Overview[]
A tool of destruction, eternally existent in the Caribbean seas for an as-of-yet unknown reason, found it's way into the world and eventually into the hands of Colonel Peter Plankwrecker, who discovered it after a training practice with his younger comrades, one of whom happened to be his own son, Haytham.
The "Darkest Hour" in full function
History[]
On the cloudy, bleak night of November 29,----, a training session specifically assigned to adept members of the 1st Division had been taking place. The particular time assigned for the gathering was rather unusual, as the members were typically called for practice in the early hours of the morning, and most certainly not past evening, which correlated with supper time. Once regulations had been talked over, and the entirety of the lesson had commenced, Peter found time to withdraw and ponder the future of the EITC, and ultimately the world as a whole.
Abilities[]
The weapon itself is most commonly known for its mythical powers, namely the presence to transcend the laws of time, or at least the concepts and theories of it known to man.
Italian Documents:
-Document #1-
"In terms of abilities, it has been documented by several spies, whom shall not be named in the face of danger, that Mr. Plankwrecker, the bearer of said artifact, acted quite strangely during the following weeks after that fateful day. To elaborate, the spies witnessed a rare glimpse of the weapons' possible abilities and anomalous properties, namely its ability to process time on another plane, faster than ours. They documented a sighting of Peter moving faster than humanly possible, and alighting through a tree before gliding down and finding a safe haven at Fort Charles. Our men are not sure why Peter acted this way, but it can be assumed that it likely was to avoid detection." --Dr.[REDACTED]--
-Document #2-
"Also, the artifact appears to enhance the owner's perception and awareness of events around them, to the point where forthcoming events, soon to occur in the future (Possibly up to 3 hours before an occurrence) present themselves to the bearer, and in this way, allow the bearer to act upon future events and manipulate them if at all possible. It certainly explains why most of our attempts to contact the Colonel or spy upon him have failed." --Dr. [REDACTED]--
-The Final Document, Written by One of Our Doctors and Viewed by Witnesses-
"Good, good. I'll still be alright. Don't worry, don't worry. (The Dr. tenses) No, no, no..."
By this point, the Dr.'s colleague is present in the room, and asks the Dr. what ails him.
"No, no, stay back, stay back, don't come any closeerrrr...."
The other man is clearly in shock at the Dr.'s reaction, and steps back, likely to prevent provoking his hostility.
"Sir? Is this about the blade we've been studying? What has it done to you!?!"
The Dr. responds with a fit of unbridled rage and insanity, and attempts to lunge at his partner.
Swiftly avoiding his attack, the young man throws him against his desk.
In his old and weakened state the Doctor finally replies to his question.
"I..I looked into it's hilt."
"When? How?", the man asks again.
"My men were assigned a mission to evaluate and review the weapon without being detected. Safe to say, they never returned."
The Dr. chuckles to himself before continuing.
"So, in my foolishness, in my...rashness, I decided to take it upon myself to spot the bloody weapon... and bring back any traces of information."
Upon pausing, the young man asks, "So? How did the weapon afflict you if you never went near it?"
"I assumed that I would be safe if I gazed upon it directly. But, in my childish curiosity, I directed my sight straight into it."
Intrigued and concerned, the colleague asks him, "What..exactly...did you see, sir?
The Dr., opening his mouth, pauses for a quick moment, as if to process what in the world he saw.
"I saw...myself. In a catatonic, shocked state. That is all I remember."
The Dr. went silent but afterwards continued his account.
'Upon viewing the hilt, and soon after, I came to a startling, grim realization..that.."
The colleague stared at the Doctor in anticipation, tensing between bouts of sweat.
"...this is how I die."
The colleague stood there, shocked and motionless at the Doctor's revelation. Be began to deny his thoughts. "No, this isn't true. it can't be."
With a steely look of determination, followed by tears of desperation and a voice of strict urgency, the doctor replied.
"Kill me where I stand. I cannot live with knowing the details of my demise, and possible deaths. It would forever haunt me."
With a face lined with tears and sweat, the colleague knew he had to carry out his request. At this moment, he owed it to his friend.
He then raised his shaking, trembling hand, armed with his pistol.
"I'm sorry, father."
The firing of the pistol resonated through the ancient building, as if a great disturbance in the city had occurred. And it had.
-From the doctor's log, Accompanied by a witness-
It came to be known upon that day that he who directly gazes into the blade shall taste of their death to come. And if that is not their demise, then their true death shall come with the swiftness of the blade and it's bearer, Peter Plankwrecker.
