In loving memory of Conner Sky Johnson (November 3 2000 — April 4 2019)

The Story of the SkyWolf Sword and Shooting Star Dagger, and Sky, the boy who became a shooting star:

Now, in the custom of the origin of great swords and great tales of magic and wonder, I will tell you a true story about a boy who became a shooting star and how he came to have this beautiful sword and scabbard commissioned in his honor.

A lovely young couple (our daughter Dimi and her husband Scott) longed for a child. They had been trying for this for some time without success. When they visited us one Christmas in Taos, we took them to the Christmas Eve procession at Taos Pueblo in Northern New Mexico, in the US. This procession is an ancient and powerful ceremony of great religious significance to the tribe and the community.

As the procession passed in front of us, knowing about this pair’s longing for a baby, old Great-Grandma Jiron suddenly pushed Dimi out into the fray, urging her in Tiwa to run through the clouds of piñon-scented smoke from all the bonfires burning, to dodge in and out among the torch-bearing dancers and rifle-firing warriors and drum-beating clan leaders in their tribal dress. As Dimi maneuvered through the boisterous cavalcade, all the other old aunties and Grandmas shouted encouragement above the cacophony—cheering as she made her way to the platform carried by the tribal chiefs bearing the bulto of the Virgin Mary—cheering her to touch the hem of Mary’s dress.

Dimi did as she was told. Within a few months, she was pregnant... (Sky's tale continues below photos)

Specification
Sword (SkyWolf):
Weight: 1472g (3.25lb)
Overall length: 1108 (43.6”)
Blade Length: 846mm (33.3”)
Grip Length / Grippable space: 160mm / 199mm (6.3” / 7.83”)
Point of Balance: 108mm (4.25”) from blade shoulder

Dagger (ShootingStar):
Weight: 491g (17.3oz)
Overall Length: 51.3cm (20.25”)
Blade Length: 379mm (14.92”)
Grip Length / Grip space: 63mm / 87mm (2.5” / 3.42”)
Point of Balance: At the point of the guard

Materials:
Blades are 9260 high carbon steel. Oil quenched then tempered twice for hardness ~52Rc.
Grip: Bovine Leather over Poplar Core
Guards and Pommels: Hand carved Mild Steel

Inscriptions:
* If you are not too long * I will wait here for your all my life *

* Hang On * Hang On * Hang On *
* Don't Let Me Go * Don't Let Me Go * Don't Let Me Go *
* I'm Not Going Anywhere *

Just a little over a year later, during Quiet Time at Taos Pueblo, our only grandchild, Sky, was blessed by sage, cedar, and prayer when he was less than eight weeks old.

And so you see, just like a comet can be drawn into our atmosphere by the power of Earth’s gravity, it was the power of great longing, intent, and meaningful ritual that drew Sky to us. We have often shared this story of how our beautiful boy, our only child’s only child, came to us as reward for risk, faith, and fervent offerings of song, chant, and prayer.

This boy child fell in love with swords from as soon as he could stand. He played with swords in his diapers and jammies. He donned armor for trick-or-treating on Halloween. He started with toy swords as a small child, moved on to collecting the best and most powerful swords in video games as a pre-teen and teenager, and soon fell in love with the books and then the video series GAME OF THRONES and all its swords. As he grew, Sky was always a risk-taker, an adventure seeker who tried all manner of exciting things and appeared fearless as he did so. He sought adventure on skateboards, snowboards, driving a race car on a professional track, and ultimately on his own motorcycle.

Now that I have told you this much, I promise that I will soon introduce the swordmaker and how and why these beautiful works of art that Brendan of FableBlades has created were commissioned. Stay with me, friends, and you will see.

When Sky was just a few months past his eighteenth birthday, the whole world was about to open ahead of him as he anticipated his graduation from high school and the opportunities beyond. He was on his motorcycle on his way home from his after-school job when he was struck by a car with a distracted driver at the wheel. After weeks in a coma, he ultimately surrendered to spirit. His organs were harvested to save seven lives. His bone marrow and tissues saved as many as twenty more. Our beautiful boy lives on in those lives and in our memories of him. And in the stars...

When there is a death, our Tiwa family has taught us to look up across the black robe of the night sky—and there see the Milky Way as a wide highway of crystal-like stars, a glistening path that many indigenous tribes call the Spirit Trail or the Ghost Road. The elders taught us that this ribbon of far-off lights is made up of the campfires of the souls who have passed beyond the ridge, who have left them burning to guide and comfort those travelers who are now ready themselves to become spirit, to pass beyond the ridge. But every once in a while, there is also another kind of light on the Spirit Trail. A dazzling burst of fire appears suddenly, shoots across the sky, and then disappears. The elders tell us that when a too-short journey on the Red Road of Earth creates a life that sparks bright and strong but does not last long, these spirits become shooting stars. They are rare and beautiful and too soon gone—but all the more a gift for the sense of wonder and joy that they bring, and the knowledge that we have been blessed to have been there at just the right time to behold and cherish such beauty.

So when our beautiful boy, Conner Sky Johnson became a shooting star, we looked for a way to honor and memorialize his life on this earth. And his grandfather (a/k/a Papa), Tracy Kerns, felt inspired to have this Longclaw and scabbard commissioned as a family heirloom. In the creation of this project, a loving friendship bloomed across the miles between the US and Australia as Brendan and Tracy shared thoughts, ideas, plans and design. In the course of their communications, I (Sky's Nana, Sandi Ault, your storyteller) have come to know more about Brendan and his wife and their story as well, and Brendan has asked us to share Sky's story here. Love and friendship have blossomed here out of our sorrow. And an unmistakably magical and wondrous bespoke sword and scabbard that will represent and honor the bravery, the courage, the fearlessness and the adventurousness of our beautiful boy who became a shooting star.

Because we live with wolves, and because Sky was raised with wolves, we chose to name the Longclaw sword SkyWolf. And because of the story here, the Dagger shall be named Shooting Star.

In love, in light, in gratitude for the creation of this beauty that will last beyond us, we shall be forever grateful to Brendan for helping us memorialize our only grandchild in a way that would have thrilled him beyond measure.

Sky's Family: Tracy Kerns (Papa), Sandi Ault (Nana) and his parents Dimi Neria and Scott Johnson
In loving memory of Conner Sky Johnson (11/03/2000—04/04/2019)

Discover the Wild Mystery Series of novels by Sandi Ault:

Email Link (brendan@fableblades.com)

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