Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jun 19, 2017 21:40:37 GMT
Hi again, this is my ninth submission. I spent most of my time wrapping up the narrative on this one so the story is quite long. I hope it's worth the read. Also, best of luck to everyone. May the best blade win. #9 Agrafona and Andesona - the Sibling Blades  Agrafona and Andesona – The Sibling Blades The Sorcerer City of Notarikon and Rise of the Deathless Witch Amongst the ancient cities built before mankind rose to prominence, before the Great Empires had even existed and when the world remained largely unexplored and shrouded in myths, few of these cities were as famous as Notarikon. The city was founded by elves around 1200 years before modern times, in the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, at the time when the search for knowledge became the goal of all civilization. Notarikon had fully embraced this goal. The city was the center of knowledge in the continent, perhaps the world, as aspiring students and magic casters from all corners of the planet flock there to study. Some of the greatest philosophers, scientists, and sorcerers of the time had studied in Notarikon at some point in their lives. Magic was freely practiced in and around the city, though laws regarding their usage exist and is enforced by the ever-vigilant Sentinels. Akira Kosakami was one such aspiring sorceress who lived in the city at the tail end of the Age of Enlightenment, around 320 years ago. She was 22 years old at the time, a beautiful, white haired human who was thought by many to possess elven ancestry. She was of the middle class, the eldest daughter of a family of four. Her father was one of the mage-smiths who tends and maintains the Sentinels and their battle gear while her mother was a translator who worked for the government, both were human. If she indeed possesses elven ancestry, the only racial trait she obtained from genetics was her long, snow-white hair. In a world where fate and destiny is just as much a part of life as the consequence of one’s actions, her existence was an act of defiance to unspoken laws. She was unnaturally powerful and well attuned to magic, and born with talents and powers reserved only for the greatest of heroes or the vilest of villains. She was feared by many, not just because of her talent but because at the time, anyone who was even remotely close to being as powerful as she is had their birth foretold years before by the Oracles. But the Oracles didn’t predict her birth, and couldn’t predict her future either. They fear that she may bring ruin to the world, because her fate was unwritten and she was perfectly capable of doing so. And the fact that she was a normal human, not a chosen one destined to become a hero. However, the Oracles also gave an important advice to the people closest to her; do not alienate her and do not ever forget that she is a person just as much as anyone else. They reasoned that teaching her morals, ethics, values and the virtues of generosity would allow her to develop as a person and prevent her from falling to the hands of evil. Thankfully, their advice was followed and she grew up to become a generous, open-minded young woman. Her younger sister is Nagise Kosakami, 19 years old at the time. Unlike her sister, she had short, dark hair and played with boys more often than girls. She was also a lot less powerful than her sister yet far more social and outgoing. In any other family, she would’ve lived forever under her elder sister’s shadow, unable to surpass her in any way. The Oracle’s advice to their parents was to prevent the two sisters from ever competing. Akira would study magic and the art of mage-smithing, while Nagise would study economics, administration and politics. Akira and Nagise were very fond of each other. Akira was protective of her younger sister while Nagise would look up to her as a mentor figure in anything related to magic. Their father, Masaru Kosakami, forged two identical sabers as a symbol of the bond between his two daughters, Agrafona and Andesona. The two blades are magically attuned to one another, and are linked across unimaginable gulfs of time and space. So long as both blades remain unsheathed, anyone who owns either one would know the exact location of the other. The two sisters would later buy themselves a home in Temple Nimbus, a smaller, flying ‘city’ about 1/10th the size of Notarikon planned to be a home for powerful magic casters that needed a lot of space to study and practice their spells. Temple Nimbus was meant to travel the world in order to share knowledge and enlightenment to every nation and every culture on the planet. But that dream was shattered in a single moment that would shape history for centuries to come… --- There is no certain knowledge as to what happens next, but there are many whispered legends regarding the destruction of the city. Most of the surviving accounts vary wildly in details and often contradict with one another, but the most detailed are the writings of Kalinor, the elven Archmage who had somehow survived the destruction of the city. He recounted the following tale: “A great explosion of cobalt and vermilion flames, the largest perhaps in history, swallowed the central governmental district whole, thus decapitating the city’s government and wiped out most of the city’s upper class. None in its blast radius survived. The very shadows of the deceased were etched in the scorched roads and walls; there were no bodies to bury. Then the very structure of the surviving walls and buildings flowed like lava towards ground zero. There, it flowed and twisted in bizarre shapes. The ground trembled and the shapes flexed like muscles and sinew. This ‘thing’ then rose above the tallest buildings of the city. Bellowing a cyclopean birth cry, the titan - for no other name could adequately describe it - began an apocalyptic rampage across the city. What was left of the city then deployed the Sentinels and whoever that could pick up a weapon in order to stop this maddened titan. The battle lasted weeks before armies from around the world and even the Dragon Lords themselves arrived in order to help, but by then, it was too late. Notarikon was no more. The titan had fed on the city and grew much bigger and stronger. It then faced off against the combined army, and another week of war followed before it was finally laid low, its corpse was our city, and our city was reduced to dust as it died.
