This may well be my final entry in this journal, for after many long years and numerous delves into the forsaken burrows of this land, I have found it! Korzahn’s infamous Lightscourge. I had never truly believed the legends – after all, they sounded completely loony – but as I stood before the dias which held the blade, I finally understood. It was just as the tales described it: a weapon borne of shadow that feasts on light. The room in which it sat was encircled by luminous sconces – how they were lit, I know not – but at the time I assumed they had been placed intentionally so as to emphasize the power of the weapon.
To truly understand what I saw, I must try to describe how my eyes moved about the room. It was incredibly dark. Naturally, my eyes sought whatever source of light they could find. That is how I discovered the sconces. As I beheld the first of them, there was a faint tickle in the back of my mind. A small voice, if you will, trying its damndest to inform me that something was amiss. Of course, being the dense fool that I am, I initially ignored this voice.
It was only as my eyes fell on the sixth sconce or so that it finally dawned on me that something truly off was occurring here. You see, I had originally thougth that the lights were merely dim. After all, they didn’t exactly seem to have regular caretakers. But as I squinted at the small circle of light emanating from that sconce, I noticed a vital clue as to the cause of the room’s darkness. The light was not a perfect circle. No, in point of fact there was a part of its underside that seemed to almost be… stretched. As if one had balled up a large wad of gum and pulled it unidirectionally.
With this understanding, I took a renewed look at the light sources. It was there on all of them. That odd pulling, a trail that all led back to… the dias in the center of the room. It struck me in that moment that despite my big discovery, I had yet to actually approach the weapon itself!
Sweat began to wet my brow as I moved toward the dias. It was quite odd, but the closer I got to it, the harder it became to see it. Normally you'd of course expect the exact opposite. I've never required spectacles, so having my vision grow faint as I drew near the blade was quite the curiosity.
Nevertheless, I eventually reached the center of the room. There it was. The Lightscourge. A weapon many had relegated to myth. Instinct overpowered professionalism. My hand reached out to grab the hilt of the sword. But it never connected. I stood there in profound confusion as my fingers passed through the hilt. I tried again and again, but alas, I could not grasp it.
Frustrated, I leaned against the dias, palms pressed firmly against its stone smooth top. I shut my eyes to think, the dimmed vision I was experiencing beginning to cause a throb at my temples. I know not how much time passed, but when my eyelids fluttered open, something had changed.
At first, I couldn’t place what felt off about the room. I looked at the sconces. They still remained dimly lit, that same strange trail leading away from them. I looked at the dias. It remained as it was, an unwavering symbol of normality in an otherwise confounding place. Then my gaze fell upon the sword.
I say in full truth that in that moment I could feel my heart beating in my throat. Shadows danced around my forearm, tracing intricate patterns on my flesh that disappeared as soon as I tried to make them out, immediately replaced by ones just as fascinating and hard to make out. The hilt of the blade rested on my palm. I do not know how it got there. Last I recall, my hands were planted firmly on the top of the dias. Yet there it was, Korzahn’s weapon, in my possesion!
I brought my hand up to my face, hoping to inspect the blade now that I could finally move it about. Yet, as it drew near, I once again found my vision obscurred. Moving my hand to my side, I formed a hasty hypothesis: I would only be able to see clearly so long as I was not directly viewing the blade.
A shame, really, as I truly did want to inspect the weapon itself. But it would have to do. Hilt finally in hand, I dubbed it an adequate time to leave this burrow once and for all. Retracing my steps to the entrance was easy enough. I arrived in a timely fashion, the glow of the sun emanating from the small hole I'd dug through the burrow’s wall.
Oh how I longed to be bathed in the glow of the noonday sun once more. Being submerged in darkness will have that effect on you. I pushed my way through the opening with a renewed vigor. But when I stepped outside, what I found was… well, disconcerting would do my feelings a hearty disservice.
As I stepped outside, my vision immediately began to darken. Gone was the glow I had sought just a moment before. My eyes searched about frantically, desperately trying to piece together what had just occurred.
“The sword,” that voice in the back of my head was back. This time, I listened. My face slowly fell down toward the sword at my side. Feint trails of light flowed toward the dark, churning blade.
In that moment, understanding rushed into me like waters bursting forth from a dam. An image of my last moments in the dias room flashed into my mind. That sense of oddness I had felt upon finally grasping the sword… I had thought it simply was a result of my vision. But no, it was now becoming clear. The trails of light from the sconces had moved. Ever so slightly, a subtle shift that would be hard to discern if one were not truly looking for it. A shift away from the dias, and toward me. Or rather, toward the sword at my side.
It was then I knew why the sword had been buried. Why it had been allowed to fade into myth, and myth into legend. This blade could not be allowed outside, lest the world be cast into an all encompassing shadow. Lightscourge was not just a title. It was a promise.
My inkwell is close to empty, but then again, so too does my tale draw to a close. I have returned to the burrow. It is here I shall remain, likely until I perish of malnutrition. The blade and I seem to be one now. Just as before I could not grab it, now I simply cannot let it go. Despite my writing this journal, I do hope it is never read. But if it is, please heed my warning:
Do not go after the sword. Whoever you are, whatever your purpose my be, leave this place at once. You must not take the Lightscourge with you, or shadow will preside over our realm forever.