The Moonblade

The Moonblade is one of the first and few swords forged by the Kasumarii on the island of Guldor, in Cyhalloi. Modelled after a sword of legend, this softly aglow blade is slightly curved, slim, and exceedingly sharp. Legend goes that a man named Kasumar was visited by their god, Korenjah, who bestowed upon him a divine blade forged from a piece of the moon itself. With which, he was sent to wage battle against the vile Cyhalloian orcs, who had been pillaging and plundering small settlements of his people. Lightweight and balanced at the tang, this is no doubt a dangerous blade when in capable hands.

Description. Moonblades are always beautifully crafted swords, forged by the hands of the Kasumarii master smiths of the Citadel of Korenjah, embedded in the western mountainside of Kasumar's Peak along Guldor's most southeasterly coast. It is there that they mine for the metals required to make this sword, and many of their other weapons. And it is only here, in the caves, that they gather the Luneweep stones that give this blade its soft, moonlit glow. Steel for this blade is folded and worked numerous times before final shaping and sharpening is done. It is not until the very end of the forging process that they add in the pulverised glowing stones. In total this weapon is approximately three and a half fores in length, giving it a nice amount of reach for a short blade.

The slim blade, just under seven nailsbreadths wide, is two and a quarter fores long and extends from the hilt in a very shallow, extremely elongated 's' shape. For the purpose of stabbing and thrusting maneuvers, the first five nailsbreadths from the tip-down is doubled bladed. However, only the side of the blade held away from the wielder is sharpened along its complete length. The spine of the sword is two and a half nailsbreadths thick to provide the blade with a bit more sturdiness and a blunt side strong enough to deflect blows with. Once fully crafted the sword is polished to a dull shine, and Korenjah's symbol is etched into the blade just above the hilt of the sword on one side with the family crest or name on the reverse.

To prevent the wielder's hand from slipping up onto the blade, and as a guard for their hand against the enemy's weapon, the hilt is a thick, flat round disk that comes out into dull points on either side of the flat of the blade. The handle is half as long as the sword itself, being about one fore in length, and has the tang running over half of its length. While the grip is made of carved, smoothed and polished wood that is shaped to fit on either side of the tang, it is still usually wrapped in oiled leather that is occasionally dyed. The pommel of the handle is a plain metal ball, useful for cracking an enemy over the head, or as something to hold onto for leverage when impaling a foe.

The sheath for this sword is traditionally soft leather made from íl’thróg skin, cut from an area that is covered in fur rather than long hair. Usually the leather is left un-dyed or decorated, as the ashy plum of this animal's skin adds for a unique look all on its own. The end of the sheath is tipped with a piece of metal on the outside, shaped to fit the point of the blade snugly and hold it in place. A long leather strap is attached to the sheath, which is to be slung over the shoulder of the wielder's sword-hand, that has a string for securing the handle at the top of the shoulder. Which puts the blade across the back, down at the opposite hip, with the handle peeking our over the shoulder. This provides for a pretty-easy draw once the string has been pulled loose, for such an awkwardly proportioned sword.

Usage. The Moonblade is a traditional Kasumariian weapon that is rightfully prized by its owner and feared by the orcs residing on the Isle of Dorolak, who often would wage skirmishes on small villages. However, due to its work-intensive and lengthy forging process, it is not a practical blade to have crafted for every soldier in the Kar'ii militia. As such, it is an honour reserved for elite troops, noteworthy warriors, Citadel guard captains, and those rich enough to afford it. Though generally wielded by itself, it can be used in conjunction with a small oval shield that follows the length of the user's forearm.

Fighting Style. The biggest disadvantage of a Moonblade is its mostly two-handed, open fighting style that robs the user of the extra protection of a shield. However, when using this sword correctly, the idea is to remain out of the reach of the opponent's weapon while quickly dispatching them with your own. This sword is intended for both slashing and stabbing at vulnerable points of the body and, with enough force behind it, is capable of piercing the leather armours commonly worn by the Kasumarii's orcish neighbors. While not really meant for heavy blocking, the backside of the blade is made thick for deflecting blows. Its elongated grip provides plenty of space for ample leverage without subtracting from its maneuverability, and as a last-ditch effort to block something if necessary. Also, the solid metal ball at the pommel, while not particularly heavy, allows for some close-up melee defense should the need arise.

Origin/History. In tales told by the Kasumarii's scholars, one of their gods came to their hero in a vision and bestowed upon him an otherworldly blade with which he was sent to relieve all fear of their orcish neighbors.

An abridged version of the myth was supplied by an elder NightSon, T'scarru Kamali:

Long ago, before we had fully come to appreciate the silence of snow and the cover of night, we were horribly scattered and knew little of our resources or of war. Vile orcs held our freedom squashed beneath their thumb, pillaging and raping and burning our homes whenever they saw fit! Terrified and unprepared for such brutal confrontation, our people took to the cracks and crevices of the mountains and tundra, calling themselves 'Hiding'. But such conditions to be held against us would not be tolerated by our gods! One night, a young man whom had been subjected to many hardships throughout his life, was visited by one of the gods.

As he came past a hollowing in the rugged mountain side, a warm voice breathed out at him from the back wall of the shallow cave. "Come, Kasumar," called the god's deep, airy voice, "come and see what I have for you, my son."

Wary, he went into the cave and found Korenjah, Himself, standing before him in a form that his mind could not completely grasp to look at. As Kasumar described it in his writings: "To look into his eyes was to see the moon, into his face to see darkness. And to look at his blade was the greatest epiphany; to see the delivery of yourself standing before Qu'prur, bare of all but your deeds in life and your fears of death."

"Who are you?" he already knew, but nevertheless, he asked.

"I am the cover of night. The darkness that eats up the light. The shade and the moon that cloaks and guides you. I am Korenjah," replied the dark god.

"What do you wish of me?"

Laughter echoed eerily up out of His throat, a thick bubbling, warm sound that felt like being wrapped in the finest furs, "Be your people's champion. Stay the vile orc's atrocious deeds." With that Korenjah held out his sword to Kasumar, a truly beautiful blade that glowed gently and was forged of a piece of the moon itself. "Take thy blade, and with it! You shall abolish the oppression of your fellow Hiding."

Presented with no other choice, he took the blade, imbued with the power of the moon and night, and did as his god bade him. With it, he journeyed far to find more and more of his Hiding brethren to join him. With it, he gathered his followers at the foot of our great mountains. With it, he spoke with the gods and prepared for the battles that were to come. With it, he penetrated the orc's stronghold and slew their demon lord, crippling them. With it, he ended the Hiding's fear of the orcish rabble and released our freedom!

And it is after this divine blade that our beautifully aglow, but deadly Moonblade is fashioned.