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It was just a sword. It didn't look important. Three feet long and slightly curved, the blade looked tarnished. The dark color of the metal suggested it was simply brass. The edge was sharp and without a nick. The haft was pewter-colored, contoured for the human hand, and unremarkable—other than the single ruby set in the pommel.
The skillful construction belied the sword's modest appearance. Thousands of microscopic sheets of a chromium-antimony alloy layered one atop the other composed the blade itself. The painstaking process provided an exceptional degree of flexibility, resilience and edge integrity. Even master swordsmiths found the alloy difficult to work, making reproduction improbable.
In addition to its meticulous construction, the sword was ancient. Forged more than nine t
