Aldarion
Archmage
Answer: he doesn't.OK, you sword people, a practical question. My character is fitted with a sheath on his back. I picture the usual sort of movie thing, but then I try to picture how he withdraws it.
The blade is at least two feet long, more likely three. He reaches over his shoulder, I don't think his arm is long enough for the sword to clear the sheath. Does it rotate somehow, maybe away from the body so as to pull more horizontally? Or some other method? Or this only works for shorter swords?
I sort of want it on the back because MC needs to do some tricky climbing so he can't carry it in hand, and a longer sword at hip would get in the way. Pretty much has to be on the back. A sheath more or less loose on the back seems like it would work but it also seems like it would flop around a lot.
To draw something from the shoulder, it has to be short (bayonets were sometimes worn that way) or he will need to remove scabbard completely from his back and draw from hand.
You can climb with a sword hanging from the hip. And swords often didn't hang from the belt, but rather were held by an over-the-shoulder strap, which allowed a lot of freedom in how exactly you carried your sword.Hm. Now I'm more puzzled than ever. I know from various specific historical examples that warriors did climb. They scaled ladders but also climbed more improbable surfaces and even leaped onto horseback in full armor. How in the world did they manage to carry battle-ready swords?