To The Point of It

[Renaku]

Dear Mr. Maxwell Power

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vizier Burhanettin Tiryaki and I represent the King of Renaku. As you may be aware the young King has just inherited the throne and will shortly begin what is known as the Yüce Yürüyüşü, which would be translated as the "Noble Walk". Every new King travels to the fifty largest hill tribes and walks into their village to be greeted by the people. There he accepts the oath of loyalty from the Chief and in return presents them with a valuable gift as a reward for that loyalty. His Majesty has determined that as the tribesman view themselves as proud warriors he would like to present swords and knowing the respect Morelanders have for swordsmanship and the swordsmiths craft he would be interested in comissioning a Morelander to make these blades. As you are the blade maker for the East Moreland royal family I can therefore think of no finer craftsman on Mundus as to make these blades. If this is a task that you are interested in undertaking we would be delighted to have you come visit Renaku and begin the work, for which we will ensure you are handsomely rewarded. We are hopeful that you will accept our request and look forward to welcoming you to Renaku soon.

Deepest Respects
Burhanettin Tiryaki
Grand Vizier of the Renaku Royal Family.

[DaveIronside]

It was not often that Max got letters such as this. He was much more accustomed to responding to requests from the occasional Lord or Lady from East Moreland requiring a new blade and unless it was a job that particularly appealed to him then he turned them down. He spent much of his time making blades for royal occasions or for historical projects and now as he pushed 70 years of age having the ability to pick and choose what jobs he wanted to do was a joy. He had taken the letter from the Grand Vizier to Quinn Germaine. In her role as the Head of King's Household, and therefore effectively the gatekeeper to the monarch, she would be able to tell him whether this was something he could get involved in. The last thing we wanted to do was cause a diplomatic incident simply by making a few blades. He had simply expected a reply as to whether he could go or not along with some guidance on how to respond but instead found his little Northfort Palace Estate cottage getting a visit. "Good Morning Max" the King had said when a rather surprised Max had answered the door. The King had walked the 1km from the Palace itself into the parkland where Max's cottage lied with its forge in the backyard near the stream. There was mud on the King's boots and he held a shotgun snapped open tucked under his arm. Stood next to him was Princess Rhiannon holding a long canvas bag.

"Good Morning Your Majesty" he bowed to the King before turning to the Princess. "Good Morning Princess, you made another find?" he asked knowing full well what was likely to be in the bag.

"I have" She said proudly as Max stepped aside letting the King and Princess enter. David checked the safety on the shotgun despite knowing it was on and placed it on a shelf alongside Max's own. Rhiannon and Max were already heading for the living room. "Good morning Mrs.Power" Rhiannon said politely and David heard Max's wife cheerfully greet his daughter and ask if she needed the shortbread tin. "Only if its not a problem" Rhiannon replied hoping full well it would not be.

"Lets have a look then." Max said as he took a seat on the sofa and waited for the unveiling. David headed to the kitchen to help Max's wife. Rhiannon unzipped the bag and produced a thin rapier blade. The Princess, much like her father, had begun a collection of swords and while not yet permitted to wear or carry one in public she was already preparing one for every occasion. "It was in a antique shop in Ostlake and Dad let me spend my pocket money on it. I cleaned the blade up but Dad doesn't think he can fix it properly." Max made a quip about her fathers smithing skills, the King liked the idea but was poor on a forge if being honest and despite him having made a training blade for his daughter Max had needed to rectify several errors. "I want the grip redoing and edging in gold.....if you've the time....please." She added. Max inspected the sword carefully. It was not that well made but was a practical weapon and would be a nice one in a collection.

"I can do that......perhaps you'd like to learn how?" Max offered.

"Yes please" Rhiannon said eagerly. She'd sat and watched Max on the forge, much as her father had, dreaming of making perfect swords.

"It'll have to wait a while though." David informed her as he walked in with a tray of mugs of tea while Mrs.Power had a big old biscuit tin full of her buttery homemade shortbread that Rhiannon loved. "Max I'd like you to take up the offer of going to Renaku. It's a good oppurtunity to get a friend or two over there and I like the idea of us showcasing something we're exceptionally good at, and who better than the best of the best. I do though have two conditions."

