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40-464: Blood Sword may refer to: Blood Sword (gamebook series) Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword , a wuxia manhua series created by Hong Kong artist Ma Wing-shing The Blood Sword , a Hong Kong television series based on the manhua The Blood Sword 2 , a Hong Kong television series based on the manhua Songs of Blood and Sword ,

80-545: A tabiʾ scholar, the size of Azrael were so huge that "if the Earth were put on his shoulder, it would be like a bean in an open field". He also had 4,000 wings which consisted of two types, wings of grace and wings of punishment. The wings of punishment are made from iron rods, hooks, and scissors. Muqatil ibn Sulayman has recorded his commentary in his commentary work, al-Suluk , the angel possessed 70,000 limbs of foot. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz , an Umayyad caliph , reported

120-519: A different playing style from the others. Characters advanced in level, gaining power as the series progressed, and were carried forward from book to book, giving the experience of one long story. Each player was autonomous - often paragraphs would be for one player's eyes only, and he would be privy to some information that he was free to withhold from the rest of his party. Combat took place on mini-maps consisting of squares, with players able to use tactical combat options to defeat their foes. This added

160-632: A dimension of realism to the game, for players had to move to their enemies before fighting them, and if it were a surprise attack, their enemies would start near or next to them. Some mini-maps include a square for fleeing; if the players wish to flee from the battle, they must move to that square before turning to the appropriate paragraph. Sometimes there would be impassable obstacles on maps which characters would have to get around, or squares impassable to players but usable by monsters (e.g.: burning hot coals). The series consisted of five books: 1 : The Battlepits of Krarth "Every thirteen lunar months

200-550: A dying harpist - it's the scabbard of the Sword of Life, dubbed Blood Sword in popular folklore . You will need to find the missing parts of the sword - first the hilt , then the blade - in order to slay the coming True Magi, who were killed in the Blasting - a major cataclysm - six hundred years ago, and now want to rule the world on their return. Only the Blood Sword, the bane of the undead , can stop them. So you travel to

240-469: A memoir by Fatima Bhutto Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Blood Sword . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blood_Sword&oldid=1020780180 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

280-443: A multitude of angels of death. Several modern contemporaries, such as Wahbah al-Zuhayli, and scholars from Islamic University of Madinah, Indonesian religious ministry , Saudi Islamic affair ministry , and Masjid al-Haram have compiled the classical exegesis from chapter Al-Anfal verse 50 Quran   8:50 , that the angel of death has special tasks during the battle of Badr . According to one Muslim tradition, 40 days before

320-466: A narration that the angel of death is armed with a flaming whip. Caliph Umar also reported a narration that the angel of death was so huge that he even dwarfed Bearers of the Throne , group of angels which are known as the biggest among angels. The "Islamic Book of Dead" describes him with 4 faces, and his whole body consists of eyes and tongues whose number corresponds to the number of humans inhabiting

360-443: Is able to seize many souls at the same moment because God made the earth shrunk for him until it seems as if it is a vessel between his hands. A similar Marfu' Hadith (i.e., with an elevated chain of transmission) was reported by Zuhayr ibn Muhammad. When the unbelievers in hell cry out for help, an angel, also identified with Azrael, will appear on the horizon and tell them that they have to remain. Other Quranic verses refer to

400-603: Is also attested by the testament of Nasir Khusraw , in which he claims to have met Azrael during his sleep, informing him about his upcoming death. According to the Sufi teacher Al-Jili , Azrael appears to the soul in a form provided by its most powerful metaphors. It is believed to resist the pulling of the soul by the angel of death by accusing him of acting arbitrarily. In that case, the angel of death returns to heaven to bring proof for following heavenly instructions. The Islamic notion of Azrael, including some narratives such as

440-496: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Blood Sword (gamebook series) The world of Legend has noticeable parallels with Earth in the late 10th century AD, with strong elements of Christian , Greek , Roman , Norse and Arabian mythology. Crusaders of the 'True Faith' (an analogue of Christianity ) have defeated the Ta'ashim people (an analogue of Islam ) and conquered

