Items · Melee Weapons · Non-Magical
Median Forked Dagger
The Median forked dagger, a weapon evolved out of hunter's tools, found almost exclusively in northeastern Media.
A Median forked dagger is a type of dagger made almost exclusively in northeastern Media, on the seaboard of the Sea of Esh-Eir.
It is made from average-quality iron, hiltless, and has a wide, flat grip wrapped in some sort of silk or fine cloth. A Median forked dagger is noticeable for it's forked point- the blade is shaped like a letter "Y", with a very sharp inside edge and more blunt outside edges.
Forked daggers are little used, even in Media- they were originally for the purpose of sloughing loosened skin off of hunters' kills, but during the Casterian Wars, when many peasants were drafted to join professional soldiers in turning back the armies of Casteria, they became famous for being almost entirely repurposed as battlefield weapons. The peak of the forked dagger's popularity coincided with the heroics of the Spectral Company, the company of covert ranger-soldiers who almost exclusively used these weapons against the Casterians. They have now fallen out of common use, and are almost always curiosities and collector's items rather than being carried for defense.
In Media, forked daggers are often used as symbol of just warfare and militarism, and in addition, as a symbol of peasant support for the kingdom (due to their use by peasant soldiers in defense of Media).
The forked dagger, when used as weapon, has a reputation as being a vicious cutting weapon- presumably, the warrior would simply jab the dagger at the enemy and lacerate them with the sharp inside edges. However, wear and tear on blades from the Casterian Wars suggests that it was used more often as a kind of parrying weapon, a sword catcher; the warrior armed with it would carry it in the off-hand, perhaps along with a small buckler, while holding a more conventional sword or dagger in the other hand. The dagger would be used to catch enemy blows and leave said enemy open to a retaliatory attack.
A more rare version of the forked dagger, this kind made specifically for use on the battlefield, features a different profile (more like a tuning fork than a "V", with elongated blades), and was a spectacularly brutal weapon which was often called a "Median jabber". As the name might suggest, this model of forked dagger took the uses of the regular forked dagger and added to them the purpose of blinding the enemy with a quick jab or thrust. Due to its impractical nature, the "jabber" was never as popular as the typical forked dagger. However, it has in later days become the weapon of the heretical Sect of the Blinded Eye (which believes that the eyes of a man provide only illusion, and that only the blind truly see), and owning one is, in many cities, a capital crime (Blinded Eye devotees are burned at the stake in almost all Median provinces).
The astute weapon collector or adventurer will be wise not to mistake the Median forked dagger for its very similar and much rarer spiritual cousin, the Parsic khurnhu, which is a ritualistic weapon held in the palm with two bull-horn shaped blades.
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Erm...Mehbe you can explain how they're used? I mean, the only way I'm thinking they'd be used was a straight on cut, catching portions of the target with the sharpened inside edge. Otherwise, it seems good, just not totally fleshed out.
The only real use I can think of outside of fishing is either for throwing, as it has two blades and could be balanced very well, or used as a main gaunche would for a defense device used to parry attacks.
Maybe some enterprising souls took the idea of the Median forked dagger a step further by slightly elongating and widening the forked blades, for the sole purpose of blinding individuals (bursting eyeballs!) with short quick thrusts. This might be a favorite method of some cult that enjoys blinding people (for whatever reason) in lieu of killing him. Not sure if it's practical but it's nasty.
About time I saw to this.
You deserve some more XP for this.
A good weapon to use to make otherwise boring cultists unique.
"What? Those funky daggers again..."
I am fond of the story of the knife. I am fond of the color it can give to cultists or to a regiment. I also like the use of them as symbols.
The trained swordsman in me, however, asks for clarification of the shape vs purpose(Please understand, this is just what jumps out to me as a fighter). You are describing a blade shaped approximately like a Y, if I understand correctly. This makes a great offensive weapon, when sharpened on both sides of the Y, if somewhat breakable. The wounds are horrendous. To break a weapon, however, you pretty much have to catch it on your primary sword, slide it down to the guard, and in the split second between block and recovery, apply the dagger, lever the two, and break the weapon thusly. Not a simple task.
I had suggested their use as sword catchers at one point, but I was picturing the blade of the dagger as a more elaborate "Y", with a narrower arc between the paired blades. The blades would need to be quite stout with projections on the inside angle or sawlike serrations that would tend to catch weapons when the wielder parried with the forked dagger. This would allow the wielder to "lock" a parried weapon in place with a twist of the wrist.
Well, I leave the mechanics to the experts, though the way I envisioned it working (as a parrying weapon, and I am a complete novice in these things) was to catch swings of a sword in between the two prongs of the blade, leaving the attacker open to a reprisal.
As a complete novice in weapons, I think this sub does great in that it's not just abt the weapon but also contains elements that adds colours to a typical fantasy setting.