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Quel’Delar was carefully crafted in the mighty forge of a lightning giant smith as a gift for the coronation of the first king of men when his primitive nation was recognized by the elves and dwarves. Its presentation at the king’s coronation ceremony is a tale still told among elves and dwarves and men alike. The name of the lightning giant was lost to memory, but this king is still known as Ingrost, the Uniter.
According to legend, Ingrost’s kingdom was strong for three generations, aided in large part by the mighty sword its kings used to protect them from the forces of darkness. In time, though, the realms of men became so prosperous that some among them sought for power, valuing it more than the unity they had so long maintained. Knowing the power of the Quel’Delar, these usurpers durst not rebel directly. Instead, they waited until the king was at war with dark forces on the borders of his lands, then sent their agents to betray him on the battlefield. With the king fallen, the assassins could not agree who of their employers should receive the sword. They therefore broke it, so none could have the insurmountable advantage it afforded.
The broken pieces of the Quel’Delar, the hilt and the blade, make many appearances in myths and legends throughout the kingdoms that now divide the Ingrost territory. It has often been thought that a king could benefit from uniting its pieces again and quests have been commissioned with capturing its two pieces, to no avail. Those with access to the best information might know of times when a kingdom obtained one of the pieces, but then crazed with the pursuit of the other fell to the opposition of the world. It is now thought that the hilt lies in the horde of the red dragon Erabright and that the shards of the blade were buried in Arensetia, the sunken capitol of Teluvia.
A favorite tale of the King Ingrost is his confrontation with the Hill Giant king, Rugna. Upon seeing the giantish workmanship on Quel’Delar, the king became enraged, declaring the smith who made it a traitor to giants. He and his guards attacked and were all struck down in a single blow of the mighty sword. Upon seeing the terror of the remaining giants, Ingrost declared “it seems that giant traitors do good work. If there are any others who would like to defect to our side, we will gladly take them!” The hill giant warriors he received into the kingdom that day were a great strength to his armies and many ancient works still standing are said to have been hoisted by their arms and backs.
Quel’Delar’s history is full of ups and downs. Since its breaking, it has little but infamy to its name. Most of its pre-break history is proud, but irreverent drunks will sometimes tell of the time it blew the door off the latrines quite by mistake when Ingrost’s son went in to cover his feet for the first time with it upon his belt.
Legend suggests that Quel’Delar was a mighty sword in its own right, with a sharp edge and perfect balance (+2 long sword). It also speaks of great lightning magics infused in the sword from the forge of the Lightning Giant. This magic strikes the target for 6d6 lightning damage (no save) on the first successful hit each round, dealing the same damage to all in a 3/4 circle arc centered on the target within a 10′ radius (half damage on a Dex save DC 13).
If the pieces can be found, it is not clear how they would be reforged, though most are confident that any lightning giant forge of decent quality will do.
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