 An artist's rendition of the sword. | |
| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Clarent |
| Other Names | Coward's Blade, The Sword of Fire |
| Owner(s) | Marethyu (As a part of his hook) |
| Past Owners | Cernunnos, Mars Ultor. Mordred (presumably), Nicholas Flamel, Josh Newman, Dr. John Dee (briefly) |
| Creator(s) | Unknown Earthlord |
| Date Created | Too long ago to be reckoned |
| Destroyed | Became a part of Marethyu's hook |
| Attributes | |
| Powers | Various |
| Other | Cursed
Killed Nidhogg |
Clarent is one of the Four Swords of Power, specifically linked to magic of fire. It is a twin blade of Excalibur.
Appearance[]
Clarent is described as being approximately 60 centimeters long and carved out of a single piece of volcanic stone, although, unlike other Sword, Clarent is unpolished: its blade doesn't reflect light, and it is described as "ugly" by many. Unique to other Swords, Clarent's blade appears to be adorned with tiny quartz crystals. It is only somewhat different in appearance from other swords, with the exception of a blade and a few differences in its hilt, which is wrapped in leather.
When its powers are used, it will sometimes let out gusts of black and red smoke.
History[]
In a long forgotten age, Clarent was crafted by Earthlords along with other Swords of Power for an unknown purpose.
It is unknown what happened to it before Mars found the Excalibur, but its unique properties led him to discover Clarent. The Elder used the swords for centuries, keeping them in identical sheaths on his backs, but the Swords eventually corrupted him. The Swords were presumably taken from him once he was captured, and nothing is known of them for a very long time.
Clarent resurfaces once again in the battle where King Arthur lost his life. Contrary to popular legend, Arthur wasn't killed by Mordred, who was his son rather than his nephew, but they were both killed by Cernunnos instead. After Arthur's death, Cernunnos flees the battlefield, pursued by Palamedes, but manages to elude him. After the battle, Clarent sinks in the tides of history once more.
Charlemagne supposedly wielded Clarent, and hid it in Andorra, where Nicholas Flamel discovered it centuries ago. It is unknown if he ever wielded it, but when he and Perenelle were forced to flee Paris, he used transmutation to hide it in the stones of his house, where it would remain hidden for hundreds of years.
The Magician[]
Nicholas Flamel recovers Clarent from the wall of his old house, with the intent to give it to Josh, who has yet to be Awakened. When he unveils the Sword in Saint-Germain's house, Scathach, Joan of Arc, and Francis himself jump away from the table, disgusted from the blade's very presence. After Josh questions their aversion to Clarent, Sophie reveals that Clarent is "an evil, cursed weapon" which was used by Mordred to kill King Arthur.
Josh begins to train in swordplay with Scathach and Joan, but learns slowly, and finds even holding it extremely difficult. When Nidhogg attacks the house, Josh uses Clarent to fight the creature, wounding him and sending him fleeing. Nidhogg, however, takes an unconscious Scathach with himself, prompting Josh to pursuit him. During the chase, Josh gets the first true taste of Clarent's powers: the Sword, now awakened by combat, brings his physical abilities to peak, simulating Awakened senses. When Nidhogg is temporarily halted, Josh stabs him with Clarent, causing the dragon's skin to boil and harden as lava crust, and unknowingly mortally injuring the creature.
Soon after, Josh uses the Sword to duel the last standing Dis, who, despite Clarent's awareness, manages to injure Josh. Just as she is about to finish him off, Dee arrives, creating a wall of fire between the two: while this saves Josh's life, it causes him ti drop Clarent. He doesn't retrieve it as Dee takes him with him. Clarent is soon picked up by Nicholas, who attempts to use it to kill Nidhogg, but is too weak. Sophie takes Clarent from him, and deals the blow that petrifies Nidhogg's leg, sending him crashing into Seine, where he sinks to the bottom.
After he is awakened, Josh is given Clarent once again, and wields it in the battle against the Gargoyles of Notre-Dame. The Sword, however, has little effect on the animated statues, forcing the group to turn to Elemental Magics.
The Sorceress[]
Josh is once again shown wielding the Sword when confronted with Genii Cucullati. Although he fails to injure them, he forces them to retreat, which causes them to fall to Nicholas' trap. The Sword is next used when Nicholas unsheathes it to battle Palamedes, believing that the knight betrayed him. He is swiftly disarmed by the immortal, who soon after picks up the blade, believing it to be Excalibur, but drops it in disgust when he recognizes it. When Cernunnos invades the junkyard fortress. he recognizes the blade and demands that Josh gives it to him. When Josh refuses, Cernunnos tells him that the sword will eventually ruin him, which Josh vocally denies, but secretly believes.
When the battle is joined, and Sophie's Fire magic fails to ignite the moat, Josh uses Clarent to do so. He is next shown wielding it in a duel against Dr. John Dee, who wields Excalibur. The two are initially evenly matched, until Josh relinquishes control to Clarent, forcing Dee to retreat. He manages to disarm the Magician, and attempts to pick up Excalibur, but Clarent protests, refusing to be dropped, and injuring Josh until Josh gives in and discards Excalibur into the remains of the moat.
Dee, however, manages to retrieve Excalibur and uses its unique properties to locate Clarent, which leads him to Josh. When Cernunnos attacks the barn, Josh uses Clarent to fend off Archon's arrows, but ultimately defeats him using Water Magic. When Dee knocks Flamel out, Josh flings Clarent at him: although it fails to kill him (Dee shields himself) it manages to dislocate his shoulder and knock him out. Josh then willingly abandons Clarent to save himself and the others from the Wild Hunt.