The survivors of my city flee wherever they can. Most flee to the neighboring countries, offering their knowledge and possessions for refuge. I’ve also heard of a few that had managed to survive in the skies and made Temple Nimbus their home. But I do not know if it was simple rumor or fact. If it is so, then perhaps Temple Nimbus carries within it the last memories of my city, and of my people.”
----
Amidst the chaos of the Titan’s sudden appearance and apocalyptic rampage, Akira was separated from her family. She unsheathed Agrafona in order to find them, but the blade detected nothing. She spent days searching the ruins of the city for any sign of them, only to discover countless dead citizens. Days turned to weeks. Eventually, she gave up and carved three marble tombstones and planted them in her garden in Temple Nimbus. To say that she was shaken to her core would be an understatement. After Notarikon was destroyed, Temple Nimbus harbored nearly 10000 survivors. However, it was ill equipped for sustaining that many lives and many people eventually chose to flee to other countries and start a new life. After 3 years, Temple Nimbus was almost entirely deserted. Only Akira and the Temple’s Sentinels remained. Alone in the deserted city, Akira tended to the Sentinels for many weeks in order to pass the time before she managed to find a stasis casket meant as a time capsule so that the knowledge found during the Age of Enlightenment could be forever preserved. With little reason left to stay awake, she crawled inside the capsule along with her sword and turned it on. Temple Nimbus faded into myth in the following decades. Many storytellers spread tales of a dead city amongst the clouds, inhabited by specters that would slay anyone that dare tread its streets. Storytellers also spread tales of great treasures and magical artefacts hidden within the flying city. These stories caused many adventurers to try their luck and raid Temple Nimbus. Most lose their lives to the Sentinels, and the survivors only told nightmarish stories of demons who stalk them relentlessly through the dead city. Eventually the adventurers stopped coming. Amidst these endless decades, the Sentinels developed their intelligence to the point where they became truly sentient. They remembered their creators, how their city was destroyed and that they left their creation behind in order to survive. They also remembered their only creator who had stayed; Akira. The Sentinels then prepared for her eventual awakening. They built cloud-mining facilities in order to make sure Temple Nimbus always has water. They built devices that generate a bubble of pure energy that would protect Temple Nimbus from the wind and weather while also harvesting energy from lightning. They also built windmills so that Temple Nimbus would always have power, amongst other things. Mankind rose to the global stage after Notarikon was destroyed. Their armies suffered the least damage in the battle against the titan and they recovered quickly. Agrabinta, the biggest human empire at the time, quickly swept through Notarikon’s former territories and claimed it as their own. They would then spread their influence and founded colonies on many continents. Wars broke out between natives and colonists. This practice was soon followed by other empires. The Age of Imperialism had begun. Akira woke up 290 years after Notarikon was destroyed. She was greeted by one of the Sentinels, who had painted its armor black. The black-armored sentinel then explained the events that had happened when she was asleep; with nothing left to guard and no one left to serve, the sentinels eventually started preparing for their last creator’s awakening. It also explained that they only have Akira as their master. They now call themselves the Temple Nimbus Legionnaires and painted their armor black to mourn their lost home and their deceased creators. In front of an assembly of nearly 1500 legionnaires, five times the number of original sentinels that was present when Temple Nimbus was constructed, Akira was crowned Lady Regent of Notarikon, and its eventual queen should the city be rebuilt. The Legionnaires swore their loyalty to her, and would gladly grind themselves to dust at her command. The skies were her domain, magic and sorcery her undisputed power and the Legionnaires her tireless army. The Age of Imperialism began when Notarikon was destroyed. And it will end when Notarikon was rebuilt. Ten years later, on the other side of the world, an Aleutian Empire expedition team discovered the ruins of an ancient temple. Inside, there were countless valuable artefacts, the most notable being two stasis caskets; one of them had a dark-haired woman sleeping inside while the other had a sword of unusual design. The team opened the casket containing the sword first, then carefully unsheathed the blade… ----- Agrafona and Andesona had a very peculiar design. It had the blade geometry of a real life Dotanuki Katana with an elongated kissaki most commonly found in an odachi and a saber hilt designed in a way that would allow the sword to be held in two hands by the ‘pommel’ like a hand-and-half sword. It is 46 inches long. Its blade is 33 inches long and the handle is 9 inches long. Length: 46 Inches, Blade length is 33 inch Handle length: 9 inches Dang. Nice design. If I had the cash, I would buy something like that |
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Post by legacyofthesword on Jun 19, 2017 23:30:16 GMT
So question... Are ALL the designs we submit considered property of SBG, or just the ones that win? I ask because I doubt all the designs I submit are going to get picked, yet I'd like to (eventually) see these swords take real form - either by commissions from another smith, or by me.
