B E A C O N
Intent: A personal weapon for Braith Achlys.
Development Threads:
Manufacturer: Braith Achlys
Model: N/A
Affiliation: Braith Achlys
Modularity: No
Production: Unique
Material:
- Alchemized Electrum
- Alchemized Mullinine
- Force Crystal (2)
- Braith's Blood
Size: One-and-a-Half Sword
Length: 140 cm (Total), 120 cm (Blade), 20 cm (Grip)
Weight: 3.5 kg
Special Features:
- Blaster Begone: As with nearly all traditional blades forged through alchemy, the 'Great Divide' contains a reversed magnetic polarity that mimics a Magnetic Seal in that the sword will deflect any blaster bolt as well as other particle weapons. Unlike Braith's silken creation, simmersilk, the sword was forged with absolute patience and attention to detail - the weapon meant to a masterpiece - which resulted in a lack of the chance of this not reflecting blaster rounds and other particle weaponry rather than occasionally taking a hit.
- Never-Dull: As with the majority of traditional swords enhanced with alchemy the blade on the 'Great Divide' will never dull, and because of the molecular make-up it is also much sharper than a traditional sword and could easily compare to other alchemical blades.
- Lost and Found: Now a tradition to incorporate into Braith's various creations, the 'Great Divide' was given a blood trail so that if the blade were ever to be lost or stolen she could locate it through the force, even track it.
- Divine Judgment: Along the base of the blade, where it meets the guard and hilt, are a series of runes which surround two force crystals that have been imbued with the force. While wild force shards amplify the force around them indiscriminately, hence the 'wild' prefix, one of the force crystals were altered through alchemy so that its amplifying effects would only channel into the runes positioned around it. These runes, much like the gauntlets on her armor, impart an enchantment on the blade that causes any object that comes in contact with the blade to rapidly increase temperature at the point of contact, potentially spontaneously combusting if contact is sustained for any extended period of time. While the heat isn't anywhere close to being comparable to a lightsaber it does make the weapon extremely formidable, even against armored opponents.
- Lightning Eater: Similar to Sith swords, the Great Divide will attract force lightning along the blade and store it to be unleashed on contact with a substantially solid object afterwards.
- Lightsaber Reject: The Great Divide, like the majority of Sith Swords and other similarly forged creations, is entirely impervious to the blade of the average lightsaber even with sustained contact.
- Feel No Evil: Taking note of her previous creation, the masterpiece that was "Fate's Embrace", the second, larger, force crystal which was placed into the blade was treated in a similar way. While the Fate's Embrace passively charged with the surrounding dark side energies to potentially fuel a barrier that would prevent its wielder from being harmed, the Great Divide simply eliminates the dark side energy around it in the exact same manner by triggering the combustion-creating runes along the blade as it is exposed, and siphons, the dark side of the force - constantly using it up rather than storing it. Theoretically this could mean that the sword might catch flame itself if exposed to sufficient amounts of the dark side, such as in a force nexus or near an especially corrupt master of the dark side of the force. This heating effect tends to last upwards a minute once the surrounding area is no longer exposing the blade to the dark side.
Where the Maw of Midnight was intended, some ten thousand years ago, to act as Braith's primary weapon during a time where her skills with alchemy, and metalwork in general, were less polished than now, the Great Divide has been created as not only a suitable replacement, but - hopefully - as her signature weapon and most ambitious project to date - though creating the "Fate's Embrace" was also quite tricky. The sword itself is slightly under the length of the average lightsaber, being one-hundred and forty centimeters in length, if only to grant better mobility over a larger sword, and is embedded with two force crystals near where the blade and the guard meet the hilt of the sword. While not exposed to the dark side of the force, the blade is generally consisting of a black hilt and an ashen-silver blade with runes adorning the base and lower portion of the blade nearest the hilt. When exposed to any copious amount of the dark side of the force, however, one of the crystals begins to siphon off the dark side of the force from the immediate area, and potentially its wielder - which would tire them at nearly double the rate of simply using a normal sword without this effect would, and the blade becomes red-hot and eventually white-hot, capable of cauterizing wounds it cuts and heating thin armor to the point of scalding its wearer. In theory a massive source of the dark side, such as a major force nexus or someone with comparable amounts of such a presence in the force, could cause the blade to spontaneously combust and become coated in flames.
The runes which line the blade cause those whom come in contact with the blade to rapidly increase in temperature and potentially combust in a similar manner to the blade - only it does not require exposure to the dark side for this particular effect to take place, unlike the siphoning effects of the second force crystal. The smaller "first" crystal has been altered in a way that its enhancing abilities, much like that of a wild force shard - of which Braith has been rather familiar with, having created 'offering crystals' with them, only impact the runes on the blade to accelerate the combustion effect they carry upon coming into contact with anything with sufficient substance. Species made of light gases would easily find themselves unaffected by the runes on the blade - as they would not activate - while immersing the blade in water would cause the runes to attempt to impart their combustion enchantment on the water, heating it. The primary difference between the passive effect of the dark-side-siphoning crystal and the runes which are enhanced by the smaller, primary, crystal is that while the former crystal and enchantment causes the blade to heat itself when exposed to the dark side, transitioning it to white-hot eventually, the runes and primary crystal cause only those whom come in contact with the blade to experience that heating and eventual spontaneous combustion at the point of contact rather than heating the blade per contact.
As is standard with most alchemical blades, weapons, and tools, the Great Divide mimics that of a magnetic seal and reflects and redirects blaster bolts and other particle weapons - outside of the unstable particle beam rifles - as well as never dulls and is incredibly sharp. As with most masterwork swords, the blade retains a relative impervious relationship with lightsaber blades, although a sufficiently powerful one might slowly cut through the blade after an extended period of time. Similar to most Sith swords, the blade also attracts force lightning and will store it until the blade comes into contact with a sufficiently solid material at which point it will be discharged all at once. And, lastly, the blade retains a blood trail placed by Braith for tracking purposes - as well as her own blood in the alchemy process that, as with her other creations, protects her and those of close blood relation from the enchantments on the sword. The transition from spear to sword was more for maneuverability in combat, as it was harder to strike a target with a spear than a sword in most engagements - and it drastically slowed her down, as she discovered during her duel with Darth Ferus.
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