[Archive] The Items of Subjugation, by Uhr-Kulmbizharr

Admiral:

[align=center]The Items of Subjugation, by Uhr-Kulmbizharr[/align]

Once upon a time, there was a chain whip, a pair of leg irons, a branding iron and a sledgehammer laid upon a workbench. One day, they were boasting to each other:

“My lash tears flesh and rips apart skin yet rarely kills. I instil fear and obedience and may force the starved and exhausted thrall back to his feet to work like never before until he drops dead in his labour. My scars can be found on the back of every slave. I flog you and I flay you. Truly, I am the item behind a succesful slave workforce,” said the chain whip.

“My grip is unyielding on flesh and halts the runner in his tracks. I bind your ankles against your will and may fetter you to stones or other thralls so that you cannot escape. My rusty bite can be found corroding into the flesh of every slave. I arrest you and I halt you. Truly, I am the item behind a succesful slave workforce,” said the leg irons.

“My heat broils flesh and leave wounds that cannot truly heal. I mark you as property without freedom and may damn you to a thrall’s short life of hardship and misery and backbreaking toil. My burns can be found on the flesh of every slave. I scorch you and I enslave you. Truly, I am the item behind a succesful slave workforce,” said the branding iron.

“Yet what about you, sledgehammer? Aren’t you good only for cracking fingers so that thralls cannot work properly?” asked the other items when they had finished their boasting.

The sledgehammer was silent at first. Then it spoke:

“My weight is my strength and beats anything into submission. I reshape you at will and may crush anything and anyone. My fearsome blows can be found upon the metal of every chain whip, every pair of leg shackles and every branding iron in existence. Without me, you are nothing. For I can make you, and I can break you,” said the sledgehammer.

The other items did not reply at this since they knew their powers of subjugation had lost out to the powers of crafting. For such is the might of the blacksmith and his tools, that everything forged by them owes their allegiance to their maker.

- The Items of Subjugation, by Daemonsmith Uhr-Kulmbizharr the Blind, the renowned Chaos Dwarf author of fable stories during the foundation of Zharr-Naggrund*

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* This fable reflects the deeply ingrained Chaos Dwarf belief in the power and mastery of he who creates, he who builds, he who crafts. Owing to their Dwarfen nature, the Dawi Zharr value craftsmanship above most other things in the world. Yet theirs is a twisted nature, and to the Blacksmiths of Chaos, the power to craft is equal to the power to dominate and crush under heel. Indeed, most if not all sorcerous rituals of the Dawi Zharr are centered around forging and crafting, and amongst the Chaos Dwarfs there is an abundance of superstitious charms and hexes to curse or control others that revolves around the very tools by which the possessions of another were crafted. Some of these convoluted sorceries have even had practical and horrendous effects, which not a few mortal Chaos Warlords have found out to their cost after double-crossing their Chaos Dwarf allies or trade partners, or simply because they fell victims to capricious Dawi Zharr cruelty.

Fuggit Khan:

Another great fable, it really fits in well with my vision of the Dawi Zharr valuing a craftsman’s tool on equal status to a forged weapon.

And now I will never look at my hobby work table the same…does the paint brush boast to the knife? Or does the drill boast to the glue?

Dînadan:

And now I will never look at my hobby work table the same...does the paint brush boast to the knife? Or does the drill boast to the glue?

Fuggit Khan
The paint stripper boasts to them all because he can undo their work given enough time.

;P

Admiral:

@Fuggit Khan: Thank you! It’s central to this CD culture drive to get across how Dawi Zharr are Blacksmiths of Chaos, as is most prominently apparent in the Hellcannon crew miniatures. This is simple for me, since I’ve always been interested in crafts, tools, materials, mining etc and only need an evil twist to see things through Chaos Dwarf lenses. Glad you liked the item boasting. :slight_smile:

@Dînadan: Heresy! :stuck_out_tongue:

Abecedar:

Another great fable, it really fits in well with my vision of the Dawi Zharr valuing a craftsman's tool on equal status to a forged weapon.
And now I will never look at my hobby work table the same...does the paint brush boast to the knife? Or does the drill boast to the glue?

Fuggit Khan
yes another great fable.

My knife(s) boast that they have drawn more of my blood than my drills and my paint brushes boast they have gotten me to curse more than all of them combined. And the superglue just laughs at me.

Fuggit Khan:

Another great fable, it really fits in well with my vision of the Dawi Zharr valuing a craftsman's tool on equal status to a forged weapon.
And now I will never look at my hobby work table the same...does the paint brush boast to the knife? Or does the drill boast to the glue?

Fuggit Khan
yes another great fable.

My knife(s) boast that they have drawn more of my blood than my drills and my paint brushes boast they have gotten me to curse more than all of them combined.  And the superglue just laughs at me.


Abecedar
Hahaha! Well Abecedar, your knife and my knife are obviously kindred spirits, since they can boast of all the blood they've drawn from our fingers :cheers