Myths and Legends of the Silver Blade
The Silver Blade:
A Chronicle of Fragmented Myth
The genesis of the narrative known as the Legend of the Silver Blade captures the pivotal moment when an ancient artifact transitioned from speculative myth to a formidable, tangible power in the world. For over five centuries preceding the events chronicled in the volume the Legend of the Silver Blade (circa 1081 AV), this weapon inspired endless speculation regarding its purpose, power, and ultimate whereabouts. This object, known as the Silver Blade, appeared in the foundational legends of two distinct cultures of the Nord Sea: the Stornir and the Elowyn.
As a Chronicler, I understand that the nature of legends often distorts the reality upon which they are based, forcing storytellers to fill historical voids until the narrative assumes a life of its own.
The Stornir Mythos: The Shard of Ice and Raknakor
The Stornir, a violent, fanatical human splinter group of the Nord, adhere to a belief system centered on their brutal god, Storn the Devourer, Lord of Winter and the Long Night.
The Origin of the Shard
The Stornir myth holds that Storn was originally a mortal who achieved godhood upon finding a shard of ice that predated the emergence of light, a time when cold and darkness reigned supreme. Storn wielded this relic as a great silver blade, intending to engulf the world in eternal winter and night.
The Theft of the Alfir
According to Nord mythology, the other gods intervened, calling upon the Alfir—the Stornir term for the Elowyn—to find and steal the silver shard. The purpose of this theft was to hide the shard where Storn could never locate it, thus preventing eternal winter. The legend asserts that an Alfir took the guise of a great wolf with shining silver fur, leading others (in wolf form) in an attack on Stornheim, Storn’s city. The silver wolf successfully stole the shard, hiding it deep in the forests forever, which precipitated Storn’s fall and the return of light and warmth to the far north. The name of the shard in more recent legends is Nightbringer.
The Prophecy of Raknakor
The Stornir became a cult devoted to bringing about their end times, known as Raknakor, the Everlasting Night. This fanaticism drove them to claim the volcanic islands they renamed the Blood Isles. Their core belief is that reclaiming the legendary Silver Blade grants the wielder the power to seize Storn’s seat among the gods and return the world to its original state of frozen darkness. This apocalyptic goal is a clear and direct reference to Rakna, the Ninth Scroll of Valis's esoteric Codex Obscura.
The most violently dedicated faction among them, the Nottsver (Night Swords), relentlessly hunt the weapon, convinced it remains hidden among the Alfir/Elowyn, specifically believing that whoever claims the blade can summon the great black serpent Storn the Devourer. Due to persistent sightings and the Elowyn presence, the island of Alfirhavn became highly suspected as the hiding place of the silver wolf and the Silver Blade.
The Elowyn Mythos: The Silver Wolf and the Fangs
The Elowyn, a sparse and reclusive shandaryn people, also include the Silver Blade in their cultural legends.
The Fangs of the Wolf
Elowyn legend holds that a small number of their people on the island of Aille (Alfirhavn) are chosen by their spiritual mother of the earth to be the Fangs of the Mother. This connection grants them unique abilities, such as communicating with the ground or changing shape.
A specific lineage, known as the Fangs of Selyne, were believed to be legendary Elowyn possessing a bond to wolves, capable of skinchanging into a large or dire wolf. The Elowyn leaders were said to have told stories of a small band of these Fangs who lived alone on a remote part of Aille, defending their people against the kali (men).
The Silver Wolf and the Blade’s Purpose
The leader of this band carried the mythic title of the Silver Wolf. This leader was an Elowyn who could take the form of a silver wolf and wielded a beautifully crafted sword that shone like polished silver. While the Elowyn legends lacked a definitive origin for the artifact, they consistently maintained that the Silver Blade had once been a weapon of the enemy, now utilized against them. This artifact was the object the Stornir were ultimately seeking.
The Historical Appearance and Physical Lore
The Silver Blade ceased to be solely a mythological object following two key events.
The Siege of Ciermanuinn
The destruction of the Vesprian and Elowyn city of Ciermanuinn in 928 AV officially marked the moment the legendary Silver Blade—or an equally impressive surrogate—was revealed to the world. Vesprian accounts confirmed seeing an Elowyn with silver hair use an elegant sword that shone like the light of the stars above during the final confrontation. The Nottsver believed they saw the Blade that night, wielded by an Elowyn who drove away an incarnation of Storn before vanishing.Appearance and Composition
The blade wielded by Seeven, the first known bearer, was noted for its elegant design, appearing as a work of art that might hang in a great shandaryn hall. The pommel bore a stylized wolf’s head of burnished silver. The hilt spread like dragon’s wings, and the blade itself extended like an ice shard from the open maw of the wyrm.
Scholars examining the weapon observed that its craftsmanship was magnificent. It was made of an unusual metal that performed stronger than steel. The esteemed Valgarion Lyris, Minister of Aula a'Vesprii, formally identified the material as skymetal, describing it as "the purest strain I have ever before seen," capable of bonding with immense power.
The Nature of its Power
Public dread surrounds the artifact, which is whispered to possess immense power, having been forged from both light and darkness, capable of unimaginable destruction. It is deduced that the Silver Blade is a weapon crafted by the gods themselves or imbued with divine might far exceeding mortal capacity. When held by a wielder, it feels warm and comforting, yet possesses a hint of ominous cold just beneath the surface. In combat, it appears sentient, anticipating the wielder’s moves and amplifying their strength.
The Saga of the Silver Blade begins!
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"Legends call it a weapon. A key. A god's tooth. They are all wrong. I have held it. It is not dead metal. It has a memory, cold and vast as the space between stars. It does not serve the wielder; it chooses them. And it charges a terrible price for its edge."
— A Bearer of the Silver Blade
The Myths of the Blade
Common Name: The Silver Blade Stornir Name: Nottirbar (Nightbringer) Meaning: The key that unlocks Raknakor (Eternal Night). Elowyn Name: The Silver Fang (Associated with the Silver Wolf legend) Material: Unknown. Resembles Skymetal, but possesses properties of cold and shadow foreign to earthly ore.The Conflicting Legends
the Silver Blade is a mirror, reflecting the soul of the culture that beholds it. To demonstrate this, I have commissioned two stylized representations of the Blade, each rendered in the artistic tradition of the people who fear it most. Two blades, one truth. It is a reminder that in our world, even a sword can wear a mask.The Myth of the North (The Stornir)
Nottirbar, The Shard of Ice
To the Stornir of the Blood Isles, the Blade is not a forged weapon, but a divine shard of ice, stolen from their god. Their depictions of it are crude and brutal, often carved into rock or bone. It is a jagged, frozen thing, a symbol of the apocalypse they seek to unleash.
The Myth of the Vales (The Elowyn)
The Silver Fang
To the ancient Elowyn, the Blade is a sorrowful relic of their lost golden age. Their art depicts it as a thing of elegant, flowing beauty, a weapon of light and separation. The winged hilt and the central blue gem are common motifs, representing the divine origins of the "Silver Wolf" and the tears of their people.
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