can you please tell me what's underneath my bed?

I'm not going to lie, the last two-plus weeks have been...brutal. Today we're at Day 204 of the Eternal Headache, and while I am going to still keep track of the days with this thing, I'm beginning to think this is now a feature, not a bug.

Also, I had intended to blog about two other things before this one, and then I remembered both of those require me to work ONE of the LeLutka mesh heads I now own into wearable status. (I know, I know, it's not hard to make it wearable--what it is, for my brain at least, is to make it *not look like everyone else*.)

So. Here we are, covering the "Apophis" Ritual Blade from Arkivet and Vae Victis (collaborating), at long last.

Since everyone was doing the Egyptian thing, I thought I'd go to Ta-Kemet, a recreation of the temple at Luxor. But first, a bit of history on the khopesh.



There are several different theories on the rise--and fall--of the blade, and most generally coincide with the end of the bronze age, so the assumption is that bronze was just an inferior metal. I'm not so sure, though.

What I do know is that battle axes were the first form, and still used when the khopesh was invented, and they're why they had that original curved shape. (Note: at the link, that is a reproduction steel blade, just FYI.)



In battle, Egyptian warriors used a variety of weapons--spears, hand and battle axes, and daggers mainly--but there were other styles. Until they noticed their battle axes were becoming less useful against Roman and Canaanite weapons and shields--particularly the shields. So the khopesh was invented. (It is hard to say whether this was a design Egyptian soldiers copied from Canaanites, or whether they invented it on their own.) Curved because it followed the previous form of the battle axe, but also to take into account the natural fragility of bronze. A solid length of bronze would still shatter, but the pronounced curve in the khopesh changed the balance, and strangely, made it sturdier.


It was fine for the sword to bend; what they didn't want is the sword breaking. And mostly that's what they got.

In fact, most khopesh blades, as used in battle, didn't even have a sharp tip. They didn't need one, being used primarily for two things--to curve around shields, and to hack into torso or limbs thus exposed; or to puncture through the shield entirely, either ripping it from the assailant's arms, or just used to hold it away while a secondary dagger was moved in.



It was very, very effective at what it did, and was only abandoned when Roman soldiers began to make swords out of iron.



The HUD for this version will again give a great amount of flexibility in hues--seven different places to change into eleven different colors. Very versatile.



And again, the detail work is just stunning. So, in fact, is the shape--more reminiscent of a lightning bolt, but immediately recognized as a khopesh-style blade.



This is likely soon to tie up at Chronicles and Legends--this premiered as an offering on March 10th, and...

Okay, update, 'cos I was curious--the event ends Aprille 1st, and you'll find it in Arkivet's booth (linked above), while Vae Victis has the fabulous feathered Nighthunter hat in their own booth elsewhere on the site. (And I need to get to that too.) You can make it your own for L$450!