The Blades Of Red Gale

Brand, the Lord of the Red Gale, had sought out artifacts of power as he learned the ways of power. He found these. When he acquired the Jewel of Judgment he came to a place of power and engraved them, raising them to a place of power. He put the Mindsword on his belt when he went to battle at the Abyss. Events there prevented him from drawing it and the victors of the battle are lucky for it. He took it over the edge when he was pierced by an arrow. What happened then is unknown, save that when he finally left the Abyss, he did not have it. .

Tale of the Wizards of the Red Gale

Brand had created a special place to create & inscribe artifacts of power. The Red Gale is the center of a power focus, a stable tornado, that funnels powers of the realm into the fine tip of the inscribing artifact. When Brand acquired the Jewel of Judgment he placed it in the tip of the tornado and began empowering the swords.

The effects of the blades after their inscriptions was uncertain, and even Brand told his assistants that he thought doing so was a mistake. In order to perfect his inscriptions he inscribed 6 blades before inscribing the Mindsword, which his assistants say was ultimately his goal. When he attempted to end the ritual of Inscription, his assistants say, the Jewel itself took him over, used his talents to inscribe the final 5 blades. The blades the Jewel inscribed using Brand, rather then Brand inscribed using the Jewel, were Shieldbreaker, Far Slayer, Wayfinder, Doomgiver, and Woundhealer.

The Twelve Swords of Power

The Swords of Power were created by the god Vulcan in the Ardneh Multiverses. Each sword has a unique, magical ability and is powerful enough to affect the mythological gods that exist within these realms.

The 12 swords are:

1. Townsaver: The Sword of Fury

Townsaver has the ability to control the body of anyone trying to defend the unarmed, granting the wielder superhuman speed and strength. Once the Sword has been taken up, it does not allow itself to be set down until every enemy has been repelled. While Townsaver can allow a single man to defeat an entire army, it does nothing to prevent injury to the wielder.

While in use Townsaver emits a screaming sound.

Long roads the Sword of Fury makes

Hard walls it builds around the soft

The fighter who Townsaver takes

Can bid farewell to home and croft.

; 2. Shieldbreaker: The Sword of Force

Shieldbreaker provides protection from all enemy attacks, whether melee, ranged, or magical. Like Townsaver, Shieldbreaker takes over the sword arm of the person using it, and cannot be put down until the battle is over. However, Shieldbreaker will deflect incoming blows. The Sword's weakness is its inability to be used against an unarmed foe, meaning that the wielder, weakened by using Shieldbreaker, can be defeated quite easily in hand-to-hand combat.

Shieldbreaker is unique among the Swords in that it can easily destroy any of the others in melee combat, with the exception of Woundhealer. In addition, any abilities possessed by the other Swords are negated by Shieldbreaker. For example, the wielder cannot be slain by Farslayer or tracked by Wayfinder.

While being used, Shieldbreaker emits a thudding rhythm that quickens when combat begins.

I shatter Swords and splinter spears;

None stands to Shieldbreaker.

My point's the fount of orphans' tears

My edge the widowmaker.

3. Stonecutter: The Sword of Siege

Stonecutter possesses the ability to pass its blade through any stone or mineral-based formation as easily as it would pass through air. A wielder could place it point-first on the ground and let go, and the Sword would bury itself up to the hilt. The Sword of Siege can be used for fine work like sculpting and gemcutting.

While the Sword is being used, a tapping noise emanates from the blade, reminiscent of a chisel on stone.

The Sword of Siege struck a hammer's blow

With a crash, and a smash, and a tumbled wall.

Stonecutter laid a castle low

With a groan, and a roar, and a tower's fall.

; 4. Woundhealer: The Sword of Mercy/The Sword of Love

Woundhealer possesses the power to repair any injury or cure any other ailment, such as blindness, poisoning, etc., regardless of severity or how long ago it was inflicted. As long as the subject is not dead, the Sword of Mercy is effective against the wounds given by Farslayer and the Mindsword. The Sword of Love is regarded in-universe as the one Sword that is not a weapon.

Woundhealer makes a noise like human breath when it is used.

Whose flesh the Sword of Mercy hurts has drawn no breath;

Whose soul it heals has wandered in the night,

Has paid the summing of all debts in death

Has turned to see returning light.

5. Doomgiver: The Sword of Justice

Doomgiver possesses the ability to turn any attack, overt or otherwise, back on the attacker. The full extent of its abilities is unknown, though it did turn even Aphrodite's powers back on her.

Unlike several of the Swords, Doomgiver does not make a noise when wielded.

The Sword of Justice balances the pans

Of right and wrong, and foul and fair.

Eye for an eye, Doomgiver scans

The fate of all folk everywhere.