"Name them Your Majesty" Max said, he was keen to go and thought it would be an interesting experience.

"First I don't want any of the blades to include any iconography linking them to the Cult of Helus." Max nodded, while it wasn't a rule of the faith Max had taken to inscribing the letters "WJK" on the work meaning "With Jekars Knowledge" a testimont to the God of War having taught humans how to make swords close to the dawn of man. With the sword certain to go to a non cultist the words would not be appropriate. "The second is that I'd like you to make it clear that the swords are as a business and not anything to do with East Moreland. We don't know enough about these tribesman  to be sure that they would meet the criteria of the Code of Canley and we had a few issues before with swords as gifts" He said glumly.

"I want to go and do this" Max said, "So if they are your conditions they shall be followed Your Majesty." David thanked him and then enjoyed an hour by the old couples fire listening to Rhiannon tell them about her latest sword competitions and her excitement for learning to kitesurf next week during her school holiday. In some ways Max and his wife were like an extra-set of grandparents, their own visited very rarely as their son worked for the diplomatic service and was currently based in Lijiang. They enjoyed Rhiannon's visits and David always made sure the old couple were looked out for. As the King and his daughter put their coats on to head back to the Palace David wished Max good luck for his trip and shook his hand. "We put a couple of pigeons in your shed." David said as he picked the shotgun back up. "Apparently we're after a rabbit on the way home as Freya wants to make Rabbit stew. Max stood and watched as the King and Princess walked away and spotted a pair of Red Legionnaires trailing along discreetly in the woodland. They'd sat outside having a brew, had Max known he'd have sent them some shortbread out, they spotted him and one gave a friendly wave as they disappeared off.

The next day Max checked into Northfort airport for the flight to Renaku. His tools and equipment were given the VIP treatment and walked into the hold by a member of the airlines staff to ensure they were looked after and Max discovered the King had upgraded his flight to First Class. Max enjoyed the flight and upon his arrival at Renaku did his best to find the welcoming commitee.

[Renaku]

Vizier Burhanettin Tiryaki was the personal adviser, like a Chief of Staff, to the newly crowned King. There had been a few days of chaos as various factions had legally argued over the right to the throne but when King Timur had arrived in the capital of  Çördük backed by a horde of hill tribesman and a few Regiments of the Army it was clear that those with influence wanted the youngster to sit upon on the throne and as any good civil servant would do Burhanettin would fix his colours to that particular mast. It had worked out well for him and now he was in a position of influence that many in the Kingdom would envy. So far the new King hadn't actually done anything, he'd been busy trying to get affairs in order regarding removing the last remaining pretenders to his throne while also establishing his own system of patronage with those who had acted as effective "Kingmakers". A simple instruction had been given to Burhanettin, "find some swords and make them impressive" and so having at that point knowing nothing about such things a few hours on the internet had lead him to Mr.Power. In many ways the Vizer had expected Max to be a younger man, he imagined that swordsmithing was something that would require a bit more of a youthful energy but if this man was considered the Morelanders best then perhaps the man was either aging magnificently or defying nature. "Mr.Power" Burhanettin had ensured he knew which airline the man was flying in on and had arranged for the airport to allow him to walk onto the plane as it attached itself to the tunnel in the terminal for overseas visitors. The cabin crew had pointed Max out to him and Burhanettin approached him. "Thank you for coming. I trust your flight was comfortable." he took the mans hand luggage and headed down the tunnel, a casual wave of his government ID getting them past all security checks without even a glance. Two black suited gentleman had been down to the hold and recovered the equipment Max had brought with him. "Please check we have everything you need. We'll be heading out the city and if I'm honest we won't have much we can do to replace anything you haven't got." He added.

