====== Chuk un Drikthalon ======

//dragon-slaying sword//

During the [[gaeleth:history:Storm Wars]], nearly all of the dragons were roused by the sheer volume of magic being hurled at armies and nations. Many of the dragons chose sides during the wars, while a few used the opportunity of distraction to further their own agendas. After the Storm Wars had ended, the mainstay of the dragons were ready to resume their hibernations, and were thus left out of the original Inquisition. "Out of sight, out of mind." Nearly a half-century later, however, all of the hibernating dragons roused, hungry for whatever foods might be available. The First Crusades were a rousing of the nations against the dragons; fueled by a half-century of antimagic sentiment, many of the dragons found themselves betrayed by the nations that they had defended during the Storm Wars.

For the next several centuries, dragon slayers were among the most revered of men. Honored wherever they went, commanding a large treasury, and experienced in their field, their legends grew. One group of dragon slayers in particular was more reknowned than any other: the Drik Morai, or in the Common tongue, the Dragons' Shrouds. Their reputation brought them the last follower of [[gaeleth:divinities:Infierne]], a dwarven weaponsmith by the name of Geldran Hammerfist. Hammerfist steadfastly refused to believe that Infierne was dead, and continued the high art of weaponsmithing with the Drik Morai. He crafted each of the primary weapons of the main members of the Dragons' Shrouds, sometimes spending several years on each weapon.

One of these weapons was a two-handed sword originally called 'Ice Hynge'. Ice Hynge was wielded by Gerard de Morresae, one of the largest and strongest of the Drik Morai. de Morresae's specialty was red dragons, and he had already slain two with the aid of his retinue when Hammerfist delivered the two-handed sword to him. Over the course of the next fifteen years, de Morresae would slay four more red dragons -- two of them single handedly.

de Morresae's first dragon to engage with the new weapon was Asretakrevik, a collosal red wyrm deep within the Granite Mountains. Gerard's retinue distracted the dragon's minions, and helped lure him out of his lair with the theft of several very valuable items. Enraged, and beyond intelligent thought, the dragon engaged de Morresae in single combat. Protected by the prayer spells of several priests against heat, the dragon slayer and the dragon fought desperately for several minutes. At last, Ice Hynge was plunged full to the hilt in the ancient dragon's breast, slicing the man-sized heart apart. Sheathed in the blood of so magical a creature, the sword began the slow process that would make it among the most feared of dragon slaying weapons.

By the time Gerard de Morresae retired, he had slain six adult red dragons, and a fair number of dragonets and hatcheries. The spells that had been woven about him by his trusted priests, and the magic that had been thrown at him by the fiery red dragons, combined into Ice Hynge. The weapon was called 'Chuk un Drikthalon' at his memorial service, and the name became forever associated with the sword. 'Slayer of Red Dragons' was given to the Church of [[gaeleth:divinities:K'Tath]] for safe-keeping by de Morresae's family; it was immediately taken to the Cashe Vault of K'Tath on Krikta Island, where it remained until the [[gaeleth:history:War of the Undead]], some three and a half centuries later.

Chuk un Drikthalon was a massive two-handed sword of outstanding quality. The steel had taken on a reddish tinge, as though the red light of the setting sun was continually upon the weapon. The dual crossguards of the weapon made it effective against the massive dragons: the smaller, backward angled crossguard midway up the blade would anchor inside of the beast like a barb, and the larger, forward swept crossguard at the hilt would serve as a fulcrum within the wyrm, slicing up more and more innards as the dragon attempted to remove the barb. Both crossguards were sharpened as blades, and the pommel itself was a dagger-sized blade. The red leather of the hilt and bindings were made from specially treated capillaries of various red dragons. An odd mark on the blade, near the hilt, is Geldran Hammerfist's tongue-print, placed into the blade while it was still forging as his marker -- tongue-prints being the hallmark of an Infierne weapon.

The sword put out a harsh, red light in the presence of dragons.