For context on the world, please see the Intro post and context on the Excalibur collection please see Item #51.
The next sword in the Excalibur collection was the
sixth sword made and belonged to the most powerful Immortal, Father Time.
Father time was the first Immortal born and is in
charge of making sure that the timeline and the universe doesn’t fall apart. Father
Time’s main job is making sure that the Time Scroll predictions come to pass.
But if the scroll’s predictions are changed by the Humans, it is up to Father
Time to mend the Time Scroll, because every time something changes the scroll
begins to tear.
When this happens, Father Time, his kin and assistants
must fix it with a special thread, known as cosmic thread (more on this later).
Father Time also has a second duty, which is to protect all of existence from
any dark entities that seek to destroy it.
Many creatures have tried, but never succeeded. For
they were either killed or chased off by Father Time and his children. The most
feared and persistent of these dark entities is the Cosmic Serpent, a giant
snake that embodies both the power of creation and chaos. The Cosmic Serpent
can’t be killed, only held off and so far Father Time has been able to chase it
away every time it attacked. The Cosmic Serpent’s goal is to destroy time,
causing the universe to collapse and revert everything back into a state of
primal nothingness!
The second most persistent and the most dangerous of
the dark entities is a being known as Yog-Sothoth. Not much is known about this
creature, but what we do know is that he was the first to be born from the
unknown darkness and shadows that were casted when the Light appeared. It is
said that Yog-Sothoth’s powers are equal to Father Time’s, but Father Time was
able to beat him with the help of his children. Yog-Sothoth also has his own
children and grandchildren, but they either hate Yog-Sothoth or were captured
and imprisoned by the other Immortals.
Yog-Sothoth’s goal is to gain the power Father Time
possess and open up the Dark Tapestry, a door to Golrion, a realm filled with
all kinds of creatures made from pure evil and madness!
To help Father Time defeat Yog-Sothoth, Father Time met one of the inhabitants from Golrion, Shub-Niggurath the All-mother and consort of Yog-Sothoth. Shub-Niggurath promised to help Father Time defeat Yog-Sothoth.
Just a quick background on Father Time’s name: Father
Time was first called Zurvan, a name given to him by the Humans who loved and
worshipped him, specifically the people from Iranshahr. And when Father Time
met Shub-Niggurath, he went by the name Zurvan.
Shub-Niggurath and Father Time (Zurvan) mated and Shub-Niggurath gave birth to twin sons, Ahura Mazda and Ahriman. When the twins were born, Father Time saw that Shub-Niggurath tricked him. Shub-Niggurath wanted to have children with Father Time so that she can have help in aiding Yog-Sothoth to open the Dark Tapestry.
Shub-Niggurath’s plan was to conceive twin sons that
were pure evil (like the twins she had with Yog-Sothoth, Nug and Yeb) and had
the powers of Father Time, but there was one problem. For you see, since Father
Time was the first born from the Unknown Light, he had a strong connection to
it and passed that connection on to his son Ahura Mazda who was made from pure
goodness. Unfortunately, this Light didn’t pass on to Ahriman, who inherited
his mother’s evil and wicked nature.
Angered that he was tricked, Father Time battled Shub-Niggurath
and his son Ahriman. A battle he was losing, until his other son, Ahura Mazda,
stepped in and fought his brother. This gave Father Time the opening to defeat
Shub-Niggurath and imprison her in a star that was outside of time and space.
Father Time had to also imprison his twin sons in a
different star. This is because both Ahura Mazda and Ahriman were equally
matched and their battles will always end in a draw. Which would be fine,
because it meant that Ahriman would be kept busy for all time by his brother.
But the problem was that their battles destroyed everything around them, so
Father Time transported them to a realm that is also outside of time and space,
where they can fight without anyone or anything getting caught in the
crossfire.
If you feel bad for the good son, Ahura Mazda, don’t
be. This was his plan. Father Time first rejected the idea, but Ahura Mazda
insisted that this was the only way to stop his mother and his brother from
taking over.
After that Father Time always let his children and his
council (known as the Tai-Sui) help him protect the timeline, due to his
understanding that his enemies are more powerful than what the other Immortals
have to face.