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480-797: Is mentioned in Kabbalistic literature, such as the Zohar . Despite the absence of such a figure in Judaism, the name Azrael is suggestive of a Hebrew theophoric עזראל , meaning "the one whom God helps". Archeological evidence uncovered in Jewish settlements in Mesopotamia confirms that it was indeed at one time used on an incantation bowl from the 7th century . However, as the text thereon only lists names, an association of this angelic name with death cannot be identified in Judaism. After

520-457: Is not lost; if you can recover the fragments of the Blood Sword, the Magi can be opposed. But to do so, you must travel to the land of death..." 5: The Walls of Spyte "In the darkening sky above, five ominous stars have come into conjunction for the first time in 200 years. Out of the vault of the sky they cast their baleful influence across the frozen landscape. They are the disembodied spirits of

560-508: Is the canonical angel of death in Islam , and appears in the apocryphal text Apocalypse of Peter . Relative to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael holds a benevolent role as God 's angel of death; he acts as a psychopomp , responsible for transporting the souls of the deceased after their death. In Islam, he is said to hold a scroll concerning the fate of mortals, recording and erasing their names at their birth and death, similar to

600-476: The Fighting Fantasy and Choose Your Own Adventure type books of the era by being designed for multi-player, co-operative play (though there was also a single-player option, and one player could control more than one character at a time). A party could consist of up to four players, with each player being either a Sage, Enchanter, Trickster or Warrior. Each of the classes was well-balanced and offered

640-607: The Grim Reaper . Henry Wadsworth Longfellow mentions Azrael in " The Reaper and the Flowers " as an angel of death, but he is not equated with Samael , the angel of death in Jewish lore who appears as a fallen and malevolent angel , instead. Azrael also appears in G. K. Chesterton 's poem " Lepanto " as one of the Islamic spirits commanded by "Mahound" ( Muhammad ) to resist Don John of Austria 's crusade. In The Smurfs ,

680-581: The Outremer . As the timeline approaches 1000 AD, Millennialist fever grips many. After emerging victorious from the Battlepits of Krarth (book 1), where a deadly contest is held every thirteen months, you - a hero (or a group of heroes) belonging to the True Faith - are involved in a bloody battle against a pack of werewolves (book 2). Having defeated the pack, you receive a jeweled scabbard from

720-492: The Earth. The angel of death features in a famous extra-Quranic creation story regarding the creation of Adam, recorded by various Muslim scholars, including Tabari, Mas'udi, Maqdisi, Kisa'i, Tha'labi, Ibn Kathir in his work Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā (Stories of the Prophets), and Muqatil. Accordingly, God ordered the archangels to collect dust from earth from which Adam is supposed to be created. Only Azrael succeeded, whereupon he

760-584: The Hebrew term Malʾakh ha-Maweth ( מלאך המוות ) in Rabbinic literature . In Hebrew, Azrael translates to "Angel of God" or "Help from God". The Hebrew Bible does not mention an angel by the name Azrael, nor does it appear in the rabbinic literature of the Talmud or Midrashim . No such angel is treated as canonical in traditional Rabbinic Judaism . However, an angel by a similar name, Azriel ( עזריאל ),

800-687: The Magi of Krarth hold a deadly contest to see which of them will rule that bleak and icy land. Teams of daring adventurers are sent down into the labyrinths that lie beneath the tundra, each searching for the Emblem of Victory that will win power for their patron. Only one team can survive. The others must die." 2 : The Kingdom of Wyrd "From the Palace of Eternal Dusk, the Warlock-King holds his realm in thrall. His tyrannized subjects live in perpetual fear, for they know their evil monarch can see into

840-839: The Traveller is no one else but Icon, your arch-enemy, whom you finally manage to kill, thus retrieving the Blood Sword. In the last book, while the Millennialist fever is engulfing the continent, you travel north once more to enter the citadel of Spyte, where the True Magi are going to reincarnate at midnight at the end of the millennium. You finally defeat them with the help of Karunaz, a Ta'ashim noble warrior, son of Hasan-i-Sabbah. It's now midnight of Winter's Eve , 999 AD - Judgment Day has come, and you are rewarded with eternal life in Paradise . The book series differed from many of

