NOTES || Divine Weapons

INTRODUCTION & COMMENTARY

In DEITIES verse, Divine weapons are crafted and carried by deities as symbols of status, and as tools in combat. Divine weapons can be used for physical combat against opponents and threats, and as a method for deities to channel their magic for various means, including combative or protective purposes (see Channeling Magic Through Weapons, below, or view notes on Magic Affinities).

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All deities learn how to use weapons as they mature — at the very least for their own self-defense — but many adopt a divine weapon and carry one on hand, summoning and storing them with magic as needed. And while most divine weapons appear as the pre-modern weapons common in Ancient Egypt, some “weapons” take the form of symbols or instruments that would be less conventional for battle, but modified for combative use by the deities who wield them.

The materials used to create divine weapons — including the metals, wood, stone, and sometimes decorative accents — are magically enhanced and reinforced during the crafting process. This makes divine weapons highly durable to repeated use and from enduring opposing blows, allowing them to resist breakage, denting, and other damage. Divine weapons still require similar maintenance and care as other weapons, and deities may go through great lengths to keep their linked weapons in continuous prime condition. For this reason, divine weapons are highly important to deities, and often considered an essential component of their full regalia (see upcoming notes on Divine Regalia).

THE DEITY-WEAPON CONNECTION

While deities are capable of using any [non-divine] weapons available for training and combat, part of what makes divine weapons formidable is the connection formed between the divine weapon and their wielder. A individual divine weapon — or in some cases, a pair or a set of weapons — shares a magic link with their owner, which can gradually form and strengthen the more a deity uses their weapon. Once a deity masters the use of their signature weapon and form a connection between it, the link remains strong and becomes difficult to break.

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Divine weapons are not considered alive or sapient, but having a connection with their respective deity allows divine weapons to gain a connection comparable to sentience and loyalty. Due to this same link, deities can easily store away and summon their chosen divine weapon, and can often sense its presence in the event that they are separated — such as in a scenario when a deity is searching for the location of their thrown spear.

Deities can become in tune with their divine weapons and learn how to best channel their own magic through their weapons, as well as learning when and how the weapon reacts to different scenarios. These reactions are often very subtle, but a deity accustomed to using their divine weapon can often tell when something is off, and adjust their strategy accordingly.

Meanwhile, divine weapons usually follow their wielder’s will and intentions during battle, but may react to protect or warn their wielder — such as reducing their draw of their deity’s energy from channeled magic, or by inducing different sensations of weight to discourage over-exertion. Divine weapons can occasionally react to their deity’s emotions, inducing a boost in strength, caution, or other quality when needed most to rally their wielder.

Notably, divine weapons often respond exclusively to their connected deity; when a weapon is used by another wielder who they are not linked to, the weapon will often “resist” this change and refuse to cooperate. They may also feel significantly more weighted and unbalanced than expected — making it difficult for the unknown wielder to properly use them, regardless of their skill.

[EX: Any other deity or person trying to wield Anubis’s staff would have a difficult time using it effectively; they would find it difficult to channel their own magic through the staff, and near impossible to wield against Anubis himself, physically or with magic.]

While it is difficult for the connection between deities and divine weapons to be undone, the process can occur through the use of advanced magic, or by prolonged separation from each other’s presence. Once the link between the weapon and deity is severed, the weapon will adopt a dormant mode — it becomes unusable for channeling magic, and its presence becomes hidden and unable to be sensed by other deities. Forming a new connection is also a rare and slow process, but it is possible for divine weapons which have no current wielder to form a link with a new wielder, after certain conditions are met. The same can be said for deities who form connections with a new divine weapons in lieu of a former one.

BATTLING WITH OTHER DEITIES

Whether deities are battling against each other, or alongside each other, many take time to practice their combat skills with one another. Training together is common among deities, and is considered essential for deities with an affinity for physical and magical combat. Deities often use training exercises as an opportunity to maintain and improve their physical strength and magic abilities, and to release any pent up energy.

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Sparring is often the furthest extent a deity will go to fighting one of their own while using their divine weapons, and the terms can range from friendly competition to settling disputes, or simply on the neutral grounds of needing to practice. While sparring can be done with or without weapons, the former option allows deities to practice with wielding their weapons against different opponents. Deities can also learn how to defend themselves against opposing spells and weapons, should the need to defend themselves arrives at a later time.

Certain training areas within Duat and in the Overworld are well-suited for sparring matches, and terms can be mutually set to allow deities to exercise their potential, while also avoiding severe damage to their surroundings and to each other — though injuries can and do occur. It is also not uncommon for deities to spar as a part of contests and competitions between each other.