Father Time also changed his name from Zurvan to
Father Time, because he was ashamed that he was tricked by Shub-Niggurath and
almost put everyone in danger. So, he felt that he wasn’t worthy of the name
given to him by the Humans that trusted him.
Father Time is also the protector of many powerful
artifacts that can mess with and change the timeline. Such as the powerful
Tablets of Destiny and the plans to build the dreaded Doomsday Clock. Then
there is the most valuable item that Father Time protects and that is his Sands
of Time.
No one knows what the Sands of Time actually is. The
only one who knows is Father Time. But there are a few theories. Two theories
that are widely accepted, are that the Sands of Time is Father Time’s real body
and the body that he appears in is actually an astral projection or a golem
that he made and possessed. This theory is very popular because it would
explain why The Sandman asked for Father Time’s help in making new bodies for
the Sleep
Paralysis Demons.
The second theory is that The Sands of Time is how
Father Time records and documents everything that happens or is going to
happen. This idea is based off of The Troll King’s crystal ball invention and
the hourglass the sand is housed in. It is believed that The Troll King stole
some sand from the top layer of the hourglass, which houses the knowledge of
time events that are going to or potentially could happen, depending on if the
Humans go with the plan set out for them in the timeline.
The bottom half of the hourglass holds all knowledge
of everything that has happened and holds some information that not even Lady
Wisdom has!
This second theory is more accepted than the first.
But this leads to one misconception among those who believe this and that is
that the Sands of Time can predict or tell when the final battle or the end of Magusterra will occur. Or
at least it can’t anymore, because of the Humans’ ability to mess with the
Immortals’ plans and change the timeline.
So,
whenever a Human goes against the plan set out for them, it could either add
more sand to the hourglass or even take away sand. So it is impossible to tell
when the end is near because the amount of sand in the top half of the
hourglass is always fluctuating.
Anyway…
back to the main event, the next sword in the Excalibur collection: Zeit Verkürzen or the Time Piece.
Starting with the blade or blades. Hephaestus wanted to make a sword for Father Time that could also turn into two swords because Father Time’s primary weapon is a set of daishō swords. A daishō set consists of one katana sword and one smaller katana sword (also known as a wakizashi).
Father
Time used to rely on his bare fists and strength, but then he met a Ronin by
the name of Miyamoto Musashi in Nippon. Miyamoto Musashi was a master of a dual
sword fighting style and trained Father Time, who adapted his own style to use daishō
swords. Father Time’s daishō swords were made by Futsunushi, one of Nippon’s
most skillful warriors and blacksmiths.
When
Father Time got the swords, he named his daishō set The Hands of Time, because
they resemble the hour and minute hands on a clock.
Hephaestus knew that he couldn’t make two separate swords for Father Time, so instead decided to make a double-bladed sword. With one long blade on one side and a small blade on the other that can be detached from sword’s main body.
Now it was just finding the right metals for these blades. It didn’t take long for Hephaestus to find the answers: Cronos and Kairos.
I will first talk about Cronos. Cronos was the son of Father Time and Mother Nature. His job was to make sure that the four seasons came and went at the right time. He was also Father Time’s Chief Guardian and fought by his father’s side whenever an enemy appeared to destroy the universe.
Cronos
took his jobs very seriously. So much so that it actually drove him insane
because when he used his powers to bring in the next season, he expected the
Humans to respond in accordance to it.
By
this I mean that when Cronos brought in spring he wanted the Humans to prepare
the lands. Then when Cronos made it summer he expected the Humans to plant and
then harvest until autumn and then stop farming during winter.
But
then the Humans learned that some foods can be grown during winter, which
irritated Cronos and forced Father Time to fix the Time Scroll. Cronos told the
Humans to stop it, but they ignored him and eventually Cronos snapped and went
on a rampage killing every Human who disobeyed him.
He
was stopped by Mother Nature and Father Time. Both Cronos’ parents didn’t want
to punish him, so they made him a full time guardian to help Father Time and
the seasonal changes job went to Cronos’ half-sister, Demeter (Mother Nature’s
daughter).
But even at his new post Cronos grew irritated because
of the constant changes that Father Time had to make to the timeline and
proposed to his father that they just attack the Humans and force them to
follow the path set for them.
