Heirloom Weapons
These weapons are very old, and very powerful. They are often of diamondplate, and sometimes of alaricite, that ultimate metal, and are worked exquisitely. Each Great House and many Ducal houses are in possession of one of these weapons, and the weapon itself lends validity to the noble line of the House it protects.
The story goes that these are weapons claimed from war chiefs of the enemy during the so-called Elven War. When the fires were put out and the Compact began rebuilding, entire families, tribes, and fiefdoms had been destroyed. Those that earned glory in battle, claiming these swords, became the noble Houses known today.
Traditionally, each House appoints a skilled wielder for these weapons, granted the title "Sword" - despite the form the actual weapon might take. This is a revered position, and it is expected that a Sword would never use the House's heirloom weapon for personal glory, or personal vendettas. To do so is a grave insult to the history of the weapon, and almost always results in the offender being stripped of the title (and the weapon it represents).
Heirloom weapons are the best weapons in Arvum, and they are held to defend the Houses from mortal peril - not to win tournaments, or duels. The exception would be if two Swords were to duel in order to prevent two Houses from going to war.
Entries
Question: It seems as though when the game began there was a social stigma around the use of Alaricite weapons. As they only existed in the five great houses as weapons gifted from long ago, there has been a sort of reverence around the use of Alaricite swords. Now that there are crafters who can make them, are the stigmas changing? They have been proven to be most effective against the demons we now face, does that change the view around their use? And what would be the general populace's view of someone acquiring such a weapon given the great cost it takes to produce them?.
Answer: It is always acceptable to use heirloom weapons in time of war in true combat. What is considered improper is using any heirloom weapon for matters of personal honor, specifically duels or minor fights, since an heirloom weapon is considered representative of the honor of the house. Now for alaricite or diamondplate weapons that are not heirloom, it would largely be considered wasteful and socially frowned upon to use any such weapon for sport rather than serious matters of honor or war.
Question: Ok, so I have a question. Is there precedence for commoner families gaining diamondplate or alaracite weapons, then claiming them to be the family sword? Or is there anything that owning such a blade would do to a commoner family as far as social status goes, or would they just be seen as rich?
Do houses ever change their heirloom weapons? For example might a house adopt an alaracite sword that was used in some great victory to be their new heirloom weapon, replacing a rubicund or diamondplate weapon the glory of which might have faded with the years?
Answer: Commoner families are extremely informally recognized. Much like how commoner marriages are a matter of someone just saying they are wed, commoner families are largely just by whoever is recognized as being part of a family. They don't have heirloom weapons as such since they aren't recognized in the same way as noble houses, as having a distinct representation of their family honor and traditions. They certainly can have weapons that are heirlooms and passed down, but they wouldn't be treated with the same distinction as noble houses, in so much that Demonslayer is a represetation of the house honor of Redrain, there's not really an equivalent that would represent a commoner family in the sense of prestige and esteem in the peerage. It should be noted that the champions of a house are called the Sword of their -holding-, not their house. IE, the champion for Grayson is 'the Sword of Bastion', not 'the Sword of Grayson'. Commoners have no holdings, so they aren't fighting on behalf of a people and all under their protection, which is implicit in house champions. tl;dr, sure they can pass down weapons, but the societal significance is not there at all.
It happens from weapons being lost, for example. What happens if this leads to multiples? The older one is never, ever retained as a personal weapon. Not ever. That would be immensely disrespectful to the legacy of the house, so in effect, any older one is permanently retired and still only used in matters of house honor or war. Heirlooms besides weapons are often given that distinction, used only in ceremonial or highly respectful traditions and never for personal use, when they are replaced or made redundant.
Question: Do human made Alaracite and Diamondplate weapons have special qualities? I have noticed that some of the ancestral ones, or the Nox'Alfar weapons, seem to have quite mystical descriptions. Is that unique to ones made by elves, is it something that happens over time, or does it just randomly get assigned when it is created depending on factors?
Answer: Maybe.
Question: Is being a Sword of a Family only limited to Duchies? Can someone be called the Sword of their family without a heirloom weapon or is that a must?
Answer: The diamondplate and alaricite heirloom weapons dating back to the Elven War (or even the Reckoning) are found along upon the duchies and great houses, but almost every house has a Sword of their holding, a champion who will fight specifically for their house in matters of house honor. Most lower houses tend to have heirloom weapons of rubicite or steel with lengthy histories, they just weren't part of the gifts from the Nox'alfar from ages past.
Question: On the white journals a champion recently noted, "Hire Champions for duels. Anything else and you are doing yourself and centuries of traditions a disgrace." While Marian is a Sword, she is not a Champion, so does that mean if Darren received a slight from another lord that he would hire a Champion and not use his Sword? Or in cases where someone is head of household, do they use their Sword in all duels? Are the Swords only expected to defend the honor of their lord when it's related to trial by combat or stopping a war? Or is it expected socially for Swords to be members of The Champions if they are going to defend their lord in matters of slights? If staff wouldn't mind putting some clarification around the role of a Sword versus a Champion, I would appreciate it. Thanks!
Answer: Swords are in many ways the embodiment of the honor of a house. The heirloom weapon is seen as an extremely poweful symbol of the house itself, with much of the story around the house's history tied very tightly to the heirloom weapons, and the House Sword is in some regards carrying the house with them at all times. It often is seen as a ceremonial, but very important role, because it is exceedingly rare for House Swords to be required outside of war time- slights between houses don't merit a House Sword's attention unless it reaches the point where war would be on the table, and anything trivial is far beneath the dignity of a house sword, and would be something like honor duels handled by members of the Champion Guilds. So no, House Swords definitely do not fight honor duels unless they are also a member of the Champions Guild, which would put them in a tricky position of doing something for entertainment while having an extremely prestigeous and dignified other position and making certain the two are never confused. They could certainly do it, but they'd have to be careful.
Most often, House Swords due to the limitations of their positions, fall into other roles- captain of the house guard is very common for house swords.
Question: I noticed that people who are Swords of houses or aiming to be Swords think that once they are Sword they can't also be a Champion. Is this true? It would seem to be as long as you aren't using the house weapon in your Champion work it would be fine.
Answer: They can be members of the Champion's Guild. They just need to be very careful that their work for the Champions never is confused with their representative as the Sword of their House, and that risk is enough for many swords to shy away from it, since it would be a grievous breach of decorum for them to ever use an heirloom sword in an honor duel over a slight. So yeah, swords can become champions, they just have to be sensitive to the optics.
Question: Is it perfectly acceptable to have someone named as the House Sword without actually having a specific weapon named as the house weapon and/or heirloom weapon?
Answer: Yes. However, heirloom weapons are often seen as symbolic representations of a House's longevity, successful martial history, and honor, and there's quite a bit wrapped up in them. It would be uncommon to change an heirloom weapon, as that sort of history is effectively lost with the corresponding loss of prestige, similar to a house changing its name. Those sort of things happen, but they are seen as a much larger transitional point than naming a House Sword.
To be named a House Sword is an honor not done lightly, similar to being named a voice,in so much that the house effectively says it trusts the Sword to represent the house in matters of honor on the battlefield, particularly for a Champion Challenge, when two armies will decide an outcome with an often fatal duel rather than the armies going to war. More than one case shavs have bent the knee after their champion was slain in such a challenge, rather than persist in a war afterwards.
Though rare, having a house sword is seen as important, whether the house has an heirloom weapon or not. And any such weapon has to start somewhere, after all, often being named after the first major event in a House's history where it and its Sword carrying it distinguished themselves.