They strolled through the airport and outside to where a large comfortable red SUV waited. The airport was on the western edge of Çördük while the Royal Palace sat on the same side meaning no need to go through the bustling metropolis itself. The area around the airport was heavily industrialised and full of warehouses and small industrial estates but once these had been left behind there was a rather brown dusty landscape that became gradually greener as they neared the city. In the distance a series of towers of two very different time periods, medieval and modern, loomed above the rest of the skyline. The Royal Palace was itself a sprawling compound of single floor buildings with the exception of a building in the centre which was circular in shape and standing three floors. A large gap was left in the bottom two floors at one point acting as a kind of gateway to where a large garden sat in the centre of the doughnut shaped home of the King. "Please step this way" the Vizer said as he exited the vehicle which had pulled up just outside the opening in the Palaces lower floor. There it could be seen that a table and chairs had been set up and two figures sat sipping tea, one with a large newspaper.

"Your Majesty" The Vizer said as he approached King Timur. "I have Mr. Maxwell Power, I believe his correct title is Royal Swordsmith of East Moreland?" he half turned to Max to ensure the ettiquette was correct.

"May the Gods Watch Over You and Your Nation Know Peace.....I hope that is the correct term." The King said casually folding the paper and motioning that Max should join them. "Mint tea?" He enquired but poured before Max could even answer. He was a young man and looked it too. Sat next to him was a woman in a kind of red dress with oversized sleeves and long flowing skirt. "This is Muna, she is a spiritual adviser of sorts. She belongs to one of the hill tribes and is something of an expert on their understanding of faith and so will be helping us." Muna smiled and offered Max a tray of pastries. "If we could begin I'd like to understand what exactly your role back home is and how the sword is viewed. If we're having Morelander made blades it would be useful for me to understand the significance from your perspective and sadly our nations education system lacks a deal of connection to other cultures."

[DaveIronside]

Max noted instantly the difference between Northfort and Çördük . The capital of his homeland lacked the huge towers of this city he was seeing for the first time. A local bylaw stated clearly that no building could stand taller than the 99meters tall tower of the Temple of Helus. As such the city skyline lacked the prominence of many buildings here. In fact many wondered if it was the reason why the city had not grown as fast as others such as Portworth and Roberton. Max thought his own King, David, would have enjoyed the Palace as he often took breakfast on the palaces rear patio when it was summer. The swordsmith thanked the driver and shuffled himself out the car. He bowed to King Timur. He was impressed with the Kings greeting "That is perfect...and May the Gods Watch Over You and Your People Know Joy" Max returned the greeting, "sadly I'm not sure how your people would greet each other Your Majesty" he said taking the seat he was offered. "Nice to meet you Muna" he said dipping his head towards the spiritual adviser. "Thank you" he added as he took an interesting looking pastry. "Well Your Majesty my role is quiet a simple one, I bash bits of metal into points" he smiled, "I make swords, and the occasional dagger or knife, to be used by the Royal family and other people they permit me to work for. That basically means their extended family so the Kade's and now I've even made a few for the Pelagiya family. I maintain and look after the blades owned by the King and his family and as King David is a collector of them....something his young daughter is inheriting the love of, I'm kept busy repairing and restoring them." He took a sip of the mint tea, it was nice but not the kind of beverage he would have ordered as it was far too sweet for his personal taste.

