Excelsi Regis

by Muramasa

The Axe of King Guto

Long, long, long ago, in a very small Griffonian village, the name of which had long been forgotten, the citizens were shaking with excitement. None other than the Noble King Guto, ruler of Griffonia, was coming to their village! Never had a king of Griffonia visited the village, but Guto did not come merry; he had a request, and he had traveled day an night to all the villages of Griffonia to see if any griffon could meet it; up to this point, all had failed.

As many know, the horrid Arimaspi had gotten off with the Idol of Boreas, despite Guto's best attempts to drive him off. Guto, while a peaceful and benevolent king, still had the pride of a Griffon boiling within him, and thus, he was ashamed of his defeat. He swore the moment his knees hit the ground in battle that he would have his revenge; he would destroy Arimaspi, take back the idol that the High King Grover bestowed upon them, and bring Griffonia back from the ashes.

And so, he issued to the griffons of Griffonia a challenge; he or she must forge him the greatest and most powerful weapon to slay Arimaspi, and the one who could do this would be rewarded with all the wealth and tangible desires they could possibly imagine. Many of the greatest Griffonian smiths in the Griffonian capital of Auster, known for their masterfully crafted weapons, had all stepped up to the challenge, but Guto was not satisfied. And so, he reasoned, there had to be a lesser known smith who could craft him this weapon; he set out on a tour of the empire, and eventually, he was scheduled to come to this quaint little village on the water.

In this quaint little village on the water was a young griffon of seventeen years named Aquila. Aquila lived in a very poor family, who could seldom provide for themselves, and so Aquila went out in the woodlands to hunt every day to bring back food and drink for his family, but it was still never quite enough. However, Aquila made all of his own weaponry, including his bows and daggers, and so once he heard of the King's challenge, he became determined; if we won the favor of Guto, he would not need to worry about food or poverty for the rest of his days. And so, he set to work.

To begin, Aquila knew that the king was a very large griffon, and that only a weapon of true force and terror would be suited to his talons. A sword would not do, nor would a hammer; an axe was perfect, having a powerful blunt strike at the flat of the axe and a devastatingly sharp edge at the sides. And so, the very night Aquila heard of the king's impending visit, he began to work. He slaved the entire night, not a second of sleep ever coming to him, but as the sun rose over his quaint village and the birds began to chirp aloud, the axe had been finished. It was large, it was ordinate, and it was beautiful; any Griffon in the kingdom would have desired it upon looking at it.

However, knew Aquila, master smiths had failed in their attempts to please the king, and so he knew it simply wasn't enough. As Aquila was thinking of what to do, a thunderstorm rolled across his village, and suddenly, the thought occurred to him; what greater power than that of anger of the Gods? And so Aquila ran out with the axe in hand to the heart of the woodlands, and held the axe high in the air. Suddenly, a lightining bolt struck the weapon, and it cackled in fury and rage; it had now been infused with the very power of thunder and lighting, and so it would stay for the rest of its days.

Aquila knew that his weapon was now the most powerful in all the land, but he himself was not satisfied. If this axe got into the wrong hands, he knew, especially that of Arimaspi's, the weapon could easily be used to destroy the empire for which it was made. And so Aquila took the axe to the village mystic, whom was well in tune with the spirits and charms. Aquila asked him to fix this problem, and so he placed a hex upon the axe; only those with a true desire to wield the blade could do so. This satisfied Aquila; he knew the King very much wished to save his kingdom, and his desire to wield the blade and destroy Arimaspi would be unrivaled.

Just as this hex had been placed upon the blade, the King flew into town with his envoy. The town's blacksmith presented his blade to Guto, who looked upon it with disdain; it would not do. The King asked the crowd that had gathered if there was another who had crafted a weapon that he may try; Aquila, with his axe, stepped forward. He took the king to the woodlands where he hunted, and, with might, slammed the axe into the ground. A shockwave of pure thunder and lightning coursed across the ground, and had destroyed every giant tree in the woodland and tore the very earth from underneath them.

The King was delighted! After all this time, a griffon had finally crafted a weapon that would easily dispatch Arimaspi, a weapon that Guto could see had unlimited power! The King immediately promised Aquila all the wealth and goods he could ever ask for. Aquila could not believe it, and in a moment of extreme gratitude, gladly knelt before the king to present him with the axe.

When the King went to grab it, however, something greatly unexpected occurred; it repulsed him. Each time he went to grab it, it shocked his hand, and in that moment, Aquila knew; Guto did not truly have the desire to wield the blade. Aquila explained this to the King, and the King was outraged; he banished Aquila from his village, and ordered the axe to go with him, so that he may never hear of it again.

Heartbroken, Aquila roamed the lands of Griffonia for years on enduntil he reached the Montes Ignis, the Mountains of Fire. He entered a cave in the side of the tallest mountain, and it was there he lived to the rest of his days, the axe diligently by his side. Eventually, Aquila died, as all griffons did, but the axe still remained in the Mountains.

And there it will stay, until the fervor of desire bursts within the heart of one who would wield what Guto could not.

Comments

[badninja]

Interesting. I get the feeling that this will be like Excalibur. So the question is who is the true King or Queen then?

[Muramasa]

7156690

It doesn't necessarily call for the next King or Queen; merely, the one who TRUELY desires to wield the blade.

[badninja]

7156697

[Csquared08]

Huh, neat.