Honedge Line
Morphs [Oak Catalog #]
- Honedge [#679]
- Doublade [#680]
- Aegislash [#681]
Appearance
The central organism of a Honedge is primarily blue, with a cyan eye and set of fingers; upon evolution to a Doublade, the coloration turned a light lavender shade with the eye and fingers becoming magenta. The final form of the pokemon, the Aegislash, has a purple eye with black sclera, typically lined with gold and having gold infused into the pupil, and a pair of black 'arms' with purple fingers. A rare mutation causes the organism to have an extra thick umbrate layer; Honedge with this mutation have red tassels and purple eyes, Doublade have purple tassels and yellow eyes, and Aegislash have black tassels with golden eyes.
The Kalos blade that the organism usually inhabits is a large but basic Gladius-style sword. The pommel is gently curved and the crossgaurd bends upward in a subtle crescent shape; this portion of the blade is coated in gold. The fuller of the blade is quite thick, and bends outward at the base to touch the curve of the mid-guard; when placed in the sheath that the Honedge makes for itself, the resultant silhouette resembles a grimacing face. While the Doublade evolution only causes a minor mutation in the form of 'calling stems' on the hilt, the change to an Aegislash results in a dramatic reformation of the sword; the blade tip has widened and gained a serrated point, while the fuller is coated in a thin but broad gold covering. The pommel thickens and gains an overlapping pattern, while the crossguard morphs into a bulging discus over the creature's eye with two 'shoulderspikes' that the tassels emerge from. Interestingly, the blade itself is affected if the Honedge organism has a thickened Umbrate layer; the gold covering dulls to a lifeless grey, while the steel takes on a blood-red color.
Notable Biology
The Honedge line primarily consists of an Umbrate-formed parasite that injects itself into a suitable bladed outer form. Usually this is the typical Kalos sword, but Honedge have been successfully integrated into other blades on occasion. The actual organism consists of the tassel which ends in four flat 'fingers' and a spiral pattern, a small central body leading to the eye, and a network of "threads" that spread within the blade. The Honedge will also carve itself a sheath from wood to rest in; no matter the blade they inhabit, the sheathe will have the same symbols, if stretched to accomodate different blades.
Upon evolution, the Honedge grows a 'calling stem' on the counterclockwise portion of its hilt and emits a psychic signal; it will not respond to any external force until another Honedge arrives via an unknown form of teleportation, whereupon the the newcomer evolves into a mirror image of the original. This has led to the common rumor that Honedge 'duplicate' themselves when they evolve; it is somewhat disturbing to not that the newcomer sword always matches the caller. The new Doublade pair works together to carve a shared double sheath on a plaque, which they will inhabit until they either die or evolve.
Exposure to the unique chemical ores of the dusk stone induces a sympathetic atomic vibration in the umbrate portions of a Doublade pair, which extends to the blades they inhabit. The end result of this process is a near complete merge of the two individuals; the eye stretches to a larger size with a visible black sclera, and the calling stems are integrated into the base of each tassel to provide them some structural support. The merged blade is reshaped during the process by the combined thread network; due to the molecular reactions that occur while this happens, the blade develops a thin coating of gold on its surface. An Ageislash will carve itself a shield from wood, always in the same pattern, and paint it with excess gold from its transformation.
Habitat
No 'wild' population of Honedge exists. However, a breeding population is maintained by the Parfum Palace Preservation Society, living in the gardens along the route to the palace proper. This has caused some debate, as Honedge and its evolutions are notoriously brutal in battle and have been known to kill humans on occasion; however, the Society has pointed out that the alternative is to either allow the Honedge line to go extinct or risk them going wild—an admittedly unlikely possibility, as the Honedge line displays little initiative without being wielded.
Diet
One of the most horrific aspects of the Honedge is their singularly vampiric diet. Like all ghost-type pokemon, they require some form of fear to feed off, but the Honedge specifically feed off the terror of battle and death. As battlefields are not common in the modern world, they have adopted to grabbing passing pokemon (and humans!) and strangling them with their tassel—the sheer panic of a struggling victim makes as the sword stares silently not only feeds them but makes them stronger. This has resulted in the rumor that they feed off life energy directly... which might not be entirely untrue, as even victims who escape have described themselves as drained.
