Emerald Sword Saga

The Emerald Sword Saga is a high fantasy story spread over 5 albums by the Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire that follows many of the common tropes of the genre, including clearly defined good versus evil and the inclusion of various fantasy monsters. The hero of the story is the Warrior of Ice who sets out on a quest to find the legendary Emerald Sword with which he can defeat the Dark Lord Akron. Each new chapter of the story is described in each CD's accompanying booklet. The narrator is the ancient wizard Aresius, who "has seen it all."

The story is split in five CDs: Legendary Tales, Symphony of Enchanted Lands, Dawn of Victory, Rain of a Thousand Flames, Power of the Dragonflame.

Legendary Tales

Legendary Tales is the beginning of the story. Here, the listeners are introduced to the Warrior of Ice and his quest. The Warrior begins to search for the Emerald Sword, and travels to the city of Ancelot. He finds the city in ruins along with countless victims. Princess Airin had been captured by the forces of Akron, the Black King, along with several other of the bravest knights. They have been brought to the city of Hargor. But the Warrior does not know this and thinks he has found the body of Airin, and is very sad about her death. After a while he sets off again and meets the army of prince Arwald, and they join forces. Together they set off for the town of Elnor, where they will begin their search of the three Keys of Wisdom, which will unlock the way to the Emerald Sword. The Warrior of Ice, thirsty for revenge, is unable to rest when they arrive in Elnor, and awaits what will come.

Symphony of Enchanted Lands

The main theme in Symphony of Enchanted Lands is the search for the three Keys of Wisdom. As prophesized in Legendary Tales, the Warrior of Ice must overcome his deepest fears in the 'Mirror of Shadows' to obtain the first key. Then he had to get past Tharos, the ever-watchful dragon, keeper of the second key, who was under a spell. The dragon is defeated after a long fight, and the Warrior failed to take the opportunity to destroy him, thus releasing Tharos from his spell. The Warrior and Tharos then became allies. Tharos took the Warrior on his back, and they flew to a distant valley, where the altar of Ikaren was. There, in a mystic cave, he found the third key. Near that altar was a hidden passage, leading to a great hall. The ancient wizard Aresius was there, awaiting the arrival of the Chosen One. Aresius was the one watching over the Ivory Gates, the passage to a wonderful land. The Warrior of Ice enters together with Tharos, and they make their way past a beautiful valley and a desert, to end up in a deserted place. Suddenly, ghosts and undead come from every way, rapidly closing in on the Warrior. But Tharos repays his debt and rescues the Warrior, and together they fly away from this hell. It is a wonderful flight, until the sky turns dark and everything gets cold. Tharos tells the Warrior that this is the Fortress of Abyss, rumored to be the place where the Emerald Sword is hidden. When they fly over the fortress, winged demons appear, making the situation a bit more complicated. Tharos leaves the Warrior on the highest tower, while he fights the winged demons. The Warrior opens a trapdoor and enters a great hall... with at the end the Emerald Sword. The Warrior of Ice walks to the sword, and takes it from its place. But then the guardian of the sword appears, nearly killing the Warrior. But there is Tharos again, as he throws himself on the monster, giving the Warrior enough time to recover and mortally wounding the monster. They quickly make their way out and fly back to a more pleasant world. Once they go back through the Ivory Gates, the Warrior notices that Tharos is wounded. It was a mortal wound, and Tharos would die soon after. The Warrior of Ice is now even more enraged and swears to kill the Dark Lord Akron with his own hands.

