Ironhand

Ironhand/Son of Hawkstone is a loose adaptation of the Romanian folk tale "Greuceanu". The current edition in English proposes a few interesting concepts, a personal reinterpretation of the story, and hints about the Immortal Series universe, including a creation myth. The series will include several characters, from Harapalb to Praslea, Ileana Cosanzeana, Capcaun, Strigoi, Moroi, Pricolici, Iele, etc. The original story of Greuceanu (Ironhand) In the kingdom of the Red King, an ogre has stolen the sun and the moon from the sky, and the Red King promises to give his daughter's hand in marriage and half of his kingdom to anyone brave enough to get them back. A youth named Greuceanu (Ironhand) decides to take up on the offer. On his way to the castle, he meets two deserters to be beheaded on the king's orders, but Greuceanu thinks he may dissuade the king of his decision and offer them a pardon. The king agrees. Greuceanu takes his brother and visits Faur, the "world's greatest smith" and his sworn brother ("Faurul pământului," in the original). Greuceanu and Faur work together to fashion an iron replica of him. Afterward, Greuceanu and his brother go to a crossroads and each depart, giving each other a token of life (a kerchief) to signal that one has perished. Greuceanu reaches the house of the ogre and his family, and turns himself into a dove, perching in a nearby tree. One of the ogresses sees the dove and considers it a bad omen for them. Greuceanu takes the form of a fly, enters the house, and spies on their plans. Armed with this new knowledge, he departs to the bridge to the Green Forest, where the ogres will pass, one at the evening, another at midnight, and the third at dawn. Time passes, and the ogres (the ogre father and his two sons-in-law) begin to reach the bridge on their horses, just as they have planned. However, each of the ogres' horses alerts its rider of Greuceanu's presence. The hero appears and wrestles the three ogres. The last one, the father-ogre, is the fiercest of them all, which Greuceanu has trouble defeating at first. A raven flies over the battle, to whom Greuceanu bids to bring him some water to drink, and the raven will gain three ogre corpses to devour. Greuceanu wins and restores the Sun and the Moon. He returns to the crossroads and meets his brother. They embrace and go home. On the way, they notice a pear tree and a cold spring of fresh water near a garden. Greuceanu stops his brother from picking up any pear and drinking the water, for they are the ogre's two daughters, disguised as natural things. The hero strikes the pear tree and the flower stem in the garden, killing the two ogresses. Now back on the road, Greuceanu and his brother look behind them and see the mother ogress coming at them like a cloud of smoke. The duo reaches Faur's workshop to put their plan into action: the ogress demands to talk with Greuceanu. Faur and the hero give her the iron likeness to devour, filled with hot coals. The ogress bursts and dies. The trio celebrates their victory. Greuceanu rides alone to the Red King's kingdom to gain his reward and meets a lame devil on the road. The lame devil steals Greuceanu's sword, a scimitar (the source of the hero's power), and delivers it to the King's councilor, who has struck a bargain with the devil to take the credit for Greuceanu's job and marry the princess.