Antiago spear
A spear that reflects the life of it's owner trough small Haiku like poems. As the soldier lives his life the spear casts a shadow of his great exploits. Small runes are carefully etched in the ash shaft after a great battle or another important event in the warriors life.
Full Item Description
Antiago spear
The most widely used weapon of the Taklamar soldier was the Antiago spear. It is an excellent hand to hand weapon, having a great advantage in reach over shorter weapons. It has has the simple grace of a practical fighting weapon. The heavy mid ridge gives this spear superior strength for its weight. The ash shaft is mounted into the socketed head of the spear.
Wounds caused by the Antiago spear are particularly devastating, as the pathological damage caused by a thrust is more often fatal than that caused by a cut or percussion. It takes only three-to-four inches of penetration into the torso to achieve a debilitating wound. Slashing/cutting weapons often do not penetrate deeply enough, while thrusting weapons achieve that penetration more effectively. Although the spear is arguably a more deadly weapon than a sword, because of its length and weight, it demands great strength and stamina to wield competently. Nevertheless, on the battlefield, the Antiago spear reign. While the Khartand is considered the "soul" of the Taklamar Holy warriors, the Antiago should perhaps be considered the king of the battlefield.
The head carries etchings of the history of the soldier owning them.
After a greater battle the soldier spends his time etching the outcome of the battle in small Haiku like Poems.
The poems written in a cryptic style and their true meaning is only fully known by the warrior. The poems could be about great love affairs. A lament for a fallen companion, or a great promise. Together these poems tell the story of the warriors life.
Some say that slowly, the spears become a twin of the soldier. A mirror of his life, a pale shadow that will echo
in eternity. When a soldier dies the etchings are removed so that he has the room for his heroics in the land of the dead.
Here are two examples of spear poems.
Without flowing wine
How to enjoy lovely
death as it comes?
*It could be that the owner of this spear drinks a lot before an oncoming battle to deal with the stress. Or it could mean that one should simply enjoy life while it lasts. It can easily be torn away. Or something entirely else.
The moment two bubbles
are united, they both vanish.
A flower blooms.
*This could be a cryptic poem about a child that the owner just gave birth too. And that he feels that he and his loved one is slipping apart. Or then again, the meaning could be totally different.
It is customary among the Taklamar to give high honors to their warriors. Each spring they celebrate their warriors with an "Honor the Warrior" ceremony. At the spear raising ceremony, Taklamar people are invited to bring Antiago spears from the resting places of loved ones. These proudly and gracefully wave for the duration of the ceremony.
Some people bring small religous relics to place at the foot of the flagpole under their loved one's Antiago spear. Occasionally one might notice a tobacco offering left near one of the spears. These are meant to honor the dead warrior.
Taklamar warriors are honored whether they died in battle or returned home from their war. The honor is their decision to fight, not in their death by another warrior's hand.
History
The warrior who founded the Antiago spear as the Taklamar army knows it today was Anhdor Gonn. A low ranking warrior in the Taklamar army several hundred years ago.
Tradition has it that from infancy Anhdor displayed an interest in poetry and religion. Alongside with his life as a soldier he meditated and wrote poems. Slowly he became what the Taklamar religion describes as "one with self".
A man who has found the essence of his being, either looking, or not.
His enlightenment, it is said, allowed him to perceive the secrets of integrating the mind and body.
When this happened it slowly changed the way he fought with his spear.
The essence of this "spear dancing" he invented is in the technique of using the Antiago spear to fully thrust out and instantly withdraw the spear with great control. Here, a secret principle is a vital component. Normally, when thrusting with a spear, the shaft and point will go more or less in a straight line to the target. However, in thrusting the spear in this manner, the tip and shaft are manipulated in a manner that causes the spear point to enter the target while twirling in a circle with a diameter of about six inches. The twirling of the point creates an intense striking power and concentrated destructive force, resulting in a gaping wound. This is the secret principle of Andhor Gonn that is behind the deadly effect of the Antiago spear.
The lord of Taklamar at that time soon heard of Andhor as he was becoming one of the greatest warriors in all of Taklamar. One day when Andhor had become a general in the Taklamar army, the lord invited him to his home.
There he asked Andhor what the great secret of his spear dancing was. Andhor replied that it was faith, faith in himself. And his way of marking the paths he took in life. Curious, the lord asked him to explain. Andhor told him then a secret. That he had been etching his great moments in life into the spear.
The lord considered this of such great value to his realm that he instructed Andhor Gonn to create a school where he tought the principle of the poems and how to "pour life" into your weapon. And ofcourse, being a practical man the lord did not forget to mention that Andhor had to teach the technique of his speardance as well. And thus The Antiago spear and its bearers became the King of the Battlefield.
Magic/Cursed Properties
None.
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? Responses (20)
Done. Please comment. I hope I like this as much in the morning as I do now...
Making another comment on this so it pops up in the listing...
This will pop up. I like it. I think others will too. I am glad you worked it.
This is 450% better than the original post, which was extremely turse and short. It has history, culture, poetry, as well as solid explanations.
Two paws Up for you!
Yes indeed, this is an awesome weapon, one with a history, one that has depth, the perfect thing to add to a campaign to flesh it out. 5/5
Stunning work. I absolutely love it! 5/5 when I have votes to give again.
Brilliant idea accompanied by two beautiful Haiku.
Hey, Scrasamax! You promised the man a 5.0 vote ;)
Put your heart and soul into a submission and it is bound to come out good. Way to go Mike!
This post is as well crafted as the weapon it describes.
Great weapon, solid history, and great examples. Can build an entire society on its principles or just use it to make a PC stand out. Great one!
perfect!
Thank you for the comments everyone.
That is only because the submission is wonderful. (You might want to remove a few of the line-ends to have more compact paragraphs. Looks better that way.)
I am not much into weapon posts, but this has it. The funny thing is, that while it is not magical, you cannot really tell if there is not a minor spark of magic in each of them.
Good work.
Excellent item! Kudos!
You still owe him a 5.0 Scrasamax!
Brilliant work! I love the culture behind the spears. A very artistic and well-written piece. Thanks for sharing.
I like this a lot. The idea of warrior poems is reminiscent of British poets after the Great War. The haikus make it short and sweet enough to put them in a game, too.
The technique reminds me of spear drills and was not as easy to learn as it seems. It's nice to see this weapon get some focus. It was such a critical component of warfare for so long. The haiku are a nice touch and say something of the practitioners.