Dawn of Victory

Dawn of Victory is the turning point in the tragedies. The Emerald Sword is in the hands of the Warrior of Ice and with this legendary weapon they freed Ancelot from the siege, led by the newly introduced character Dargor. Dargor retreats from Ancelot and goes back to Hargor. Meanwhile, the Warrior hears from Arwald that Airin and the other prisoners still live. While they are planning a rescue, they get a message from Akron stating that they must give him the Emerald Sword or he would kill all prisoners one by one. The Warrior of Ice and Arwald had no choice and agreed to meet Akron in Hargor. Akron, being a true Dark Lord, didn't speak the truth, and when the Warrior and Arwald arrived in Hargor, the knights were already executed, and Akron's forces captured the Warrior and Arwald. Airin hadn't been killed by then. But it would not be long, because Akron had terrible plans with the three heroes. Airin was brutally raped by the demons in front of Akron, Arwald and the Warrior of Ice, while Dargor tried to convince Akron that this wasn't a proper way to act. It didn't help. Airin was, with her last breath, lowered into a pit containing a terrible acid. Arwald suffered the same fate, after being tortured in terrible ways, and Dargor couldn't endure watching and left. Arwald, however, in his last moment of reasoning, threw some acid in the direction of the Warrior of Ice, and his chains melted. The Warrior escaped by throwing himself into an underground river, known as Aigor, which carried him to safety. The demons couldn't find him, and he went back to the holy city of Algalord to report on this tragedy. Akron now possessed the Emerald Sword, and this would bring much sadness...

Rain of a Thousand Flames

In Rain of a Thousand Flames the destruction by the forces of Akron is the main theme. In all songs, performed in a very harsh—some even non-melodic—way, the demons' acts are described. A rain of fire pours down on the army of the Warrior of Ice, the Queen of the Dark Horizons is resurrected, and the "Rites of Blood" are carried out, announcing the arrival of thousands of demons The towns of Elnor and Thorald are destroyed, and King Eric of Elnor is killed in the fight.

Considering it primarily focuses on the evil of Akron and the Warrior of Ice is not part of the album, it is considered a stop-gap in the story.

Power of the Dragonflame

Power of the Dragonflame is the conclusion to the saga. The Warrior of Ice has retreated to the town of Elgard, where Aresius heals his troubled mind. Despite all losses, the Warrior is welcomed as a hero, and he travels once again to the holy city of Algalord to meet with the surviving Kings. Together, they decide that it is now or never, and they organize a huge army to stop the forces of Akron and the Queen of the Dark Horizons. Akron, now more powerful than before thanks to the Emerald Sword, and even more powerful because he could drain power from the destruction his forces carried out, was undefeatable. The army of the Warrior of Ice is completely surrounded, and they realize all is lost. Dargor, the Shadowlord, challenges the Warrior of Ice to a final duel, and the Warrior defeats Dargor. However, Dargor doesn't die. He falls from a rock, and gets trapped. The Warrior sees the conflict of Dargor and helps him get up. Dargor doesn't understand this act of mercy, and because he believed the Warrior was evil (Akron told him that the Warrior had murdered his family) he strikes him down with his sword. The Warrior didn't expect this from Dargor and unable to talk to him he falls down, heavily bleeding. Akron is now ready to declare total victory, and he occupies Algalord reducing it to rubble. The Warrior of Ice is tortured once again, and this time Dargor does watch. Finally, he understands that what Akron had told him was untrue, and he turns against the Dark Lord. He strikes down and kills the Queen of the Dark Horizons, invokes the power of the Gargoyles, mythic stone creatures, and plans to kill Akron as well. Akron, however, gives a signal to a demon, who throws his weapon at Dargor, injuring his shoulder. Akron tells Dargor that he had long been expecting this betrayal, and now all seemed lost. But Gaia, Dargor's mother and goddess of the Earth, gave him one final burst of strength and he knocked Akron down onto the platform where the Warrior of Ice was lying, ready to be lowered into the marshes of Acheros, to be devoured by the watersnakes. The Warrior shouted to Dargor to lower the platform, which he did. The Warrior managed to get the Emerald Sword from its sheath and with it, he constrained the Black King, and fell into the marshes, to be devoured by the watersnakes. And so it came that Dargor personally led the forces of Algalord to victory, with help from the Gargoyles he had summoned. They defeated the demons, and the Gargoyles threw all of them back into the gates of Hell, and remained there to guard them. Algalord was rebuilt, and the Gargoyle became the new symbol of the city. Dargor disappeared until the next saga.

See also

• The history behind the creation of the Emerald Sword, the prequel to "The Emerald Sword Saga"
• "The Dark Secret Saga", the sequel to "The Emerald Sword Saga"

External links

• Rhapsody of Fire's Homepage