Silver Sword Saga: Forging

In between ABNA announcements I've decided to post bits of stories from Irowasa's history. I'm going to start with a narrative I've been developing for a while now but never done much with. It is called the Silver Sword Saga and centers around a magical sword which is connected with Irowasa's history.

Forging

Let the praise of God be on their lips and a two-edged sword in their hand, to deal out vengeance to the nations and punishment on all the peoples.
Psalm 149: 6-7


The silver-white light of the moon shone down on the rocky slopes of the mountains, revealing the treasure the dwarves sought. It was there before them just as they had hoped, an ore of silver blessed by the Lord of Light Himself. The dwarves grinned and slapped each other on the back as they took out their tools. They set to work extracting some of the blessed metal from the rocks encasing it.

As they completed their task a wise old dwarf called Balamus said, "We must tell no one else of the existence of this vein lest they try to bend the blessed power of this metal to their own purposes. What we have taken this night we will save until we know the true purpose the Lord of Light has given it to us."

The others agreed. They carried the silver back to their city carved from the rock of the Emerald Mountains. There they hid it for some time.

Several days later Balamus walked through a human camp just outside the dwarf city. Three years earlier a group of humans known as the Rovin Clan had taken shelter in the mountains after fleeing an enemy clan. The needs of the Rovin people were so great that the dwarves took them under their wing offering them food and shelter and eventurally teaching them to mine and work metals.

Balamus discovered that the clan's old chieftain had fallen ill. The Rovin people were gloomy guessing that the chieftain had come to the end of his years. Balamus knew that when the chieftain died his fiery son, Silvanus would take his place as leader of the clan. Silvanus had often wandered the peaks with Balamus, always showing great interest in the mountains and their metals.

"The boy will make a fine leader of his people," Balamus said to himself. "I've always liked him. Perhaps the Lord of Light gave us the blessed metal for just such a time as this."

So thinking the dwarf took the blessed silver from its hiding place and brought it to a forge in the heart of a small volcano heated by its lava. There he worked for days, sweating over the forge, as he melted down the metal and worked it into a new shape in a great labor of love. When he was finished he examined the product of his hard work. The blessed metal now formed a human sized broadsword of pure silver. Balamus had given it a simple twisting pattern on the handle and cross guard. After much consideration decided it needed no other ornamentation. The blessing of the Lord of Light gave it its own almost magical qualities for the blade could never grow dull and this silver would never tarnish.

Balamus smiled for he knew that this weapon would be the most effective and deadly in all Irowasa. It would make the perfect protection for the Rovin people. Wrapping the sword in a cloth the dwarf stepped out of the forge and waited for the perfect opportunity to reveal his creation to its wielder.

Story continued in Unworthy.