Awakening Excaliber.

[Nepene]

Magical swords are supposed to be an important part of the plot. In a potential sequel they would have to forge them. However they take a lot of souls to forge. So I was looking through mythology for some potential ways to form them.

We know that the magic works better by having a resemblence to humans.

Those two things�making the doll in the shape of a man and using a bit of his own body as a focus�are supposed to create instant resonance in the magic for those reading it. I think it works, too. Unfortunately, there�s a problem with this, much like with the colors above. In later chapters, the characters are generally powerful enough with the magic that they don�t have to make things in human shape or use pieces of their own body as a focus.

http://mistborn.com/annotation/369/Warbreaker-Prologue-Part-2

So how do you make a cheap magical sword that can kill hundreds of enemies?

Spoilers ahead.

My first idea was the sword in the stone. Excaliber. Just as the awakened army of stone monsters were stone with bones in them, make a sword with a bone at the core and stone (or metal around it). An arm bone say. You could even just cut off someone's arm and build a sword with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrunting

This sword was said to be tempered in blood. Perhaps if you forged a soul with your blood and then gave it your breath it would be easier to make the souls stick. A blacksmith could be given fifty breaths, forge the blade and temper it with his blood, and then endow the blade with his life.

"And another item lent by Unferth

at that moment of need was of no small importance:

the brehon handed him a hilted weapon,

a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting.

The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns

had been tempered in blood. It had never failed

the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle,

anyone who had fought and faced the worst

in the gap of danger. This was not the first time

it had been called to perform heroic feats."

Does anyone have any other ideas of how you'd do it, from twisted imaginations or from mythology?

[Glaring at the Survivor]

Excalibur is awakened—DragonBreath that touches it like happened Awakens the sword, because the DragonBreath is actually Breath, it that case. Dragons just have a ton of it—a literal ton.

Edit: All things bold, except Breath in the word DragonBreath.

Edited September 29, 2012 by Stroniax

[Aethling]

More than likely, they will just discover the command that allows them to be made with far fewer breaths. Remember, awakened corpses used to be expensive on breath until they discovered the command that is currently used.