the prophet had served her for eons in an attempt to remove the blight upon his name. She revealed to all that he was actually Morfell, the one who had tainted the relic. When the sword had been shattered, Lorminstra took Morfell's identity and memories from him, leaving him in that state until he was able to atone for his past actions. Upon revealing this, Lorminstra also restored Morfell's memory.

Morfell revealed that the Griffin Sword was now reforged, perhaps by Eonak's very hand. The black stone that had been recovered alongside the shards was now pure white marble, with the sword embedded into it. The embedded sword was left outside the Temple of Lorminstra, where it was protected by powerful wardings. Its historical significance was largely forgotten by many locals as the years passed, although it was often rubbed to impart a simple blessing onto weapons to better fight the undead. Morfell, who repented for his actions at the conclusion of the Griffin Sword War, left the relic behind and went into a life of anonymity as a monk with the Order of Voln. None realized that Morfell still maintained a link to the sword and remained inexorably tied to it.

Before his departure, Morfell shared that much can be learned from one's own mistakes. He bade all to show the light path to those who had chosen evil.

The Second Griffin Sword War

The Griffin Sword remained thus for many years. At the start of the Griffin Sword Saga in 5102, another prophet of Lorminstra arrived in town to warn the locals of what was to come. Ulstram Chanerser shared that he had had a vision of a taint growing within the sword, and he feared that the Dark Alliance was poised to return. What he did not realize then was that the Alliance had captured Morfell and tortured him, causing the taint to manifest. It was enough for them to break through the wardings on the relic. The forces of the Alliance invaded the Landing, with the Luukosian High Priest Morvule Thinevael at their forefront, intent on retrieving the sword. Before Morvule could do so, Ulstram removed the sword himself and moved to face Morvule in combat. However, the sword was shattered a second time, and its four shards once again scattered across the lands. Due to how the sword and Morfell were still linked, this unexpectedly killed Morfell, too, though that fact would not be known for some time.

As the Griffin Sword Saga continued, adventurers aligned with the Dark Alliance ultimately recovering the first three shards: the hilt on Teras Isle by Siwas Devessi, the quillions outside of Solhaven by Alisaire Frey, and the pommel in the catacombs beneath Ta'Illistim by Maimara Andriatti, which had been ferried there from Zul Logoth. The final shard, the blade, was claimed by the Resistance after the first three were found. The blade was found by a merchant, who retreated to Solhaven, and Ulstram himself eventually persuaded the merchant to give him the shard.

Witnessing three years of war, and with it the torture and slaughter of countless innocents, Ulstram made a desperate decision to reforge the sword with only the recovered blade. While the reforged blade had only a portion of the relic's original power, it was still a formidable weapon, and it had been consecrated anew. The Dark Alliance ultimately did the same, using the three shards they had recovered and forging a corrupted counterpart. Ulstram challenged Morvule again to combat, and the two met in battle. While Ulstram fought bravely, he was slain by Morvule, who claimed the fourth shard.

Having all four shards of the sword, the Dark Alliance reforged the completed Griffin Sword and began a ritual to finish its corruption within the heart of their sanctuary, the Black Temple. The final trace of Lorminstra's power was purged from the sword with the aid of the lich Morfell, whose shattered soul had been bound to his former body in the wake of the sword's destruction three years prior. He had been forced to serve the Alliance in undeath and eventually yielded entirely to them.

The forces of the Resistance made one final effort to stop the Dark Alliance's ritual, but they arrived too late. Morfell appeared, now as a lich, and cracked the warding around the Resistance members left behind by Ulstram before his demise. Having pierced it, Morfell drew the newly-corrupted Griffin Sword and was poised to strike a killing blow on all those assembled to stop him and the Dark Alliance. One of those present, Charna Ja'Varrel'Kav, had been given a relic blessed by Gosaena prior to the confrontation. Seeing that the time was right, she wielded it to counter Morfell's attack. As the sickle met the sword, the sword was completely unmade. Both it and Morfell were utterly destroyed - or rather, made never to have existed - thus ending the story of the Griffin Sword and the second war to claim it.

Shards

Hilt


Quillions


some fine gold quillions



Pommel


a pommel-shaped half-melted stone
The stone appears to be shaped similar to a pommel, its surface streaked with trails of now-hardened melted rock that resemble runny candlewax.  However, at its bottom, a flawless dark blue sapphire sparkles amid the chipped, black rock.  Around its border, the hint of a lustrous and shining metal inset with other precious stones can be glimpsed.


Blade


The blade was never in player hands as it was recovered by Ulstram directly.



Additional Information


Morfell's tomb is presumed to be inside Moonsedge castle, although what, if anything, is contained within is unknown given that he and the remnants of his former body had been utterly destroyed.  There are signs within the castle that this is also where Morfell may have attempted to create prototypes to what became known as the Griffin Sword, including a completed one that still remains and bears a striking resemblance to the destroyed relic.



See Also









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