Knife-and-Chain
"Beware the cunning of the Jacobite. Beware the marksmanship of the Shiroyama. And of the Skyplair... well, just steer clear of their knife-and-chains."
-Carmillian Dare to her son Rho, advising him against the other Great Families of Illaty.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
Knife-and-chains have three main components: the knife and chain, obviously, but also the harness. While the knife and chain are usually constructed of some metal, the harness is usually of a more comfortable, pliable material, such as leather. The harness wraps around the forearm, and is usually hidden by clothes. Attached to the harness is the spool and hook or catch. The spool is sometimes motorized for easier deployment of the knife, and is what the chain wraps around when concealed. The catch is usually a two-piece, claw or shell-like contraption that slides over the blade to make sure it does not cut the user. The catch is usually triggered by the blade itself with a small trigger near the spool. The knife is attached to the end of the chain.
To deploy the knife-and-chain, the user swings his or her arm in an arc and pulls a trigger (sometimes a small rod extending to one of the fingers, sometimes a string attached to a ring, some sort of trip to activate the mechanism), which uncatches the knife and launches it forward. The arc motion isn't entirely necessary, especially not with motorized knife-and-chains, which eject at high velocity, but it looks cool. The swinging of the arm can also provide a means of guiding the direction of the knife-and-chain, so instead of shooting straight forward, it too would arc or slash. Skyplair are taught in the ways of knife-guiding fairly early on, as it is revered almost as a sort of deadly art.
If a knife-and-chain has no motor, retracting it takes a bit of time, and the user is better off keeping it out and throwing it manually, an entirely separate technique taught to Skyplair. Throwing, guiding, catching, and spinning the knife are all taught as methods of combat with a knife-and-chain. Motorized knife-and-chains are particularly deadly in that they can fire, retract, and fire again within seconds.
Manufacturing process
Knife-and-chains are generally hand-made by its user, but standardized models are made as a means of training and to provide a standard for more personally made knives.
Significance
Within the Skyplair, knife-and-chains bear no real meaning on their own. Each knife-and-chain, however, is unique (although certain occupations, such as soldiers or assassins, are required to keep their knife-and-chains within certain parameters, thereby limiting variation), and thus means whatever the bearer intends it to, mostly to themselves (one may use the talon of a Great Condor, for example, as a representation of power or swiftness).
Among the other Great Families, however, knife-and-chains are representative of deception, cunning, swift death, and constant vigilance. Because they are so small and hidden, but also easily deployed, they have been good reason for the other Families to constantly be alert whenever around a Skyplair.
Rarity
Knife-and-chains are very rare outside of the Skyplair family, but within it, everyone has at least one.
Weight
about 3-4 ounces at most
Dimensions
blade: 3 inches long, 1/2 wide. Chain: 1-3 feet long.
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