Kaaer'dar'shin Dagger

The Rev'oq is the traditional weapon of the Kaaer'dar'shin half-orcs of Northern Sarvonia. It is unusual as the blade of the dagger is made from the bone of the great Tsor-Shotak lizard, while the handle is wrapped in leather made from its skin. The dagger, much like the t'lark that often acompanies it, is a religious talisman of great significance as much as it is a practical tool for a Kaaer hunter; the tribe believes the knowledge required to make such a weapon is passed down from the Beastlord, Durgho, himself.

Description
The Rev'oq is a bone dagger, made from a single piece of tsor-shotak bone, cut and ground into a fine blade. Tsor-shotak bones are incredibly tough, and so the blade is not as weak as one might guess from its material. The blade is made from the shoulder of a tsor-shotak, ground down to a fine edge and point. Unlike most weapons this dagger begins without an edge, in a sort of extended tang. It curves slightly, before fanning out into a longer, leaf shaped blade. The grip has a slight curve and is usually made out of one of the leg bones of the tsor-shotak, while the pommel may be one of its teeth or claws.

The tsor-shotak is a northern lizard of prodigious size with a toxic bite, hunted by the Kaaer for various properties, least of which is its flexible hide, used in the crafting of tlark bucklers. Its bones are of a remarkable durability, enabling them to be ground and tooled into blades which remain lighter than a stone or metal blade of the same sort.

This Mist Hunters, a subset of the tribe, do not make their weapons out of tsor-shotak bones.The great lizards do not live near their territory, in and around the Mists of Osthemangar, and so they craft their blades out of the teeth and spines of the vile spined wyrms of the Mists. The blades are attached to their handles with the noxious spit of the wyrm, a sticky substance which hardens quite well, and wrapped in whatever available hide can be found. This affects the appearance of the blade. A Mist Hunter Rev'oq seems to be stained yellow with a black handle, a result of the materials used in the construction.

To the Kaaer'dar'shin the Rev'oq may represent a unique form of To'vtar, a sort of religious totem which should be carried in the hunt. The handle of the dagger is usually adorned with some sort of charm. The claw of an uncil cat, the fang of a tsor'shotak, the tailfeather of a toran eagle or the tail of a snow wolf can be found adorning the pommel or the grip of a Kaaer'dar'shin warrior's dagger. In addition, the blades and handles are quite often painted with patterns in red, yellow or blue, broad curves around small dots creating stylized teeth or eyes on the sides of the blade.

Usage
The clans of the Kaaer'dar'shin half-orcs of Northern Sarvonia are the only ones to use the Rev'oq. Lack of access to Tsor-Shotak bones and the knowledge to make the knife also restricts their usage to these groups. On occasion, another orc might be found with one of these daggers, however they usually break in orcish hands, since they are not accustomed to the relative fragility of the blades.

Fighting Style
The Rev'oq is not a weapon that stands up well to armor or to blocking. It is intended to be used with as little fuss from the party on the receiving end of the blow as possible. The Kaaer are quite adept at stealth, and the curve of the blade, as well as it's leaf shape makes it excellent for slicing throats as much as it is a tool for cutting things.

A harsh stabbing motion can chip or break the blade, so ideally, the motion made with it is a long cut, either with the blade held point down in the hand, or a short cut with the blade held point up. How effective this motion will be is determined by where one strikes the target. Favoured points to aim for are behind the knee, the elbow and underside of the shoulder, the neck and the inside of the thigh.

Additionally the blade can be coated with tsor'shotak saliva to add to the lethality. tsor'shotak saliva is remarkably toxic, and the infection resulting from a wound contaminated with this substance is a painful, slow way to die. Most Mists creatures seem to have abominable constitutions, or are otherwise difficult to kill with such methods, and so the Mist Hunters do not use the saliva.

It would be lax to mention the Rev'oq without mentioning the t'lark which so often accompanies it. The t'lark is a buckler made of the hide of the tsor-shotak lizard. Fighting including the t'lark keeps the buckler close at hand and exclusively uses this to block, to prevent the dagger from being damaged or broken. The t'lark is often used to make an opening by feinting an attack with the buckler, by shoving or even striking an opponent with the shield. The t'lark also serves to keep the dagger hidden from view by the opponent which allows a Kaaer warrior to lash out with the edge of the dagger in a surprise attack.

While the Kaaer try to avoid stabbing attacks with the dagger, if necessary the t'lark may be used to add extra weight to the dagger thrust by placing the hand holding the dagger in front of the buckler before striking.

Origin/History
The origins of the Rev'oq are lost to time. The Kaaer believe the method of creating the knives from the Tsor'Shotak to be a gift from the spirits, a way to bring them closer to Durgho and the Beasts in nature since they have neither claws or fangs.

The Themed'lon, where the Kaaer dwell, contains no ore-bearing rocks, or other particularly durable materials, thus the tsor-shotak's bone is the best substitute, much like the Ashz-oc use the wood of the ironwood tree to make weapons. The dagger can be made from stone, but most Kaaer'dar'shin prefer the weapons be made out of bone.

The first Kaaer'dar'shin warrior, Temuuj Tartaan is said to have been given the design for the Rev'oq by Durgho, the Beastlord. One of the duties of a new warrior is to teach a younger warrior how to craft a dagger from the hide of the tsor-shotak, and it is with this dagger that the tsor-shotak hides for a t'lark must be taken. The Kaaer'dar'shin dagger is central to the hunt, and is sacred. The first adornments to a new dagger are often made with the blood of the first creature that it slays.

One of the ways young children are taught how to hunt is to give them a blunt or broken dagger with nutshells attached on bits of cord on the handle. These jangle together, making noise. The children must then track and "kill" their teacher or another student, who must evade the hunters for as long as they can.