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| Dark Sword of H'ksych
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Broodlord H’skych of the Swarm
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unique
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Artifact
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80566
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short sword
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melee range
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- "Special thanks for this should be given to Dark Jedi Masters Arania Lawakiro Palpatine and Shan Long for their invaluable assistance in this research, without which this would not have been possible."
- ―Malisane de'Ath
An Artifact of Naga Sadow
The Sword
The Dark Sword of H'skych is a blade intricately crafted and is heavy but still easily wielded by a skilled user. By nature of its empowerment with the force, once drawn it is enveloped with force lightning, making it a formidable weapon that has not weakened, despite it's great age.
This is a stout short blade, hewn from purest volcanic obsidian vomited from the deepest depths of K’hamar’a. It is carved with exceedingly intricate designs, which presumably act as a focus for Dark side power. The weapon is empowered with the Force. It is very old, but is every bit as potent and vile as when it was forged.
The sword is also supremely sharp, enabling it to effortlessly pierce any substance softer than durasteel, making it formidable against ordinary opponents, slicing through weapons and armor of most normal foes with ease. The strength of the sword is such that it can withstand contact with a lightsaber for up to two seconds without melting, a feat impossible to normal weapons.
A continual Force-lightning effect surrounds the blade when drawn. The weapon penetrates durasteel with ease, and has proven to be lightsaber resistant to some degree.
An opponent wounded with the sword would suffer greatly. Any wound received with the weapon takes a minimum of three days to be healed, even by those skilled in the healing powers of the force, though bleeding stops after approximately fifteen minutes. This again makes it a deadly weapon in combat, where many force users abilities to heal themselves in the fight rendered effectively useless.
The History
The history of the Dark Sword was even more shrouded in mystery than it's description. A thousand rumors exist and each Dark Jedi who has glanced on it has his own theory as to its creation, some say it was created by Lord Darth himself, others claim due to its sinister deceptive nature it was crafted by Serpentis, one rumor is even that it was the very weapon used by Naga Sadow to kill Ludo Kressh who bled to death slowly by its foul unhealing bite, and many more tales besides these will be found amongst the Brotherhood's less enlightened members.
In fact the true origins of the weapon are far from any of the above, and surprisingly the weapon is not even of Sith, or Krath, or Obelisk. In fact it's creator has been revealed as the Broodlord H’skych of the Swarm, ruler of the Nestings of Pri'jar, who the sword itself is named after. The Broodlord created the sword from a piece of obsidian, from the volcanic rock near the nesting where he was spawned, and he imbued the weapon with all his dark evil and that of his followers, to create the dark and sinister weapon it is now, and he used it to slay any challengers from amongst the nestings and ruled for ten generations of his creatures.
However one night the Broodlord met his death and even the mighty sword couldn't save him. A rogue warrior of the Sith came to H'skych's world. Why no-one can say, perhaps escaping from a vengeful master, maybe the lure of the sword drew him, or even his name, history does not recall. But he and the Broodlord fought and H'skych fell on the rocks he was spawned in, and the Sith took the sword and escaped the vengeance of the Broodlord's followers.
What happened to this Sith is unknown, but the Sword of H'skych seemed to carry a curse with it, perhaps that of the spirit of its creator, for the weapon is suspected to have passed through a dozen hands in the decades that followed, each owner meeting a more sinister fate than the last. This continued until it seems the Jedi took an interest in the weapon and sought to possess it, maybe through their own ambitions or to protect the galaxy from the swords curse, and the Dark Sword ended up in the Jedi Library on Ossus, under the care of one Jedi Master Kria Ontgaru.
The Jedi locked the Dark Sword away, perhaps fearing it's dark power, or perhaps because they just considered it nothing more than a Sith artefact, and gave little thought to its origins or powers. However the curse of the weapon wasn't finished and soon it fell upon the foolish Jedi. Exar Kun instructed his Dark Jedi followers to destroy the Kron Nebula, to ensure the destruction of Ossus and the Jedi who dwell there. Ontgaru herself was burned in the flames as she tried to escape the destruction that ravaged the world and the Dark Sword of H'skych was left amongst the ruins suppose ably forgotten forever.
It was nearly four thousand years later when a Krath archaeologist by the name of Trevarus Caerick, later to become Dark Jedi Master Shan Long, sought out and discovered the forgotten artifact amongst the ruins and returned it to the then Krath High Priestess High Priestess Mairin Astoris. It remained in her possession until it was presented to the proud members of Clan Naga Sadow for their valiant efforts during the Dark Brotherhood's mission to the Kh'amar'an world.
The Dark Sword of H'skych has remained with Clan Naga Sadow ever since, and finally the curse seems to have ended, for in this time Clan Naga Sadow has seen much good fortune and has grown in strength to the mighty clan it is now. And with this history revealed the Dark Sword of H'skych is one of Naga Sadow's most powerful possessions, and a weapon to strike fear into its enemies.
Modern Use of the Dark Sword
A Symbol of the Clan
Starting in late 39 ABY, the Consul of the time, Bentre Stahoes decreed that rather than sitting in the vaults of the Clan, the sword would find new use again. It would become a symbol of strength, carried in battle by Sadowans who had proven themselves in large scale conflicts, where threats to the Clan or the Brotherhood would be combated. What this meant was that those who had distinguished themselves above all Sadowans would be granted the right to carry the weapon into battle until the next conflict or vendetta. Once a new member had distinguished themselves, the weapon would change hands.
Bearers of the Dark Sword
The Consul, upon consideration of available data following a large-scale event, will designate and announce the next member to bear the Dark Sword. The presentation should not be based upon smaller, Clan-level events. On the average, the sword will only change hands once a year following a Vendetta, though this is left at the discretion of the Consul. However, the sitting Consul should never be designated as the bearer of the Dark Sword!