This week I've been thinking about what kind of weapon chaos magic wielding, black-sheep princeling would prefer. I'm becoming attached to the idea of a different kind of sword: two-handed, wide, serpentine and forked at the tip. Something used more for an aggressive, chopping style of fighting.

Of course, none of this is entirely original thinking - I'm borrowing liberally from concepts articulated by Gene Wolfe and Mike Mignola.

I first thought of Terminus Est, the executioner's sword wielded by Severian in Gene Wolfe's "Shadow of the Torturer." I read this series when I was a kid and the have never stopped admiring the way Wolfe conceptualized the sword and made it such a unique tool for the apprentice torturer.

I don't know if this one has a name, but it's the hyperborean blade used by Agent Howards in Mike Mignola's BPRD. This came to mind primarily because of the forked tip but also because I love the wild and aggressive way Howards flings himself into the fight.

And - because I'm going for something more exotic, less practical and more serpentine - I've been thinking about that strange the Javanese Kris.