Vanya's Sword

General

Vanya's Sword is an enormously large stone that has been shaped with great manual skill into the form of a sword stuck at an angle in the earth.

Location

The sword is located roughly between the Dróžt and Skovlân in the middle of a sparsely to hardly populated forest region

Traits

The sword is stuck in the ground at a slight angle in a slight hill. the stone is old and weathered and cracked. The blade is about four to five meters wide and narrow, the guard is kept simple and the handle is short and narrow. It is unclear how deep the stone goes into the earth, but probably quite a bit.

Name

On the southerly side of the sword is a small pit in the ground that was excavated by someone, possibly to determine how deep the blade extends into the earth. For an undetermined amount of time, travelers or groups of travelers have used the sword as an orientation and landmark. In a sort of tradition, many leave small stones with their names carved on them in the two side walls of the pit, which now pile up into stacks. A larger boulder right by the sword bears the Dróžt name "Vanya" in particularly old and weathered letters. This inscription, left by an unknown person, gave the sword its name.

History

Who carved the sword out of the stone, how it was done, why and when is unknown. The sword has presumably been in its place for a long time, as it seems to have been known to hikers as a landmark for ages.

In various texts and legends the sword is mentioned but when it was first referenced is also no longer discernible. Various scholars - mostly from the Dróžt - visited the place but no new discoveries were ever made.

However, it is unlikely that the sword was created from a rock in situ, as the surrounding area is not particularly rocky. This means that the sword was probably brought into its current position only after its creation.

Folklore

Various tales and legends on the Dróžt, in Skovlân and even in Brônia were inspired by the sword and deal with its origin. Some of the narratives diverge widely and there are no apparent commonalities.