Swords Nitpick

[Sh33p]

A very minor nitpick on the swords: Islam claims direct descent/familial ties to Judeo-Christianity. Muslims regard Christ as a Prophet. Shouldn't the Swords also be drawing on power from the billion Muslims on the planet too?

I know it's not much, but we've had an agnostic and a probable Shinto-Buddhist Knight. May have even had a recent Muslim Knight too ("The Egyptian" - Egypt ain't known for being a hub of Christianity in modern times), to say nothing of Shiro's idea that "God is God" -- which may or may not draw power from Hinduism too, if you squint at it a bit.

[iago]

Is this an objection to a specific passage in the text? Page number?

[KnightFerrous]

I believe he referring to the marginalia on ys278 converning how the swords of the cross channel the faith of all the christians on the planet.

[iago]

I believe he referring to the marginalia on ys278 converning how the swords of the cross channel the faith of all the christians on the planet.

Thanks! I'll add an interjection in there ala "—and possibly other faiths as well—" soon as I get a chance.  (I mean, they are Swords of the Cross, so I get why it was said that way, but the OP is absolutely right, and I think they're more a focus for faith in the White God in its many forms.)

[Rel Fexive]

It certainly opens a lot more interesting doors, that's for sure.



Oh, and Posty McPosterpants?  Nice.

[iago]

Oh, and Posty McPosterpants?  Nice.

That's for people who have a lot of posts.

[chadu]

Thanks! I'll add an interjection in there ala "—and possibly other faiths as well—" soon as I get a chance.  (I mean, they are Swords of the Cross, so I get why it was said that way, but the OP is absolutely right, and I think they're more a focus for faith in the White God in its many forms.)

Also, Sanya is descended from Saladin (IIRC), who was definitely not a Christian.

I concur.

[Tush Hog]

I suppose rewording it like that would be fine, but like it's been mentioned - they are the Swords of the Cross. I think Christians are the only ones who believe in the miracle of the Cross. Muslims don't believe Jesus was crucified, seems kind of hard to channel faith of entire religion of Islam through the swords in that case -- to me anyway.

So, while the Knights might have a broad spectrum of possibilities, the swords seem to be definite Christian artifacts.

 

[Mal_Luck]

Also, Sanya is descended from Saladin (IIRC), who was definitely not a Christian.

I concur.

And Shō Tai was? 

And as Sanya shows, anyone of any faith, or lack-thereof, could wield the swords. Christian symbol they might be, but Sanya would likely argue that they are a symbols of Good, rather than any particular religion.

[KnightFerrous]

This is why one of the character ideas i had in order to play a knight of the cross without breaking cannon was having the Spear of Longinus reforged as a roman gladius with a red blade. It should have the same properties as the nails yes? but It hasn't been mentioned at all in the series.

[Mal_Luck]

Wouldn't that be the antithesis of the swords themselves? Most media I can think of portrays the spear as an evil weapon wielded by evil people (unless your using it for an evil person ). The Spear of Longinus is an interesting idea though, wouldn't surprise me if it made an appearance in a future book.

In a D&D game I actually included the swords, though I just called them The Knights of the Sword. Basically instead of nails, the swords all had a piece of the blade of a single sword wielded by former hero/ascended god. The Fourth Sword, the Sword of Hate, was made from the scrap metal left over from the forging of the three swords and therefore "hated" the Knights of the Sword. I had a proper name for it like the other swords, but can't remember how I spelled it.

[KnightFerrous]

I honestly never saw why it was portrayed as evil by that logic the nails that held Him to the cross would be evil as well. Though i can see the spear being a powerful artifact of good or evil depending on who held it as it is imbued with the blood of the divine.

[Mal_Luck]

I honestly never saw why it was portrayed as evil by that logic the nails that held Him to the cross would be evil as well. Though i can see the spear being a powerful artifact of good or evil depending on who held it as it is imbued with the blood of the divine.

I concede that point, more my media colored knowledge of the Spear. But the nails only held him, while the spear actually killed him (or not, I won't pretend to be a expert on the Bible). But still, were I to GM a game with it... the spear would probably be a weapon of darkness, but that's more my familiarity with the spear.

[KnightFerrous]

The spear did kill him, but only because the nails were taking too long and the sun was going down so they had to return to their homes for the Sabbath. But to me that is like saying "No officer I didn't kill him, i just held his arms so the other guy could kill him."

 But to each their own

[Mal_Luck]

A small change in topic...

I'm actually more curious as to why Fidelacchius and Esperacchius had to be reworked into their current incarnations (katana and saber). Has Jim ever commented on this?

In the back of my head my thinking would be if the sword was unmade it would have to be reworked... but that's more a guess.