Welcome to Gaia! ::

About this big you say?

The shopkeeper held out his hands to mimic Maximos' length. He grinned a bit at his enthusiasm over the weapons. Luckily for Maximos, all the weapons he saw before him were made of dragonsteel. Anything else was practically unacceptable since the patrons of this particular weapon shop often required powerful weapons for their training and combat drills...

Let me see what I've got here... I don't get much call for longswords, but when I do, they always want quality...

The shopkeeper would duck behind the tented shop's counter for a moment, and soft clanging and rustling could be heard as he rummaged through his wares. After a time, the man would appear up from behind the counter and place an object down, covered and wrapped with care. The object was clearly as large as a longsword, at least it looked that way, though Maximos might realize that the shape was slightly longer than he had indicated...

This one is a beauty... She's been looking for a home for quite some time now, but most of my customers prefer lances or broadswords. Lets take a look at her shall we?

The shopkeep would gently pull the fabric off of the blade as if removing the blanket from around a sleeping child. It was clear how much he took pride in his work and his craft. The first thing Maximos would see would be the slightly whitish silvery sheen of dragonsteel at the tip of the blade. Then, as more was pulled back, the pointed tip came fully into view, and the body of the weapon began to be revealed to his waiting eyes.

The sword was a bit wider than most, about 3.5 inches wide for most of the blade, until it widened towards the cross guard, meeting with it to provide the weapon with more weight towards the handle for better balance for its greater weight. This width was normal for a dragon longsword, but uncanny for a human weapon. But it was indeed long. Quite long. Fifty inches in length from tip to tip, and sported a full two handed grip rather than the common "hand and a half" handle that many other blades were made with. The entire blade shone silver except for the handle, which was wrapped with thick and sturdy black leather around a padding to soften the impact shock from having a solid metal handle.

Yes this one is a glorious piece of work. Most of my customers go for the fancier weapons, but this one is pretty much what you see here. Large single fuller to reduce the weight but keep the strength, and lightly bone forged core as well. Should be lighter on the wielding that way, and give you an edge in combat. Full two handed handle for better grip will add to that maneuverability, and so will that weight towards the handle...

But thats all fine and good, but ain't worth squat if she can't cut anything. Luckily you won't have to worry about that either. Between you and me, she'd likely make a razor blush, and since she's a fine blade you probably won't have to worry about getting her sharpened for quite some time. Every 300 seasons ought to be good for her. Can't claim she's got any magical powers or anything, but with everything that she's got you probably shouldn't have to worry much about that.

So, what do you think?

The blade might have been a bit heavier than what Maximos was used to fighting with, but he didn't say he wanted a light sword. But with everything the blade had going for it... Lighter construction, weight reduction without compromising strength, the weight towards the handle to better balance the blade, and the handle itself, heavier or not the weapon was likely to suit Maximos' tastes just fine. But hey, if it didn't, the shopkeeper was likely to have other weapons he could look at.

The shopkeeper would allow his customer to take a test of the weapon. After all, a sword was a weapon that required feeling before one could make the purchase. He'd watch as Maximos eyed the blade and tested its feel to his grip. Then, after a moment, he'd set it down on the counter and uttered the words every shopkeeper wanted to hear.

Excellent! I'm pleased to see she'll be going to a good home. Now the only matter is the price. What can you offer me for her?

Angara operated on a gold price policy at times, but some shops still used the older "How much do you think this is really worth" policy. The buyer and shopkeeper would haggle a bit over the price, or take the offer depending on how much was offered.

If Ryugi cared, he didn't make any mention of it. He was too busy admiring the weapons that the shopkeeper placed down for his friend to view. They were certainly lovely and well crafted pieces of art. As fine as any weapon could come in Angara.

Well, as a matter of fact I've got several polearms. They're more common that longswords you see...

The shopkeep would slip behind the counter once more and bring another weapon up for Maximos to view. This time it was indeed a polearm, and a very healthy looking one too. Solid dragonsteel construction made the entire pole of the weapon strong and firm, also wrapped and padded in black leather much like the longsword. On the tip there was a pyramid shaped end cap that could be used as a surprise stabbing tool if wielded correctly. The weapon was longer than the longsword at roughly five and a half feet long with a foot long blade.

The blade was shaped much like a smaller and condensed version of the longsword that Maximos had chosen, except that where the widened section towards the rear bent inward, two spiked bladed protrusions came from the blade, which if used carefully would be capable of catching another weapon and parrying its attack. It had a single fuller down the middle of the larger section of the blade and if Maximos were to pick the weapon up, he would be amazed at how light it felt! This weapon was actually LIGHTER than a human made weapon of the same proportions due to the metal it was forged out of. It was no surprise why polearms like this one were more popular among the draconic ranks than a larger and heavier longsword.