Names, Physical Traits and Allusions to the Past, Present, and Future[]
The name of the greatsword itself serves as an illusion to its abilities and mythical traits. Although it has had no original name starting from the time of its appearance, it was given the Italian name Ω Ora Più Buia, or in English named the Darkest Hour, by Peter. The name itself seems to be a clever reference to its time-manipulating abilities, and its discovered lore. However, the weapon is dubbed "No Name" by the few people that are aware of its existence. It is likely an allusion to its lack of a given name.
The blade, the main ornament of the weapon, holds a generally dark, black color scheme, and has a rather cleaner, sharper, and glossier texture than an ancient relic normally would. To highlight the significance of its condition, it is almost pristine in comparison; this anomalous effect can only be attributed to itself, especially since other time-worn objects would disintegrate over time. The central line among the center, the equilibrium of the blade, is adorned with one long line, which spreads and forms into an interesting curved pattern, revolving around all sides of the blade. However, an interesting detail relating to these lines is that they appear to glow on their own, with the extra detail of a strange ethereal ember emanating from the blade itself. As the blade appears to glow on its own at times, it is wondered if the blade itself is sentient to a limit, and therefore possesses an impetus that allows it to act on its own impulse.
Perhaps the most important physical trait that the blade bears is a continued pattern of rhymes, written in a language yet unknown to most scholars, even experienced ones. However, evidence shows that the inscriptions seem to bear a striking resemblance to the characters found in the Middle East and in Europe. Taking the similarities into account, it has been suggested that the writing is of Greek origin, as the terminology far outdates other ancient languages.
Not all of the translated inscriptions have been translated, as most of the blade seems to bear encrypted writing, which in particular requires an ancient cipher needed to decrypt it. As daunting of a task as it is to translate the inscriptions, a saddening note is that a large percentage, presumably over half of the encryptions in total, has yet not been decrypted, and likely will not be for some time. The only other leads on the cipher registered to the sword have been found in desert ruins, all of which show references to Greek legends and myths.
Scholars and translators, fortunately, were able to derive several small portions of the sword's text. The translation between Arabic and Greek is of particular interest, as the two languages have never showed any worldly connections. The text itself is written in ancient Greek, but with its possible origin being from the Middle East, it was decided that Arabic scholars would be called upon to translate the message into their language. Below are the results. Note: Each of the sentences are derived from different sections of the text, and are not in sync with each other.
Ancient Greek:
ΜΙΑ πόλη τόσο καθαγιασμένη από γυαλί μαυρισμένο εξακολουθεί να υπομένει ως χρόνος θα περάσει. Φως και σκοτάδι, αντίθετες πλευρές, θα βρείτε την λήθη, την παρουσία του χρόνου. Πολλοί κόσμοι ήταν μια φορά και σύντομα θα χαθούν, μαρτύρια του χρόνου ως τα σε παγετό. Ύπαρξη είναι ακόμη αφάρ, oh κομιστή ορυχείο, πέρα από όλα τα πράγματα, αισθάνομαι απεριόριστη βασιλεύει η ώρα. Οη κομιστή ορυχείο, ένα μέλλον του φωτός και του σκοταδιού ρήση αισθάνομαι απεριόριστη εξακολουθούν, μέχρι όλα είναι ναυάγησαν αλλά μια χρυσή άβυσσο.
Translated into Arabic:
على المدينة المقدسة من اسودت الزجاج لا تزال مستمرة مع مرور الوقت. الضوء والظلام الاطراف المتحاربة، تجد النسيان في وجود من الوقت. عوالم كثيرة كانت وسوف يضيع لعن الله من وقت الى ابقاء جذوة الصقيع. وجود لم تلعفر يا حامل المنجم، بعد كل شيء، يسود جميع الأوقات. يا حامل ل عمال المتعلقة با لغام، مستقبل من الضوء و الظلام سوف تستمر جميع الأوقات ، حتى هو إلا ذكر للعالمين Golden الهاوية
Finally Translated Text Fragments into English:
A hallowed city of blackened glass still endures as time shall pass.
Light and darkness, opposing sides, shall find their oblivion in the presence of time.
Many worlds were once and soon shall be lost, damned to time as an ember to frost.
Existence is yet afar, oh bearer mine, for beyond all things, eternally reigns time.
Oh bearer mine, a future of light and darkness shalt eternally persist,
Until all is naught but a golden abyss.
It is not yet known what these chilling texts allude to, but it has been suggested that the sword itself is referring to an end of an age, or perhaps a catastrophic event in the world that has not yet been set in motion, hopefully not for some time.