Korea’s well-known cosplay group Spiral CAT’S recently made a series of the character cosplay in Monarch. Monarch is a next-gen MMORPG set in a fantasy world and featuring basic RPG content. The game targets at the Lineage series players, who are fond of sieges and the in-game opponent factions.
The Colada Sword
- Image: Replica of the Colada Sword
Colada is one of the two best-known swords, along with Tizona, of El Cid Campeador who was a Castilian knight in the 11th century (real name: Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar). He was the prototype of the knight and a loyal vassal who took part with his king, Alphonse VI, in the conquest of Toledo.
Subsequently, El Cid conquered the city and kingdom of Valencia (which he ruled there until his death in 1099) from the Arabians (Moors). He is considered a great war hero, a superior and extremely successful soldier of fortune, who apparently never lost a battle.
To this day, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar is known as a hero of Christian Spain, due to his excellent achievements in the the Reconquest of Spain from the Moors. His title, El Cid Campeador, derives from: “El Cid”, a Moorish title of respect, from Arabic al sayyid “Lord”; “Campeador” is Spanish for “Champion”.
Won in combat from the Count of Barcelona, the sword was presented (along with another sword, Tizona) to his sons in law. According to the heroic verses of the Cantar de mio Cid, after his sons-in-law beat his daughters and then abandoned them on the side of the road, El Cid asked his gifts to be returned. Afterward, he bestowed the sword upon one of his knights, Martín Antolínez.
Though its authenticity is doubted, a blade named Colada and traditionally identified with that of El Cid, with the addition of a 16th-century hilt, is preserved in the Royal Palace of Madrid. According to Sebastián de Covarrubias, Colada clearly means a sword made from “acero colado”, a process of alloyed steel without impurities.
As Tizona, Colada appears in the epic poem Cantar de mio Cid as a sword that frightens unworthy opponents if wielded by a brave warrior. El Cid gives the sword to Martín Antolínez as a present, and he uses it in the duel against the infante Diego González.
Info source: Wikipedia | By the Sword
Photo source: Aceros de Hispania
Kanshou and Bakuya - Gan Jiang and Mo Ye
These two, are twin blades representing the Yin and Yang, found by Archer at some point along his lifespan and added to his Unlimited Blade Works. They are his favorite blades, and he usually fights with them to the point that they are his “trademark” weapon. He finds the craftmanship of the blades, rather of what they represent, something amazing and unique, captivating and beautiful. Despite not being wielded on any legends, they are still Noble Phantasms.
The twin are identical in shape, only differing in color. Kanshou, the black Yang blade, has an hexagonal pattern all over itself; while Kanshou, the white Yin sword, has on it’s polished metal the haze of a cloud. They have as a particualirty, that they will always “attract” eachother, including any amount of new projected copies. This, along with their experience and skill, increase the rank of the user slightly.
They were created by Gan Jiang,Kanshou, of Wu during the Spring and Autumm period. They were created without vanity, and lack a sense of purpose found in other swords. They contain no fighting spirit to defeat others or competitive spirit to beat other weapons, and they contain neither the desire to be famous nor the faith to accomplish great deeds.
Upon receiving orders from King of Wu to forge the imperial sword, Kanshou could not think of ways to forge swords that fit such orders. While he was extremely frustrated and desperate, his wife Mò Yé, Bakuya, upon seeing this situation, decided to gamble her own life. The sacrificing of human lives is absolutely necessary in order to forge items reaching the realm of Gods, so Bakuya hurled herself into the furnace in front of the husband she loved and used her own life to help the Essence of Five Mountains and the Metal of Six Heroes meld. Kanshou forged the two swords in grief. Their quality and ability as swords is high due to being made with the best materials and a human sacrifice, and they have shamanistic and ritual aspects as enchanted weapons. The quality of the grips is more important in the practical use of the swords than the ornamental value, and they are noted as being quite big and heavy.
