[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

It's a minor difference, but a amusing one ...

For centuries the sword was the very essence of warfare. Then gunpowder weapons took over pride-of-place in mental images of warfare. The Blade Worlds are realities where the sword has undergone a renaissance of popularity.

Blade -1, the first such world discovered, is also a world with that little drip of something extra.

The first recognizable change was in 1776, when George Washington received a gift from a blacksmith named Joseph Koyengquahtah.

There is some question whether this blacksmith exists in Homelines history; Blade-1's legends describe him as the half-breed son of a Seneca shaman and the daughter of a European witch. Even in his own world there is some controversy over his very existence, or why a person of Seneca blood would gift a weapon to the notorious "Town-Burner".

But the deeds accomplished with that sword became legendary. The Battle of Long Island still ended up with a British victory, but the American casualties were half that of OTL, British casualties were triple OTL levels, and the British lost an entire battery of artillery (one of those cannons, cut in half lengthwise, is on display in Blade-1's New York). While the course of the war went on much as before, the Americans were inspired by Washington's feats, and the legend of the American Sword was born.

Swordsmanship - saber and broadsword, not foil - became a popular American pastime, from high-class salons to street-gangs with crude improvised weapons. The unique method of bladesmithing that created the American Sword (using both meteoric iron and secret techniques initially known only to a small brotherhood of Celtic-speaking Seneca blacksmiths) began to slowly spread.

When George Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789, he swore the Oath of Office on the Sword, and when he left office, passed it to his successor. From that point on, the American Sword became an emblem of the American Presidency.

Spreading quickly through the American continents, the adventurer with an accurate pistol in one hand and a deadly sword in the other became a meme. While little history was changed at first, where it was changed it was rather dramatic. The primary major change was the legalization of sword-duels under exacting conditions and rigorous legal enforcement, often taking the place of civil court trials.

The American Sword, though, had the most direct effect, as the successive American Presidents behaved in different ways from their Homeline counterparts. The Sword has not been examined directly, but it appears to forcibly alter the mind of it's holder, making them behave in a more honorable fashion. (On Blade-1, this is more like an urban legend or myth, but Outtimers who can compare various alternate histories have no doubt.)

The first elections were models of comportment and civility (a marked contrast to Homeline's history), and the first few Presidents made it the custom to resign from any political party. Fifth President James Monroe, rather than just protesting the Federalist Party's monarchist agenda, fought duels with their leadership. Seventh President Andrew Jackson, shockingly, upheld the rights of the Indian Nations and censured states that forcibly removed Indian populations. Poltical parties in Blade-1's United States never became dominating social movements, and the Spoils System never took deep root.

Analysis of swords created with the Koyengquahtah Method reveal that they are psionic or chi-based weapons, with some being infused by spirit-beings. In other words, the swords created a form of sword-based super-martial artist who slowly grew in number and quickly grew in mythic popularity.

In 1822, the First Mexican Empire was declared and Agustín de Iturbide proclamed himself Emperor, commissioning "a Sword of Power" to be forged to act as the symbol of the Empire. The Espada de Mexico, as soon as Iturbide drew it, decapitated him. Political and military hero Guadalupe Victoria was soon proclaimed Emperor, and his descendants have contnued to hold the office, the Espada de Mexico (said to spontaneously slay any corrupt person who touches it) at their side.

Numbers of Chinese swordsmen began traveling the Americas, adding their ancient arts to the American styles. By the 1830's, armies in North and South America all had small special forces bands of super-human swordsmen, and the number of empowered swords was increasing.

In 1852, American swordsmen in a formal duel against samurai (barely) won the right to trade with Japan. Impressed by the power of these barbarians, young Samurai began touring America to challenge their champions. Swordsmithing and exotic techiques advanced, and the two nations began a friendly rivalry over clashing blades.

The American Crisis of 1861, which almost became a civil war, was resolved by a series of duels between Abraham Lincoln (wielding the American Sword) and the champions of the various Confederate States. Observers from many mations were astounded by the powers of the swordsmen. While this was going on, France, seeking to expand it's influence, invaded Mexico under the pretence of a loan default. Mexican Imperial forces, led by powerful masters of the blade, repelled the French forces.

1861 maked a major turning-point in Europe, Before that, all the stories about swords in the Americas were just that - stories, usually believed to be outlandishly exaggerated. Now, after witnessing the American Crisis and the French-Mexican War, they were forced to acknowledge that a new power was abroad in the world, and the Europeans were three generations behind in mastering it.

While empowered swords were more common as time went on, they were never mass-produced and were never commonplace. But the techniques and abilities they opened up could be taught, and swordsmen with ordinary swords and exotic skills were more common. It was these swordsmen that began opening salons and dojos in Europe and dominating the dueling and championship circuits. The character of the super-warrior of American or Mexican extraction with a powerful sword and an accurate pistol, wandering through the land to teach and fight for justice, was a popular meme in the 1870's and 1880's.

In 1871, when the German Empire was founded, the Reichsschwert (the Imperial Sword of the Holy Roman Empire) was confiscated by the Imperial Throne and reforged by commissioned swordsmiths into the first European Sword of Power, still called the Reichsschwert, and wielded by the Imperial Champion. After this a flurry of national Swords of Power were forged, some more successful than others.( In 1881 the State Sword of Russia was reforged as a Sword of Power and the personality of Tsar Alexander III was radically changed, continuing the enlightened reign of his father and grandfather. At the same time, an attempt to forge a Sword of Poland to create a focus for an independence movement failed.)

History kept the same general path, but a lot of details were different. While World War I was still fought, the alliances were Germany-France-US-Mexico against Russia-Spain-Britain-Italy and ended in mutual exhaustion. The devastation of the First World War allowed fascism to grow as a multinational movement and the Second World War was fought between the fascist Central European Union (including Britain and allied with Fascist China) and the Alliance For Democracy (a much-reformed Russia under Tsarina Anastasia I, a strong Kingdom of Italy, the Japanese Imperial Republic, and the "American Titans" of the United States and Mexico). While super-swordsmen were still used in battle, their small numbers and tactical powers meant that industrial resources and science still dominated the battlefield.

The present year is 2000, the TL is TL 8, and the supra-national organization of the Free Nations Alliance dominates the world and keeps the peace from the Fascist Commonwealth of Britain and the North Chinese Republic. Most governments are remarkably free of corruption, although there are still dictatorships and corrupt nations. many nations (including Russia, Germany, Italy, and others) are still monarchies.

In almost every city there are salons and dojos where swordsmanship is taught, and a smaller number where exotic skills are taught by Old Masters. Sword duels are not uncommon, but rigidly controlled, and sword tournaments are professional sporting events.

And there are a few hundred Swords of Power, some in the hands of national leaders, others in the hands of cults, and many drifting from one champion to another or kept as family treasures. And a very few remaining blacksmiths who can create new Swords of Power, working at hidden forges, figures of legend.

This world is in both Infinity and Centrum's zone of control. Getting special agents trained in the exotic arts is a priority. Attempts to infiltrate government have had mixed results. Attempts to acquire Swords of Power have been conditional failures. (Usually only someone who can wield a Sword can get ahold of one, and those agents are quickly swept up in the drama of the Sword's epic narrative and are lost to the outworld organizations.)