Paksworld

Weaponry in Paksenarrion’s world has clear connections to late medieval/early Renaissance weaponry in our world’s history except for one obvious lack: there is no gunpowder. Hence no petards, no bombs, no cannon.

There are, however, blades of many styles, in abundance. Where did these come from, and what does it take to maintain them? (Some of you, in various re-creation societies, are now licking your chops…back off, this is not going to be a definitive treatise–and yes, I’ve read definitive treatises.)

We’re well into the age of steel here, so blades mean metal blades–and metal blades mean that somewhere there’s metal ore and someone with the knowledge and skill to convert ores into steel–steel that will take a point or an edge (or both, but not necessarily) and not fall to pieces the moment it’s hit by another sword.

Along with the iron ores, the swordmaker needs the ability to make a really hot fire, and then control it: this means a fuel source, and a forge in which to control the temperature. That forge needs to be made of something that won’t burn up at those temperatures, that will contain the fire and yet let the swordsmith move the metal around, pull it in and out. And the swordsmith needs an anvil and the tools with which to beat the fire-softened metal into shape, and a container of the right liquid in which to quench it. And a lot of skill.

So there’s a lot of work behind every sword, whether it’s the short stout gladius type used by the soldiers of the Duke’s Company, Halveric Company, and some others–or the longer slimmer rapier used by freelancers in the south, or the hand-and-a-half longsword used by nobles and captains in the north.

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