When Serath Kahar told Ester Shardwood that the Chain of Command was the "chain you beat people with to show them who's in command", those around the two most likely dismissed it as a simple repartee and thought nothing more of it.
However, as is often the case, truth is often stranger than fiction, and though Serath Kahar's tone may have been one of casual mirth, he really wasn't kidding at all.
As the urban legend goes, the Chain of Command was commissioned by a younger Hartnek Lomasa in the year 601 ATA when he was serving as a Captain of the Emperor's Blades. Discontented with the way that his garrison of Bladesmen were treating him - and indeed, each other - Hartnek decided that something unconventional was required if he were to (literally) whip his men back into shape. What Master Weaponsmith Jameak Battleheart was beyond even Hartnek's expectations...
The Chain of Command is an unconventional weapon designed for an unconventional purpose, and remains one of the most unique flails in the realm, and one of the most beautiful.
It consists of a 60-inch length of exotic chain links connected to a sturdy 7-inch handle, and features a single small metal stud upon the end of the chain to give the swing of the weapon some weight and leverage.
The handle of the "flail whip" is forged of a wrought iron bar secured to a seared wood hilt that of 7-inches in length. The grip is topped by a platinum ring and butted by a turned finial, crested with a pommel that features one-half of a cut sphere of waterstone, and one-half of a sphere of cut wildstone. The contrast is impressive indeed.
Soft leather envelops one half of the flail's handle, allowing the weapon to be comfortably gripped while painfully thrashing someone with it, yet remains in and of itself fairly simplistic in design, remaining cast in the cobalt-hues so consistent of the Emperor's Blades.
The small spike at the end of the chain seems unremarkable in comparison; it is merely 2-inches in diameter, and shaped like a double pyramid. It serves no other purpose than to add a focus point of weight to the chain, yet allows it to be swung with deadly accuracy.
Yet it is, of course, the chain links of the flail that give the weapon its name, and remain the most attractive feature of this dire weapon, for each individual link of the 60-inch length of chain is crafted from a different metal, and each link radiates polished hues of glistening metallic colour upon the next, making it a breathtakingly deadly sight to behold.
Steel links to Gold, which links to Obsidian, which links to Brass, which links to Silver, which links to Bronze, which links to Iron, which links to Copper, which links to Tin, which links to Zinc, which links to Lead, which links back to Steel, which continues the ominous pattern of scintillating beauty once more; a pattern repeated throughout the long length of the chain-whip.
Those who lacked respect for the then Captain Lomasa soon learned it under the sting of the Chain of Command, and Hartnek managed to produce some of /the/ finest Bladesmen in the realm, of the kind who would stand upon the Aegis for weeks without complaining once about the weather, or stand down a horde of Wildlings without complaint. Indeed, such fates seemed preferable to the cruel sting of the Chain of Command.
A decade later, when Hartnek Lomasa was tasked with taking Serath Kahar under his wing to teach him the skills of the warrior, the Prince managed to finally get Hartnek's impression of the weapon that had turned men into soldiers throughout his career. Hartnek called it an "Educational Tool." Thus, this is what it remains; a tool to be used in the hand of a teacher. A tool that just happens to hurt like hell.
- Status: Owned by Voreyn Zahir