By Robert Fudali
The story of the sword from the “Thousand Swords” session disappearing goes back to the days when, together with the Viking and Slavic warrior group “Ślężanie,” to which I belonged for several years, we took part in various archaeological and historical festivals. One of them was the famous Biskupin festival in 1997. Those were completely different times, we lived that world fully and authentically. Training sessions, journeys, camps, weapons, recreating ancient traditions and warrior crafts were part of everyday life, not just some weekend hobby.
After returning from Biskupin, my sword remained in the car of Thy Worshiper guitarist “Juby.” I was supposed to collect it later, once we found time to meet again. Juby was also a member of the “Ślężanie” group and regularly participated in our training sessions. He helped us a lot by giving us access to his father’s workshop, where we forged and crafted our own swords, knives, and daggers. We traveled together on many expeditions in his old Volkswagen van. In the basement of his house, where Thy Worshiper had their rehearsal room, Graveland held some of its very first rehearsals as well.
I trusted him completely, so I was never worried that the sword stayed with him for such a long time after we came back from the festival. After a few months, however, all contact with him suddenly disappeared. Around half a year later, I learned that Juby had died. I think he was probably the first close friend I lost at such a young age. At that age, death still feels distant and unreal, so the news hit me very hard.
After his death, the sword was never recovered. Nobody knew where he had hidden it or what had happened to it. Perhaps it still lies forgotten somewhere among old relics from those years. The truth is that I never tried to search for it aggressively. I did not want to intrude on his family during such a difficult time or come to them asking questions about an old sword. And that is how the story of the weapon used during the “Thousand Swords” photo session came to an end, a relic of a completely different era of my life.
In the attached photos, the first image shows the sword photographed in 1992. The second photo shows part of our “Ślężanie” group returning from Biskupin in 1997, standing beside Juby’s vehicle, he is standing on the far right side of the picture.
Source: Graveland's official facebook page
BLOG'S COMMENT:
This post done in honour of Graveland's true spirit which was in the period 1992 - 1997
