Sun Sword

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Revision as of 21:25, 27 December 2006

The Sun Sword is an ancient magical blade constructed by the Solarians during the Great War of Destruction to combat evil. The prototype of a new type of weapon, the Sun Sword was to be the first of many such swords, but the nature of the sword’s creation halted further production

The Forging

After the corruption of the Solarian-created Reptites by the Imperials, the Solarians realized they could not send magical soldiers to fight the war in their stead. Their research turned from imbuing creatures with magic to imbuing inanimate objects, specifically weapons and armor. They focused their magical studies specifically on combating evil; weapons were designed to harm evil entities and armor to be resistant to profane attacks. Although time consuming work, many of these efforts were successful and the Solarian armies were some of the best soldiers during the war.

In light of several breakthroughs, the magical engineers conceptualized a new type of weapon; a living weapon. Imbued directly with energy taken from the Empathi Field, this new type of sword would contain energies that would enhance the combat and reasoning abilities of the wielder beyond mortal levels. Rii'Iia, leader of the Solarians, oversaw the forging of the blade and the imbuing of its magics personally.

After the procedure had been completed the Sun Sword was presented to Mal’Sor, the leader of Solaria’s armies. To everyone’s shock he dropped dead upon grasping the hilt. The sword was considered cursed but before it was destroyed Rii’Iia felt Mal’Sor’s voice in her mind when she touched the blade. The creation of the Sun Sword was actually a success; however, instead of binding random Empathi Field energy within the blade, it bound the energy of the first person to touch it with their bare hands.

Some speculated that the magic to control the random Empathi Field energy was not strong enough. Others that Mal’Sor, being on the same plane as the sword itself, simply proved the path of least resistance. Another group believed that the gods themselves forbid the direct control over the Empathi Field and they themselves tampered with the spell. Regardless of how it happened, Mal’Sor’s soul was trapped within the blade. All attempts to return it to his body failed.

Rii’Iia offered to destroy the Sun Sword anyway so that Mal’Sor could have his final rest, but the general was eager to carry out his purpose; to empower the wielder to superhuman strength in the combat of Solaria’s enemies. Rii’Iia could hardly refuse him and took the sword into combat herself.

After the Sun Sword’s might was proven, several other Solarians volunteered their lives to create new blades, but Rii’Iia forbid any further attempts to create living weapons or armor. Thus the Sun Sword became unique.

Powers of the Sun Sword

The Sun Sword is a short sword that tapers to a point. On the hilt are several smaller point that form a sunburst that give the sword its name. It made mostly of a steel alloy mixed with hypon-infused gold colored alchemic metal found only on Solaria. This is the same metal that the City of the Sun’s exterior was plated with. It offers the blade exemplary resistance to destruction by both mundane (physical) and magical methods. The sword is functionally indestructible by any method known on Micras.

It is often compared to other mighty blades such as the Einlanzer of Tapfer and the Stormrider Sword of Shireroth, but the powers of the Sun Sword are quite different. There are many weapons that can lay waste to the wielder’s surroundings. The Sun Sword is not one of them. The power of the sword lies within its natural ability to combat evil and the mind of general Mal’Sor that lies within.

Mal’Sor discreetly reads the thoughts of any who handle the sword. If their purposes are not similar to Mal’Sor’s (fighting evil, specifically the enemies of the Solarians) then the sword is silent. The wielder finds it nothing more than a very sharp, light, easy to use short sword.

If the user’s purposes are directly opposite to Mal’Sor’s, such as fighting or killing good-aligned creatures, then Mal’Sor attempts to enfeeble the user’s mind, slowing their reactions, undermining their confidence, and trying to convince them to dispose of the sword in some way that may allow it to be found by a good-aligned creature. This is a Psionic attack that the wielder can somewhat or partially resist with a strong will can attempt to resist.

