Fantasy is replete with cool things, from rings that make the wearer invisible to magical horns that summon help. Warfare and battle is a central part of many fantasy stories, so it’s no surprise that part of that list includes weapons.

I’m not an all-out weapons geek who could describe the smallest differences between axes, reel off the draw weight of a Gondorian longbow at the drop of a wizard’s hat, or explain the process behind making a sword.

However, I do know my way around fantasy weapons—I have written several fantasy novels, after all—so I thought it would be fun to add this to the Fantasy Favorites lineup.

The range of medieval weapons is impressive enough, but add to that the numerous variations or imaginary weapons authors invent using the vast resources of creativity at their disposal, and the options become like a buffet of desserts. So many beautiful choices.

Here are a few quick samples.

 

 

 

When I think of favorite weapon, I don’t associate it with a character. For example, it would be easy to say Sting is the coolest because that automatically brings to mind Bilbo and Frodo—two of the famousest hobbits ever. Or I could go with Anduril. Aragorn’s everything you’d want—rugged, handsome, courageous, noble—and somehow that appeal gets attached to his sword.

But I’m not going to be normal, because when is that fun?

Since the favorite implies that it’s the best out of everything, and since there are so many variations and different kinds of weapons, the weapon has to stand out in a special way. It needs to be unique and cool apart from the character wielding it.

I had to think about his one for a while, but then I remembered Stormlight Archive, and a particular type of weapon that ticks every this-is-awesome box. My favorite fantasy weapon is…

Shardblade

Duh, this one was obvious. Shardblades are to fantasy weapons what the U.S.S. enterprise is to Starfleet ships. Superior in every way imaginable.

Yes, they’re swords, but remember the author’s creativity I mentioned? Yeah, and we’re talking about Brandon Sanderson, whose creative IQ has to be at least 250. He took the ordinary concept of swords, threw in a dose of magic, some neat designs, and some unusual attributes, and voila…out came shardblades.

But why, out of the hundreds of fantasy weapons vying for the title, did shardblades come out on top? What makes them so special?

1. Bonding

One peculiar feature of a shardblade is that it’s bound to the soul of its wielder until the person dies or severs the bond. It’s a personalized weapon, available to its wielder alone, sort of like if Tony Stark designed one of his suits to function only if he was inside.

Not only is that clever, it makes loads of tactical sense. Shardblades are deadly weapons, so what better way to keep enemies from using them than to have the blade bonded to your soul? Talk about intense.

2. Summoning

Another aspect of shardblades that sets them apart and clocks in high on the awesome gauge is a thing known as summoning. Unlike ordinary swords, you don’t carry a shardblade around in a scabbard. It remains immaterial until summoned.

When someone summons a shardblade, it takes ten heartbeats for the blade to appear, and if the person lets go, it disappears—another way to keep it out of greedy enemy fingers.

This takes the ho-hum use of swords and wraps it in a cloak of awesomeness. Why wouldn’t you want a magical blade that was linked to your soul and could appear and disappear at will?

That, my friends, it what makes shardblades my favorite fantasy weapon.

What’s your favorite fantasy weapon? I would love to hear your thoughts.