Sword of Roele

"Common knowledge" about the legendary Sword of Roele is what anyone with the right skill or a Bardic check could know; "Further history" is more of an Identify thing. It all boils down to flavour.

[top]Common knowledge

The Sword of Roele is the longsword given by the dwarves of Baruk-Azhik to Michael Roele on his ascension to the throne five centuries ago. The sword was broken and lost when Michael Roele was slain by the Gorgon following his doomed attempt to avenge the death of his wife by the Gorgon's magical treachery.

[top]Description

The sword is straight and forged in the dwarven style, but designed for a human wielder and decorated with Anuirean motifs. The hilt is decorated with gold and silver thread which lead to a golden pommel. The cross piece forms the face of a dwarf and two small gems (possibly sielshegh of Anduiras) form the eyes of the dwarf. Despite the finery the blade is, as with all dwarven weapons, perfectly functional.

The blade was broken during the battle with the Gorgon, and to this day the dwarves of Baruk-Azhik seethe at the slur cast upon their craftsmanship by the failure of the blade and claim foul magic was at work to so shatter their work. Nonetheless as a result of the sundering a 'dwarven present' has come to mean a gift that looks fine on the outside but is rotten at the core in Avanil, and mean a gift given to allay suspicions whilst treachery is plotted in Boeruine.

[top]Further history

The broke blade was stolen from the Gorgon's throne room in Kal-Saitharak a few years ago, no sign of the blade or thief have ever been found though the Gorgon would surely wreck terrible vengeance on any who openly wield his battle prize.

The dwarves did not forge a blade for each Anuirean Emperor - only those with whom relations were good, and where the dwarven sages foretold great change stood upon the Empire. The blade given the Michael Roele was actually given to him long before he became emperor - and apparently had a crucial role in helping him reunite the realm and end its civil war though sages differ on the sword's role in how this was achieved.

Other Blades of Glory exist, each said to embody some human ideal - Loyalty, courage, wrath, justice, honor, etc. Where the blades are now to be found is uncertain for the most part although the Mhor of Mhoried is said to bear one of the ancient blades.

[top]Statistics

The weapon is a masterwork longsword made of meteorite iron. It is enchanted with a +2 combat bonus and detects evil once per day, although sages disagree whether the wielder must be a scion of Anduiras to use this ability or if any blooded character can do so - some say only those of Roele's line were so blessed. The Sielshegh adds 2 to the bloodline of a scion of Anduiras. Other powers are undoubtedly within the blade, although whether they survived its sundering, or would be restored by its reforging is uncertain.