When Dee's consciousness returns, he is stunned to find Clarent. Overjoyed, as he finally managed to gather all Swords of Power, Dee crosses Clarent with Excalibur, causing them to merge. Gilgamesh, who was left behind, steps out of the darkness, identifying the newly created blade as the "two that are one" from Abraham's prophecy.
The Necromancer[]
Now in possession of the merged blade, Dee decides to rebel against his Elder Masters. When confronted by a unit of Cucubuths, Dee ponders on drawing the sword against them (which would reveal his position to every immortal in London) but is spared the trouble by Virginia Dare. After he and Virginia are cornered by the Cucubuths, as well as Huginn and Muninn, in an unfinished Shadowrealm in the heart of London, Dee hears the voice of the Sword, instructing him what to do: the Sword proceeds to separate back to Clarent and Excalibur, which Dee uses to create a Ley Gate to San Francisco, transporting himself and Virginia to safety.
Dee later reveals to Dare that he has all four Swords in his possession and intends to use them to create a Ley Gate to Coatlicue's Shadowrealm. Just as Dee and entranced Josh manage to bring Coatilcue, Niten, Aoife, and Sophie arrive. Entranced, Josh is horrified at Sophie whipping the Archon, and takes up Clarent with the intent to protect her, unwillingly and unknowingly breaking the restraints on the monster. After Aoife drags Coatlicue back into her Shadowrealm, a still entranced Josh, Dee, and Dare escape with the Four Swords, Josh carrying Clarent.
The Warlock[]
In The Warlock, Josh carries Clarent but does not use it. However when he is on Alcatraz Clarent tempts him to loose the monsters on the city. When Mars, Odin, Hel, and Sophie arrive on the island Dee uses the swords to create a leygate that brings them back ten thousand years to Danu Talis. There they run into Isis and Osiris who, after taking away Dee's immortality, collect the four swords.
The Enchantress[]
In The Enchantress, Clarent and the other three swords are collected by Isis and Osiris. Afterwards, they return them to the twins. Josh receives Clarent and Excalibur while Sophie receives Durendal and Joyeuse. Later on, Josh uses Clarent and Excalibur to kill Isis and Osiris after discovering they were not their parents and intended to use them to rule Danu Talis. Finally, Josh combines all four swords into Aether, Sword of Time, so that he can destroy Danu Talis. In doing so he becomes Death, or Marethyu.
Powers and Abilities[]
Being one of the Four Swords of Power, Clarent is one of the most powerful weapons in existence:
- Corruption: Prolonged use of the any Sword can damage the mind of the wielder. Mars Ultor and Cernunnos were corrupted and nearly destroyed by the Swords, and according to Dee, most humani wouldn't live longer than 10 days, provided they wielded the blade on a daily basis.
- Enhanced Telepathic Linking: Wounding or killing something with one of the Swords of Power will allow partial access to the memories and experiences of whatever the Sword was connected with, but Clarent apparently pioneers this power, as it is able to transfer memories, and even thoughts via contact with opponent's weapon, or by its wielder merely touching the intended person while wielding Clarent.
- Nigh-Absolute Lethality: Like the other Swords of Power, Clarent can kill almost anything that it cuts, stabs, or even touches, by burning it to death in variety of ways. It is unknown if any species younger than Earthlords can withstand the weapon, as Dee was confident that he could kill Cernunnos with Clarent.
- Indestructibility: No known weapon, magic, or force is capable of dealing any amount of damage to Clarent.
- Reality Altering: One of the greater, but more obscure powers of Clarent is its ability to alter reality:
- Creation of Ley Gates: Using Clarent along with Excalibur allows the wielder to instantly create temporary Ley Gate to wherever on Earth the wielder wishes. Archons are said to have used the swords for that very purpose. Humani are also capable of doing that, but at the cost of having their hands burned. It is unknown if any older species would suffer the same consequence. Using Clarent with all other swords enhances the power of the process, as the wielder is capable of opening Ley Gates even to otherwise inaccessible Shadowrealms.
- Creation of Shadowrealms: According to Dee, Elders used the Swords to create Shadowrealms. However, Clarent was never shown doing this.
- Fire Powers: Being linked to an elemental magic of fire, Clarent is capable of several supernatural fire-related feats, although the full scope of them has yet to be displayed. Due to this, no weapon save for Excalibur, whose powers are the opposite, is capable of resisting Clarent.:
- Ignition: anything Clarent stabs or cuts will instantly be ignited or (if not burnable) parched of any liquids.
- Magma Creation: under uncertain circumstances, a stab or cut from Clarent will cause the victim's skin to be filled with boiling magma that rapidly cools. The process is extremely painful and presumably irreversible.
- Master Combatant: Clarent exhibits a unique trait of apparently being semi-sentient, and being able to fight on its own as long as it is in contact with an aura. In such state, the wielder's fighting style becomes incredibly forceful, capable of pushing back incredibly skilled combatants such as Dee or one of the Disir. Josh described the sensation of Clarent fighting on its own as "trying to hold back an angry, starving dog."
- Merging: If a same person wields both Clarent and Excalibur, one coming into contact with another will cause them to merge into a single Sword.
Trivia[]
- It is unknown why or if Clarent never merged with Excalibur while they were in possession by Mars.
- Due to Cernunnos revealing he killed both Mordred and Arthur, it is unknown if Mordred ever actually wielded Clarent. It is possible that he has, and that Cernunnos retrieved it by killing him, but this in unconfirmed.