Blade of Erogrund

Chapter Eight- Taste of Truth

This was all new to Godric, but judging from the title of Mira's book, she knew much of it.

Sarah nodded. "That is correct. He was a tremendous warrior among men and a noble king. Above all, he was a champion of Men and the wielder of Erogrund, which you," pointing to Godric, "have already felt the power of. After his death not long after the end of the Scourge, Erogrund was given to his son, Erenthior, and it became a heirloom of the House of Ecthion. The sword was the symbol of the King of Niron and it was cherished by its sons."

Mira tilted her head questionably. "But the House of Ecthion dwindled quickly. There are almost no records of them after Erenthior."

"Correct," Sarah agreed. "However, the Elestil know much that Men do not. We keep not extensive records or dusty books for our memories go back long beyond those of mortal Men. It is the lore of our people that Erogrund was passed from Erenthior to his son, Elliondor, to his son, Eremor, but then it was lost. A war erupted between the cities of the Kingdom of Niron and it was soon broken apart. At the Battle of West Plains, an army of Men destroyed the troops led by Eremor and he was slain, but his son was rescued and fled into the wild. This was well over a hundred years ago."

"This is all good and well," Godric interrupted, "but what does it have to do with this sword and Ennor?"

"Because, my boy," Thain broke in, "the slayer of Eremor took the sword and carried it into many battles." The dwarf spat with disgust into the dirt. "The barbarian waged war after war until much of Niron was broken apart."

"But that's another story," Sarah intervened.

"Aye, very true," Admitted the dwarf. "Anyways, in time the warrior died and the sword was passed from warlord to warlord as tiny nations were forged and broken, each in turn for many, many years. While this went on, the son of Eremor survived in the wild and gathered a band of warriors around him that were still loyal to the House of Ecthion. There were not many, but together they crafted their own small nation and became known as the Blue Guard."

Mira's eyes widened. "Those thugs are from the descendants of Ecthion?"

Sarah shook her head. "Not so fast. This was the original Blue Guard. They were much different than the bandits you know, or rather knew, before. Eremor's son grew to a fine leader of the Guard and they slowly began to retake the land that was theirs, but still they did not have Erogrund so they could not fully unite the cities of Niron."

"It was not long after that disaster struck," Thain continued. "A new warlord arose to combat Eremor's son and he had somehow found Erogrund. At this point the Blue Guard had recaptured nearly half of Niron, but so had this fighter and his band. The two kingdom's contested each other for many years until at last both armies drew together in the valleys just south of Mountain of Cahir, which lies to the northeast. Both armies fought valiantly to be sure, but the Blue Guard fell before Erogrund and broke as the battle wore on.

"Fortunately for the Heir of Ecthion, the warlord who had fought with Erogrund lost the sword in the heat of battle and it was recovered, but the warlord escaped and fled back to his kingdom. It was then that the son of Eremor faced a difficult place,for he could not wield the sword."

"I don't understand," Said Godric. "How come he could not wield the sword? Was he not strong enough?"

Sarah smiled wearily. "No, he was far more than strong enough." She gripped the sword more tightly with one hand while carefully touching the runes that were inscribed in its lustrous blade. "These are written in Elestil. Our words are more than simple representations of what we mean; our words are the essence of what we described. These words are an oath that bind the person who carries this sword."