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jun 19, 2017 23:47:32 GMT
So question... Are ALL the designs we submit considered property of SBG, or just the ones that win? I ask because I doubt all the designs I submit are going to get picked, yet I'd like to (eventually) see these swords take real form - either by commissions from another smith, or by me. I agree with this. I would prefer to keep my designs if none are picked Although if even one is picked, have them all 😎 |
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Post by swordmaster0813 on Jun 20, 2017 5:24:00 GMT
So how long is this contest going on for??? Weeks months??? I'd like to see a winner or winners* and get the designs to the smiths as they do great work and I'd love to buy some of there stuff as some of these designs are amazing in my humble opinion :-)
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sevicler
Member
How do I edit status?
Posts: 272
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Post by sevicler on Jun 20, 2017 5:27:07 GMT
Hi again, this is my ninth submission. I spent most of my time wrapping up the narrative on this one so the story is quite long. I hope it's worth the read. Also, best of luck to everyone. May the best blade win. #9 Agrafona and Andesona - the Sibling Blades Agrafona and Andesona – The Sibling Blades The Sorcerer City of Notarikon and Rise of the Deathless Witch Amongst the ancient cities built before mankind rose to prominence, before the Great Empires had even existed and when the world remained largely unexplored and shrouded in myths, few of these cities were as famous as Notarikon. The city was founded by elves around 1200 years before modern times, in the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, at the time when the search for knowledge became the goal of all civilization. Notarikon had fully embraced this goal. The city was the center of knowledge in the continent, perhaps the world, as aspiring students and magic casters from all corners of the planet flock there to study. Some of the greatest philosophers, scientists, and sorcerers of the time had studied in Notarikon at some point in their lives. Magic was freely practiced in and around the city, though laws regarding their usage exist and is enforced by the ever-vigilant Sentinels. Akira Kosakami was one such aspiring sorceress who lived in the city at the tail end of the Age of Enlightenment, around 320 years ago. She was 22 years old at the time, a beautiful, white haired human who was thought by many to possess elven ancestry. She was of the middle class, the eldest daughter of a family of four. Her father was one of the mage-smiths who tends and maintains the Sentinels and their battle gear while her mother was a translator who worked for the government, both were human. If she indeed possesses elven ancestry, the only racial trait she obtained from genetics was her long, snow-white hair. In a world where fate and destiny is just as much a part of life as the consequence of one’s actions, her existence was an act of defiance to unspoken laws. She was unnaturally powerful and well attuned to magic, and born with talents and powers reserved only for the greatest of heroes or the vilest of villains. She was feared by many, not just because of her talent but because at the time, anyone who was even remotely close to being as powerful as she is had their birth foretold years before by the Oracles. But the Oracles didn’t predict her birth, and couldn’t predict her future either. They fear that she may bring ruin to the world, because her fate was unwritten and she was perfectly capable of doing so. And the fact that she was a normal human, not a chosen one destined to become a hero. However, the Oracles also gave an important advice to the people closest to her; do not alienate her and do not ever forget that she is a person just as much as anyone else. They reasoned that teaching her morals, ethics, values and the virtues of generosity would allow her to develop as a person and prevent her from falling to the hands of evil. Thankfully, their advice was followed and she grew up to become a generous, open-minded young woman. Her younger sister is Nagise Kosakami, 19 years old at the time. Unlike her sister, she had short, dark hair and played with boys more often than girls. She was also a lot less powerful than her sister yet far more social and outgoing. In any other family, she would’ve lived forever under her elder sister’s shadow, unable to surpass her in any way. The Oracle’s advice to their parents was to prevent the two sisters from ever competing. Akira would study magic and the art of mage-smithing, while Nagise would study economics, administration and politics. Akira and Nagise were very fond of each other. Akira was protective of her younger sister while Nagise would look up to her as a mentor figure in anything related to magic. Their father, Masaru Kosakami, forged two identical sabers as a symbol of the bond between his two daughters, Agrafona and Andesona. The two blades are magically attuned to one another, and are linked across unimaginable gulfs of time and space. So long as both blades remain unsheathed, anyone who owns either one would know