Cool Sword: Difference between revisions

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* Sharpe was given the choice between a cool sword that was more like a work of art, a symphony designed to kill, and a mass-produced heavy cavalry sabre that had been customised with love by his friend Patrick Harper. Guess which one he chose.

* Need, from [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s [[Heralds of Valdemar|Velgarth]] books, is an archtypical version. In the hands of a mage or other martially unskilled sort it will hijack her body and fight with vast skill. In the hands of a warrior or other magically unskilled sort it will dispell any spell cast upon her without her permission. No matter who holds it, she will [[Healing Factor|heal with remarkable speed]]. The downsides? It will [[Empathic Weapon|only work for a woman]], [[Restraining Bolt|will not harm a woman]], and will... press... it's wielder into [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|aiding any woman in the area whether she wants it or not]].

{{quote| Woman's Need calls me~~ ~~

{{quote|Woman's Need calls me

As Woman's Need made me~~ ~~

As Woman's Need made me

Her Need I must answer~~ ~~

Her Need I must answer

As my maker bade me. }}

** Somewhat amusingly, Need can also be wielded by gay men, although this rarely happens and is hypothesized as being a result of [[Unfortunate Implications|"confusion"]] on Need's part. However, Firesong k'Treva, a Hawkbrother archmage, was her last wielder, and Need was fully conscious when he used her.

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* In ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]'', Anaklusmos/Riptide, which is made of celestial bronze and can only hurt heroes, monsters and gods; it also turns into a pen and reappears in Percy's pocket. Then, there's Backbiter, forged of both steel and bronze so it can hurt everyone.

* The Twelve Swords of Power in the books of [[Fred Saberhagen]].

{{quote| ''I shatter Swords and splinter spears;~~ ~~

{{quote|''I shatter Swords and splinter spears;

None stands to Shieldbreaker.~~ ~~

None stands to Shieldbreaker.

My point's the fount of orphan's tears~~ ~~

My point's the fount of orphan's tears

My edge the widowmaker.'' }}

* In Chris Roberson's [[Warhammer 40000]] [[Blood Ravens]] novel ''Dawn Of War II'', Wisdom. Explicitly described as a rare sword so marvelous as to have a name. Lost in a fight with a tyrannid, it is found again in a collection of xenos artifacts, and one [[Space Marine]] immediately takes it up in order to undo the shame.

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** [[Oh Crap|And we all trembled in fear.]]

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s ''[[The Hour of the Dragon]]'', Zenobia brings [[Conan the Barbarian]] a sword when she rescues him.

{{quote| ''Whatever else she might be, she was proven by that dagger to be a person of practical intelligence. It was no slender stiletto, selected because of a jeweled hilt or gold guard, fitted only for dainty murder in milady's boudoir; it was a forthright poniard, a warrior's weapon, broad-bladed, fifteen inches in length, tapering to a diamond-sharp point.''}}

{{quote|''Whatever else she might be, she was proven by that dagger to be a person of practical intelligence. It was no slender stiletto, selected because of a jeweled hilt or gold guard, fitted only for dainty murder in milady's boudoir; it was a forthright poniard, a warrior's weapon, broad-bladed, fifteen inches in length, tapering to a diamond-sharp point.''}}

** In ''[[The Phoenix on the Sword]]'', a long-dead seer talks with Conan and gives his sword a phoenix mark, which allows it to kill [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]] even when broken.

* In the ''[[Shannara]]'' series by Terry Brooks there are two of these. [[The Sword of Shannara]], which can {{spoiler|reveal the truth}} about anything it touches, and the jet black Sword of Leah, which, having been dipped in the Hadeshorn, can now cut and parry magic as though it were iron and steel.