Conqueror’s Tales: Forging Weapons

The art of crafting weapons of war is an ancient one, and though the process may now be refined, there is still a mysticism attached to tools birthed from fire.

One of the earliest mentions of blacksmithing in mythology is Hephaestus, blacksmith to the Greek gods (and a god himself) who used the violent heat of a volcano to forge his fellow deities’ weapons. In the centuries following, mere mortals haven’t had to resort to using an unpredictable natural force to make their tools, instead relying on furnaces and blowtorches to reach the required high temperatures.

However, it isn’t always heat that is needed to make fearsome blades and axes. In the Bronze Age (3300 BC-1200 BC), blacksmiths would simply hammer the malleable material into shape for an extended period of time, then grind it for sharpening, in what is known as cold-working.

A great example of many smithing methods contributing to the creation of an overall weapon is the work of a present-day blacksmith named Alec Steele, who forged an incredible real-life version of a Khopesh Shortsword from Conqueror’s Blade.

Just as the Axe Raiders of Season IX: Tyranny modified their everyday workers’ tools into deadly weapons, history has examples of this too.

During medieval peasant uprisings such as the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381, farming tools were often hastily used as makeshift weapons when tailor-made tools were not at their disposal, and would range from woodcutting axes to harvesting scythes.

While these may not have been transformed entirely by a blacksmith, the likelihood is a peasant would have taken it down to the local journeyman for a quick sharpening before a conflict.

Visit your local blacksmith in Conqueror’s Blade for a weapons upgrade or check out the Weapon Skins in the Seasonal Store, and maybe you’ll walk away with a sword or spear worthy of Hephaestus himself!