the exact location of the other. The two sisters would later buy themselves a home in Temple Nimbus, a smaller, flying ‘city’ about 1/10th the size of Notarikon planned to be a home for powerful magic casters that needed a lot of space to study and practice their spells. Temple Nimbus was meant to travel the world in order to share knowledge and enlightenment to every nation and every culture on the planet. But that dream was shattered in a single moment that would shape history for centuries to come… --- There is no certain knowledge as to what happens next, but there are many whispered legends regarding the destruction of the city. Most of the surviving accounts vary wildly in details and often contradict with one another, but the most detailed are the writings of Kalinor, the elven Archmage who had somehow survived the destruction of the city. He recounted the following tale: “A great explosion of cobalt and vermilion flames, the largest perhaps in history, swallowed the central governmental district whole, thus decapitating the city’s government and wiped out most of the city’s upper class. None in its blast radius survived. The very shadows of the deceased were etched in the scorched roads and walls; there were no bodies to bury. Then the very structure of the surviving walls and buildings flowed like lava towards ground zero. There, it flowed and twisted in bizarre shapes. The ground trembled and the shapes flexed like muscles and sinew. This ‘thing’ then rose above the tallest buildings of the city. Bellowing a cyclopean birth cry, the titan - for no other name could adequately describe it - began an apocalyptic rampage across the city. What was left of the city then deployed the Sentinels and whoever that could pick up a weapon in order to stop this maddened titan. The battle lasted weeks before armies from around the world and even the Dragon Lords themselves arrived in order to help, but by then, it was too late. Notarikon was no more. The titan had fed on the city and grew much bigger and stronger. It then faced off against the combined army, and another week of war followed before it was finally laid low, its corpse was our city, and our city was reduced to dust as it died.
The survivors of my city flee wherever they can. Most flee to the neighboring countries, offering their knowledge and possessions for refuge. I’ve also heard of a few that had managed to survive in the skies and made Temple Nimbus their home. But I do not know if it was simple rumor or fact. If it is so, then perhaps Temple Nimbus carries within it the last memories of my city, and of my people.”
----
Amidst the chaos of the Titan’s sudden appearance and apocalyptic rampage, Akira was separated from her family. She unsheathed Agrafona in order to find them, but the blade detected nothing. She spent days searching the ruins of the city for any sign of them, only to discover countless dead citizens. Days turned to weeks. Eventually, she gave up and carved three marble tombstones and planted them in her garden in Temple Nimbus. To say that she was shaken to her core would be an understatement. After Notarikon was destroyed, Temple Nimbus harbored nearly 10000 survivors. However, it was ill equipped for sustaining that many lives and many people eventually chose to flee to other countries and start a new life. After 3 years, Temple Nimbus was almost entirely deserted. Only Akira and the Temple’s Sentinels remained. Alone in the deserted city, Akira tended to the Sentinels for many weeks in order to pass the time before she managed to find a stasis casket meant as a time capsule so that the knowledge found during the Age of Enlightenment could be forever preserved. With little reason left to stay awake, she crawled inside the capsule along with her sword and turned it on. Temple Nimbus faded into myth in the following decades. Many storytellers spread tales of a dead city amongst the clouds, inhabited by specters that would slay anyone that dare tread its streets. Storytellers also spread tales of great treasures and magical artefacts hidden within the flying city. These stories caused many adventurers to try their luck and raid Temple Nimbus. Most lose their lives to the Sentinels, and the survivors only told nightmarish stories of demons who stalk them relentlessly through the dead city. Eventually the adventurers stopped coming. Amidst these endless decades, the Sentinels developed their intelligence to the point where they became truly sentient. They remembered their creators, how their city was destroyed and that they left their creation behind in order to survive. They also remembered their only creator who had stayed; Akira. The Sentinels then prepared for her eventual awakening. They built cloud-mining facilities in order to make sure Temple Nimbus always has water. They built devices that generate a bubble of pure energy that would protect Temple Nimbus from the wind and weather while also harvesting energy from lightning. They also built windmills so that Temple Nimbus would always have power, amongst other things. Mankind rose to the global stage after Notarikon was destroyed. Their armies suffered the least damage in the battle against the titan and they recovered