by Richard Flanagan
Art colored by Keith Johnson
And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
-- Luke 7:19It is a weapon cast in fear and forged in nightmare.
The very few who have heard of its existence do not speak openly of it. If the rumors are true and this blade exists then it not only casts the darkest illumination on the beliefs of both Heaven and Hell, but it also means that a monstrous force of malice stalks the faithful on Earth in its two thousand year old quest for vengeance.
It is the Sword of the Baptizer.
The Facts
The first known record of the Sword of the Baptizer comes from 317 AD, from a scribe of Constantine the Great. After issuing the Edict of Milan four years earlier, which was the foundation of the Roman Empire's embrace of Christianity, Constantine began to amass a collection of every holy relic which could be found. Among those assembled were apparently the Spear of Destiny (the lance which pierced Christ's side), the cloth which would come to be known as the Shroud of Turin, twelve of the thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas for his betrayal of Christ at Gethsemane, and a sword which was believed to have once belonged to John the Baptist. Constantine took the sword as his own, during which time his was described as "quite unlike himself, in virtue and demeanor," and within a fortnight his behavior was "diabolical." The sword was taken from . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: November 24, 2000
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