The Story of the Black Blade of Elengul:

1000 years before the endless winter, the eastern elves of Laime ventured across the Ironspine mountains in a bid to expand their lands into the nameless forests to the North.  There they encountered a new race of strange creatures the likes of which had never before been seen.  These beasts, (the elves named the Guls of Elengul), were ten hands shorter than the gnolls of Illantul, but as swift and agile as any elf. They proved to be worthy adversaries for the invading elves, with a mastery of iron weapons and some skill with dark magic. The elves persisted in their bid to expand their lands and eliminate this new threat.  But as their war dragged into its second season, they found the mere presence of the Gul’s dark magic was sapping their natural vitality.  In addition to the Gul’s magic weakening the elves, a Gul leader began to appear in every battle wielding a very distinctive black dagger, a blade marked with the head of a demon and the devil’s very horn for a handle.  Although the blade was short and rarely delivered lethal blows in combat, every scratch it inflicted robbed the wounded elf of his most treasured attribute, immortality.  It is said that an elf cut by the Black Blade of Elengul, suffers the lifespan of a mere human as they endure the plague of natural aging. Fearing this new evil, the elves retreated from Elengul and returned to their vale and the safety of Laime, but what the failed elven conquest had wrought could not be undone.  It would be the Guls that would expand their reach beyond their home of Elengul.  Guls and the black blade followed the elves back across the Ironspines where they became an entrenched enemy of all the great races of Illantul. (Humans and dwarves that have been cut by the black blade are said to age fifty years in one.)

Actual Design and Construction:

The original blade blank was forged by Windlass Steelcrafts using 1085 high carbon steel.   I dramatically altered both the shape and the taper of the blade as well as added a deep fuller.   Each side of the blade is completely acid etched and cold blued.  A hand etched image of a demon’s head is prominent towards the top of each side.  The guard was crafted from mild steel and hand filed into the likeness of demon’s horns, one side of which expands out and curves beyond that of the other.  A small African Blackwood spacer separates the guard from a springbok horn handle.  The horn handle was fully bedded in epoxy to achieve a perfect fit and then glued and pinned to the hidden tang of the blade.

Specifications:

Blade length: 12 inches

Overall length: 18 inches

Hand grip length: 4 inches

Blade width at widest point: 1.625 inches

Guard width: 4.5 inches

Weight: 11.2 ounces

Balance point: 1.75 inch in front of the guard

 Sheath Construction:

The Sheath is constructed of 4-5 oz premium veg tan leather, wet fitted to the blade, and is hand stitched.   The entirety of the sheath is stained black.