O
old.Fangrim
Guest
With King Arthur dead, and the sword of Excalibur being lost, the realm of Albion was in a time of turmoil. At first, the lives of normal men did not change, but alas, things did not stay like that for long. Soon thereafter, the existance of the two realms Hibernia and Midgard were becoming know to the Albion People. At first, noone took much heed of the “Hibs” and the “Mids”. The merchants of the three realms soon saw great profits in trading across the realms, and after a short while the three realms had established trade routes. People started to migrate to the other realms, and things were peaceful. Things were going well, with only a a few skirmishes between the realms (often related to Albion’s pride, Midgard’s love of strong brew and Hibernias resentment of the two other realms not respecting the sanctity of nature)...
King Arthur’s Court Wizard, Merlin, often journeyed to the other realms, seeking to learn more of the realms, and to expand his library with tomes of forgotten lore. During these travels, he made contact to several leaders of Midgard and Hibernia, and soon he started negotiations on a mutual 3-realm pact that would ensure peace and prosperity for all.
So was it that the Legend of the sword Equilibrium was born. A mighty sword, only equalled in power by Excalibur itself, it was to be the symbol of what was to become known as the Pact of the Realms. It was named Equilibrium to symbolize its purpose – to create harmony between the realms. Planned as a joint effort between the realms, each realm participated in its creation. The druids of Hibernia supplied the finest Hibernian wood to be used in the forge and used their powerful magic to enchant the sword, the dwarven smiths of Midgard supplied pure adamantium and forged the sword, and finally the clerics of Albion blessed the sword in a 1 week ritual taking place at Salisbury Plains. Legend even has it that the final stage of the blessing forced the Church of Albion to seek help from the Undead Druids in the plains.
It was agreed that Equilibrium should be kept safe in the Hibernian capitol Tir Na Nog, only to be used in the direst of circumstances. Peace flourished, and Equilibrium was never removed from its sheath. But alas, not all was well in the realms. Equilibrium became a source of resentment to some people. They coveted its power, wanting the sword to further their own purposes. The leaders of the Realms successfully kept the pact together, and the few problems were quickly dealt with.
It was an early morning in May when news of Equilibriums disappearance reached Merlin. Before hurrying to Tir Na Nog, he dispatched messengers to the leaders of the realms, summoning them to the scene of the crime. When he got there, most of the leaders were there, and already arguments was breaking out. The leaders blamed each others for being responsible for the theft, but noone could prove anything, and no traces of the thieves were to be found. Spending the remainder of the week, the greatest magicians of the realms tried to divine the whereabouts of the sword, but to no avail. At the end, a council was being held. It was agreed that the loss of the sword should be held a tightly guarded secret and that the sword must be found at all cost.
Returning to Camelot, Merlin decided to create a guild, consisting of the finest adventurers to be found in Albion. And thus the guild Equilibrium was born. Sworn to honour, secrecy, and devotion, they undertook the gargantuan task of recovering the sword. The task was not an easy one, and after a while of futile search, the guild contacted Merlin, admitting failure. Merlin saw that the sword was probably lost for good, and decided to disband the guild. No news of the whereabouts of the sword had been uncovered, and slowly the memory of it faded away.
Few people in the realms knew about the existance of the sword, and even fewer knew of its disappearance. The pact was still standing, but without the sword, it started to crumble. What few people realised was, that the sword was not only a symbol of the pact, but its powers spread camaraderie across the realms. With the sword gone, enmity started to show between the people of the realms. It took years for the effects of the sword Equilibrium to wear off, and at first life continued as it had before.
Slowly, but surely, things started to change for the worse. In the beginning, only a few signs of trouble were to be seen. A group of celts attacked a kobold family having a picnic at a lake close to Dun Ailinne. Soon after, a party of trolls then captured an elf walking in the forests of Jamtland, then tortured him for hours before finally tying him to a tree, leaving him to the mercy of the creatures roaming the forest. Although, at first, the incidents were few and far in between, the problems escalated, and soon regular battles were fought between the inhabitants of the realms. Soon the people that had migrated to the other realms were driven out, those who refused to leave, were killed, and a state resembling civil war broke out. The leaders of the realms tried to get the situation under control, but people’s fears and suspicions of people from the other realms wouldn’t be quenched, and soon all three realms had been cleared of the unwanted intruders.
Unfortunately, the problems didn’t end there. Even though all realms had been purged of people not native to them, hatred still filled the air when people discussed the other realms. This was the beginning of the Realm Wars.