Father Time shut down his idea and Cronos attacked him. Cronos lost and escaped before he could be imprisoned. Cronos sought out refuge in The Troll King’s domain and even agreed to lead the Titans in battle on The Troll King’s behalf. But as we know this is where Cronos met his defeat at the hands of his son (who he had with his wife Rhea, a witch), Zeus, and the other Olympians.
Cronos was imprisoned in the fiery hellscape of Tartarus. And Cronos’ weapon The Time Harpe, which Mother Nature gifted him was locked up with the other time artifacts. Cronos’ harpe was made from a powerful rare metal and was imbued with the power of indestructability and the power to speed up time of objects. By this I mean that if Cronos wanted to, he can turn a seed into a tree in an instant or he can make a flower grow older to where it begins to wilt and die.
This power can also be used on animals and magical creatures, but it doesn’t work on any of the First Created, i.e. Humans and the Immortals. And it was this weapon Hephaestus wanted to use in the long blade. Father Time agreed that The Time Harpe was the only thing powerful enough to withstand the other swords in the Excalibur collection.
But father Time requested that Hephaestus keep the harpe’s shape in the blade design. Hephaestus honoured this request by only melting down the blade so that he can make it longer.
Now for the short blade, which isn’t as powerful as the first, but is a close second and that is the razor used by Kairos, the great-grandson of Father Time.
Kairos is the son of Zeus and his job is to stop the fabric of reality from falling apart. You see, as mentioned when a Human changes the timeline it causes the Time Scroll to tear and sometimes this tear takes a long time to mend. This results in ripples or tears to appear in Magusterra.
These
ripples or major tears (as it is called) appears on the Time Scroll when a
Human fulfils or denies their destiny prematurely, by skipping all the other
time events that lead up to it. And it is up to Kairos to stop the ripple from
growing any bigger, until Father Time can repair the Time Scroll and close the
ripple.
Kairos
does this with the use of a special razor and a pair of scales given to him by
Father Time. Kairos uses the razor to cut off a piece from the ripple. Then the
balances the scales on that same razor. Kairos places the ripple piece on one
scale and then balances it out by pouring sand (from the Sands of Time) onto
the other scale.
Once
Kairos counters the ripple piece’s weight with an equal amount of sand, he must
hold it. This takes a lot of concentration, after all Kairos is balancing it on
a razor! This stops the ripple from getting any bigger. Kairos balances the
scales until Father Time fixes the Time Scroll and the ripple closes.
After
that Kairos packs up and goes to the next ripple. Hephaestus felt that Kairos’
razor would make a perfect wakizashi. And because it is made to balance things
it could help with weight distribution and not hinder Father Time when in a
fight.
Hephaestus went to meet Kairos at a town where a ripple appeared and asked for his help in obtaining a razor. Kairos informed Hephaestus that he has multiple razors because after every ripple he holds off, it goes dull. Kairos also told Hephaestus that he makes them himself.
Hephaestus told Kairos what he was doing for Father Time and Kairos gave Hephaestus the metal he uses for his razors and even told Hephaestus how he forges his razors. Hephaestus swore that he would keep Kairos’ razor forging techniques a secret and take it with him to the grave.
Back at his workshop, Hephaestus, forged a razor-like blade for the bottom half of the sword, which he wanted to make detachable to accommodate Father Time’s fighting style.
But now it was figuring out how to attach (and allow the razor to detach) the two blades together. Hephaestus also wanted the hilt to add to Father Time’s power, and this lead him to the reason why Humans can disrupt Father Time’s plans.
Hephaestus learned that like the dream portal in the Human eye, there is a special part in the Human anatomy that connects them directly to time. And that part is known as the kala chakra, located in the Human spine. The kala chakra, also referred to as the Wheel of time, is located in the spine and spiritually connects Humans to time and the Time Scroll, thus allowing them to change it.
But Hephaestus didn’t just want any old Human kala chakra, no, he wanted the being or beings who possessed the strongest kala chakras. And there were only three beings that were known to have had this: The Norns.
The
Norns were three sisters (Urd, Verdandi and Skuld) and the daughters of Father
Time and an unnamed Human woman.
The
Norns as mentioned were a group of three sisters and they had the responsibility
of helping their father mend the Time Scroll whenever it started to rip. To
accomplish this, they used different types of threads.