However, if Maximos looked behind the man and into the back of the tent, he'd see some more unorthodox halberd class weapons ALSO used by the draconic ranks that were longer, bulkier, and had much larger blades. These weapons were common of higher ranking draconic officers in Angara's Army as they required much skill to master and learn. However, for a man of Maximos' speed and talent, such weapons were most likely out of what he was looking for. of course, that decision was ultimately up to the shadowy man himself.

What do you think about this one?

((Hey Max, when you can, I'd like to talk to you about something over MSN.))

Oh, those things?

The shopkeeper looked behind him where Maximos had pointed. His eyes came to rest on the massive weapons at the rear of the shop.

Well, those are weapons generally used by the Ceremonial Guard and higher ranking army officials. They're so big they can barely be called polearms or halberds. And they only really have that name due to their construction. The average length for those things is nearly nine feet. I can't really guess at the weight, but they likely wouldn't be easy for ANYONE to wield. Thats generally why the only guys using them are the most powerful and well-trained warriors in Angara's Army and the Guard itself. They can spin them around so quickly you'd swear it was a metal staff.

The shopkeeper turned back to face Maximos, a sheepish grin on his face.

I don't know if they'd be your style, but if you'd like I could try and pick one out for you. Anything you're looking for exactly?

Well, all that really depends on function. These are geared towards different modes of combat, really. Some are built for more speed. Others more power. Some come with leylines to absorb magical energies. It all really matters on what you'd like in a weapon.

The shopkeeper would wait for Maximos' reply. He'd start showing them to his customer, but he wanted to know what his customer preferred when it came to these weapons. It would make selection easier for the both of them.

Both power and leylines eh? I'll see what I've got back here...

The shopkeeper would turn around and walk to the back of the store where the larger weapons were placed on a rack. He'd walk by each one, examining them for short periods of time, or longer periods in order to judge their abilities. Finally, he'd lift one of the large weapons off of the rack with a grunt, and carry it over to the counter before setting it down, clearly relieved by the release of weight. He might have been a talented weaponsmith, but he wasn't a heavily trained fighter.

Whew! Thats a load off my shoulders! Heh... Anyway, this weapon here is as evenly balanced as you're going to get between power and leylines. Its solid dragonsteel and heavily bone forged to make it lighter, but the need for the leylines within the blade cause it to still be on the heavy side. You see that gem there?

The shopkeeper would motion towards the dark midnight blue, rounded ovular gem embedded in the rear of the bladed section of the weapon. This blade was different in that is was of a regular diamond configuration compared to the other weapons Maximos had seen, and the end of the blade was thicker and bulkier than the pointed tip. This was partially due to the gem it held, that the man was pointing at.

That gem there is where the magical energy gets collected. Don't let it fool you, thats some heavy duty crystal there. Its likely harder than the metal itself. The dark color means that it doesn't have any energy within it, but if it absorbs the energy from a source it'll glow brighter and brighter blue until it glows white. Thats when you know it'll be at full power. Once that thing is glowing you can unleash the energy that its held within it to unleash an attack. This particular blade is imbued with a wind element, and will unleash a powerful wind strike at an opponent I like to call "Stormfront". Course, you can call it whatever you like.

The man would chuckle as he finished. The rest of the blade's handle was thick. Roughly two and a half inches thick to be exact, and was also wrapped with the padded black leather. This seemed to be the weaponsmith's personal trademark when it came to the grips of his heavier weapons. The end of the weapon had a large metal ring as the end cap roughly six inches in diameter. This ring might also serve to add a bit more balancing weight to the weapon. It could likely be used to hang decorations, or possibly find a use in combat as well. The weapon was nine and a half feet long, making it even longer than the average, with the blade taking up roughly four feet of that length, being seven inches wide at its widest point and nearly four inches thick. It was a monster of a weapon, but at the same time, it held an air of grace to it.

So, how do you like her?

Well, thats quite a collection of stones you've got there my friend! Lets see here...

It was odd that the man wasn't shocked at the amount of wealth Maximos had shown. Perhaps it was due to the fact that this type of payment was far more common on Angara than in human lands. The shopkeeper would rustle through the stones, leaving the two larger ones behind for Maximos to keep. When he'd taken around half of the smaller stones and slid the remainder back to Maximos, he looked up and spoke.

How about this there? This should cover the cost of the weapons.

Oh! Certainly! One moment while I grab a few things here...

The shopkeeper disappeared behind the counter for the last time and soon came back into view with some thick cloth and rope to tie the wares together.

There you are my friend. Use as much as you like. The packaging comes free of charge. Just leave it there when you're done.

The shopkeeper would smile and then head off to help another customer as he finished with Maximos.