[ One of the LILITH robots hands Silco the parcel late at night when he arrives on base, following his odd hours. A simple wooden box, assembled out of fresh cut wood without any elaborate locks or mechanisms is pushed into Silco's hands with a robotic "Delivery Complete" before the robot ambles off to do its own work once more. (It's not a bomb, or something poisonous, so don't be paranoid.)
Inside the box are two wrapped bundles of a familiar dark red silk, and inside those are two tanto with matching red ito. The silk cords are expertly twisted and tied, barely catching light but smooth to the touch.
Of the two knives, the smaller one is sheathed in a smooth lacquered saya with a strange pebbled pattern embedded underneath, giving the saya the look of sea foam or the skin of some deep sea creature. On the mountings, little accents of gold shine that draw the eye to the intricate, masterful engravings and inlaid alloys. Matching the wave-like hamon on the blade inside, each metal mounting hides a sea creature somewhere on its surface; rays, fish, crabs, even delicate growths of seaweed. The menuki is in the shape of an octopus, with coiled tentacles reaching out across the samegawa under the red wrappings. Unsheathed, the blade itself is sharp, beautiful in it's brutal efficiency.
The second, longer knife is simpler in its design at first glance. Rather than the irregular pattern of the lacquered rayskin of the shorter blade, the silhouette of this saya is punctuated by thin, parallel lines in the lacquer, offsetting the gentle curve with a geometric preciseness. The mountings are likewise simple geometric affairs, because the true artistry of this piece is in the blade itself; unsheathed, the steel of the blade has a distinctive, jagged shape polished into the edge, following a hamon that has the irregular shape of lightning. An expert, if given a chance to look closely, might marvel at the craftsmanship, the mastery, the clear line that is difficult to create in a katana, let alone a smaller blade.
These are knives, but they are also works of art in their own right. Apart from the red silk and the perfect sharp edge on each blade, they hardly look like they came from the same maker, let alone the same order.
There's a note too:
I know you're a man who doesn't care for flash, but that silk was too nice to leave unaccompanied. You'll just have to bear with it, and don't take the smith's folly out on the blades themselves.
(Unsigned, because who else is giving out blades valued at K8,000,000 like this.) ]
Edited (i wrote this at 1 am and did not proof read evidently.) 2025-08-04 05:56 (UTC)
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delivery; end of july.
Inside the box are two wrapped bundles of a familiar dark red silk, and inside those are two tanto with matching red ito. The silk cords are expertly twisted and tied, barely catching light but smooth to the touch.
Of the two knives, the smaller one is sheathed in a smooth lacquered saya with a strange pebbled pattern embedded underneath, giving the saya the look of sea foam or the skin of some deep sea creature. On the mountings, little accents of gold shine that draw the eye to the intricate, masterful engravings and inlaid alloys. Matching the wave-like hamon on the blade inside, each metal mounting hides a sea creature somewhere on its surface; rays, fish, crabs, even delicate growths of seaweed. The menuki is in the shape of an octopus, with coiled tentacles reaching out across the samegawa under the red wrappings. Unsheathed, the blade itself is sharp, beautiful in it's brutal efficiency.
The second, longer knife is simpler in its design at first glance. Rather than the irregular pattern of the lacquered rayskin of the shorter blade, the silhouette of this saya is punctuated by thin, parallel lines in the lacquer, offsetting the gentle curve with a geometric preciseness. The mountings are likewise simple geometric affairs, because the true artistry of this piece is in the blade itself; unsheathed, the steel of the blade has a distinctive, jagged shape polished into the edge, following a hamon that has the irregular shape of lightning. An expert, if given a chance to look closely, might marvel at the craftsmanship, the mastery, the clear line that is difficult to create in a katana, let alone a smaller blade.
These are knives, but they are also works of art in their own right. Apart from the red silk and the perfect sharp edge on each blade, they hardly look like they came from the same maker, let alone the same order.
There's a note too:
I know you're a man who doesn't care for flash, but that silk was too nice to leave unaccompanied. You'll just have to bear with it, and don't take the smith's folly out on the blades themselves.
(Unsigned, because who else is giving out blades valued at
K8,000,000 like this.) ]