If Mal’Sor finds the wielder’s purposes in line with his own, however, he may allow his thoughts and memories to become accessible to the wielder. This is often a type of Psionic ability that a confused or ignorant wielder may attempt to resist, although once they realize the benefits they rarely do.

The Sun Sword can imbue the user with any of the following abilities (though rarely all at the same time):

• Mal’Sor’s general knowledge of combat – allows even someone who has never touched a weapon to be an expert in melee combat when wielding the Sun Sword. This power is always given to a wielder that Mal’Sor chooses to support.
• Mal’Sor’s tactical knowledge – gives the user a respectable grasp of battlefield command tactics that Mal’Sor experienced in his training or field duty.
• Increased muscle precision – Mal’Sor helps manage the muscles of the user to strike intended targets more accurately, dodge incoming attacks, keep one’s balance, and maybe even dodge bullets.
• Increased muscle strength – Mal’Sor helps manage the body’s internal systems to allow the user to run faster, jump farther, hit harder, do backflips or other acrobatic maneuvers, or otherwise perform strenuous feats. It doesn’t create energy from nowhere however, so the wielder will eventually tire, though at a slower rate than otherwise.
• Mal’Sor’s general knowledge of the world – gives the user access to specific relevant memories or observations. Some of these memories may no longer be true about the world (the Sun Sword, after all, doesn’t watch the evening news). The wielder can attempt to educate Mal’Sor in specific areas as you would teach a normal person.
• Mal’Sor’s general brainpower – allows the wielder to use Mal’Sor’s abilities of reasoning to solve problems that neither the wielder nor Mal’Sor know the immediate answer to. These include puzzles, how to approach a difficult situation, or an escape plan.
• The Sun Sword’s good-aligned powers – Mal’Sor can activate the Sun Sword’s natural ability to combat evil. This allows the user to attempt to detect unusual amounts of evil quintessence within a specific person, resist evil attacks or mind effects, or unleash an awesome blast of pure good energy that can harm evil attackers.

While none of these abilities can directly destroy a city, when activated they imbue the wielder with unbelievable, almost inhuman powers, making them nigh unstoppable. Essentially the Sun Sword allows its wielder to “God mod” on a personal scale.

None of these abilities, save the first, is automatic even to someone Mal’Sor approves of. A user that is aware of what the Sun Sword can do can mentally “request” something specific. Mal’Sor may refuse for a number of reasons. Maybe he is wondering if the wielder’s purpose matches his after all. Maybe he wants to try to get the wielder to figure some stuff out for themselves (although he will usually bail them out in a seriously dangerous situation). Maybe he’s just in a bad mood.

All of the abilities end of the wielder doesn’t have any of their skin touching some part of the Sun Sword. When Mal’Sor deactivates an ability access to it immediately ends. For example, if Mal’Sor shuts down the dexterity boost, the wielder will not be able to perform backflips unless they were already able to. They recall performing backflips and generally how it is done, but in the sort of way that you see someone performing a backflip. You understand the concept, but your muscles feel like they have never done it. The wielder can choose to train in backflips without the Sun Sword if they choose to do so just like a normal person would; holding the sword only makes them better.

However, if the wielder and Mal’Sor mentally discuss some topic, such as the best course of action to break into a fortified building, the wielder retains as much as they would from a normal conversation with a normal person. If they solidly agreed on a plan of action the wielder would most likely remember that, as well as the major points discussed. Unimportant details would become foggy like they normally do over time. The wielder can ask Mal’Sor some of the details, but it is possible he has forgotten as well.

Above all, despite his strange existence within the Sun Sword, Mal’Sor is essentially still a mortal man. He doesn’t have superhuman access to knowledge nor an infinte memory. He can get annoyed and irritable, or joyous and emotional. He learns from his experiences through his wielders much like his wielders learn from him.

Wieders

The Sun Sword has moved throughout many hands over the ages, most that never knew its true powers. Only Rii’Iia and Sai'Kar gained access to Mal’Sor’s mind. They both treasure the blade above all other objects.