I must admit I was impressed at the responses I got from this very very
short fic. The most common comment I got besides, 'You should continue
this' was 'But Ryoga didn't do the dance and chant'
"For thy heart, for thy heart, thou hast wronged me!..."
One small nitpick... All the Swords, save Woundhealer, were destroyed
by Shieldbreaker in the end... And the mighty Sword of Force was destroyed
by the Sword of Mercy... Although I guess you could skip the fateful
ending.
You could do a really great story with this, you know. Just back away a
little and involve the Twelve Swords... AAAARRGGHHH!! Must... control...
my urges...
Need a pre-reader?... ^_^
Hmmm... Would Woundhealer cure a Jusenkyou curse? It did cure the
damage done to Yambu by Soulcutter. And it *did* destroy Shieldbreaker, so
that would make it the most powerful Sword.
While it does seem necessary, I would point those of you who made this
comment to the lost swords book. (I can't remember which one) in which
Farslayer is destroyed. A guard merely drops the sword after pulling it
>from Mark's body and offers a prayer that it strike down whoever threw
it. No dance, no chant, and the sword goes flying.
That's in the last Book: Shieldbreaker's Story.
In the last Book, Amintor is killed by Farslayer after Almathea
double-crosses him. She apparently didn't sing the rhyme, or Amintor would
have been warned (not that it would've helped). But remember the price of
using Farslayer! (See the verse)
Farslayer howls across the world
For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!
Vengeance is his who casts the blade
Yet he will in the end no triumph see.
The only way Ranma could survive was if he was wielding Shieldbreaker or
if he was stabbing himself with Woundhealer at the time. Maybe Doomgiver
could save him as well - Farslayer could then be turned back against its
caster.
Sad thing that all the Swords were destroyed (except for the Mindsword -
that one was an evil critter). Doomgiver was the most underdeveloped Sword
of the bunch, IMO. It at least got a story in "An Armory Of Swords", but
it's my belief that it could overpower *any* other Sword, except
Shieldbreaker, of course.
<sigh> I loved those books. I spoke to Jorge Pratt once about
including the Swords in my "Point Of No Return" story... I'm still
considering it. There are *so* many possibilities...
- The Sword of Chance -
Who holds Coinspinner knows good odds
Whichever move he make
But the Sword of Chance, to please the gods,
Slips from him like a snake.
- The Sword of Justice -
The Sword of Justice balances the pans
Of right and wrong, and foul and fair.
Eye for an eye, Doomgiver scans
The fate of all folk everywhere.
- The Sword of Heroes -
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, how'd you slay?
Reaching for the heart in behind the scales.
Dragonslicer, Dragonslicer, where do you stay?
In the belly of the giant that my blade impales.
- The Sword of Vengeance -
Farslayer howls across the world
For thy heart, for thy heart, who hast wronged me!
Vengeance is his who casts the blade
Yet he will in the end no triumph see.
- The Sword of Mercy (aka The Sword of Love) -
Whose flesh the Sword of Mercy hurts has drawn no breath;
Whose soul it heals has wandered in the night,
Has paid the summoning of all debts in death
Has turned to see returning light.
- The Sword of Glory (aka Skulltwister) -
The Mindsword spun in the dawn's gray light
And men and demons knelt down before.
The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright
Gods joined the dance and the march to war.
It spun in the twilight dim as well
And gods and men marched off to hell.
- The Sword of Force -
I shatter swords and splinter spears;
None stands to Shieldbreaker.
My point's the fount of orphans' tears
My edge the widowmaker.
- The Sword of Stealth (aka The Sword of Disguise) -
The Sword of Stealth is given to
One lowly and despised.
Sightblinder's gifts: his eyes are keen
His nature is disguised.
- The Sword of Despair (aka The Tyrant's Blade) -
The Tyrant's Blade no blood hath spilled
But doth the spirit carve.
Soulcutter hath no body killed
But many left to starve.
- The Sword of Siege -
The Sword of Siege struck a hammer's blow
With a crash, and a smash, and a tumbled wall.
Stonecutter laid a castle low
With a groan, and a roar, and a tower's fall.
- The Sword of Fury -
Long roads the Sword of Fury makes
Hard walls it builds around the soft.
The fighter who Townsaver takes
Can bid farewell to home and croft.
- The Sword of Wisdom -
Who holds Wayfinder finds good roads
Its master's step is brisk.
The Sword of Wisdom lightens loads
But adds unto their risk.
The Complete Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen
**********************
* The Phoenix Reborn * Jordanite and Mystical
********************** Freak at Large
Louis-Philippe Giroux
Phoenix@upc.qc.ca
Dragon@anime.usacomputers.net
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http://www.upc.qc.ca/~phoenix/phoenix.html
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http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/
<Will be down from 06/26/98 to 06/31/98>
"The nameless are like dust. No one shall come to lay flowers by their
grave. Only those who earned their names are ever remembered."
- Woodchuck, Records Of Lodoss War