The Kingscribes’ sin

  Typhon was the largest and north-most Kingdom on the Eastern continent of Oroya. It was known for its advanced use of magic in the creation and development of runes and runestones. Runes were developed by dwarven smiths that were given the Runescribing talent, a dwarf exclusive talent. Runes allowed the scribes to infuse common objects with variable amounts of the magic around them. The more skilled the Runescribe, the more power the infusion could be. Ranging from simple heat runes that allowed stones to be used for cooking, or more complex runes that could infuse soils with greater nutrients and increase crop yield. The possibilities that runes created were only limited by the creativity and work ethic of the scribes. As such, dwarves were highly sought after as artisans and craftsmen throughout the world.

  Runes quickly advanced from simplistic use to more advanced and even militaristic applications. During the Realm War, dwarves were tasked with the forging of more powerful weapons and armor in an attempt to lower the mortality rate of the humanoid armies. This led to the creation of runes that could triple the durability of armor and swords. Some Runescibes even found ways to infuse armor and blades with magic that would repair structural damage to the equipment and heal the wearer's wounds as well. Dwarven forged equipment was perhaps the greatest aid to the survival of Antioch during the Realm war, saving hundreds of thousands of soldiers across the world. Typhon prospered greatly because of its concentration of Runescribes, improving the quality of life for almost every civilian in the Kingdom and for millions across the world as well. After the end of the Realm War, Runescribes helped rebuild and advance the cities and nations on both continents, improving farming and construction by years of advancement. The world was made better by runes, and yet some felt that the dwarves being the only races with access to such a skill was unfair.

  Many conflicts arose in the years following the Realm War, and many more lives were lost. Eventually, the king of Typhon made two decisions that would alter the kingdom's course through history forever. The first decision was to send 100 Runescribes to each nation in an effort to mitigate the envy of the other world leaders. In exchange, other races sent equivalent numbers of their unique talent wielders to each nation. This was a sign of goodwill and to ‘balance power’ across the nations and continents. The second decision that the king made was to call the 10 most skilled Runescribes to the capital city of Morath and have them work together to advance their rune work as much as possible as quickly as possible. The king felt that a contingency was needed in case another Realm War happened, or in case one of the other nations stepped out of line. The 10 men summoned were given the title of Kingscribe, and tasked with making sure that Typhon was powerful enough to destroy any opposition that arises. Too many people had died already, and the king wanted to preserve as much of Typhon’s life as possible.

  The Kingscribes worked tirelessly for over a decade, pushing the known limits of Runescribing as far as they could. During this time, they developed the Runestones that would soon become commonplace throughout the kingdom. Runestones were small stones that allowed basic infusions to be built into the very structure of a building. No longer would a group of Runescribes have to work to make a massive rune to fireproof one wall of a home, they could simply mix in small runestones throughout the construction to achieve similar results with much greater efficiency. Runestones could also be added and removed after the construction was completed, allowing the same Runestones to be used over and over again as long as they were handled properly. If a structure was destroyed with the runes directly scribed onto the structure, the runes would be destroyed as well. But with runestones, the stones could be recovered and used in the rebuilt structure as well. Runestones also made it so that the Runescribes were working more efficiently, as they no longer had to travel to each location personally. They could make all the required runestones at their workshop and send a trained artisan to install them in their stead.

  Runestones were by far the most impactful and well known discovery made by the Kingscribes. However, a far more powerful discovery was made about 3 years after runestones. Initially, runes were limited by the size and power of the rune, as more powerful infusions put more strain on the objects they were scribed on. If a breastplate had the self repairing rune, a different piece of armor would have to hold the infusion for healing the wearer. If a sword had the rune for bypassing magical shielding, it could not also have the increased durability rune. This created 2 main issues that Runescribes had to overcome. Firstly, which was needed first? If an army was at war, should the weapons be more destructive or should they be more durable? Does the wearer live longer if they heal or if their armor does? This led to most soldiers carrying 2 weapons, a durable one for general combat, and a destructive one for magically protected targets. The soldiers had another issue arise from that, as they would have to swap between weapons mid combat if they needed their destructive blades. Many lives were lost during that period of swapping weapons.

  The Kingscribes, mostly by accident while experimenting, discovered a way to layer multiple runes into the same object. While it was extremely dangerous and had a high chance of malfunction, the risk was often worth the reward. The Kingscribes found that they had about a 5% chance to get the second rune to activate. When they failed, the object they were infusing would be destroyed by the overload of magic. Weaker scribes only had about 0.5-1% chances of success, even after practicing for months and years. But regardless of how rarely, armor could now be made to repair itself while healing its wearer. Weapons could be made to be almost unbreakable while also penetrating armor and magic barriers. But that was only the beginning. If the Kingscribes could get 2 runes, why couldn't they get 3, or even 5?

