D'Aul Du'Ran The Orclsayer
Sages and scholars mostly agree that the legendary sword known as D’Aul Du’Ran is of elven manufacture. Known by many names including Light Bringer, Orc Slayer, Soul Drinker, and the Sword of Kings; the sages’ agreement ends there. Some legends say that it was found on the battlefield around the year 386 FV where a troop of Alfar aided humans under ambush during the first beast man wars. Others say that the sword, Urok Banir, was a gift to humans from the Elves to help them combat the Urok. Still another legend professes that this mystical longsword is an intentional curse bestowed unto humankind by their enemies, the Alfar. Because the fey people think and plan in terms of centuries, the curse of the blade extolls a much heavier price than the benefits it brings to the wielder.
This long-lost artifact is rumored to be a long and lithe longsword, of obvious elvish forging, with a leaf blade, upswept quillons, a tapered smooth pommel, and a fuller that runs down the center—which is covered in indecipherable Alfarian runes. Near the ricasso of the blade, on the cross guard the unknown phrase of D’aul Du’Ran is etched in an ancient human script. The moniker of Dual Duran has become the banal name for the blade over the centuries as a reference to the only translated runes on the weapon. The blade is said to never chip or dull, to be lightweight with an edge so keen that it will cut through both silk and steel, and all accounts of the blade have mentioned that the metal is some odd alloy of light and dark shining metals that look like a Damascus or marbled pattern. The metal of the quillons and pommel have been said to be golden, gilded, silvered, and even base metal, while the grip has been said to wrapped in the skin of an Urok king, dragon scales, and even common leather.
The first reference to the blade in history and legend occurs around 375 FV; right after trade was established with the dwarves in the Ashen Hills. Hargon the Mighty is said to have used the Sword of Kings to clear out the beast man tribes and to secure his rule over Harkeep. It was told that his blade thirsted for blood and forced him to slay both enemy and friend in order to sate the blade’s blood lust.
Dual Duran then appeared in bardic songs around the year 415 PV, when Valencia was just coming into its own as an established territory and kingdom. A roguish warrior captain by the name of Cromswell the Foolhardy, sometimes also called the valorous, saved an outpost village by wielding the sword against Beast Man reavers. It is sung that on that day he slew more than three score Urok and that his wounds closed because the blade imbued him with invulnerability during the course of the battle.
In the year 477 PV a legendary hero, named Aleistor the Iconoclast, was seen leading the final charge into the beast man ranks, during the final battle, brandishing a mottled-metal leafblade elvish sword that glowed in a blusih hue and behaded all the Urok that dared approach him.
References to the artifact crop up in myth and legend for the next several hundred years; each time the same uniquely forged blade, each time a different power, but always a disastrous fate to the wielder. Throughout all the legends Dual Duran has always glowed in the presence of Uroks, always had a hunger to slay the Orcs, and always attempts to dominate its wielder while creating a symbiotic relationship with him (or her). The blade protects its owner, giving them strength and power, but also forces its own will upon the owner.
Over the centuries the belief that only one destined to be king can wield it has become an assumed trait of the sword. Because of that, Roderick the Fifth and his son, the Bard, sent out many agents in attempts to find and retrieve the blade to aid them in the succession wars. Some historians suggest that the blade was recovered and carried by the king of Greendale during the fateful battle where he accidentally slew the deposed King Roderick. It is said that the sword forced the slaying as tribute for its aid in the grand battle. Nonetheless, there was never any verified sighting of the Light Bringer and the rending of Emperor Roderick is the last suspected surfacing of the longsword. Many believe that the sword is a myth; still others believe that it is real.
Unknown to humans, D’aul Du’Ran is very real, very ancient, and was, indeed, forged by a now-extinct race of Alfar. Far and deep within what humans call the Endless Green Forest there was once a race of tall, serene, gray-skinned Alfar that held dominion over the younger races of elves. These kind and gentle folk of magic were beset upon by the newly-spawned race of orcs, the Urok. The Urok slaughtered the Alfar wantonly and the ancient even by Alfar standards Gray Elves needed a hero to give the Alfar hope. A legendary hero needed a legendary blade to serve as a symbol.
Utilizing the best smiths of both their kind and their then-allies the Devergr, the Alfar imbued the blade the humans sometimes call The Sword of Kings with the keenest edge and the most potent magical powers they possibly could. It took years to properly forge and enhance and Greater magic was employed in its manufacture. Their chosen hero was not of fey blood, but a human adventurer by the name of D’aul Du’Ran. D’aul was an ancient explorer and his small ship was sunk during a terrible storm; killing all aboard except for him. The Alfar discovered him, helped to heal him, and he lived among them for many years, learning great magic and their culture while informing the Alfar of the races of humanity across the seas. The Gray Alfar felt that his unique resilience would help to protect him from the powers of the blade, so they chose him as their champion; he accepted with honor.
The final step was imbuing the blade with a sentient force. The Grays were tricked in this.
A quasi-demonic, incorporeal, entity presented itself to them as a powerful nature spirit. While not exactly untrue, this minor deity also had a sever lust for blood and a cruel streak along with its hatred for the newly-spawned Uroks. It is this dark side of the spirit’s nature that forces it to attempt to dominate its wielder and that forces them to slay their loved ones and friends. Their human champion did, indeed, instill hope and valor among the Alfar; and they did manage to drive the Urok far to the North, outside of the forested lands of elves. However, the entity that inhabits the sword slowly poisoned the soul of D’Aul and ultimately forced him to indiscriminately slay both beast man and elf.
Du’Ran was forced by the blade to slay his beloved Alfar wife; an act that totally decimated his soul. He flung himself from a cliff to the rocks below, ending his own life. Afterwards the Alfar tried to destroy the blade, finally discovering that the spirit housed by the longsword was not only the enemy of orcs, but also the enemy of all. But the elves had done their job too well. The blade could not be melted by fire, disintegrated by magic, or drained of its powers.
Not seeing any other solution, the blade was sealed in a magical container and a party of the most stalwart and bravest of all races and nations of elves set out to the unknown lands, now infested with Urok, to secrete the sword away; far from the reaches of the Alfar. It was decided that the blade should be hidden away within the lands of the Urok; if it were somehow discovered there it would continue to wreak havoc among them. The party of brave Alfar made it to the edges of the Endless Green and departed for parts unknown; they were never heard from again.
Over many centuries the royal line of the Gray Elves faded into dust and their dominion as the guiding elders over all the Alfar nations faded along with them, giving rise to many independent races and nations of Alfar. Knowledge of, or at least interest in, the Light Bringer sword faded into elven myth and legend. Millennia later, the lands the Urok of yore had been driven into was discovered by, and then eventually settled by, a couple clans of Dvergr and then humankind. Who discovered it, how it was released from its magical coffin, and where it was unearthed remains a mystery.
Bringer of light to the land, curse of darkness brought to the hand
Dual Duran is known to serve as a magical long blade most of the time, but to glow in a blue hue when in the presence of Urok. When it is glowing its magical enhancement increases due to the sword aiding the wielder to fell orcs. The more blood it drinks, the stronger it seems to get. this strength sometimes flows from the blade into the wielder giving then enhanced strength and endurance as well as a bererker-like blood-lust.
It has been known to heal its owner, to she light when needed, and to protect its owner from fire, cold, and the elements. It is also known for force the wielder to slay his allies and seems to be particularly fond of inflicting cruel misery by forcing its owner to slay loved ones while their souls scream in anguish
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