Was Ulnar drunk or what?

[Ixia]

So, let’s resume.



There's a Black Moon in the sky. Vashna and his hordes attack Sommerlund, presumably because the Archlord has heard from his spies that Summerlund is governed by a king who lacks basic judgment, to say the least (more on that later).



King Ulnar, who is a gifted Kai Lord and happens to have in his possession a sword forged by the gods, leads the counterattack in the pass of Moytura. Durenor sends all its forces in the battle too. Vashna is slain, pushed back straight to hell (more specifically into the Maakengorge) and Sommerlund is saved!



Durenese and Sommlendings celebrate their triumph all together. Ulnar and the Durenese king Alin, still feeling the adrenaline after that hard fought victory, realize how powerful their nations are when united.



ULNAR (drinking his fourth bottle of Bor Brew) - Alin, my friend, when Durenor and Sommerlund fight together, no Darklord can defeat us. We should be allied FOREVER!



ALIN - You want to sign some sort of a treaty? A mutual assistance pact in case one of our countries is attacked?



ULNAR - Nah, nah, nah! Treaties are boring! Let’s exchange gifts instead.



ALIN - Well, I guess we could trade…



ULNAR - TAKE THE SOMMERSWERD, MY MAN! (opening, drinking and emptying another Bor Brew in seconds)



ALIN - The… The Sommerswerd?



ULNAR - We don’t need *hic* it anymore. We won Alin!



ALIN - Well, there are still 19 other Darklords over there (pointing to the Durncrag mountains).



ULNAR - Forget about the Darklords! They saw what we did to our pal Vashna. Trust me, they won’t bother us EVER again.



ALIN - But… didn’t you tell me yesterday that should the Sommerswerd be used in combat by anyone who is not a Kai Lord, its power will fade and be lost forever?



ULNAR (opening a sixth bottle of Bor Brew) - You worry to much, Alin. We’ll put it in a box or something.



ALIN - Okaaaay… Fine. But the thing is, I don’t have any divine object to give you. What in Ishir’s name could we lend you in exchange for the Sommerswerd?



ULNAR - Well… I have this hobby. I like to collect Seals. I have the Seal of Holmgard, the Seal of Varetta. I’m trying to convince the Fathers of the Truth, in Valerion, to sell me their Seal of...



ALIN - You want the Seal of Hammerdal?



ULNAR - Please, please, please!!!!!!!



ALIN - So be it.



ULNAR - Let’s drink to that!!!



**************************************************



I mean, seriously? Am I the only first time Fire on the Water reader who thought that the Sommerswerd against the Seal of Hammerdal deal wasn’t exactly fair? How could Sommerlund give away its very best weapon - a gift from the gods! - instead of, you know, anything else? Like a Seal, since the Durenese seem to like those.

[kolinovic]

LOL!

Would explain why, of all the lost treasures of Durenor, the seal was the one they least wanted back - they likely had museum tours showing the Sommerswerd off!
I wonder would Alin have more of the personality of Cut-me-own-throat Dibbler though? :-D

[kurz81]

Well the seal of hammerdal has the meaning that all loyal people of durenor are obliged to help sommerlund in case of need... all the nation's help vs the Sommerswerd.
Actually there is no real deep reason for the Sommerswerd to be left in hammerdal behind the cool effect at the end of book 2...
Plot >> logic.

[greylord]

There could be a couple reasons.

For an alliance sometimes, the most powerful weapon that could be used against the other nation is instead kept by that nation. That way, they have the weapon and bartering power if they fear they will ever be attacked.

It may have been sometime in the past that Durenor was wary of Sommerlund and wanted some sort of bargaining power to ensure Sommerlund would never attack Durenor.

The Seal on the otherhand has power of itself, but political power. A seal would be something used to show it was an official message, and the one who wore it the rightful ruler of whatever the seal was over.

For example, the King of England would have his own ring with the royal seal engraved on it. Any unauthorized counterfeiter making a copy could be executed or worse. The seal would be used on hotwax to seal letters to show that it was the official orders or message from the King himself.

The person wearing the Seal of Hammerdal would thus, be able to likely be recognized as the legal owner and ruler of Hammerdal...

AS Hammerdal is the seat of power for Durenor...and that would thus be the official signet of the King of Durenor...that's quite the political artifact to give away.