Sacred Kai & Kaifuru

Written By Raudha Henfu

CATALOGUE: Weapon



LOCATION: Mara



DESCRIPTION:

Sacred Kai and Kaifuru are weapons from Mara. Most of them resemble swords, whereas some of them share the shape like throwing knives or whiplashes. They are a symbol of pride in Native Mara culture, especially Sacred Kai that are considered as the holiest blade in the land.

History

Sacred Kai (kai : guard, warden in Native Mara) got the name because they are believed to be firstly forged by Kaihaan (God of Warden — one of the Haan Deities). Due to their sacredness, the wielder who wants to use the weapon must attend a ceremonial vow (the vow is called as the Oath and the one who wields it will be called as ‘bearer’). Breaking the Oath means a humiliation to the culture.

Sacred Kai are only forged by Fuzuwa Heir, and shall be wielded only by the noble family (the Maralin).

Aside from Sacred Kai, Kaihaan also forged the common swords for people outside of the Maralin bloodline. The wielder is called as ‘swordmaster’ and no Oath is required to be vowed. Nowadays, most of the smiths and wielders are coming from Musutoru Heir.

However, the amount of weapons weren’t enough to protect the land from invading Outsiders (common term: the Migrants). So, the Native people initiatively forged another weapons such as throwing-knives, dual-wielding daggers, and so on. One of them is the imitation of Sacred Kai, which are called as Kaifuru (furu : twin, reflection). Kaifuru are also strictly forged by Fuzuwara Heir, but can be wielded by all Native Mara, as long as they are pure blood and raised in mono-culture — no biracial or bicultural person, no Migrants even the one who’s born in Mara. No Oath is required to be vowed.



TYPE:

Sacred Kai

  • Yotokai

    Three-edged sword, from the pointy perspective the blade forming like Y-shape.

    Movement: cut, stab, parry

    Vow: Oath of Authority, means the bearers are either the main fighter in offensive party or act as a lone warrior.

  • Hisabakai

    Collection of throwing knives, from 5 to 10 pieces, its blade forming like a crescent moon.

    Movement: throw, slash

    Vow: Oath of Guardianship, means the bearers wield the weapon as the last. Hisabakai bearers always blend in group, they’ll be the last fighter in a combat and act as the last defense of their party.

  • Zanikai

    A pair of dual-wielding daggers that contain fragmented blades connected by magnetization. Once they’re swung, the blades stretch, forming like whiplashes.

    Movement: slash, cut, parry, stab

    Vow: Oath of Bond, means the bearers wield the weapon only for protection of own family members. Mostly Zanikai bearers seldom use the blades for combat in military setting, rather hiding them in secrecy.

Kaifuru

  • Yotofuru

    Yotokai imitation: Three pieces of swords with different type of blades. One rectangular, heavy and thick dull sword as defense. One small, light and thin two-edged dagger as offense. One long, thin one-edged sword that’s only used for certain circumstances (the wielders call it as “own vow”).

    Movement:

    • blade #1, shiikuu: knock, parry — shii : one

    • blade #2, dankuu: cut, stab (melee) — dan : two

    • blade #3, guikuu: slash, cut (ranged) — gui : three

    (kuu : blade)

  • Hisabafuru

    Hisabakai imitation: A one-edged machete with a blade forming like half-crescent moon. Its hilt is wrapped by piece of cloth for the purpose of attack in ranged combat.

    Movement:

    • handle #1 (hilt), toru (= tightened): cut, stab

    • handle #2 (cloth), aru (= loosened): throw, parry

  • Zanifuru

    Zanikai imitation: A pair of whiplashes covered in fish-scale-alike sharp metal.

    Movement: slash, parry


ADDITIONAL NOTES:

  • Guikuu of Yotofuru is the longest blade in Variland. Its length almost levels the height of an adult.

  • The aru cotton in Hisabafuru is the strongest cloth in Mara. It’s waterknitted in many steps to make the structure as dense as possible. Not even a weightlifter can tear it apart.

  • Among Sacred Kai bearers, the most often wielded one is Yotokai, Zanikai as the least. Among Kaifuru wielders, Hisabafuru is the most often wielded, Yotofuru the least. All combine, order from the most to the least wielded: Yotokai, Hisabakai, Hisabafuru, Zanifuru, Zanikai, Yotofuru.

  • All Sacred Kai and Kaifuru are forged by blacksmith from Influence clan (Metal Influencer). Except Zanikai, an Examinator blacksmith is necessary to create the magnetization on the blade fragments.

  • The essence of Sacred Kai; yootu (authority), hasuba (guardianship) and zin (bond) come from the essence of Kaihaan:

    • Authority, to be firm and defend own culture.

    • Guardianship, to fight side by side with other warriors.

    • Bond, to not forget about the beloved at home.

  • Sacred Kai and Kaifuru are made of shesium ores, a metal element that can only be mined in Qabu Mountainranges by the Southern Miners through Influence. Shesium ores are restricted for forging those weapons as well (aside to create kuuji ink). Few blacksmiths sometimes use an alloy of several ores that are originated from Khramu Cave through the Northern Miners that resemble shesium — mostly under the reason of experimentation. The weapon with this material is acknowledged by the engraved guild symbol on the blade surface near the hilt (example: Hinagiku’s Hisabafuru).

Raudha Henfu
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