Because deities naturally have more physical durability and resistance to trauma, any battles between them while wielding divine weapons have the potential to be drawn-out and violent. For this reason, declaring serious duels with each other — where the stake are often high and may include the cost of one’s life — are rare occurrences between deities that are not taken lightly. Generally, deities prefer to keep peace with their fellow divine brethren (with the exception of times of war and division, such as during The Contendings), and even the most tense disagreements can usually be settled after a good sparring session without escalating to a duel.

BATTLING AGAINST DEMONS

It is commonplace for deities and wild demons to give each other their distance in an effort to avoid clashes and conflict, as both are aware of the danger of provoking the other (see notes on Duat Residents: Demons). However, it is sometimes unavoidable for deities to defend themselves against demons who become a clear threat or choose to trespass in their domains. Fighting against demons becomes more necessary when demons actively attack them or others who they wish to protect — including their mortal devotees, and other deities and beings.

Because demons can naturally resist most forms of magic, it can be difficult for deities to cast spells that can affect or deter them — even moreso when the demon is large or possesses a tough hide that can deflect magic. Instead, deities often wield their divine weapons when battling against demons, which can be used to channel their magic. By using the weapon as a focal point, a deity’s magic can be amplified and manifest as energy that can deal offensive strikes strong enough to affect demons.

Divine weapons are also one of the few ways to slay demons, reducing them back to the chaos energy that gives them physical form. For all these reasons, deities consider divine weapons an essential item to carry on hand, or to easily summon when needed.

CHANNELING MAGIC THROUGH WEAPONS

Although weapons channeled with magic can help improve a deity’s effectiveness in combat, especially against demons, the method cannot make up for any lack of ability. A deity who is not accustomed to using a certain weapon will not fair much better if they try to compensate their strikes with magic, and may in fact risk tiring or injuring themselves, or damaging the weapon (see notes on Magic System & True Magic).

For this reason, considerable skill is still needed to effectively use magic in tandem with a specific weapon, and is why deities often specialize in wielding just a few weapons of choice, or forming a link with their one signature weapon. Different divine weapons will channel magic in different ways, and the same weapon can use various methods to project magic, depending on the wielder’s skills and intent.

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For example, offensive magic is often channeled through the length of the blades of swords and knives, but can also be concentrated near the sharpened edges or tips when the blades are sliced or thrusted towards their mark. For blunt weapons such as maces or flails, magic can be channeled thru the striking ends of the weapons, and then released as they makes impact with their intended targets. And similarly, magic can also help direct the path of long-range weapons, such as with throwing knives or the bow and arrow, where the blade’s/arrow’s aim can be partially guided by magic. This guidance would not guarantee an accurate strike, but it could make it easier to land in the midst of combat.

Furthermore, concentrated magic that has been stored within a weapon can be projected as physical waves of energy that can travel past a weapon’s intended range — such as sending a stream of magic by slicing a blade towards a target. Conversely, while most divine weapons are magically-reinforced, additional magic can also be channelled along the surface of most weapons to help protect it — and the wielder — from heavy attacks, or to deflect incoming spells.

WEAPON MODIFICATION

Many divine weapons remain in a single static appearance when wielded by their deities, but some weapons can be partially modified into related shapes, and sometimes into related weapons. These modifications depend on what task a deity wishes to perform, or their intended use. A common variation is using magic to modify the shape or length of a weapon’s handle, which can change short scepters and knives into longer staffs and spears. Adjusting the size of a weapon’s blade, or the link of a chain or rope, is another way to modify a weapon’s appearance and use.

Any changes made to a modified weapon have to be taken into consideration by the deity wielding them, in order to adjust their technique during combat. For example, a short handheld scepter can be more easily used to cast magic, but is less useful for physical defense; a longer scepter can be use for stronger forms of physical combat and defense, but requires more leverage and strength to control. Modification of weapons may also be used by deities who choose to keep smaller weapons closely withheld, without fully storing them away, then allowing them to expand to larger sizes when there is ample space to use them.

Most weapons are restricted to a few variations, and are unable to be modified into highly varied shapes. A flail, for example, cannot be feasibly modified into an axe — even with magic — and vice versa. Only a few divine weapons are capable of being modified to a wider variety of shapes and uses; The Was Scepter, formerly wielded by Lord Set, is one such weapon.

INDEX || WORLD-BUILDING NOTES