With Merlin gone, Sir Lancelot decided to try finding the sword again, and recreate the guild of Equilibrium. Unfortunately, some of its original members had been slain in battle, others had retired, and some were not to be found. He then decided to start anew, recruiting all new members to the Equilibrium guild. Sworn to the same oath as the original guild, the new members of the guild Equilibrium has been set a task of immense proportions: To find and recover the lost sword of Equilibrium…
King Arthur’s Court Wizard, Merlin, often journeyed to the other realms, seeking to learn more of the realms, and to expand his library with tomes of forgotten lore. During these travels, he made contact to several leaders of Midgard and Hibernia, and soon he started negotiations on a mutual 3-realm pact that would ensure peace and prosperity for all.
So was it that the Legend of the sword Equilibrium was born. A mighty sword, only equalled in power by Excalibur itself, it was to be the symbol of what was to become known as the Pact of the Realms. It was named Equilibrium to symbolize its purpose – to create harmony between the realms. Planned as a joint effort between the realms, each realm participated in its creation. The druids of Hibernia supplied the finest Hibernian wood to be used in the forge and used their powerful magic to enchant the sword, the dwarven smiths of Midgard supplied pure adamantium and forged the sword, and finally the clerics of Albion blessed the sword in a 1 week ritual taking place at Salisbury Plains. Legend even has it that the final stage of the blessing forced the Church of Albion to seek help from the Undead Druids in the plains.
It was agreed that Equilibrium should be kept safe in the Hibernian capitol Tir Na Nog, only to be used in the direst of circumstances. Peace flourished, and Equilibrium was never removed from its sheath. But alas, not all was well in the realms. Equilibrium became a source of resentment to some people. They coveted its power, wanting the sword to further their own purposes. The leaders of the Realms successfully kept the pact together, and the few problems were quickly dealt with.
It was an early morning in May when news of Equilibriums disappearance reached Merlin. Before hurrying to Tir Na Nog, he dispatched messengers to the leaders of the realms, summoning them to the scene of the crime. When he got there, most of the leaders were there, and already arguments was breaking out. The leaders blamed each others for being responsible for the theft, but noone could prove anything, and no traces of the thieves were to be found. Spending the remainder of the week, the greatest magicians of the realms tried to divine the whereabouts of the sword, but to no avail. At the end, a council was being held. It was agreed that the loss of the sword should be held a tightly guarded secret and that the sword must be found at all cost.
Returning to Camelot, Merlin decided to create a guild, consisting of the finest adventurers to be found in Albion. And thus the guild Equilibrium was born. Sworn to honour, secrecy, and devotion, they undertook the gargantuan task of recovering the sword. The task was not an easy one, and after a while of futile search, the guild contacted Merlin, admitting failure. Merlin saw that the sword was probably lost for good, and decided to disband the guild. No news of the whereabouts of the sword had been uncovered, and slowly the memory of it faded away.
Few people in the realms knew about the existance of the sword, and even fewer knew of its disappearance. The pact was still standing, but without the sword, it started to crumble. What few people realised was, that the sword was not only a symbol of the pact, but its powers spread camaraderie across the realms. With the sword gone, enmity started to show between the people of the realms. It took years for the effects of the sword Equilibrium to wear off, and at first life continued as it had before.
Slowly, but surely, things started to change for the worse. In the beginning, only a few signs of trouble were to be seen. A group of celts attacked a kobold family having a picnic at a lake close to Dun Ailinne. Soon after, a party of trolls then captured an elf walking in the forests of Jamtland, then tortured him for hours before finally tying him to a tree, leaving him to the mercy of the creatures roaming the forest. Although, at first, the incidents were few and far in between, the problems escalated, and soon regular battles were fought between the inhabitants of the realms. Soon the people that had migrated to the other realms were driven out, those who refused to leave, were killed, and a state resembling civil war broke out. The leaders of the realms tried to get the situation under control, but people’s fears and suspicions of people from the other realms wouldn’t be quenched, and soon all three realms had been cleared of the unwanted intruders.
Unfortunately, the problems didn’t end there. Even though all realms had been purged of people not native to them, hatred still filled the air when people discussed the other realms. This was the beginning of the Realm Wars.
With Merlin gone, Sir Lancelot decided to try finding the sword again, and recreate the guild of Equilibrium. Unfortunately, some of its original members had been slain in battle, others had retired, and some were not to be found. He then decided to start anew, recruiting all new members to the Equilibrium guild. Sworn to the same oath as the original guild, the new members of the guild Equilibrium has been set a task of immense proportions: To find and recover the lost sword of Equilibrium…