But the Norns were more Human than Immortal, so over the years they grew old and couldn’t help their father keep the scroll together. Worried about leaving Father Time alone to deal with the Time Scroll, the Norns, built a temple near Yggdrasill.
In this temple the Norns recruited females from every land, species and race. There they taught the women how to use the threads and how to fix the Time Scroll. Then before the Norns died they chose three new women to take their place. These three chosen women then became the new Norns, were transported to Father Time’s realm (the Endless Void) and helped repair the scroll. Then when they died, three new Norns are chosen to take their place.
And this became a tradition. The temple was a woman only housing and school. They were also protected by Yggdrasill, because when they weren’t being taught they were watering and tending to the roots of Yggdrasill after every attack from Nidhogg.
It is believed that the Norns organization, takes in orphan girls and trains them. You can think of this as a non-violent Amazonia. And as mentioned anyone can join them as long as they are female, species isn’t a factor to the Norns, because over the years they have had Norns who were ogres (or ogresses), Humans, gnomes, dwarves and they even had a unicorn!
As mentioned, Hephaestus wanted to incorporate the kala chakra from the original Norns, because they had the strongest connection to time through their powerful chakra energy (due to their parentage). And like I wrote, this chakra is stored in the spine and even after death this chakra stays in the spine. This was discovered by Merlin, during his research to harness magic.
This is also how the new Norns get their powers that allows them to help Father Time. According to legend, when the new Norns are selected, they are taken to the originals’ burial site. There, they drink the spinal fluid from the vertebrae that houses the kala chakra. The spinal fluid then gets refilled by Yggdrasill who keeps the spine (and only the spine) “alive” and in working order.
Hephaestus
told Father Time about his idea to use the vertebrae from each of his daughters,
so that the sword can be powered by their kala chakra. Father Time understood
and agreed, but told Hephaestus to only take one vertebrae from each spine, as
taking more than that, would remove the kala chakra and render the spines
useless.
To help Hephaestus gain these materials, Father Time sent Sister Death and Mother Nature to retrieve it. This is because Sister Death can remove the vertebrae without disrupting the chakra’s flow and Mother Nature can safely remove the bones from her daughter’s (Yggdrasill) roots, without hindering Yggdrasill’s ability to keep producing the marrow needed by the Norns organization. Father Time also sent Sister Death and Mother Nature because only women were allowed into the temple.
When
Hephaestus got the three sisters’ spines, he placed them in order of what time
tense they represented: top vertebrae is Urd (past), middle is Verdandi,
(present) and bottom is Skuld (future). Hephaestus planned to use the top two
vertebrae to hold Cronos’ harpe and the last one to hold Kairos’ razor.
But
this is not the only thing that Hephaestus used from the Norns, because while
trying to determine how to allow the razor to attach and detach from the main
sword body, he learned how the treads work that the Norns use to mend the Time
Scroll.
There
are many different threads and they are all made from different materials from
around the world. Each thread also has a different power level and is used
accordingly to what the threat level of the tear in the scroll is. For
instance, let’s say that it is a small tear. In this case it should be repaired
quickly and only needs a small amount of power to fix it, so the Norns would
use the Moirai tread that they created in Hellada with the help of the three
sister witches (also known as the Fates). But if there is a major tear, the
Norns would have to use the most powerful thread, the Red Thread, they created
with the help of Yuè Xià Lǎorén
in Zhōngguó.
Hephaestus told his plan to Father Time: he would like to use a Red Thread to hold the razor part to the main body, but if Father Time wants to turn his sword into a daishō-like weapon, he can just pull off the thread and detach the short blade.
The thread can even be used to put it back. Father Time liked this idea, because it is technically still one sword, so the other Immortals can’t complain.
With the current new Norns, consisting of one Human, a fairy and a goblin, Hephaestus, created a new Red Thread that can be loosened with one pull and can also reattach the razor part.
But before Hephaestus could attach the blades to the spines, Father Time asked him to use two more elements in the sword’s design. This being the first sundial and a discus from Kali.
First
the sundial. The first sundial was invented in the desert lands of Kemet and
gifted to Father Time when he still went by the name Zurvan.