  Over the next 50+ years, the Kingscribes focused solely on the creation of weapons and armor they would later dub the king's ‘Artefacts of War’. It only took 5 of those years and thousands of failed attempts to get the first 3 rune Artefact, a helm that contained the self-repairing rune, alongside the enhanced senses rune and the unbreakable rune. The enhanced sense rune made it so that the wearer could see clearly in the dark, as well as have detailed vision for 1 mile. Their sense of smell and hearing were also elevated to the level of an Ice Wolf. The Unbreakable rune increased the durability 10 fold, to the point where even a Troll could no longer dent its frame. This helm was named ‘The Kings Gaze’, and was locked in the capital's vault. 2 years later, the second and final 3 rune Artefact was forged. It was an amulet named ‘The King's Still Heart’, and it was made from the bones of an Elder Troll. It held the greater regeneration rune, the bind emotions rune, and the rune of greater strength. The greater regeneration rune allowed almost any wound to be healed in seconds, and even a lost limb could be regrown over the course of a few hours. The bind emotions rune forced the wearer to be completely emotionless. This meant the wearer could not feel fear or anger, allowing them to stay rational and grounded even amidst the most awful of circumstances. The rune of greater strength gave the wearer strength comparable to 5 grown men. This was added to the wearer’s own strength, so a mighty warrior would become even more powerful and titanous. This Artefact was also stored in the capital’s vault.

  It took another 15 years before the next Artefact was forged. It was the only 4 rune Artefact to ever be forged. An entire plate armor suit was bound as a single object. This suit was named ‘The King’s Fortress’. It was infused with the rune of fire immunity, the unbreakable rune, the rune of ballistic reinforcement, and the rune of lesser presence. The rune of fire immunity made the wearer completely immune to the effects of fire, lava, and any other heat related condition. The rune of ballistic reinforcement made it so that any projectile that struck the surface of the armor was destroyed, and some of the energy from the projectile was added to the suit of armor. That energy could then be used to enhance the movement or attacks of the wearer. Finally, the rune of lesser presence repressed the detectable magic from the wearer's magic core. It also reduced the sounds produced by the armor when moving, helping the wearer to be able to move undetected when necessary. The rune also had a unique effect that was only discovered later. It allowed the suit of armor to be condensed into a vest. While this vest was rather bulky compared to normal clothing, it still helped the wearer have the armor on at all times, even when a full plate suit would normally prove to be a burden or stand out. The Artefact was promptly stored in the capital’s vault with the others.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  This leads to the creation of the final Artefact of War, which took another 30 years to achieve. A longsword was forged out of a strange ore found in the depths of a Hell-pit. This rare metal would soon come to be known as Hell-vein ore. It was 5 times more durable than standard steel, and had a greater capacity for magic. This would allow the Kingscribes to have about a 50% chance to get a double infusion, with normal Runescribes having around a 5-10% chance of success. However, this metal was not only extremely rare, but it also only spawned randomly in the world's most dangerous Hell-pits. The longsword was named ‘The Kings Conviction’. It was the only 5 rune Artefact to ever be achieved. It held the unbreakable rune, the rune of self repairing, the rune of grievous wounds, the rune of sundering, and the rune of feedback. The rune of grievous wounds made the blade cause deep wounds that could not be healed. It prevented both the natural regeneration of beasts like trolls for about 10 seconds, and it also prevented the magical regeneration of healing magic for close to 5 seconds. This made it possible for any soldier to wound and kill any monster, regardless of its ability to heal. The rune of sundering greatly enhanced the weight of the blade for everyone but the wielder. This made it almost impossible to block or guard against its swings. It also made it so that the blade could even damage stone and most metals. Finally, the rune of feedback. This rune was discovered by the Kingscribes while they were trying to create a rune that could help the kingdom's spellcasters use less magic when casting. Instead, they created a rune that would force a spell's magic back onto the caster, or itself. Things like magic barriers could be destroyed in a single blow, rather than just pierced. Spells could be destroyed and the caster would be hit with magic as if they had struck themselves with the spell. This blade was locked into the capitals vault with the others. The rune of feedback was deemed too dangerous, and was only allowed to be scribed with express permission from the king himself. And thus the Kingscribes’ mission had been completed. No other nation had such powerful Artefacts, and the wearer of the ‘Artefacts of War’ could rival entire regimens of soldiers and hordes of monsters. There was nothing that could pose a threat to Typhon now that the Artefacts had been forged, even the armies of hell could not withstand the power they held. What the Kingscribes failed to report to the king however, was that one other Artefact had been forged in secret.

  This Artefact was referred to by the Kingscribes as ‘Hell's Fang’, and it was a runeblade without comparison. It was made of Hell-vein ore, and reinforced with the recently recovered bones of the Dracolich that had been a general in Phreys army during the Realm War. Rather than a simple longsword, the Kingscribes decided to push the boundaries that artificers and runscribes had thought possible. They wanted to make the perfect weapon, one that could change size to fit the immediate needs of the wielder. Their vision was simple, they wanted something that could be a dagger, a greatsword, and even a blade a giant could wield if desired. However, they could not get the rune of lesser presence to take hold on the blade. It was the only rune that had been discovered that could change something's size on demand. So they set out to create a new rune, one that met their expectations. After a few years, they finally created the rune of control. It allowed the wielder to expand the sword to whatever size or shape they could imagine, or shrink the blade into something as small as a ring or bracelet. Truly, the only limitation was the will of the wielder.

