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My friends you will be aware that we stand at a crossroads in history where either the House of St. James is restored to the throne of Cambria or the realm itself faces destruction. My line has sadly faced these moments before in the past and not all these opportunities have been seized as we would have liked. One of our greatest hopes is that the Sword of Erin will return to Cambria and indeed we hear it is on its way borne by Iskvythorn, daughter of Penda, the rightful heir to the throne. Let me tell you a little bit more about this sword, as if its publicy known history is not illustrious enough. Many have assumed that the sword, since it was given to St. James by a great solar of Pelor, had been made by that being or perhaps even Pelor himself. You may recall, however, that Lord Ecthel of the Elvenwood stood by St. James in that hour and he recognised the sword immediately as one of the three legendary swords made by Finwin, greatest of Elven smiths, in the deeps of time. Balcrist the sword was named by his maker and Ecthel was somewhat puzzled by how it came to be in the hands of a Pelorean solar, the House of Vorlelorn its previous owners having passed into legend. The sword as I said was made by Finwin in one of Elvenkind's darkest hours. The Elves faced an assault by Malgoth, a veritable God come to Earth, and we had few allies. Most of the races of the earth had either fled from Malgoth's wrath or submitted to his will. The Elves therefore stood alone, but not quite alone; from the Western hills came the news that the House of Orain, from whom the good folk of Mountain Hall are descended, would resist Malgoth to the end. From the Eastern Mountains a similar vow was made by the House of Vorelorn and it was to that House, afflicted as they were by Rakasha and his minions, that the sword, which in later times came to be known as the Sword of Erin, was given. Malgoth of course perished in the Great Cataclysm which also destroyed much of the Elven homeland but many of his servants remained in the North and they made war on the Elves. Vorynax the Usurper was the greatest of these and many rallied to his banner. He set up his capital in the ruins of Malgoth's ancient forges but eventually he was trapped there by King Lineth of the Elves and Ninual Vorelorn and imprisoned in a pool of lava even as his armies were defeated in battle by the Elves and their new allies, Men. Many wars continued to be fought in the North but eventually there was peace and men formed new kingdoms and eventually a great Empire, which in these latter days humankind call the Pelorean Empire. Alas, the influence of Malgoth which many hoped had been banished forever, had only retreated to dark places and in due course his cultists crept back into the Empire. Gradually it appeared to the Elves that there was a sickness in the Empire whose symptoms were unjust laws and petty wars fought for no purpose. Elenore Vorelorn, however, was farsighted and saw hope in Arranius, who became the Last Emperor and befriended him. Eventually she indeed married him and took the throne at his side, even giving to him Balcrist as a bridal gift. She hoped, as did the Elves that Arranius would drive the cultists out of the Empire but it was too late as, unbeknown to the Wise, they had already succeeded in summoning back to Earth one of the great of Malgoth's ancient servants, Rakasha. Seeming fair to all he rose to be the Emperor's Chancellor from where he conspired to distance Arranius from Elenore and turn the Empire and its ruler back into the Darkness. On her husband's deaths Elenore reclaimed the sword but little was known of its history since that time by either Elves or Men. It would seem, however, that Elenore's descendants were well aware of the political developments in the northern kingdoms after the Great Darkness. Learning that the Beast roaming Cambria was indeed Rakasha freed from his prison, they were only too happy to gift the sword to St. James, via the great servant of Pelor. Both parties no doubt understood that St James's confrontation with Rakasha would form the foundation myth of a new nation. And now the wheel of history has turned again. Once again the sword is in the possession of the House of Vorelorn. Once again Rakasha seeks to destroy a nation. Once again evil must be confronted before it is too late. The future of Cambria is in our hands. Great deeds must be performed if the nation is not to fall into darkness. | ||
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