quickly. Agrabinta, the biggest human empire at the time, quickly swept through Notarikon’s former territories and claimed it as their own. They would then spread their influence and founded colonies on many continents. Wars broke out between natives and colonists. This practice was soon followed by other empires. The Age of Imperialism had begun. Akira woke up 290 years after Notarikon was destroyed. She was greeted by one of the Sentinels, who had painted its armor black. The black-armored sentinel then explained the events that had happened when she was asleep; with nothing left to guard and no one left to serve, the sentinels eventually started preparing for their last creator’s awakening. It also explained that they only have Akira as their master. They now call themselves the Temple Nimbus Legionnaires and painted their armor black to mourn their lost home and their deceased creators. In front of an assembly of nearly 1500 legionnaires, five times the number of original sentinels that was present when Temple Nimbus was constructed, Akira was crowned Lady Regent of Notarikon, and its eventual queen should the city be rebuilt. The Legionnaires swore their loyalty to her, and would gladly grind themselves to dust at her command. The skies were her domain, magic and sorcery her undisputed power and the Legionnaires her tireless army. The Age of Imperialism began when Notarikon was destroyed. And it will end when Notarikon was rebuilt. Ten years later, on the other side of the world, an Aleutian Empire expedition team discovered the ruins of an ancient temple. Inside, there were countless valuable artefacts, the most notable being two stasis caskets; one of them had a dark-haired woman sleeping inside while the other had a sword of unusual design. The team opened the casket containing the sword first, then carefully unsheathed the blade… ----- Agrafona and Andesona had a very peculiar design. It had the blade geometry of a real life Dotanuki Katana with an elongated kissaki most commonly found in an odachi and a saber hilt designed in a way that would allow the sword to be held in two hands by the ‘pommel’ like a hand-and-half sword. It is 46 inches long. Its blade is 33 inches long and the handle is 9 inches long. Length: 46 Inches, Blade length is 33 inch Handle length: 9 inches Dang. Nice design. If I had the cash, I would buy something like that Thank you for your comment, it was appreciated. Sorry for the late reply. I was busy. |
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sevicler
Member
How do I edit status?
Posts: 272
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Post by sevicler on Jun 20, 2017 5:28:27 GMT
So how long is this contest going on for??? Weeks months??? I'd like to see a winner or winners* and get the designs to the smiths as they do great work and I'd love to buy some of there stuff as some of these designs are amazing in my humble opinion :-) Patience, man. The contest's been on for weeks. The announcement is set on 20th of June. In my timezone that'll be today. |
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Post by celegon on Jun 20, 2017 5:47:23 GMT
one last picture for me...group photo! good luck guys. tomorrow is the big day   |
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jun 20, 2017 6:09:20 GMT
 One more for good luck. The Yataghan of the Dragon King 26.5" overall with a 21" blade. Brass handle, T-Spine with a wide but shallow fuller. In an age where dragons ruled the lands, and humans served, one person stood up to the beasts for the sovereign dream of humanity, against the tyranny of the fire breathers. Half dragon, half man, he had the shape of a man but the eyes and the ferocity of the wicked serpents. A sword, forged in dragon fire and quenched in their blood, was the only thing that could pierce their thick, armour like skin. |
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admin
Site Admin
Posts: 2,114
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Post by admin on Jun 20, 2017 8:12:52 GMT
Entries will officially close off a little later today - after which time we will go over all the designs, create a shortlist, check with the forge to see if there are any technical limitations to any of the designs in the shortlist - and then we will contact who has won round one and commence production of the prototypes. There is no set time frame for this as it is quite a complex process and there are a TON of great designs that deserve to be made - and after round one we reserve the right to come back to the submissions and select MORE winners.. So even if you miss out the first time around, there is such a great pool of designs here that it would be a shame to let some of the designs go to waste because we cannot afford to make every good design into a prize and production run.. With regards to any designs that do not get selected - if you so desire you can have your design removed from the competition if it was NOT selected in the first round of winners and you wish to have it made elsewhere. I will make an announcement when entries for the competition are formally closed and we begin the process of selecting the finalists - and a new thread will be created to discuss housekeeping stuff, make