Fire Swords

NECESSARY CONTEXT 

MAGIC WEAPONS 

    In Sharitarn Universe magical weapons and objects behave in a way that is different that what we would expect, considering our idea of magic and weapons. 

    Magic weapons, armours, jewelry, and any other magical object, remain inert most the time, as a general rule. They are magically hard to damage or destroy, simply put is practically impossible to brake a magic item without use magic. However, a magic knife will remain perfectly sharp and will never get rusty but in the hands of a common person it will not cut any better than an exquisitely sharp mundane blade of same material. 

   In the hands of someone who has magic potential awaken (those are the alchemists, the sigraxes and the mages, no one else) the same knife will cut any non-magic material, going though it almost as if it wasn't even there. In addition to that, magic weapons usually include at least one magical effect. One spell (more often several) was placed in the weapon by who created it, that makes the weapon more effective and useful. 

     If that sounds like "overkill" to you, consider that more often than not the person caring a magical weapon is worried about more than other human beings caring mundane weapons. 

     Many alchemists and some sigraxes who have a magical weapon carry a mundane sword too. Just to fight common men in duel, when they feel the need to make the challenge (generally speaking, the person being challenged isn't under the obligation to worry about if the duel is fair or not. The weight of that consideration is on the sholder of who makes the challenge, usually. Circumstances may, however, change that. And the decision of not abuse a excessive advantage when protocol allows you to abuse it is always an elegant one) 

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Sharitarnes are people totally without consideration for us, Earthling iis. 

They keep using those names for things that cause an awful confusion in our minds, and are totally unnecessary. They do understand what they are saying, and that is all those heartless lot care about.
I suppose that is what I am here for, anyway. So let me tell you. The expression we translate literally from Merchant Language to English as "fire sword" does not necessarily applies to swords. They are melee weapons, but some lately warhammers became a popular option for "fire word", and staffs are always a good choice. Daggers are an option too. Is just that, about everyone chooses to carry a sword all the time, because swords do offer the best cost-benefit relation: they are far more effective in combat than a knife and far more practical to carry all the time than basically everything else. By consequence "sword" often means just "melee weapon".
As I said, no consideration for us.
Since we are already talking about what fire swords are not, let me mention that they are not magical weapons constantly covert in magical flames. Not by definition any way.
Many enchanters make their fire swords glow as if there was a fire burning inside them, and I saw some fire swords that even have that ominous look the image bring to our minds, used to Earthling RPG computer games. A big red and orange nest of dancing flames. The visual effect is neither essential, not useful if you ask me. The reason it is included is that: Illusion Magic is cheap. I'm not saying it is easy to do, don't get me me wrong Illusion spells are some of the hardest to truly master; my point is that illusion spells cost almost no Xar if compared to other Ways.
And they "look impressive!", that's evident. A fancy Enchanter can make his fire sword and them "sign" it with a kind of flames that only he uses. So when you see the sword being used by some nameless alchemist you will immediately recognize who made the sword. A truly fancy fire sword will not just look in fire. The flames will "feel" hot, and even make some decent fire sounds when the blade moves through the air: but it is all illusion magic.
And you could have a cheaper version of a fire sword, a "false-fire sword" that is only illusion spells. It will still be a magical weapon, what makes it unbreakable and magically sharp, if the thing was not made by a charlatan. But illusion fire at very best "feels" like burning, it does not burn.
FIRE SWORDS do BURN.
Well, I am not being precise here. They do not burn, what connects with them do.
Whenever you hit something, or someone, with a fire sword it ignites in combustion. Substances that usually are susceptible to catch fire do catch fire, wood, leather, hair, and oil, well obviously. Proper fire swords will make a lot of things that usually do not feed fire, like human blood and ice for instance, behave like gasoline for a little while. Explosions are not uncommon.
Naturally, a true artist will make his fire sword with a protective spell stronger than the one placed on it. The magically awaken swordsman holding the weapon should not feel the heat, he should not be hurt by flames either. If the Enchanter is good enough you will not even feel the impact of explosions caused by your weapon.
That does protect you against all sorts of heat, fire and explosions by the way. Not just the ones created by your own weapon. I would not know how to tie the protective spell only to fire from one origin if I wanted to. As long as you hold the weapon, fire does not burn you.
Now I was imprecise once more. Because there is no such thing of "fire does not burn you", absolutely. There is fire, and there is fire. What protects a human against a forest burning, or a house, will not protect him against a volcano, or against an young dragon. And few spells can protect you against the light breath of a actual adult dragon: good thing that they are practically extinct.
I have in good authority that the light of an adult dragon is "as hot as the hearth of stars" and supposedly dragons should not be magical beings in any way. However, the laws of nature in their home Universe are so fishy and far fetched that they could very well be counted as magic as far as I can see. Dragons can vomit huge quantities of dense plasma, and make it open in a cone or stay in a line as narrow as an hunting arrow, and they can fly on the vacuum of space too: the adult ones. Sounds like magic to me.
Any way. We exhausted the topic "fire swords", if you don't have any question.
All I have left to say, doesn't need saying: magic can be blocked with magic. You will find anti-magic shields and armours, Fire Magic provides great protection against those weapons too. Healing spells can block most the effects of fire swords if they are powerful enough, clothes and other things will still burn but not the living person inside them. Probably there are other options too, that a ingenuous magic user can employ to shield himself from a fire weapon.
No magic weapon is perfect, or impossible to defend against.
Still, cost-benefit matters considered, a fire sword is one of the best investments you can make in your own survival here in this world. Just get your self one without those tacky flames, if you can.

Meta-commentary

 
     I don't  usually mention where a idea or other came from. Is hard to remember those things in some cases, but even when I do know what I am stealing from who I keep silence. Because one never knows who would feel displeased for being mentioned by a nice anti-feminist fellow. Making an exception here: this fire swords are an elaboration from an idea I saw in a Youtube video of Shallagrim. 
      This youtuber usually talks about true Historical weapons, but in this particular video he was talking about magical weapons, which ones would work better or worse. And one of the less useful options he could think about was fire swords, if they are just swords magically in flames.

Item type

Weapon, Melee