Source Material: "The King of the Swords” by Michael Moorcock
Book 3 of "The Swords Trilogy"
Last week, I incorrectly stated the article I posted was supposed to be about what qualifies as B/X Dungeons & Dragons today. That article is actually scheduled for next week. This week is the conclusion of my three posts about Michael Moorcock’s “Swords Trilogy”.
For an analysis of Book 2 of The Swords Trilogy, see Source Material: The Queen of the Swords, by Michael Moorcock.
Synopsis
The King of the Swords begins with Corum and Rahlina living at ease in Castle Erorn, along with their friend Jhary, the world once again under the dominion of Law. Their peace, however, is short-lived. A malign influence begins to darken the minds of all who live in the castle. The three struggle—first with irritation, the anger, and eventually temptations of violent rage toward one another. Following a deadly encounter with formerly friendly Vadhagh, Corum and Jhary realize the affliction extends far beyond their home. Along with Rhalina, they depart in their sky ship, looking to the Mabden of Lywn-an-esh, Rhalina’s home country, for aid.
Meanwhile, Jhary’s telepathic, winged cat Whiskers flies to the isles of the Nhadragh, ancient enemies of the Vadhagh. There, he learns Corum’s nemesis, Earl Glandyth-a-Krae, with the assistance of Ertil, an enslaved Nhadragh sorcerer, has called upon Mabelode, the King of the Swords, for succor. A servant of Mabelode has helped Ertil create and sustain the Cloud of Contention, which is causing disorder and strife in the minds of the Vadhagh and their Mabden allies.
Upon arriving at Halwyg, the City of Flowers and capitol of Lywn-an-esh, Corum and his companions find it nearly abandoned. Only the wounded Aleryon, priest of Law, remains. He informs them the others have fled to hide and hunt one another in the countryside, their minds overcome by mutual enmity. At Corum’s behest, Aleryon tries summoning Arkyn, Lord of Law—to no avail.
Whiskers unexpectedly rejoins the companions and conveys to Jhary what he has learned in the Nhadragh isles, warning that Glandyth is coming with his Mabden barbarians, mounted upon flying Chaos beasts.
Corum attempts to summon allies using the Eye of Rynn, but neither it nor the Hand of Kwll obey him.
When it seems all is lost, Lord Arkyn appears, telling Corum he must seek answers across the planes, in the eternal city of Tanelorn.
Corum’s quest leads him into the plane of Chaos itself, to another world far removed from the fifteen planes, into battle alongside two other incarnations of the Eternal Champion, and ultimately to Tanelorn, where the force behind all his adventures will be revealed…
Influence On D&D
A couple of concepts common to D&D crop up in The King of the Swords:
Parallel worlds: Corum and Jhary spend considerable time in medieval Cornwall, a world unaligned with the planes known to Corum’s people.
When the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook introduced the planes of existence, it included a Prime Material Plane encompassing infinite parallel worlds. Dungeons & Dragons module X2: Castle Amber leverages this concept by transporting the players characters Clarke Ashton Smith’s Averoigne, a parallel world in the mortal realm.
There are gods, and then there are gods: While the lords of Law and Chaos are both subject to the Cosmic Balance, the Lost Gods Rynn and Kwll are beyond its power.
Gods in D&D have typically just been bigger, more powerful monsters to fight, but with a hierarchy. Just because you can handle Hermes doesn’t mean you’re ready to take on Zeus. A party overlooks this distinction to their peril.
Inspiration for your Game
The King of the Swords contains several ideas that can be adapted to D&D.
Yyrkoon: The demon Yyrkoon, whom Ertil summons from the plane of Mabelode, was once human, and still retains an outwardly human form, but in diminished proportions. It is the size of a monkey, and takes the place of one that must be sacrificed for the purpose.
The concept of a human so committed to Chaos they become a demon could be a useful device, especially if the player characters are familiar with the human prior to the transformation…
The Vanishing Tower: Corum joins forces with Erekosë and Elric, fellow aspects of the Eternal Champion, to free Jhary from a tower which travels along the planes, appearing in each for only a few minutes.
An adventure location that appears in the world of the player characters, only to carry them to an vast array of parallel worlds, would be an intriguing framework for a cross dimensional campaign.
Coming soon