announcements, etc. In the meantime, here are a few more last minute email submissions: Ozzy  The sword of chaos was forged to end all wars. It's destructive and creative abilities gave it an almost god-like personality of its own, having the soul of Cyric "God of Chaos" trapped within. Possessing an almost "arrow-headed" tip to the blade, the 8" brass inserts on the base of the blade allow for half-swording......most effective against opponents in full plate armor. But with such incredible power comes a price... D.Chin This is my idea that I've been working on in my head for many years. It is meant to be made as a pair of swords. It's based on the Chinese butterfly swords with the hand guard and the hook that allows for capturing an opponents blade and is also large enough to allow for flipping the sword into a more defensive position. I blended the butterfly sword with the Japanese sai for the hook part. I also extended the blade to give it better reach as in the Japanese ko-katana with a 21-inch blade if you count from the base of the hook. The main grip would be almost like a katana grip but slightly thinner so that the two swords of the pair can be held for a while with just one hand - like two half-handles together like you would see with a Chinese double broadsword. Two bo-hi are added to keep the blade from becoming too heavy, since the blade would be close to 2½ inches wide (like a traditional butterfly sword), but have the build and thickness like a katana blade. The hand guard region extends past the base of the hook area to allow for the fingers to stay protected while in the flipped position. When in the flipped position, the blade should reach to the shoulder, thus protecting the forearm and arm -- not just the forearm as with a normal butterfly sword. The idea is for use in a post-apocalyptic world. They are compact enough to be sheathed in a single scabbard, but are long enough to engage an opponent with a conventional sword. The butterfly sword design allows for less lethal combat when necessary, while still allowing for a sharp blade with decent reach against people and other potentially dangerous creatures. The single sheath provides an element of surprise for opponents not expecting a dual-wielding opponent. Hoffman 10.) Gladiator/berserker shortsword. It has influences from greek xiphos and viking era swords.  11.) A princely sword for a duelist. Elegant and slender.  12.) Mercenary sword. Simple and robust. Teuruma
 Sword of the Corrupted King The King was once a proud and and noble leader, with a large and prosperous kingdom. But a dark influence, an advisor, began to grow in influence, manipulating the king to his own purposes. Through whispers and lies, the advisor began to poison the mind of the King. As the King began to fall to the darkness, and he allowed his kingdom to fall into chaos and ruin, and his own people to starve. With carefully placed lies and rumors, the Advisor turned the King against his own court, leaving the Advisor to gain even more sway over the King's ailing mind. The King turned away from the suffering of his people, closing the doors of his keep, sealing himself away leaving only his advisor to rule. The Advisor continued to twist the mind of the King, bending him to his will and corrupting what little remained of the once great ruler. The King's sword, the symbol of both his station and his power, was corrupted by the same dark magic that twisted the mind of the King. Its bright blade darkening, its guard twisting into a unnatural shape, its keen edge thirsty for the blood of innocents. The land is poisoned, wheatfields and farms dead and barren, the once clean streams now black and deadly, homes empty and dilapidated. The Corrupted King still presides over the ruins of his fallen kingdom, with his deceitful and manipulating Advisor still at his side. Antiqued/darkened brass fittings, blade notch for fingering the guard, a wirewrapped waisted grip and brass spacer. Blade and fullers are darkened to a dark grey. Total length: 47" Blade length: 39" Grip length: 8"
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ashcrafter
Member
"Release the kraken" - Davy Jones
Posts: 32 
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Post by ashcrafter on Jun 20, 2017 8:31:50 GMT
I'm a terrible drawer so my sketch(es) are rather rudimentary and in general quite poor, but, I'll try to make up for it with a detailed description, if anyone has any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them. The theme is expressed as a character sketch for the sword. I'll work the most of specs into the backstory as many of them are meaningfully derived from the theme. -- The Bloodrinker Sword The Warlock Tanataroth's blade, it is equally suited for slicing through the bodies of knights, for channeling demons, wraiths, and other dark magicks, and for cutting pineapples to make Hawaiian pizza. [  ] It is a relatively long sword, built for use with two hands, though it can be used with one, which the warlock often chooses to do (especially when he rides on his albino steed). The sword is 49 inches long in all, with the blade being 36 inches long and the hilt (including guard and pommel) 13 inches long, the grip being about 9 inches.