6. Coinspinner: The Sword of Chance/The Sword of Fortune

Coinspinner makes the wielder preternaturally lucky. Even sheathed, the Sword has the ability to ensure that its wielder winds up in an advantageous position, even going so far as to cause misfortune to those who wish them harm. The Sword is incredibly unreliable, however, as it is not unusual for it to abruptly disappear and seek out a new owner, often at inconvenient times.

Unlike several of the Swords, Coinspinner does not make a noise when wielded.

Who holds Coinspinner knows good Odds

Whichever move he makes

But the Sword of Chance, to please the gods,

Slips from him like a snake.

7. Dragonslicer: The Sword of Heroes

Dragonslicer provides the wielder with a killing stroke when facing a dragon, regardless of the thickness of the dragon's skin. However, the sword does not provide the wielder with any special protection. In addition, the Sword of Heroes possesses the somewhat hindering ability to remain in the body of slain dragon, resulting in either the wielder being carried along in the beast's death throes, or having it ripped form their hands entirely.

In the case of overly large dragons such as great wyrms, the Sword will actually drag the wielder along once a first strike is made, unerringly towards the dragon's heart.

Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, how d'you slay?

Reaching for the heart in behind the scales.

Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, where d'you stay?

In the belly of the giant that my blade impales.

8. Farslayer: The Sword of Vengeance

Farslayer possesses the ability to kill any person regardless of location, fortification, or protection. The wielder need only hold the sword and think of the person they want dead, including demons and gods. Chanting "For thy heart..." is customary, but not strictly necessary. After releasing the Sword, it will immediately streak toward the target and impale them through the heart. The only protection from Farslayer is to wield Shieldbreaker or Woundhealer.

Farslayer's major drawback is the fact that once used, it will remain impaled in the body of the target, meaning that keeping ownership of the Sword following its use is problematic. Also, there is nothing preventing someone else from picking it up and turning it back on its previous owner.

Farslayer howls across the world

For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!

Vengeance is his who casts the blade

Yet he will in the end no triumph see.

9. The Mindsword: The Sword of Glory/Skulltwister/The Sword of Madness

The Mindsword, when drawn, compels absolute and fanatical devotion to the person holding it. It flashes brightly as if catching the sun, and emits the faint roar of a cheering mob which cannot be blocked out by covering ears or averting eyes. All who are in visual or aural range are affected. Not even the gods of the Swords universe are immune to its power.

The strength of the devotion is such that one under the Mindsword's power would throw their life away if ordered to. There is no possibility of resistance or recovery, except for the passage of time. When removed from the Mindsword's presence, a person will gradually begin to lose the unnatural loyalty they felt toward the Sword's bearer and show signs of skepticism and then increasing rebelliousness before finally regaining their own mind. It takes around a week to fully recover, depending on the relationship between the target and the wielder, the wielder's own personal charisma, and the psychological resistance of the target.

Wounds made from the blade's edge fester, preventing healing and possibly leading to fever and delirium.

The Mindsword spun in the dawn's gray light

And men and demons knelt down before.

The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright Gods joined the dance, and the march to war.

It spun in the twilight dim as well

And gods and men marched off to hell.

10. Sightblinder: The Sword of Stealth

Sightblinder possess the ability to cloak its wielder, allowing them to move freely wherever they choose. Anyone looking at the wielder will see either who they love more than anything, or who they fear. In addition, Sightblinder is capable of allowing the user to see the truth of a given situation. The Sword also provides some measure of protection from the powers of other Swords.

The Sword of Stealth is given to

One lonely and despised.

Sightblinder's gifts: His eyes are keen

His nature is disguised.

11. Wayfinder: The Sword of Wisdom

Wayfinder possesses the ability to lead its wielder to their goal, even leading them to the items and people necessary to complete the quest. The major drawback to the sword, however, is that it does not lead the wielder along the safest route, opting instead for the most dangerous path possible.

Who holds Wayfinder finds good roads

Its master's step is brisk.

The Sword of Wisdom lightens loads

But adds unto their risk.

12. Soulcutter: The Sword of Despair/The Tyrant's Blade

Soulcutter emits no noise when drawn, but a deep malaise begins to affect all those around the wielder. This feeling of hopelessness spreads farther away from the drawn blade for as long as it is bared, to a radius of hundreds of meters. Beings affected feel such an overwhelming sense of melancholy and apathy that nothing they would do seems to matter to them to any degree, and they simply sit down and wait to die. In addition the wielder visibly ages while the Sword is drawn, about five years for every minute the Sword is bared.

The Tyrant's Blade no blood hath spilled

But doth the spirit carve

Soulcutter hath no body killed

But many left to starve.