Echbaldham, the Sword of Righteousness
Echbaldham, the Sword of Righteousness, also called Echbaldham Righteous, is one of three legendary relic swords from the Mythical Age described in The Book of Lore. The sword is heavily linked to Echbalder, the sword of the Pendragon of Slayer Dragons. The other two relic swords are Iall, the Sword of Justice and Shenti, the Sword of Liberty.
Especially unique even among the three mythical swords, Echbaldham is said to be fully divine in nature, literally carried down from heaven and placed into the hands of the Hero of Light.
New Day
Following the Battle of the New Day, Echbaldham was given to Conri Jusenkyou who revived the Order of Slayer Dragons for the era of the New Day. He carried the sword with him for the rest of his life, but did allow for some passive scans to be performed, including ultra high-resolution photography.
Studies of the sword were inconclusive. Passive scans of the blade produced wildly different results depending on what method was used, while studies of the digital images taken were open to considerable interpretation. The best data came from testing done under a scanning electron microscope, which while providing no insight into the sword's material, it did speak to the surrealistic-level of craftsmanship. The microscopic scans indicated the sword was perfect, free from blemish, and with every atom in exact place.
The unreliable materials scans have been proposed to be the result of the blade being of unusually precise purity.
Following Conri's death and the decision to not name a further Pendragon unless Echbalder could be found, the sword was separated from the Order. It was to be sent on a good-will tour of the known worlds to celebrate the solidification of the New Day Alliance where several attempts were made to steal it. One particularly noteworthy event saw it replaced with one of the museum-grade replicas commissioned by Conri, with some argument as to whether this was an attempted theft or merely an accident.
With the tour cut short the sword was returned to Arindell and briefly lost. Due to over-complex security procedures and a plan for moving the sword that involved no one party having full knowledge, three replicas and fourteen decoys made it back to the Keep while the actual sword sat abandoned in a baggage sorting warehouse for three days, having slipped between two pallets.
The sword was at first kept on permanent display at Valley Gail Keep, but following two attempted thefts its was moved into The Enclave and kept out of public view for nearly 100 years. This changed when then-Light Bearer dame Ardrid Astrad was informed during an interview that "no living person in Arindell [outside the Slayer Dragons] had seen the sword". Ardrid resolved to send the sword on a second good-will tour, where it was promptly stolen.
This is the only confirmed incident where the sword was successfully taken. The unnamed thief had the sword in his possession for approximately six hours and did managed to get outside the exhibition center, but not the police cordon. When confronted by police, he drew the sword in an attempt to fight his way out, and was immediately immolated. A bomb-diffusion robot had to be employed to return the weapon to it's scabbard, and the sword was promptly taken back to the Keep.
After the theft, the sword was deemed both much too dangerous to be exhibited and much too valuable to risk taking outside. This prompted the construction of "The High Place" inside the slayer dragon' Enclave, where the sword could be displayed "in view of, but out of reach of" the public.
Theories and Provenance
During recorded history, Echbaldham was first used in the late Sixth Age by Hunter Jusenkyou and again in the Age of the Dragon. On both occasions he effectively exchanged Echbalder for Echbaldham and did not carry it for long, however it was the first time Echbaldham had been seen since the Age of Myth. This prompted the then-Doseu to make some comments on the provenance and holy nature of the weapon.
He theorized that the sword was "not terrestrial" and claimed it to be a pierce of the divine in the world of life. While this sentiment was widely echoed, most scientists argued that to exist it must be made of matter or energy(as such items of crystalized magic were known to science).
That Doseu's original beliefs were later revived in the New Day era and cited as an explanation for the sword's inexplicable resistance to scientific examination. A Doseu of the New Day even wrote of his belief that the sword could not actually be "seen" because it was so holy. He speculated:
"What we see when we examine Echbaldam is not the sword. We see only an image invented by our minds, as we are not capable of viewing this thing directly. Were we to see its true nature, we would be blinded by its divinity and driven mad by its perfection."
This theory has been used to explain the burnt alive thief of the sword, but is disputed by the existence of the replicas. If it were an interpretation, scholars argue, then it should not be possible to replicate the precise appearance as everyone would see it differently.
