Excellion: The Greatest Weapon

            In the year W.D. 8, the Alliance of Humanity and the Free Beings Alliance were deeply embroiled in The War of Destruction. However, even using golems, undead, and other magic-born monsters, the Alliance of Humanity was often winning or losing battles by the slimmest of margins and only ever achieved an easy victory in situations where the enemy was greatly outnumbered or underequipped. It was then that he heads of the Alliance of Humanity’s leading factions—the Templars, the Holy Knights of the White Rose, the Order of Nazklu, and Civilization Forward—commissioned three brilliant archmages to create a superweapon against which no army, no city wall, no fortress could stand…In the name of sparing soldiers’ lives and bringing a swift end to the war, of course.

            These three archmages were the master alchemist Kaldron Andersmith, the great enchantress Torrinz Dallimoora, and the unmatched elemental wizard Vinwald Kayne. Under the codename “The Bevelle Project” they set to work on the most powerful magical weapon ever to be created—Excellion.

            To this day, no one knows the full details of the research and development process for Excellion, or even what it looked like. It has been described as a canon, a sword, a great metal golem, an amulet, and even a magical beast. What is known for sure is that when Excellion was finally unleashed in the year W.D. 13, its pure destructive might turned the tide of the war. In a single strike, it could take out hundreds of soldiers or blast an entire city to cinders. Some say that when Excellion was used against the city of Ruuan, it left some victims as nothing more than shadows permanently scorched into whatever stone surface they were nearest to at the moment of the attack. Others claim that Excellion’s attacks left a lingering poisonous miasma in the air which killed many would-be survivors slowly and painfully as its effects tore their bodies apart from the inside out. Still others say that exposure to the effects of this terrible weapon could corrupt the souls or flesh of survivors, twisting them into frightening monsters in a matter of weeks. Truly, it was a horrific weapon…and the Alliance of Humanity used it at every excusable opportunity.

            Horrified and dismayed at the way that the weapon that they’d created was being used, Kaldron, Torrinz, and Vinwald plotted to stop the carnage once and for all. First, they burned the weapon’s plans and all research notes having to do with it. Next, they hunted down all of their research assistants and any who had ever wielded Excellion and wiped it from their memories completely. Then, they stole Excellion itself and sealed it away in a secret location known only to them, which they erased from their own memories as soon as they were far enough away.

            The seal to Excellion’s hiding place is a powerful seal which can only be broken when three special amulets are placed in the door. These amulets were divided up among the three archmages, who each hid their own in a different corner of the world before erasing their locations and all information about Excellion’s workings and creation from their own minds. All that they allowed themselves to remember were the weapon’s destructive power and the fact that they had made sure that it could never fall into the wrong hands again.

            Naturally, the leaders of the Alliance of Humanity tracked the three rebellious archmages down in an attempt to recover their great superweapon. Due to the excellent job they did of covering their tracks, however, the Alliance got absolutely nothing for their troubles. Kaldron, Torrinz, and Vinwald, as punishment for their traitorous act, were burned at the stake. But, it is said that they all went to their deaths smiling, claiming that although the law said that they were being put to death for hiding Excellion away, they knew in their hearts that Karma herself was executing them for the weapon’s creation. That divine justice, they announced, was something that they gladly accepted.

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            And that’s the story of this artifact of doom, folks! Join us next week for a peek at Wolfsbane’s first training session as a rookie hunter. Until then, you can download a free digital copy of The Rebirth and Awakening of Wolfie Star-Runner from Smashwords.com with the promo code PH45V through June 30^th. The giveaway officially starts on June 1^st, but the code is active right now…So, you know, think of getting early access to the code as a sort of thank you for reading the blog. You can also social media stalk me on Twitter and Pintrest if you’re into that sort of thing. Thanks for reading, and enjoy that free book!