  ‘Hell’s Fang’ took only 1 attempt to make, something that should have been a red flag to the Kingscribes. After hundreds and thousands of attempts to forge the 4 Artefacts of war, perhaps they simply thought that they had figured out the secret to runescribing. They kept layering and layering until they had a single blade infused with 9 runes. Due to the ability to change sizes, it was the first and last blade to have the runes scribed directly onto the blade, rather than the tang. They scribed the following runes: unbreakable, self repairing, feedback, calamity, control, absorption, hemorrhaging, echoing, and domination. Other than the first 3 runes, no other weapon or item would ever receive these infusions. They were created in the heat of the moment for this blade, and the Kingscribes would soon realize they should have never created them. Calamity was an upgraded form of sundering. It reinforced the blade with magic on each and every swing, allowing even a child wielding it to cut logs clean in 2 with little effort. ‘Hell’s Fang’ could cut Hell-vein weapons and armor the same way a Hell-vein weapon could cut through steel. While not easy, completely possible if enough force was provided by the wielder.

  Control was given to enable the sword to take up any size the wielder wished. However, it also allowed the sword to take up different forms. The wielder could draw a dagger, swing a massive maul, and backswing with an axe all with one weapon. Absorption harvested a small amount of the victim's magic core when it was killed, giving that magic back to the wielder. If the wielder was missing magic, it would be replenished. If the wielder was full, the excess would get converted into a slight amount of permanent gains. This allowed whoever the wielder was to never run out of magic, and to slowly gain more and more maximum magic capacity over the course of combat. Even when the blade was separate from the wielder, the wielder kept that permanent increase in maximum magic capacity. Hemorrhaging was an upgraded form of grievous wounds. Not only did it stop the healing of wounds, it also greatly enhanced the severity of any wound applied by the weapon. The duration was increased twofold from grievous, and the effect could stack with consecutive hits. This made it so even a small paper cut could cause someone to fall unconscious due to blood loss. Echoing followed up each swing of the sword with a second attack of pure magic. If something were to be able to stop the swing from calamity, it would receive a second equivalent hit of pure magic in the same space.

  Finally, and perhaps most terrifying, there was domination. Whenever ‘Hell’s Fang’ was used to kill a creature, it could (at the discretion of the wielder) harvest the remaining pieces of the creature's magic core and soul. This was combined into what was called a soul pearl, which could be used in a few ways. The soul pearl could be used to learn the answer to a single question. The soul would provide an answer or information as best it could, and the soul pearl would then turn to dust. The soul pearl could be consumed by the wielder of ‘Hell’s Fang’, which would immediately refill their magic core no matter how empty it was. It could even recover someone from magic shock, a condition caused by continuing to cast spells even when their magic core could not sustain it. And finally, the soul pearl could be crushed and thrown. This would blanket the area in soul flames, which could melt through stone and metal. The soul flame could only be extinguished by ‘Hell’s Fang’, at which point the fire would explode before being snuffed out.

  As soon as ‘Hell’s Fang’ was finished, the Kingscribes realized the mistake they had made. They had gotten so carried away by what was possible that they had forgotten to ask themselves if it was moral. The blade they created would make the wielder akin to a Primordial, a god. No one person should ever wield such power, especially without being chosen by the realm such as the Primordials were. As such, they made a pact. The blade must be destroyed at any cost. But how could they destroy a blade they had made to be indestructible? The answer came after a few days, the Hell-pits. Specifically the Hell-pits that could spawn Hell-vein. The lava found and recorded in those pits was unlike any found in the real world. It never solidified, and never cooled. There was no obsidian found in the pits, and only certain pits had lava to begin with. If they could bury the blade in this enchanted lava, no one would ever be able to find, wield, or retrieve it. And so they set off to find the most secluded and off the grid pit. One particular pit came to mind, the pit found past the world’s end.

  The Kingscribes travelled to the Hell-pit in the furthest reaches of the Kingdom. The climate was so unlivable that not even monsters dared to tread its ground. Temperatures below -100°, and snow so deep that the tops of trees looked like small bushes amongst the drifts. As they tread to the top of the peak, they found the lava flow they sought so desperately. Magma leaked from the 15 foot long crack in the wall, dripping and oozing despite the desolate frost and ice around it. It melted and boiled the snow around it as it found the trail it had carved into the earth. The Kingscribes said a final prayer, to never see the blade or the destruction it would bring. As they finished their words, they threw the blade into the depths of the lava flow, watching as the blade sank into the molten river of red. They could only hope that they had done enough to atone for this great sin.