The Fate of the Golden Relics

[Tsuyose 3283]

 

An Excerpt from the Journal of Martin Benedict

                   “The Fate of the Golden Relics”

 

When the first children of the Creator waged war upon the great evil that was Iblees, they did not do so without the aid of the blessed servants of the Creator, the Aenguls. In the lost history books of the Great Sages, it was written that, by the bequest of Aeriel, mother of the Ascended from the days of Aegis, five other Aenguls stepped forward to aid the mortals in their desperate battle against the great beast, Iblees. In the sacred forge of the Realm of Aenguls, there were created four sacred, golden weapons.

 

   Perpetiael, the patron Aengul of Success, chose for himself a Golden Hammer unto which he granted his blessings of success and bestowed it upon the brother, Urguan. Gavrael, the patron Aengul of Peace, chose for herself a Golden Falchion unto which she granted her blessings of peace and bestowed it upon the brother, Malin. Malchediael, the patron Aengul of Courage, chose for himself a Golden Axe unto which he granted his blessings of courage and bestowed it upon the brother, Krug. Jophiael, the patron Aengul of Enlightenment, chose for herself a Golden Broadsword unto which she granted her blessings of enlightenment and bestowed it upon the brother, Horen.

 

   Armed with these sacred relics of the Aenguls, the four brothers were eventually able Gto cast down Iblees allowing for the servants of the Creator to seal him away within his prison in the Nexus. The relics continued to serve the four brothers as they went on to establish their own kingdoms, but when the curse of Iblees began to overcome them, they eventually banished the weapons from their sight, unable to wield them any longer.  Devout followers of the Aenguls gathered up the weapons and hid them away in four hidden locations to await a time when they might be needed again once more.

 

Years became decades, decades became centuries, and centuries became millenia. The four brothers had long passed and the four golden relics became little more than a vague legend, that is, until the awakening of the Ascended. When the Undead, minions of Iblees, began to terrorize Aegis, Aeriel raised up from the mortals noble servants to battle this new evil. The Sages, greatest of the Ascended order, were bestowed the wisdom and power of Aeriel to wage battle against the Undead.  Sage Omni, closest to the mind of Aeriel, was granted a vision which spoke to him of the four sacred relics which he then relayed to his fellow brethren.

 

With this knowledge, Master Sage Riizu dispatched the Sages to retrieve these relics from their hiding places scattered to the far reaches of Aegis. Of the four, the Sages were able to recover three. The fourth, the Golden Axe of Malchediael, was intercepted by the Undead once Iblees became aware of the Sages plans.  They took the Axe and hid it in the depths of the Nether so that no mortal could ever lay hands upon it again. Sage Arcadius, the battle sage, took the remaining three relics and returned them to the mortal races to serve their true purpose once more.

 

The Golden Hammer of Perpetiael was granted to Algrim, King of Kal’Urguan, the Golden Falchion of Gavrael was granted to Native, High Prince of Malinor, and the Golden Broadsword of Jophiael was granted to Edmund, King of Oren.  Whatever happened to these relics can most likely be found in the history books of their respective owners, but the fate of the Golden Axe of Malchediael is known by many. A bold plan by the brave warriors of Aegis took them into the depths of the Nether with the goal to destroy the Nexus, the source and heart of Iblees’ power in Aegis.

 

   Urir Ireheart, bravest of the dwarven warriors, fought his way through the depths of the Nether. His great courage allowed him to reclaim the Golden Axe of Malchediael and destroy the Nexus. His fate, and the fate of the axe, is largely unknown, but his deeds allowed the mortals to flee Aegis without the fear of Iblees being able to follow. His power sealed in the ruins of Aegis, Iblees and his minions despair in their defeat. Although Aegis was destroyed, it is a rather fortunate alternative to what we would have been forced to do elsewise.

 

   Earlier, there was mentioned that five Aenguls chose to lend their power to the mortal races. The fifth Aengul, Gazardiael, the Aengul of New Beginnings, crafted a Golden Staff and bestowed upon it his own blessings. He placed the staff within the Tree of Life where Sage Maiavel eventually recovered it beneath the city of Haven. It was then that the Sages were charged with a dire task. The Sages were charged to use the staff, in conjunction with the other four sacred relics, to perform a final act of sacrifice to finally free the Seven Skies from the threat of Iblees.

 

   Before this could happen, however, the Sages were banished from Aegis by Availer, the Wandering Wizard and Aengul. His motivations were curious, but we servants of Aeriel are not to question the decisions of her brethren. When Availer was struck down in Aegis, however, the Sages found themselves pulled back to the mortal realm, so they continued on with their original charge. With the death of Sage Arcadius and the destruction of the Nexus, however, the Undead threat was vanquished. With the threat of Iblees gone, the Ascended were no longer needed to protect the mortal races.

 

   One by one, the Sages began to lose the song of Aeriel which sang in the blood of all Ascended. With the absence of the song, the affliction which became known as the Void began to overcome the Sages. One by one, they faded into memory, and eventually into legend, until only one remained. Old, broken, and alone. He still walks about the realm of Asulon, however, watching over the Golden Staff as charged by his master, Gazardiael. The fate of the other relics are still widely unknown, but those who still remain of the old order hope that they are still protected since they are the only remnants of the Aenguls that the mortal races can still hope in.

 

 

Author: CountJuno88