"Now as for the significance of the sword its linked to our nations religious stories. Our Cult of Helus says that at one point in the dark distant past of Mundus a battle took place between the forces of good, lead by the God Helus and the forces of an evil domain known as the Underlords. This battle went very badly for humanity as many refused to follow Helus teachings or thought they knew better. The Underlords, best described as kind of giant mutant humans, ran rampant slaughtering humanity. Helus therefore determined mankind was doomed as they refused to follow him. However the God of War Jekar wouldn't give up on us and so found the most devoted human to train and teach. This was Raimond Unasson. The problem was the Underlords with their giant spears always had an advantage in combat, not only where they bigger but the spears gave them extra reach. Jekar however slaughtered thousands of them with ease as he carried a sword, with a simply twist of his wrist he would turn the spear blade to one side and then once past the point found it simple to kill the Underlords. Several other humans had tried replicating this with stone, wood, even basic metals but the blades would shatter dooming their carrier. Jekar taught Unasson two things that changed the tide of war, first how to make the sword he carried, second how to use them. Unasson passed this knowledge on to his followers and soon they began to find success, the problem was non-believers still refused to accept Helus teachings and so the Underlords ended up taking out most of humanity, our homeland was all that was left and despite being great warriors Unasson and his followers were outnumbered. An epic last stand began and as Helus looked down he saw the devotion and bravery of Unasson and took pity on us. He returned and the tide of battle was turned, Jekar, Helus and Unasson won the day however in the last moments of battle Unasson sacrificed himself to save Helus from a spear blow and as such died but not before learning that Helus would watch over the faithful and ensure that no matter what they would be protected and that he would ensure Unasson's son, and grandsons etc would lead us in this world. As such the sword is a symbol of devotion to the Gods, it is a symbol of duty and love and it is almost like a contract. That contract is that you may carry it in Helus name if you follow his laws of Canley but by carrying it you agree that should the time come to defend others you will do what is required. As a result no one in East Moreland may carry a blade outside of practice until they have been through a religious ceremony."

It was now that the matter became a little more tricky. "This is why I have from King David an agreement with him I have made. I'm happy at the moment to make swords for you but there must be two conditions. "First is that whatever design you wish to be made can not include any traditional imagery from the Cult of Helus. These will not be sacred Morelander blades like I make for the royals but they will be simply worldly tools and decoration. The second is that it is made clear that these are not endorsed by the King of East Moreland, the highest honour King David gives to foreigners is presenting them with a sword and sadly in the past he's been burnt by who has received these. He wants it to be very clear these blades have nothing to do with him and its just a coincidence that its his swordsmith making them. But before I agree I have to know a little bit more about the symbolism of this as a gift to these....I think you call them hill tribes."

[Renaku]

King Timur listened carefully to what Max had to say, the story of good fighting battles against evil was not something that was new to him, many of the people within Renaku had similar tales about Gods of their local spring fighting off evil spirits or the God of the Sun fighting against the darkness. It was perhaps a tale that was in all religions. "So King David is the great great, so many great, grandsons of this Unasson hero?" He asked. It was perhaps different to many typical stories that linked a monarchy and religion, they all seemed to believe they were some kind of God or a decendent of one. He then listened to the conditions that the smith put forward. "I understand the spiritual significance you put on your work and I can....and will respect that. What I had in mind was something a little like this, more of a decorative sword than a combat one. It is similar to those carried by cavalrymen in our army in the depths of time and as such it was these hill tribes that often formed them." He passed Max a photo of one such sword from the nations museum. "These tribes are incredibly loyal if you treat them well. They live a life dedicated to ensuring that their next generation maintain their traditions but also thrive. Its interesting that while they continue herding mountains goats and sheep, fending off wolves and making a living from nature as best they can the techniques have changed a little, horses are giving way to quads, bows to guns, but at heart they are people that are deeply welcoming to people willing to show them respect. They knew little about me but were willing to spring me from potential assassination because they'd sworn oaths to carry out my fathers will. We almost stand at a cross-roads now, I borrowed their loyalty when first crowned and now the honeymoon, so to speak, is coming to a close. I'll be judged on my time touring the major tribes and the way that I treat their chiefs. I believe you can help me. Please walk with me." he headed off inside and guided the Morelander through a few rooms until they reached a large library. Across one wall, filling the whole of the wood panelled side, was a large tapestry map of the Kingdom. "That is said to be 1000 years old, I think though its been repaired so often that none of the original remains but still I think you'll agree its impressive." He moved some chairs away from the desk and beamed up at the map. It had various symbols within the outline, one large one and then in what seemed to be hills a patchwork of eagles, tigers, horses and swords. "You can see we respect swords ourselves, they show leadership and connect to our histories of a tribe. I want to celebrate that past and I desire your help. Do you think we have an agreement, if so we can find you rooms here and we a blacksmith shop, mainly for horse ware, in the grounds you could start tomorrow?"