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880-540: The angel of death has assisting angels who helped him taking souls. According to exegesis , these verses refer to lesser angels of death, subordinative to Azrael, who aid the archangel in his duty. Tafsir al-Baydawi mentions an entire host of angels of death, subordinative to Azrael. The eighth Umayyad Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz once reported the commentary regarding Azrael in Quran chapter As-Sajdah verse 11 Quran   32:11 , that taking many lives are very easy for

920-488: The angel, that in caliph's words "it is as if the entire mankind of earth were only like a dish on a plate from the perspective of Malak al-Mawt (angel of death)". Meanwhile, Al-Qurtubi has narrated from the authority of Mujahid ibn Jabr that the world being between the hands of the Angel of Death is "similar to a vessel between the hands of a human; he takes from whatever place he wants", where Mujahid described that Azrael

960-457: The angels to look upon it and they swoon for a thousand years. After the angels regained consciousness, Death recognized that it must submit to Azrael. This opinion were shared among scholars of Islam such as Sultan ibn ‘Abdirrahman Al-‘Umairi, in his book Al-‘Uquud Adz-Dzahabiyyah ‘alaa Maqaasid Al-‘Aqiidah Al-Waasithiyyah where he adds commentary the Hadith about Death will be materialized after

1000-404: The death of a person approaches, God drops a leaf from a tree below the heavenly throne, on which Azrael reads the name of the person he must take with him. Al-Qurtubi narrated commentary from classical scholar, Ibn Zhafar al-Wa'izh, that Azrael, has a shape resembling a blue colored ram, has numerous eyes in numerous places, and according to Ikrimah Mawlâ Ibn 'Abbâs  [ id ; ar ] ,

1040-492: The emergence of Islam, the name Azrael became popular among both Christian and Islamic literature and folklore . The name spelled as Ezrā’ël appears in the Classical Ethiopic version of Apocalypse of Peter (dating to the 16th century) as an angel of hell, who avenges those who had been wronged during life. Before the creation of man, Azrael proved to be the only angel brave enough to go down to Earth and face

1080-433: The form of a ram, then placed between paradise and hell, and finally slaughtered by God himself, causing Death cease to exist, which followed by God to declare to both people of paradise and hell that eternity has begun, and their state will never end. Lange mentioned that according to some scholars, the ram in that Hadith narration is no other than the angel of death himself, while others assert, this to be death's own form in

1120-593: The great Roc, the three wishes, the ship of the Pirate-King, the flying horse, the magic of the beautiful Psyche. And who shall win the Sword of Death, the Demon's Claw itself?" 4 : Doomwalk "Of all the desperate adventures, this is the most desperate - and the most vital. Only two years remain before the year 1000, when the Magi's power will have waxed full and the moment of their reincarnation will be at hand! All

1160-507: The hereafter. In other account sourced from Muqatil ibn Sulayman , Azrael and death were said as one entity as he reported the angel has number of faces and hands equal to the number of living creatures on his body, where each of those faces and hands are connected with the life of each souls in the living world. Whenever a face within Azrael body vanished, then the soul which connected with it will experience death. A common belief holds that

1200-476: The hordes of Iblīs, the devil, in order to bring God the materials needed to make man. For this service he was made the angel of death and given a register of all mankind. Along with Gabriel , Michael , and Israfil , Azrael is one of the four major archangels in Islam . He is responsible for taking the souls of the deceased away from the body. Azrael does not act independently, but is only informed by God when

1240-617: The judgment day in form of a Ram, which said as different entity than Angel Azrael. According to one narration, Azrael is rewarded to become the angel of death for successfully carrying the dirt of the earth from which Adam would be created. The identification of "Death" and angel Azrael as one entity were explained in a Hadith about the fate of "Death" entity itself after the judgment day, where classical Hanafite scholar Badr al-Din al-Ayni has interpreted in that Hadith which compiled in Sahih Bukhari collection, that Death would take on

