Carbonar

During the reign of King Helvik II in 1108 Avard, the mountainous nation of Labond fell upon hard times. Economic difficulties, coupled with poor yields and a string of mine disasters, forced the king to abdicate to his young brother. The prince was crowned King Leanar amidst a fanfare by the people. The new king's first act, however, was to order his brother's execution for the 'willful destruction of our great kingdom'. Helvik, however, escaped with aid of a travelling minstrel present for the coronation ceremony.

King Leanar then began a bloody, viscious campaign within his own kingdom, to leach every bit of wealth out of it. Labond's neighbors quickly realized that the kingdom was gearing up for a quick and bloody war it had no hope of winning -- but which would spill the blood of many soldiers before it was over. Some of Labond's neighbors speculated that King Leanar would have to have an accomplice of some sort in order to wage a successful war with the strained finances of his nation. Too soon, they were proven right.

The sorceror Damalthau proved to be a potent battle-mage, as King Leanar's army poured across the borders into Karanal. The Karanalese attempted to respond, but Damalthau's power overwhelmed their leaders, and caused enough chaos in the ranks that King Leanar's army had little difficulty rolling through them. In battle after battle, it quickly became apparent that Labond would conquer all of Karanal -- and thus destablize the whole of the eastern kingdoms.

Helvik had gone into hiding, studying under the minstrel that had saved his life. He was determined to have nothing what-so-ever to do with his former kingdom, and feared for his life should his brother ever learn he still lived.

Travelling as a minstrel through several of the neighboring kingdoms of Labond, Helvik found himself thinking more and more of his homeland. Seeing the plight of the peasants and the workers under the feudal system of kinder lords than his brother, convinced Helvik that he would have to take action. The former king had no assets, save his wits -- and those he put to considerable use.

Helvik consulted with the church of Habrem, and many of its minstrels and bards. Those performers that had travelled the lands of Labond and Karanal had much in the way of news and information. And Helvik found that many of those he consulted were willing to aid him in his quest to retake Labond from his brother -- and bring peace back to the mountainous nation.

Before Helvik could make more than sketchy plans, a monk by the name of Valthalemeu indicated that a holy sword of Habrem might aid in the retaking of Labond. The weapon had been used during the Storm Wars with considerable success, but was lost on the Sharanol Steppes to a Nabrolian strike force. Valthalemeu's personal quest had been to piece together as much information about the weapon as possible, and perhaps find a clue as to its location.

Helvik and Valthalemeu spent the next month tracking the sword down to an oxbow lake far into the steppes. After battling the slime-animated skeletons of the Nabrolian strike force, Helvik managed to secure the sword for his cause. Carbonar, as the sword was called, soon proved its worth.

Working with his network of minstrels and bards, Helvik quickly began a rebel campaign to restore himself to the throne in Labond. King Leanar tried to crush the rebellion, by directing first his troops, and then his sorceror Damalthau against Helvik. The divine assistance granted to Habrem's bards and minstrels ground out Damalthau, and the armies were useless against rebels that disappeared into the night.

Finally, Helvik squared off against King Leanar; Helvik wielded holy Carbonar, but King Leanar wielded the family sword -- a sword that could turn a man to ice. The classic battle wound through the encampment of the Labondian army, and into the village of Somerstaul in Karanal. Under a statue to Yatindar in the village's heart, Helvik finally slew his brother. Too late to aid their king, the royal guard of Labond satisfied itself with slaying Helvik. The villagers of Somerstaul, armed only with peasant tools and weapons, assaulted the royal guard, and wiped them out to a man.

Valthalemeu the monk would spend the rest of his life trying to find Carbonar once again, but the sword had disappeared during the fighting between the villagers and the royal guard of Labond.

Carbonar is a +2 keen longsword made of some shimmering, rainbow-colored metal. Light striking the blade is refracted into hundreds of rainbows. The pommel and crossguards have inset gems of polished opal that seem to have a thousand rainbows within them. If Carbonar strikes an opponent on a critical (17-20), then the opponent must make a Will save against DC 25, or be affected by a charm person spell. Carbonar enhances its owner's Charisma score by +2, so long as it is within arm's length.

Caster Level: 10th. Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, charm person, keen edge, charm monster, creator must be a bard. Market Price: 50,000gp.

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