MONC WEAPONS

Monc weapons, like most things on Anomaly, are constructed to task using materials available in adequate quantities. The materials are hardwoods found both in and around Tel’Forae, stone and…remarkably…iron. The task? Dispatch the enemy as quickly as possible.

There are countless varieties of maiming, puncturing, capturing, snaring, gutting, “extruding” (since banned) and slashing devices created by Monc weaponsmiths. Those carried into battle are one of three common types: the polearm, the sword and the bludgeon. These categories are universal in their adoption across the races, so I shall limit this discussion to the specifications that are uniquely “Monc.”

Polearms:

Most of the races developed their polearms from the Zkiel, a widely available and reliable wood. The Moncs have discovered a genetic variant of the Zkiel which, unlike that used by everyone else, can be tempered to be almost as hard as rock while retaining the weight of wood. We’ve yet to determine how they can tell this type of Zkeil from the common stock. Bal’ka explained their particular stock comes from a handful of carefully tended groves within Tel’Forae. “Something in the water,” he mused, tapping at his hardened Monc skin and shimmering into the background. (Only Samantha didn’t laugh at his joke.)

Swords:

The Moncs, like The People, have mastered the “science of the forge.” Their blades tend to be more “organic” in design than those used by other races, and their metal preparation (iron in particular) is matched only by The People. In the same way Mutie weapons are notoriously brittle, Monc blades are revered for their excellence in both construction and balance.

One especially unique Monc design is what they simply call “the leaf.” The leaf is a bristly series of upward-pointed spines on blade edge. Each spine is sharpened on both sides, effectively a “sword on top of a sword.” Bal’ka explained these blades are usually reserved for encounters with the Muties due to their superior numbers. Unlike The People, Muties are undisciplined and will swing without thought to their next action. The leaf allows for one sword to catch several incoming weapons. Once their immediate threat (and momentum) is lost, the Monc simply uses a “pulling” motion to sidestep their weapons and deliver a lethal strike (or strikes) with the “back edges” of the leaf’s many blades. The chainsawing effect has the added benefit of making quick work of protective leather armor or straps, or catching a wayward finger or three.

Bludgeon:

Every race has some type of warhammer in its arsenal. Only the Moncs possess warhammers that are practical beyond the first swing. First, they are immaculately balanced using a counterweight of iron or stone bound into the lower segment of the handle. It is usually capped with a puncture blade of some sort to offset the blunt-force business end of the hammer.

Uweza handed me his hammer to experience this for myself. I embarrassingly dropped it, having forgotten how much stronger Moncs are than humans. Uweza tilted his flattened hand vertically and rested the hammer’s handle center on it. I asked why this particular weapon would need to be so precisely balanced. As if anticipating the question, Uweza leaped at a rock and smashed it with the hammer. He then spun, effortlessly twirled the hammer around his fingers at its neutral pivot point, and landed the spiked handle in a large bajas melon with a sickening squelch.

Everyone knew what the rock and melon represented. Uweza graciously accepted my pale faced silence as understanding.