Swords of Power

The Four Swords of Power were used to create leygates and ley lines by the Archons and to create Shadowrealms by the Elders. They date from the Time Before Time and are believed by many to have been fashioned by the ancient Earthlords, although there is debate: Isis, an Earthlord, thinks Earthlords were unlikely to have fashioned the blades, as they worked with different materials; however, as with many Earthlord Artifacts, such as Kulkulan's mirror, the swords can be fueled with blood. John Dee began to search out for these swords after being told by Marethyu that his destiny lies with the swords. He first found Joyeuse, then Excalibur and Durendal . At the end of The Sorceress, he finally obtains Clarent, the last of the swords necessary to create leygates and ley lines. When the Four Swords are combined, in the order of Clarent, Joyeuse, Durendal and finally Excalibur, they create the Hook of Aether. Upon its creation it melted into the form of a hook; which is now in the possession of Marethyu. Dee can also use Excalibur and Clarent, one in each hand, to create a Shadowrealm gateway and/or a leygate. They are described as being identical except for minor differences in the hilt. Virginia Dare comments on this by saying that she would never recognize them invidually, except Clarent, because of its apparent black-and-red blade. Clarent and Excalibur join together to make a solitary stone sword in The Necromancer by Dr John Dee.

The Swords

There are four main Elemental Swords, one for each of the four Elements, which combine to form the most powerful, the Sword of Aether. Each sword has a twin, except for Aether. The swords' names, known holders, elements, and twin blades are:

Name	Known Holder	Element	Twin Blade
Durendal	Roland, Sophie Newman, Josh Newman, and Dee.	Air	Joyeuse
Joyeuse	Charlemagne, Dee, Sophie Newman, and Josh Newman.	Earth	Durendal
Excalibur	Mars Ultor, King Arthur, Palamedes, Roger Bacon, Dee, and Josh Newman.	Ice	Clarent
Clarent	Cernunnos, Mars Ultor, Mordred, Dee, Nicholas Flamel, Josh Newman and Palemedes .	Fire	Excalibur
Aether	Marethyu/Josh,	Time	None

Excalibur

Excalibur, The Sword of Ice, Clarent's twin, is 48 inches long and has a red diamond and dragons engraved on the hilt. Known users include King Arthur, Palamedes, Mars, Josh Newman, and Dr. John Dee. Anyone it hits will freeze, and it can cut through metal and stone. This sword killed Hekate and the great tree Yggdrasil and thus ended up destroying two other Shadowrealms; Asgard and Niflheim, as well as destroying the gates to six others. It also released Nidhogg, and has a light blue glow to it.

Clarent

The Sword of Fire, also known as the Coward's Blade, is a 20 inch long sword made of dark grey stone. Unlike the other three swords, its texture is rough and bumpy rather than smooth. Its twin is Excalibur. Anything it touches will either heat up, melt, or catch fire. It is worth noting that when Nidhogg was pierced with the blade, it began growing a lava crust that expanded from the point of entry, namely its tail.

Known users include Cernunnos, who claimed to have killed King Arthur with it, Mordred (the person who was believed to had killed King Arthur by most immortals), Mars Ultor, Josh Newman (Marethyu), and Dr. John Dee.

Durendal

Durendal is the Sword of Air, Joyeuse's twin, was used by Roland. It is also known as the indestructible sword.

Joyeuse

Joyeuse, the Sword of Earth, Durendal's twin, was carried into battle by Charlemagne.

Aether

The Sword of Time; shaped like a flat metal hook or sickle, this sword is made by combining all of the four Swords of Power, which will then burn and sear itself into the arm of the user. Currently in possession of Marethyu, it grants immortality and total and complete control of the five Elemental Magics (Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Time), the ability to create Shadowrealms and not to mention hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions or even tens of millions of years of knowledge. All this together means the wielder is effectively omniscient and omnipotent.

Past Holders in the Books

Excalibur -Dr. John Dee then Josh Newman then Dr. John Dee
Clarent - Nicholas Flamel then Josh Newman (The Magician-The Sorceress) then Dr John Dee then Josh Newman (The Necromancer)
Durendal - Dr. John Dee (The Necromancer)+Sophie then Josh Newman (The Necromancer- The Warlock)
Joyeuse - Dr. John Dee (The Necromancer) then Josh Newman (The Necromancer)+Sophie

Current Holder

Excalibur, Clarent, Durendal, and Joyeuse were melted together in the form of the Aether, as the Hook of Aether- Marethyu's (Josh's) Hook (The Enchantress)