The Drawing of the Blade is the first scenario in The True Blade campaign of Heroes of Might and Magic IV.
Walkthrough
Palaedra is in turmoil after a knight named Sir Worton, claiming to be the Gryphonheart heir and rightful ruler of the kingdom, publicly draws the Gryphonheart Blade from its scabbard (something only a Gryphonheart can do). Lord Lysander remains in control of Palaedra, but the rebellious knight is gaining popularity. Some of the nobles have already pledged their allegiance to Sir Worton, and have seized control of four of Palaedra's gold mines to fund his army.OffBck
Milton remembers Lord Lysander, as Milton acted as his squire. He remembers meeting him when he was a teen, when Lysander was knighted when he was sixteen. During the four years after the Reckoning Lysander acted as a leader of Paladera, a remnant of Kingdom of Erathia. Lysander's power could've made him a King, but he refused to bear that title. However, a knight named Sir Worton emerged and claimed to be of Gryphonheart bloodline. He even drew the Gryphonheart Blade, which could've been drawn only by Gryphonhearts.
However, Lysander refused to give away the throne, so Worton announced war. Worton had a thief named Caileen and a former knight named Normic seize the gold mines to supply his armies. Worton asks his Lord what if Worton is Gryphonheart blood. Lysander is confident he is not, else he would've presented the Swordbearer (the one who protects the owner of the blade). Lysander is more disgusted by the fact his people betrayed him and ask him to step down from the throne, since the nobles support Worton. Lysander sees if he needs to focus on arresting Normic and Caileen to get the gold mines back.
Lysander will not be allowed to proceed further by a knight at a guard tower, unless he brings the priest Proetho along. Lysander will find Adamus and Proetho (the latter Lysander is not fond of) at the house near the eastern town. Proetho tells them Adaums would talk with them if they brought the Ankh of Life. The artifact is in the hand of a group of venom spawns who committed many atrocities in the area. Lysander defeats them and recovers the Ankh of Life. When Lysander and Milton come back, Proetho greets them back and reveals he is a priest, not a guard (humiliating Milton and Lysander). Adaums apologises for his assistant's behavior and upon seeing Lysander's wish to uncover Worton, he and Proetho join. Proetho is also a hero, who is playable during each scenario of this campaign.
An optional quest is given by a old fisherman and his wife, who are scared by a group of harpies and mermaids in the north. If Lysander defeats the creatures, the old man will give him a Seaman's Hat. There is also an Oracle on one of the islands. Near the oracle is the treasure - several thousand gold.
While fighting Normic's forces, Lysander will learn that Normic himself is hiding beyond Clodman's Wall, an insurmountable obstacle. The only one who can help Lysander is Clodman the architect himself, who offers to take down a portion of the wall if Lysander brings him back his Dwarven Hammer which was stolen from him. Lysander finds the Hammer in the hands of a man whose family has been eaten by black dragons. Lysander offers to kill the dragons in exchange for the Hammer. He manages to defeat the dragons and the man lets him take the Hammer back to Clodman, who proceeds dismantling a portion of the wall. Lysander can so carry on his hunt for Normic.
Both Caileen and Normic are eventually defeated and sent to prison, while the gold mines are garrisoned. However, neither revealed any secrets about Worton, as they plan that Worton becomes the king and rescues them out of the jail. Lysander sees that soon Worton will have the nobles support him and have a large army at his disposal. Adamus advises him to seek the Oracle of the Dawn, who would help him uncover Worton's secrets. Lysander knew Worton would seize the opportunity when Lysander is gone to stir trouble. Seeing there is little choice left, Lysander decides to seek the Oracle.
Strategy
The enemy will not attack, so Lysander has time to build his towns, gather troops and solve quests. Once the griffins to enemy's land have been defeated, Lysander needs to capture cities quickly before the enemy reacts. When Caileen and the towns are defeated, Lysander can gather troops to defeat Normic as well.
The two other strongest heroes in the party, apart from Lysander and Proetho, will be carried over in the next scenario.