Thankfully, the Honedge line's lust for terror can be satiated by battling wild pokemon. For this reason, it is suggested that the Honedge line be taken out for a walk regularly; the comfortable battles that come from fighting other pokemon trainers will not satisfy it.
Hazards
Honedge owned by trainers remain surprisingly inert if not following commands, generally only moving to 'go hunting'. However, the fact remains that they will accept any target not explicitly denied as a potential hunting target, up to and including humans—it is best to take a Honedge battling at least once a month, if not more frequently, in order to avoid casual killing. Under no circumstances should anyone—including the Honedge's trainer—touch the pommel of the sword the Honedge inhabits; while ancient artwork does depict the pokemon being used as a proper sword, the exact method of 'calming' the creature has been lost to time and it will instinctively try to feed on the perpetrator. Aside from this, the only dangers associated with Honedge are the typical ones associated with having a sword.
Doublade have a more active lifestyle, often sparring with each other in an attempt to keep sharp, or 'assaulting' their owner if they have not been involved in a battle for a significant period of time. Despite this, they are actually safer overall to own then their previous evolution; unlike Honedge, they have a basic concept of ally and enemy, and even understand the idea of a noncombatant. Their assaults are almost never lethal, although they don't mind inflicting non-lethal injury on their trainer; psychic interviews have revealed that Doublade view their trainer as being a fellow soldier and that it would be dishonorable to let them fall to weakness. Ironically enough, the assaults can produce enough battle fear to tide them over, although regular ordinary battles are still required to prevent the pair from 'going hunting'. While it is still inadvisable for most people to touch their pommels, they will on occasion allow their trainer to do so.
While Doublade view the themselves as soldiers, Aegislash view themselves as generals and advisers. They will insist on making their opinions on 'important' subjects known, generally by appearing as if from nowhere and projecting their opinion psychically. What counts as important varies from individual to individual, but it usually involves some sort of battle metaphor or a matter of honor. While they will not demand that a trainer follows their advice, they will insist that their trainer at least listens and considers what they say. If they grow frustrated enough with the way that their trainer acts, even if they are well treated, they will attack to kill the 'dishonorable' one; thankfully, they will usually commit ritual suicide after such a kill, thus reducing their own threat. Aegislash are also the safest to entrust when they 'go hunting,' as they will explicitly not attack anything that isn't considered 'feral or foe'; some caution must still be taken to ensure they do not accidentally label somebody innocent as a foe, but other then this they can usually be trusted.
Courting and Childrearing
One of the only things that can break the inert nature of the Honedge is the need to maintain an appropriate armory in case of war. When a Honedge feels the need to reproduce, it will approach Parfum Palace; males will face west, while females face east. When one of them has located another, they will approach; on an unseen signal, they will enter the palace forges (maintained by the Society) and select a sword. Both of the Honedge and the sword will briefly vanish; when they return, a new Honedge will have been implanted into the sword. All three will return to the fields and resume their typical actions.
In Human Society
The Honedge line was artificially created by the armies of the Parfum kingdom, and is the earliest example with a known date of creation (three hundred and sixty nine years ago). The creation of the Honedge marks a historical transition from more mystical forms of creating artificial pokemon and the technological processes used today; earlier human-made pokemon tend to have various sigils and patterns, where modern versions are much more simple and smooth in appearance. The fact that the Honedge line led to the Parfum kingdom's victory over opposing forces, and the resultant golden age and renaissance in the Kalos region, granted the line some glorification in the history annuals of the time; there is even a legend that the future ruler of the Parfum kingdom was granted his reign after Diancie emerged from a lake to give him the first Aegislash, although this would later be confused with the Honedge-in-a-stone myth.
However, after the political collapse of the Parfum kingdom, Kalos as a whole moved on culturally from the glorification of honor and warfare. This left the Honedge line painted in a darker light; the idea of swords that 'feasted on blood' and were cursed with the souls of dead warriors spread and took root in the popular consciousness. This was not helped at all by the Honedge's defense to those who grabbed its pommel; while such deaths were rare they generally occurred to noble or famous folk arrogant enough to attempt such action and therefore consistently made news. The once-honorable Honedge became feared and reviled; this reputation taints them to this day, even as the few Aegislash keep trying to be the defenders they once were.
Written by Masterweaver.
