On Sat, Feb 21, 2004 at 08:42:20PM +0000, Dave Cooper <stikjok at hotmail.com> wrote: > After reading Issola, the regret I have is that the morganti weapon that > was transformed was a long dagger, rather than the fencing weapon that Vlad > is used to. He is, of course versed in the use of hand to hand dagger > fighting, but his preffered method is foil and dagger. Now Iceflame is a > dagger, but both Blackwand and Pathfinder are full sized swords, and thus > more effective in battle, especially since Great weps AND morganti weps can > kill with the smallest scratch. The dagger used in the left hand is for > defence and coup de grace strokes, not for light strokes. > > From the Issola reading, I get the impression that Lady Teldra is just a > bit shorter and much thinner than a machete, more like a thin viking sax. > I just think that she would have prefered a larger home. )) I got the same basic impression. That particular tidbit has always struck a discordant note for me; first, it's very little like what you would expect Vlad to use, and second, it's nothing like you would expect Teldra herself to prefer. I could *easily* perceive Teldra's personality in a slim, decorative and deceptively-delicate rapier or similar fencing weapon; it would fit her personality to a T and match Vlad's own choice of arms as well. But clearly that's not the case. However, I think the presence of Lady Teldra in the form of a long dagger makes it somewhat more difficult for Vlad to use her casually. And I think that's a very good thing for Vlad's moral development. He has a Great Weapon now; a certain amount of restraint is necessary. Should he resign himself to eating the soul of anyone he crossed blades with, at least until Lady Teldra wakes up? I doubt he would prefer to do that, and carrying two rapiers would be silly. Lady Teldra as main gauche is much more practical. She won't be having dinner with bandits or random sneering Jhereg as the main course. Perhaps just as important, Vlad's not exactly going to be swordfighting with her. It's sort of like bringing a tank to a knife fight. He's an *assassin* rather than a front-line type. Lady Teldra will probably be attacking in stealth more often than not, and seems well suited for that. -- Matthew Hunter (matthew at infodancer.org) Public Key: http://matthew.infodancer.org/public_key.txt Homepage: http://matthew.infodancer.org/index.jsp Politics: http://www.triggerfinger.org/index.jsp