The Field of Swords
The Field of Swords, also called the Hill of Blades in some versions, is a legend about a lost battlefield from the Mage Wars. Documented versions of the legend exist as far back as the late Dynastic Period, but the story is thought to much much older.
Versions of the story vary by region but the basic outline goes as follows: two powerful armies met on a hill and did battle. One army was victorious but at at a Pyrrhic cost, losing all but a very few men, while the other was defeated fully. The survivors of the victorious army buried every slain warrior beneath his sword. Upon completing the grisly task, most succumbed to their wounds. Only one survivor left the fight to tell the tale.
All versions of the story also include one important detail: every soldier was armed with an enchanted sword.
Exactly what purpose the original story serves by itself is unknown, but the tale became synonymous with a great lost treasure of thousands or even tens of thousands of magic swords. Since even a regular mundane sword is worth a small fortune, an enchanted one is extremely valuable. Both in currency and as a weapon. Finding this lost battlefield would either provide valuable equipment for one's own army, or fantastic wealth for one's own person.
Later versions of the tale, especially those recorded during the later part of the war, focused on the treasure-find aspect. The notion that a fortune or the tools to make an unstoppable army lay forgotten in a field somewhere.
Historical Facts
Historians estimate that if the there is any truth to the story, it must have happened sometime in the mid-to-late First Chaotic Period. Even during the Dynastic era, a typical army might only have 1 sword for every 10 soldiers, and of those only another 1 in 10 might be enchanted. Only during the two Chaotic eras did entire armies equipped with magic swords go into battle. Such conflicts were also reasonably common later in the era.
Variations on the Story
Every version describes the battlefield as being lonely, distant,
