Elmir's History
What is a weapon? Good or evil, killer or protector? Who carries the blame for spilling a stranger's blood: the blade or the master?
By the order of Zafir Sargor the Second, owning a weapon was prohibited under penalty or death. Only Zafir, the ruler of the khaganate, and his guards had the right to bear arms. For a commoner, owning a weapon was a terrible crime, which spelled death for the transgressor.
But the young boy who managed to worm his way into the khaganate treasury had something way more interesting to think about. The street urchin had never managed to get this far before. With a proud look on his face, he strutted between piles of gold, his dirty fingers prodding at the diligently polished precious vases, cups and bowls. It wasn't the first time here for Elmir. He never took too much: just enough to survive. And yet, he kept finding new excuses to return. Quietly, he strolled in the quiet company of the piled-up gold, listening to something only he could hear. Then suddenly, he froze, as if a strange noise startled him, and briskly walked into the west chamber of the treasury. There again he stood still for a moment, listening intently, and confidently approached a small wardrobe full of precious cloth and rugs. As the door swung ajar, the boy finally saw what he had been looking for all this time: long, ornate blades adorned with a precious filigree of silver and gold. The very blades that beckoned the boy in his dreams, the reason why Elmir kept returning to the treasury time and time again in search of them. The street urchin grabbed both swords, and tripped up on a suit of intricate armor laying on the floor, falling flat as a strange feeling overcame him.
He felt as his body was about to split into four, each with a life of its own. Everything his translucent copies saw and heard, he saw and heard as well. But amazement gave place to horror when Sargor the Second's guards barged into the treasury to investigate the noise. Suddenly, Elmir's copies walked towards the guards and started to fight them on their own. Not being a skilled swordsman, the street urchin grabbed both blades with one hand to make a quick escape. And then, to the boy's great surprise, the blades joined together as if by miracle, and turned into an exquisite bow as a quiver full of well-crafted arrows appeared on Elmir's back. He heard a whisper in his mind, telling him how to draw the bow, raise the elbow, and take aim. Several minutes later, Elmir and his copies escaped the treasure room, the guards all lying dead on the floor.
Soon, the copies disappeared into thin air like a dream, and the street urchin found shelter in an abandoned home. Tired, exhausted, and completely confused, he was trying to understand what had just happened to him. And then he heard a voice, a voice clearly emanating from his newfound weaponry.
�??We welcome you, Elmir, son of Tur Khazari born in secret. At last, we have found you: the last heir to the throne, son to a father murdered by the heinous usurper, Sargor the Second.�?� �??Who are you and what do you want from me?�?� �?? the boy looked around in panic, trying to find the source of the voice. �??We are the Blades of Many Truths, keepers of a secret discovered by enemy.�?�
The blades told the boy a story, a story of how the ancestors of the Khazari once provided great aid to the titans, and received a wonderful gift: legendary weaponry, ensouled and bearing immense power. A story of how Sargor the Second swore fealty to the Darkness, in return for the Cold Fire that brought all fifty blades to submission and made them serve him. Only the Blades of Many Truths managed to escape the king-slaying usurper.
All this time the blades had searched, calling out for the Khazari heir, to join him and bring retribution to the villain.
Elmir believed the weapons, and accepted the gift openly. Once a street urchin covered in dirt, the bastard son of the khaganate's true Zafir took it upon himself to save his homeland and the legendary weapons earned by his ancestors. He managed to wrest the freedom of over three dozen blades from evil, but the rest disappeared along with Sargor and his retainers when the evil usurper escaped. Elmir joined the ranks of the Guardians to purge the Dominion of all Darkness, and rescue the weapons forged by the Light.
