Sword of Medoc Revision

The sword carried by Medoc Ileri when he was serving as the Captain of the Guard in Voldar before the time of the Dragonstorm (1650 b.S.). An outwardly innocuous-looking weapon of utilitarian, sensible design, the sword was forged from metal mined from the deepest of dwarven mines and confirmed as ésh-dél (magical) by the Styrá (elves). The hilt of the sword was for a time briefly melded to Katya's, Medoc's daughter and later on Erpheronian Queen, hand towards the beginning of Dragonstorm. Although twisted and warped by dragonfire, broken sword was later hurled into the eye of the dragon Ol'dem'brey by the heroine, wounding the beast and effectively ending the months long siege on the city of Voldar.

Description
Forged from the finest dwarven metals and enchanted by powerful human wizards, in its heyday the rare caliber of Medoc’s Sword would have made its original owner the subject of all of Voldar’s envy. To the casual observer, however, the blade would have appeared quite commonplace; forgoing lavish jewels and decoration in favor of more practical features. Its unbreakable blade was long, broad and straight, ideal for hacking, slashing and stabbing into enemies and its simple, eagle-shaped hilt was weighted perfectly to provide the weapon with unmatched balance.

The perfection of the Sword of Medoc was quite short-lived. Though the blade of the weapon was indestructible, the intense heat of adamant dragonfire melted the eagle-shaped hilt and fused into the skin of Katya Ileri. Once separated from the young girl with the help of elven healers of the Thaelon Forest, the weapon’s contorted hilt made it unwieldable by most individuals. Only Katya, whose puckered scars melded perfectly with the warped handle, could manipulate the weapon with any sort of skill.

Since the heroine hurled the blade into the eye of the dragon Ol’dem’brey, the weapon’s location has been a mystery. As such, the blade’s current form is unknown, if it even exists at all.

Usage
Besides its obvious historical significance, the sole factor that allows the Sword of Medoc to be categorized as an artifact is its superb craftsmanship. The pure dwarven metals and strong enchantments placed upon it make sword nearly unsurpassable in quality and its blade impervious to physical damage.

That being said, the blade is only as impressive in combat as the skill of its wielder. Unlike other artifacts, such as the Sword of Twilight, the weapon is not imbued with any special effects, but rather relies entirely upon the skill of the swordsman to be effective in battle.

History/Origin

The date at which the Sword of Medoc was forged has been lost with time and accounts of its origins have fallen entirely into the realm of myth. Its physical appearance, however, allows historians to draw some conclusions about its early years. The eagle with spread wings crafted into its hilt, the banner of Voldar, suggests that the blade was crafted specifically for Medoc or another citizen of the city. This idea is further supported by the elven healers’ classification of the blade’s enchantments as ésh-dél, a term meaning ‘false magic’ used specifically to describe the magic of humans. On the other hand, the dwarven metal and craftsmanship that created the blade let historians know that it was forged outside of the city, and thus most likely given as a gift or a reward.

The first historically confirmed appearance of the Sword of Medoc is in the hand of its namesake, Medoc Ileri when he served as Captain of the Guard of Voldar in the late 1600s b.S. While in possession of the weapon, Medoc is recorded as having excelled as a soldier, winning many battles and making a name for himself in his community. When the Captain left military service perhaps a decade before Dragonstorm, he temporarily retired the blade with him.

The next and final wielder of the owner of the Sword, was Medoc’s daughter, Katya. The sole survivor of a dragon attack on her family’s town, Katya originally wielded the weapon as a physical extension of her own limbs. Having been clutching it when she passed out during the assault on her village, the young girl awoke to find the intense heat of dragonfire had melted the eagle-shaped hilt and that the warm metal had fused with her skin. Though the skilled elven healers of the Thaelon forest were able to successfully pry the weapon away from her skin, the hilt of the Sword of Medoc was drastically contorted. From then on, only Katya, whose scarred hands bore the indentations of the weapon’s hilt, was able to successfully wield the sword in battle.

The weapon was last definitely seen wielded in the defense of Voldar against a siege by the dragons. In its greatest moment of triumph, the damaged Sword of Medoc was thrown like a javelin by the Katya into the eye of the fearsome adamant dragon Ol’dem’brey. At this great turning point in the battle, the Sword’s specially crafted blade allowed it to pierce the thick armor of the adamant dragon and lodge itself in the beast’s iris. Unable to pry the weapon from his eye with his massive claws, Ol’dem’brey called for the dragons to relent their assault and retreat, giving victory to the Erpheronian forces of Voldar.

Since it disappeared in the defense of the city of Voldar many individuals have tried to claim to have recovered the Sword of Medoc, but, as of yet, none of these have been able to be confirmed.

Many historians, particularly those who are well versed in the field of weaponry, have called into question some important aspects of the story of Katya and the Sword of Medoc in light of apparent inaccuracies, particularly the fusion of the sword to her hand. According to these scholars, since a blade and its hilt are almost always made of the same material, it is extremely unlikely that only the Sword’s handle was affected by the dragonfire. If the blade of this famous weapon was truly indestructible, its hilt should have been as well.

In rebuttal, defenders of the myth have put forth two potential explanations. The first of these claims that the blade of Medoc’s Sword was not actually intended for his weapon, but instead belonged to another. In this narrative of events, while a dwarf smith was forging the weapon commissioned for the Voldar guardsman, he was also working on several blades of a much higher quality. Amid all this hustle and bustle in his workshop, the slightly overwhelmed smith accidentally mismatched a pair of blades and hilts when he was assembling the weapons. As a result, Medoc received a blade of a far higher caliber than was intended while being left with a perfectly ordinary hilt on his weapon.

The second theory commonly put forth blames the discrepancy in quality between the Sword of Medoc’s hilt and blade on the Earth mage responsible for enchanting it. Lacking a complete knowledge of weapons, the mage decided to save his energy and only imbue the blade of the weapon, which he believed did all the work, with an enchantment of permanence. As a result, while the blade of the weapon was magically enhanced to withstand the dragonfire, its hilt was still susceptible.

Myth/Lore

Much of the mythology surrounding the Sword of Medoc attempts to reconstruct the famous blade’s origins. The most popular of these myths traces the Sword’s origins to ‘Brok’s island,’ (The Island of Denilou). According to this legend, the young Medoc sailed to Denilou where he preformed a great a favor for the Mithriam residing there. As a sign of their gratitude, it is believed that the dwarves forged the blade from best metals mined from the deepest parts of the island’s mines and awarded it to the young hero.

From a historical perspective, however, it is unlikely that this myth is based in truth. For one, there is no evidence that Medoc ever left Voldar and sailed to the distant Island of Denilou, nor did he have any motivation to do so. More importantly, the Island of Denilou was not discovered until nearly three centuries after Medoc’s death.