Green Sword (Moon Gleam)
"The view from the top of the castle stairway was impressive. You could gaze down the hundreds of meters that you would have just struggled up, the cobblestone pathway giving off a diluted reflection of the sun's light. A breeze passed by, rustling the trees and giving shifting the great branches in a way that allowed the small but stunning town below to show off the busy streets below.
Sitting on the last set of stairs is a man in his early twenties, he is lean and from a glance his demeanor and face make him seem like an average person until you realize he is wearing a fine dark violet gambeson with silver accents around the collar and wrists. The outfit of a royal knight. His hands are clasped together, elbows resting on the edge of his lips as he gazes over the city lazily.
"Good Evening," a smooth voice calls out. The man turns to see the woman who had spoken. Dressed in white robes and a golden circlet adorning her head, the young woman smiles thinly at the knight. Her features are very regal, yet still young as her round cheeks still give off a sense of youth. The man exhales from his nose and turns away from the princess.
"You need something?" He asks casually, turning back to his view.
"Yes," the princess smooths her robes as she takes a seat next to the night, this bothers him, but he remains stoic, "it seems we need to have a talk."
"About?"
"You."
The knight turns and looks at the princess who keeps her jovial manner, "You have just seemed distant, I figured it would be best if we could talk to more, we are going to be around each other anyways."
"I am aware," he replies, not making eye contact, "I-er-I am just getting used to everything, I suppose."
The princess frowns, scrapping her nail against the stony ground in thought. A moment of awkward silence drapes over their shoulders.
"Um," the princess breaks the silence, "I heard about what you did last night."
The knight recalls the event she speaks of a pack of monsters had attacked the town late in the night. He remembered the chill of the night, sweating as he ran at breakneck speed towards the edge of town where the milita was holding their ground. He could see them battling large beasts, gritting his teeth, he had pulled his sword from its sheath. The faint seafoam green of the blade glowed, water beginning to form around the blade as he approached the monsters. As soon as he was within range, he plunging it into the side of a beast. He exited the memory.
"I was so tired last night too," he says with an air of humor, "I mean I know I look like a sleepy old man, but that shouldn't mean I have to feel like one."
The princess smiles, noticing that the knight himself had something similar pulling at the corner at his mouth.
"Have you ever wondered why I chose you to be my knight?"
"Despite my personality, you are madly in love with me."
The princess crosses her legs, "You have no sense of respect, you constantly seem like you are in your own head, and you never know when to stop when you are outranked or outmatched."
"Princess," the knight stretches, "we can skip to the part where you ask me to return the uniform."
"These are the reasons why I chose you," the princess remarks simply. The man looks at her and she gives him a smug smirk in return. "Did you know that if I had before I had chosen you as a knight, my parents had spoken about confiscating your blade?"
The knight, now thoroughly invested in the discussion, shook his head, "No, miss."
"You wield a powerful weapon, one you earned, I am sure, but it is still dangerous. That green sword should be wielded by a good person. A person, which I know you are."
The knight looked at the princess. It had only been a few months since she had called for him specifically, ignoring many other equally worthy swordsmen and knights that were recommended to choose him. Though he hated to admit it, he resented her for it at first. The knight had often ignored calls from the princess and was absent in cases where she was vulnerable. He hated getting involved noble-like things, he wanted to be just amongst the people of the streets. He had thought about ripping his uniform and leaving, never looking back. He resisted, a small, logical part of him knowing it would do no good. However, now, hearing the princess's words, something shifted inside his mind.
An exhales escapes the knight's lungs, "You do have a politician's tongue, aye?" He smiles, "Thank you miss, I think despite what you said, I haven't been acting like the person you described." He shifts, feeling awkward by the truth of his words, "But now, I think I want to be that person."
-from the Tales of Evendoria
Summary
The green sword is a legendary blade that has said to play key parts in the history of Ordan. The sword's reputation has even shadowed that of the person or possibly persons who have wielded it. Thus, both the weapon and the swordsperson is given the title Green Sword. Both the blade and the user feature most prominently in the fictional stories documented as the Tales of Evendoria, a collection of fairy tales about heroes in a kingdom called Evendoria. While the book does focus on Green Sword specifically, they are the popular character from the myths.
Historical Basis
Green Sword and a lot of events in the Tales of Evendoria are thought to at least been based on real-life places and people, since it was likely the adventures the book was documenting, are fictional. However, there some sages and astute geographers that have thought to have found places related to the places in the stories. There is also a place called Jardontown that has a statue erected of a person who is thought to be the Green Sword. The blade itself is still said to be waiting in humble shrine in a misty forest, waiting when it can be wielded once again. Thought people have searched for the shrine before, it has yet to be found, which solidify the fact that these stories or myths in most people's minds.
Spread
The myths of the Tales of Evendoria were popular in the early days of Ordan and became somewhat studied as a myth in schools, however recently, a retelling of the stories has been revitalized as a radio drama. The show has been running for about two years in modern-day Ordan and has gained a wide audience who enjoys the program.
Variations & Mutation
Variations towards the Green Sword stem mostly from descriptions that a written down in texts. The original Tales of Evendoria was made before it making books was simplified with a sort of printing press and thus it mostly continued by word of mouth the way it had been for years. The variations mostly deal with small aspects of the stories such as some identifying the Green Sword as either a woman or man and describe the blade itself as either a forest green blade or a pale greenish silver.
In Literature
The Tales of Evendoria is the most popular recorded literature that Green Sword appears in. There are variations to the story, as well as many works that came after which took inspiration from the stories.
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