Daystar Clarion is the fictional sword which appears frequently throughout Elizabeth Haydon

Elizabeth Haydon

Elizabeth Haydon is a fantasy author. She has written two fantasy series set within the same universe, The fantasy/romance/whodunit fusion called The Symphony of Ages and the young adult series The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme....

's the Symphony of Ages

Symphony of Ages

The Symphony of Ages is a series of fantasy–romance books by Elizabeth Haydon. The books tell the story of Rhapsody, a young singer of considerable talent who travels across time to a new land only to learn that it was foretold in a prophecy...

 series. It is originally introduced after being found within a stalactite

Stalactite

A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...

, jutting out from the walls of the root tunnel, as Rhapsody (The Symphony of Ages) and her two companions travelled the roots of the tree Sagia, across time and the world.

Origin

The sword, as told to Rhapsody and her companions by Llauron after they have emerged from the root of the tree, was consecrated to the element of fire and stars, ether

Ether

Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...

. The sword was forged with a piece of the star Seren (the star of Serendair) in it. As the fleets of ships escaped the island of Serendair, one of the warriors on board to protect the passengers of the first fleet was Oelendra. She carried the Daystar Clarion to the other side of the world, using its flame to guide the ships through the dangerous passage. This explained Achmed's incorrect assumption that when they found the sword this meant the trio had in fact gone the wrong way, and were back in Serendair.

Rhapsody

The Daystar Clarion came into Rhapsody's possession most likely because of her elemental bond to fire after crossing the fires at the centre of the earth. With her new bond to fire, as she passed the lodged sword in the tunnel, it began to glow. She removed it from the rock and from that point on became her primary weapon, and extremely useful to her.

Effect and Usage

The sword, when held by Rhapsody and removed from its sheath, is in fact, on fire. Thus, when she stabs her opponents with the sword, the wounds are often immediately cauterized, and there is little blood spilled even with lethal blows. It can also be used by Rhapsody to call down starfire upon an enemy, such as when she did so with Anwyn.

Real Life Equivalent

On Haydon's official site for the series, she notes that "Daystar Clarion, the ancient flaming sword in the story, is modeled on a 14th century Italian sword with a quillon, or finger guard."

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• Haydon, Elizabeth. Rhapsody: Child of Blood. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1999. (Information of the Origin and following two sections)
• Weaponry Info