Sage Of The Wise wrote:The problem is Jeruh says at some point he lost the sword, after which he changed his name to Rhue. This is why he still ages and is older when killed by Rhue. Jeruh doesn't have a shadow sword during that fight, which is shown by a: he gets his ass kicked in the fight and b: Rhue doesn't spontaneously knock Jeruhs sword into the sky like every other shadow sword he encounters.
Fair enough. Let's suppose Jeruh did the massacre with Rhue's shadow sword. He keeps it for a few years, then loses it. Wouldn't he then immediately start searching for it again? In every situation we see Rhue seperated from his sword, the only thought in his head is to get it back. When Kloe knocks him out at the end of Episode 2, Rhue's thoughts at the time of waking up go something like: 1) What happened? 2) I hate Kloe. 3) Where's my sword? Even after Slade busts him out, Rhue insists that no other sword will do, that he needs HIS sword. He's like a junkie in need of his fix.
I mention this to illustrate that if the pull the shadow sword had on Jeruh was even half as strong as its hold on Rhue, Jeruh would never rest until he had the sword back. Even if he lost the sword in a situation where he was not killed in the process (let's say he was just knocked out and his possessions were taken), the first though in his mind would have to be purusuing the thief and getting his sword back. Even if we grant that Jeruh didn't age for a few years when he had the shadow sword, then he lost it and aged naturally for a few years before Midian-Rhue killed him, unless the shadow sword's hold weakens over time when the owner is not in close proximity to it, there is no way Jeruh would not attempt to get it back any way he could.
I don't say this to say I necessarily disagree that Jeruh
might have done the Landorin Massacre with Rhue's shadow sword, because I see your logic and how it could work. I'm just not certain that it did happen that way.
Something I noticed while playing through again recently - in Episode 3, immediately after being knocked into the pits, Rhue has a flashback to the night of the massacre. In it, he is out in the rain looking for Jeruh and Lyrra. When he talks to Lyrra, there is a distinctly parental tone to his words - he's very concerned about what happened to Jeruh and the other children. This brings to my mind a thought: Could Rhue be Lyrra and Jeruh's father? They look very similar, after all; all three share the same hair color and (I believe, not sure in Jeruh's case) eye color. Of course, if this were true, it brings to mind another set of questions, beginning with why doesn't Lyrra recognize Rhue when they meet in Episode 1? Again, I'm not saying this is definitely true or not, only that it's a possibility.
Also, I second the time line idea.