Silvered Swords of Hermes

This set was commissioned for a messenger (and duelist) character who draws inspiration from the symbols of Hermes, Olympian messenger of the ancient Greek gods.

As the lower layer of the caduceus inlay, I used a blue illusion film with a wave pattern, so that as the sword moves through the air, the caduceus shimmers and shifts patterns. (The Caduceus is the symbol of Hermes, although it’s sometimes used in medical settings because it looks slightly more dramatic than the similar Rod of Asclepius, which is the actual ancient medical symbol.)

For the broadsword, I added a curved guard in the shape of a quill pen, as a reflection of the writing and messaging theme, with the feather curving over the hand and the writing nib reaching out as the crossbar.

Getting the guard to look fluffy, for the “afterfeather” part just to the side of the blade, was quite a difficult task, but I was able to coax the duct tape into shape around the carved foam while keeping it fairly smooth in the right places.

You can see this on the shortsword better — I used a faux leather wrap on the handles that has a wavy blue pattern, in keeping with the aesthetic of the blade inlay. Over the whole piece, I tried to use materials and tapes with a cohesive color palette.

It would be possible to do a simpler version in which the feathers of the wing are just highlighted with an inlay, but I thought it was important to actually have each feather show up in the shape of the guard itself. Even from a distance, you can tell the difference between a feathered wing and something that’s just kind of a vaguely wing-shaped object.

I lined both blades with silver/”chrome,” which adds to the feeling of angularity along the swords, as the silver picks up the light differently from the standard grey steel color. As with many of my pieces, I used a composite foam approach to make them lightweight and soft, so the silvering (in addition to having game-mechanical meaning) gives it that extra bit of a visual edge.