The blade has a double-fuller, so that whenever the dark blade is used it may drink blood freely (it has been noted that no gore stays on the blade, but any blood that touches the blade touches is absorbed). The blade is [about] 2.5 inches at the base, and the taper is very gradual, except at the end, as the blade is meant for hacking and slicing [like early middle-ages swords; i.e. those intended against chain armor, not against plate].
The fittings are of lead and black onyx, the pommel being a carved onyx skull (about an inch tall/long), said to have been a gift to the Warlock from a Demon Lord, Bob (Rhinbobrokascumolos) as thanks for saving his life.
The guard is forged of lead, that, some say, was cooled in the blood of the smith who made it, murdered while the lead was still warm.
The hilt is of elder wood [Sambucus] covered in black leather that, some say, was once human skin (though Tanataroth insists that this is just slander).
The blade is inscribed with the words BIBITOR CRUORIS
Guard design: it should be symmetrical (L/R), the left side is slightly better drawn than the right.
The pentagram is intended to be equilateral. It should be raised from the rest of the guard and the omega’s lowered (imprinted) into the guard.
The central circle has diameter 3in and the two small ones have diameter 1.5in.
The “bars” between the circles are 1in at their thinnest. The bars are about 3.5 in long each so the shole guard is 13 inches wide (which makes the sword look huge and intimidating)
The reverse of the guard is the same except the pentagram points toward the holder (is inverted) and the inscription is VIVENTES CAESOR instead of MORTI SACRUM.
--
I have some on-theme alternatives for some of the parts if the design is problematic e.g. the pommel could be a lead skull with onyx eyes or just a lead skull.
This design also works as a vampire or necromancer variant, with the necromancer’s quite similar (smaller, different pommel and inscriptions) and the vampire one having a bat-shaped hilt and fang pommel and different inscriptions. I fleshed out the warlock one the most from the three since I have limited time to work on this and I wanted to avoid re-inventing someone else’s design by accident, and warlock swords tend to be less common than vampire lord and necromancer blades I thought this one would be the best for that.
This design is intended to be a sword that the character (and swordsperson / role-player) could actually use for combat, with fairly “standard” (our world) physics.
Note on blade: I'm thinking of something like a type XIIIa blade. (https://myarmoury.com/feature_oakeshott2.html#typeXIIIa)
Notes on inscriptions:
The inscriptions are in Latin, because I thought that it would add to the theme of a dark magic user (and because Latin is cool)
BIBITOR CRUORIS* means drinker of blood in Latin
MORTI SACRUM means consecrated to death
VIVENTES CAESOR means slaughterer of the living
*cruor has a different meaning than sanguis, this is blood as “blood that is shed in battle, gore”
_Warlock guard (43.96 KB)
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ashcrafter
Member
"Release the kraken" - Davy Jones
Posts: 32
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Post by ashcrafter on Jun 20, 2017 8:35:28 GMT
Here’s my second submission: A short quasi-RPG style character backstory: Alkahest The alchemist Nicolle Adeen turned at the sudden noise; she saw the Inquisition soldier opening the door to her small shop. She tensed; the Inquisitor was hunting down all magic users and anyone else the Great Priests of the Holy Capitol deemed to be a user of the black arts. Alchemists were included. As the soldier took in the arcane symbols and tomes positioned around the shop he drew his sword. Seeing this, Nicolle grabbed the sword she always kept under the counter. She quickly stepped around the counter, parried the soldier’s first clumsy swing, then caught the next in the spiralled cross-guard of her own sword, flicked her wrist and sent the soldiers spinning sword out of his hand. Then the alchemist deftly swung her sword around, and killed the soldier. She then ran to the back, grabbed her sack that she always kept ready for such an emergency. Nicolle then grabbed a few vials of Greek fire in her left hand while holding her sword in her right and ran out the back. She threw one of the vials at her shop, and it instantly burst into green and purple flames. As she fled the city, she dropped threw the other vials she had seized, setting fire to the city in order to distract the city’s guards. At the gate she surprised the lone sentry, and as he went for his sword, she eviscerated him with a two-handed blow. She then fled the city, afraid of the Inquisitor’s pursuit. Details: Length: 44 inches Blade: 33 inches Guard: 1.5 inches long, ~10in wide Grip: 8 Circular pommel: diameter 1.5in; moonstone in the middle (hand-and-half sword) hexagonal cross-section The blade has the inscription: [handle] ♀ ☉ 🜃 🜄 🝢 ALKAHEST 🝢 🜁 🜂 ♂ 🝓 [point] The guard is a corkscrew with three regular spirals on each side and a fourth small one to form a circle at each end. It is a hard copper-coloured metal. The grip is oak or cherry wood, wrapped in copper wire; and the disk pommel is of the same metal as the guard, with an inscribed philosopher’s stone symbol, and a moonstone in/as the circle (the disk itself is the circle) The sword is meant to be an orange, copper-colored theme. blade alkahest (84.21 KB) hilt_alchahest (106.29 KB) (drawings not to scale) |
