Where Have All the Swords Gone, or
The Tale of Cynric Ex Miscellanea's Swords
Cynric has garnered several reputations around the covenant, most notably
as a righteous, vengeful hothead who foolishly chases redheads around and
even more foolishly throws himself into dangerous battles. While the vengeful
side has caused Cynric to compile quite a list of enemies,
another fascinating aspect of Cynric's character is his penchant for losing
his sword. For posterity's sake, the fates of these weapons (which have
oft been wielded against fearsome foes, or sometimes pathetic ones) are
recorded here...
- Cynric's first sword, a fine broadsword of Varangian manufacture, was
taken from him in the Hungarian village of Nyiregyhaza, after he first
met Lassitor of Criamon during the story The
Sailors of Mabanogia. The magi escaped but Cynric did not recover the
sword, which he had brought from Earthwound Covenant.
- His second sword was taken from him by Tibor, woodsman of Kalkstein,
during the story The Lottery of
Kalkstein. Rabenstein's expedition was captured and their weapons confiscated.
They later escaped and searched for Tibor but he (and Cyrnic's sword, a
small but hardy weapon from Rabenstein) were not found.
- The third sword, a sturdy but nondescript weapon forged by the covenant's
smith Uri, was given to the Raubrittern encountered during the story The Pools of Bad Gleichenberg. Pretending
to be a "Wizard of the Windswept Ash" (most likely from Valcum
Covenant), Cynric bargained his sword for the right to collect the egg
of a water beast. The sword was said to have wounded the vampire Pisantes,
which suitably impressed the knights. Cynric later met the knight who wears
it now.
- Replacing this sword with a rather plain one from the stores of the
covenant, Cynric's fourth sword was lost under embarrasing circumstances.
Confronting the boy Aelfrik at the end of the story Springtime
is for Lovers..., the boy swung at Cynric and rolled really
high, knocking him out. Cynric woke up without a sword and with a reputation
as a "glass jaw" in Fröhnleiten.
- Purchasing a new sword of Graz manufacture (not fancy, but well-crafted),
Cyrnic used this weapon in several conflicts. It had to be retired when
Cynric pierced the side of the beast Artos during the story Babdh
the Old Crone, Act II. Its acid blood dissolved a good portion of the
blade, and now the sword adorns Cynric's wall as a trophy. The blade was
also wielded by Cynric in Rabenstein's battle against the Polovtsy shapechangers.
- Returning to Graz for a very similar weapon, the sixth sword did not
last long. While journeying to Rus (during the story The
Little Boy Everybody Wanted) with some Hanseatic League merchants,
Cynric spied one of their ministeriales flirting with Loretta and subsequently
melted his sword with Wrathful Torment of the Searing Forge. While
the warrior did not comprehend what happened, Loretta convinced Cynric
to give the man his own sword as recompense.
- Cynric's seventh sword was purchased in the market of Kiev. A heavy
broad sword of Russian manufacture, it is undecorated save for some Church
Slavonic inscription on the pommel. Cynric is considering naming the weapon,
hoping this might grant him the luck to hold on to the weapon for a while...
This page last modified 4/23/98.
Comments to madirishman@mad-irishman.net
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