The False Sword of Crog

Any modern day historian could tell you the story of Crog the Mighty, the ten-foot tall half-dragon who was strong enough to rip a tree in half with his bare hands.

Any modern day historian would be wrong.

Several hundred years ago, the province of Pemulio, the southern-most region of the country of Agaror, was ruled by Crog the Mighty. Crog was, in fact, a normal human, albeit a particularly strong one. The real advantage that he held was his sword, a family heirloom. While wielding it, his strength increased and he gained the ability to fly. (Think superman. He can attack while hovering, but must lay flat to soar).

To the south of Pemulio were the Kaelv Mountains, and beyond them the Kingdom of Tajiv. In that land, the Warrior-Princes were flocking to the banner of Taeland, the new king, and his pet sorcerer, Malkoon.

Taeland gathered thousands upon thousands of warriors, mounted them on fast horses and elephants, and rode north to expand into Agaror. With such a vast army at his disposal, he was certain that he could defeat the provincial armies piecemeal.

Were it not for the vigilance of Crog's guards, the war would have been over before it started. Thankfully, however, the border guard warned their lord and Crog immediately took action.

Dispatching one of his trusty messengers to request aid from the capital, Crog mustered the provincial army and led them to Catharyn Pass, a narrow gorge though which the Taji army would have to travel.

The two armies clashed dozens of times, and each time the Pemulions held up the horde, thanks, in large part, to Crog's magically endowed ability to soar around the battlefield, so as to hunt down enemy mages and leaders. Each time the Pemulion army seemed on the brink of a rout, Crog would rally them to his sword and repel the invaders.

After almost two months of the the Pemulions' heroic defense, the Agarorian army grew near.

The Taji army planned to launch one final, all-out assault against the Pemulions, and in preparation, Malkoon, the Taji King's wizard, magically created a weapon that was literally identical to Crog's sword. Utilizing a spy within the Pemulion camp, Malkoon arranged for the two swords to be exchanged, and had the real one teleported to his tower.

The Taji launched their final assault, and Crog, stuck with the fake sword, could do nothing about the wizards who obliterated his army from afar. However, when the Taji led their charge, Crog was the last Pemulion to fall, the false sword in his hand.

Cavrin, the Taji general, believing this sword to be the original, claimed it for himself. He then led the taji army into Pemulio and made it into a state of Tajik, with himself as governor.

Thankfully, Crog's sacrifice had enabled the Agarorian army to get into position so as to repel all further assaults.

Malkoon eventually attempted to draw the real sword's energies into himself, destroying it in the process (not to mention warping himself to another dimension).

The False Sword remained with the family of Cavrin until one-hundred years had passed, when Molkoth, a mighty dragon and the high priest of a large draconic cult, attacked the province, slew the governor's family, and took their treasure for himself.

Another hundred years passed, culminating in a successfull plot by the highest ranking dragons in the cult to do away with Morkoth. Then, after sufficient bloodshed, these dragons divided up his treasure amongst themselves. The sword was acquired by Gavastor the Titanic, one of the largest dragons ever to walk the world. It remains in his horde to this day.

Magical Properties:

The False Sword of Crog was created without any magical properties, so as to permit its construction in the span of a single day.

However, due to fact that Crog died with the weapon in his hands, it has taken on some of the aspects of his spirit.

First, it is unbreakable. It also never rusts. While it can be damaged, any sort of physical change to the weapon (notching, edging with silver, etc.) requires ten times the normal amount of effort.

Second, the sword has a sort of loyalty to its owner, and if he would be disarmed due to a disarm attack or a critical miss, the sword is merely stuck in something instead.

Finally, the weapon has an obvious psychological value. The fact that this weapon is in every way identical to the sword described in every legend of Crog may result in the wielder's gaining an advantage due to his or her belief that this is truly the sword of Crog.

As a side note, it should be remembered that all modern legends claim that Crog was a half-dragon. This may lead to any dragon or half-dragon's possession of the blade being hailed as a sign that they are, in fact, a descendent of Crog.