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ashcrafter
Member
"Release the kraken" - Davy Jones
Posts: 32
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Post by ashcrafter on Jun 20, 2017 8:38:17 GMT
Also, sorry about the last-minute submissions, I only found out about the contest a few days ago
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Post by Robert on Jun 20, 2017 13:14:37 GMT
In the year 678 the vail between worlds was torn and orcs have entered this world. For 3 years they rampaged the continent until humanity went near-extint. When only one city remained, the Crusade was founed as a last line of defense against the orc scourge. Not only did they succed, they also menaged to repel the invaders. Their suprising succes was possible due to a new way of weapon making, which rivaled, and even surpassed that of the enemy forces. The Crusader's falchion is a very efficient weapon designed as a sidearm to any crusader troop. Although usually used by the lower classes, it was not uncommon to see an officer or noble with thjis type of weapon, as it was both well known and respected among the remaining humans. The wide blade with a belly makes it a terrific cutter, and the reinforced point with the sharpened feather allow for hooking as well as bypassing enemy shields. The upswept, four-sided guard is both efficient, as well as a symbol of the rise of the people against the orc invaders. The wooden, leather-wrapped grip with risers comes in a variety of colours, although oxblood is the most common one. The diamond-shaped pommel with rounded edges provides good counter-balance, as well as being pleasant to the eye. To reduce weight some falchions also use a number of fullers, with two being the most common. Although the ultimate dimensions depend on the individual, the one presented has the following dimensions: Total lenght: 80cm Crossguard lenght: 20cm blade lenght: 63cm grip lenght: 10,5cm Attachments:
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Post by texarcana on Jun 20, 2017 13:17:38 GMT
Now that the submission period is has (almost) concluded, I figured I'd leave a open invitation to any illustrator who'd like to help me
draw out a design. I can't offer anything but good karma, and the notion that it may lead to a tangible sword someday.
Precision and scaling especially appreciated. To prevent clutter you should probably message me.
Apologies if I'm too off-topic, but this is clearly the where the design skills end up...
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Post by Creedl0rd on Jun 20, 2017 14:33:52 GMT
I have drawn this sword right the day this was started, but I was just too lazy to upload it . This is a combination of a Nodachi with a Tachi (curved tsuka), with some fantasy aspekts. By now I have no story or charakter for this, if it gets choosen, I would be more than happy to create a world and story around it. Lenght would be around 1,50m.  For the Tsuka I thought about something in this style, with an extra metalpart in the middle, like an extra Fuchi. (I know it looks a little bit "fat" in the drawing above).  This picture is from one of my custom Wakizashis. |
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LeMal
Member
Posts: 1,172
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Post by LeMal on Jun 20, 2017 15:34:22 GMT
In the icebound northern lands of Sk'laith, there are the "frozen Undead." Those who had perished of exposure, but whose corporeal bodies had been cooled slowly enough that certain necromancers could bring them back as zombies. But when the sorcerer De'Peche, considered by many the most ruthless and sadistic of his kind, thought he would resurrect the fierce warrior Rognar Othinheir from an ice barrow on the volcano-shrouding glacier Grimsvytn, De'Peche's aims backfired. For Rognar would be no one's slave. Now Rognar pursues De'Peche across the entire world, from ice wastes to the harshest deserts, jungles and over the pirate seas. Bearing his scythe-like forward-curved blade, hilted in ivory carved from the "horn" of the 200-foot Giant Narwal. And not knowing if he had been actually brought back from suspended animation--or true death. And if by succeeding and killing De'Peche, Rognar will perish as well.  |
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Post by legacyofthesword on Jun 20, 2017 17:03:49 GMT
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Post by legacyofthesword on Jun 20, 2017 17:05:21 GMT
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Post by legacyofthesword on Jun 20, 2017 17:06:24 GMT
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Post by legacyofthesword on Jun 20, 2017 17:10:46 GMT
I didn't have time to come up with any backstories or even colors for my designs... I had the worst case of artist's block until two days ago, so these are a little sloppy.
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