“Behold!  The sword of power… forged when the world was young, and Bird and Beast and Flower were one with Man!  And death was but a dream…”
– Merlin the Magician, Excalibur

The Legend of Shadowbane

Shadowbane.

A famous name, and a grim one. The sword that broke the Elvish Empire, with a blade to cleave the World. The greatest weapon that shall ever be forged, Shadowbane bears a bright name, a name of hope. And yet, dark omens have gathered about that hallowed blade from the time of its forging. Legends coil and twist around it like thorny vines, crowned with fierce blossoms, red as blood.

It is said that giving a sword a name gives the blade a soul as well, and that named blades carve out destinies of their own choosing. Such weapons, it is whispered, have the power to change the World. Men should be wary of named swords, for it is said that sometimes the mightiest Sword wields the Man, and not the other way around. Aye, all of these things are said of swords with but one name. Shadowbane must then truly be both great and terrible, for it has not one name but many. Light Bringer some have called it, also Beacon Blade, Second Sun, King Maker, Morning’s Star, God’s Hand, the Sword of Thurin, Wyrm’s Killer, Paladinsword, and Beregund’s Prize. These are its glorious names, but the blade has garnered dark names as well: King Breaker, World Cleaver, Maker’s Maimer, the Sword of Vengeance, Shining Slaughter, Traitor, and Cambruin’s Bane. Here is a blade that has carved its destiny into the face of time. All the children of the World live in the shadow of this mighty sword, and we who struggle in this Age of Strife dance upon its edge.

Three times Shadowbane’s light has shone in our World, in three different Ages. Three Wars have turned their course when Shadowbane was drawn in them. In all that time, three great Sons of Men have borne the blade in battle, as have two Elves, and one God. You may think that you know of Shadowbane, but no doubt you only know the ending of the story. Yes, Shadowbane slew the High King at Kierhaven, and dealt the stroke that brought the Turning. But how came Cambruin to bear the mighty blade? Why was it forged, and why did it turn so cruelly on the hand of him who wielded it? To know all these answers you must hear the Legend of Shadowbane, a tale as long and grim as Time itself. Listen to this chronicle of glory and despair, and you shall hear within it all the tragedy of our sundered World told plain.

• The Age of Kings – The tale of Caeric Blackhammer, Cambruin the High King, and the Turning
• The Age of Days – The tale of Beregund Bladeseeker and the War of the Scourge
• The Age of Twilight – The tale of Thurin the Shaper, the Dragon, and the Treason of the Elves
• The Unknown Future – The rumors and portents of Shadowbane’s fate and the World’s ultimate destiny