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1280-624: The last of the Magi, seeing the return to the mortal world at midnight and ushering in a new era of terror. You wield the sole force in the world capable of destroying the Magi. The Sword of Life is mankind's only hope but it is no guarantee of victory. The Magi have had two centuries of exile to plan their reincarnation. To stop them you will need greater courage and strength than ever before!" Azrael Azrael ( / ˈ æ z r i . ə l , - r eɪ -/ ; Hebrew : עֲזַרְאֵל , romanized :  ʿǍzarʾēl , 'God has helped'; Arabic : عزرائيل , romanized :  ʿAzrāʾīl or ʿIzrāʾīl )

1320-452: The lesser angels of death are for the common people, while saints and prophets meet the archangel of death himself. Great prophets, such as Moses and Muhammad are invited politely by him, but saints are also said to meet Azrael in beautiful forms. It is said that, when Rumi was about to die, he laid in his bed and met Azrael in human shape. The belief that Azrael appears to saints before they actually die to prepare themselves for death,

1360-519: The minds of others and slay them in their dreams. Only outsiders from beyond the boundaries of Wyrd may slay the tyrant - and they will need all the courage and skill that mortals ever can possess." 3 : The Demon's Claw "Will you survive the perils of the desert city of Crescentium? The wandering ghouls and assassins? The half-human monsters? The dreaded Seven-in-One? For this is a land of sorcery and treachery - where you will encounter terrors and wonders more fabulous than you had ever dared imagine -

1400-488: The name of Icon the Ungodly - will eventually find you, and after you defeat him for the second time Icon falls down to Sheol , the realm of the dead, taking the Blood Sword with him. So you will have to enter Sheol (book 4), a patchwork of hells from different mythologies, where a mysterious man who goes by the name of the Traveller takes you through a long journey which ends before archangel Azrael . Here you discover that

1440-512: The northern land of Wyrd , where the Warlock-King guards the hilt from inside his Palace of Eternal Dusk. Then your journey takes you south (book 3), to Crescentium - the main port of the Outremer. There you will find several allies - among whom the assassin leader Hasan-i-Sabbah - who will help you find the blade. But your old enemy Aiken - a Yamatese warrior, known in the lands of the West by

1480-603: The role of the malakh ha-mavet (Angel of Death) in Judaism . Depending on the perspective and precepts of the various religions in which he is a figure, he may also be portrayed as a resident of the Third Heaven , a division of heaven in Judaism and Islam. In Islam, he is one of the four archangels , and is identified with the Quranic Malʾak al-Mawt ( ملاك الموت , 'angel of death'), which corresponds with

1520-469: The tale of Solomon , a hadith reaching back to Shahr Ibn Hawshab , was already known in the United States in the 18th century as attested by Gregory Sharpe and James Harris . Some Western adaptions extended the physical description of Azrael, hence the poet Leigh Hunt depicts Azrael as wearing a black-hooded cloak. Although lacking the eminent scythe , his portrayal nevertheless resembles

1560-483: The time is up to take a soul. Surah 32:11 mentions the angel of death. Regarding Azrael's missions and function, interpretation from several groups of modern Islamic scholars from Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Yemen and Mauritania has issued fatwa that taken the interpretation from ibn Kathir regarding Quran chapter Al-An'am verse 61, and a hadith transmitted by Abu Hurairah and ibn Abbas , that

1600-598: Was destined to become the angel concerning life and death, a reference to show the close connection between these two. Islam elaborated further narratives concerning the relation between Azrael and Death. Christian Lange mentioned that according to some scholars Azrael and Death were one entity; other exegesis scholars opined Azrael and Death were different entities, with Death as some kind of tool used by Azrael to take life. One account explains death and its relation to Azrael, representing Death and Azrael as former two separate entities, but when God created Death, God ordered

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