It was given to Father Time as a thank you, after he stopped the Cosmic Serpent
for the first time.
Father Time was honoured and intrigued by this invention that could tell time
with the use of shadows. So much so, that Father Time incorporated it into his
symbol.
The
sundial was then further developed by Father Time after he came across the
people of Bāb-ili, who had their own version of the sundial. This time with
hour lines. Then Father Time worked with the people form Hellada and Roma, to
make the prefect sundial. Then later he worked with the people from Zhōngguó,
then later and still currently works with people all around Europa to develop
the mechanical clock.
Anyway,
that was a bit of a tangent, but basically Father Time wanted Hephaestus to
include the very first sundial gifted to him by Kemet. The sundial doesn’t have
any special powers; Father Time would just like to honour them.
But the second piece, is a discus from Kali, the daughter of Sister Death and Father Time.
Kali
is a fierce and powerful warrior who not only helps Father Time protect
reality, but she also carries out the duties and tasks given to her by her
mother. One of Kali’s defining features and what makes her a force to be
reckoned with is that she has four arms and in each arm a weapon. And one of
these weapons is a discus or chakram, a flat circular blade that is thrown to
harm enemies.
But
unlike normal chakrams, Kali’s can be thrown and controlled by her. Meaning
that if she throws it she can make it change directions while it is moving and
have it return to her, even when it has stopped and hit something.
Father
Time wanted his sword to do the same thing for him, so that when the time comes,
he can call out to the sword and have it fly to him no matter where he was.
Another reason why he wanted it to be similar to Kali’s discus, was because he
chose her to be his champion and take his place in the final battle if he is
taken out before then. This was much to the chagrin of Sister Death who also
wanted Kali, but because Father Time’s sword was made before hers, he had first
pick. This lead to Sister Death picking her son Mictlantecuhtli, the ruler of
Mictlan, the underworld of Aztlán.
Anyway,
this is why Father Time wanted a discus from Kali, so that she can also summon
the sword if she has to. For this, Hephaestus, went to Bharat
and asked Kali for help. Kali, honoured to be her father’s champion, made Hephaestus a brand new
discus in her workshop.
When
Hephaestus had both items, he decided to turn them into the cross guards for
the two blades. The sundial was used to attach the harpe to the hilt and the
discus was used for the razor. This is to insure that when Father Time calls
for the sword, it lands into his hand with the long blade pointing away from
his body and lowering the risk of any accidental stabbing. And another reason
is so that when Father Time detaches the razor he can throw it like a dagger
and then have it return to him.
Hephaestus
assembled the sword and named it Zeit
Verkürzen or the Time Piece. Hephaestus
didn’t give the sword to Father Time himself, but instead it was given to the
current Norns, because as mentioned in The Sandman’s sword document, Father
Time was imprisoned in his realm, the Endless Void, which only the Norns and
other beings with time powers can go.
Father Time put the sword
in the vault where he kept the other dangerous artefacts.
The ark took me to the hot desert lands of Kemet, where Father Time received the first sundial, which has been turned into a monument.
There I was greeted by a Jikan
Kitsune, a humanoid fox with shapeshifting powers and an ability to create a
bubble with a radius of 10 x 10 feet. In this bubble the Jikan Kitsune, can
either slow down time or speed it up.
The Jikan Kitsune was
silent throughout the whole ordeal. All they did was appear out of nowhere,
nodded at me and then placed the sword in the ark. Then in a beautiful silky
female voice, the Jikan Kitsune telepathically wished me safe travels, turned
fully into a fox and disappeared.
That voice still haunts me,
but I had no time to reflect on what just happened because I immediately was
summoned to collect the final sword in the Excalibur collection: Item #61 Caliburnus or the Immortal
Key.
Now unfortunately Item #61 Caliburnus or the Immortal key, is classified as a cursed object and unfit for the public. But because I have a strong belief in freedom of knowledge, I made that post a Patreon exclusive. Where for a onetime fee you can view the post and learn about Caliburnus. Please click here:
Thank you for joining me on this journey. But there are still more magical artifacts in Magusterra that have to be locked away. So join me on my next quest as I retrieve the hand of the Sorcerer King to log and document each magical ring he used to rise to power!
Find me on Patreon: patreon.com/OnlineCurator
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