Is this a 'real' thing? (In reality, not just romanticized fiction)

[AlexS]

So, I've been playing it 'fast and loose' with my fantasy based world, there's a nice blend of 'regular' modernized tech (They have things like small portable tvs and soda machines, but also much more advanced things are legitimate magi-tech) but one thing I wrote recently I'm somewhat curious about. It has to do with swordsmanship.

At least in my story swordsmen/women are judged not just by how strong they are, but how pristine their body is. As in, they never let their opponents get close enough to wound them in the first place, meaning they're either superbly skilled or insanely powerful. Maybe the skill gap between a given swordsman/woman and their opponents is just that deep etc.

But that got me thinking is it an actual thing in real life? Like were Swordsmen considered 'Barbaric' if they had too many flesh wounds? Maybe they were seen as badges of Honor? etc.

Bear in mind this is a realm where a skilled enough swordsman can use their willpower to use a metal toothpick like a real ass sword, provided they had the intent and focus to prevent said toothpick from snapping in two on contact with the real blade.

It doesn't happen in the real world. Most sword-wielding cultures viewed scars as badges of honor. But hey, this is fantasy, and fanstasy is supposed to make you think, 'hey, what if...'
So go ahead and write it your way. It's a neat idea.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I hear Azimov and I think for a moment on his more academic work, and now I need to show off our library, but only because you guys will totally get this. lol

 

[Mad Swede]

Malik is quite right when he writes that ancilliary damage mounts up. I spent more than 30 years in the Swedish Army and served in the Military Police and overseas on UN peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions. About the only things on Malik's list that haven't happened to me are breaking my neck, being poisoned and being kicked by a camel (I got kicked by a pack mule instead). I also had my jaw broken in four places. Do I have a lot of scars? Yes, I have a few visible scars. I have a lot more invisible scars, mostly numbness: I can't feel the lower part of my face, my right leg around the knee, my right wrist and my left hand. I can't swing my right arm fully, and I can't run without risking permanent knee damage. I've got pieces of metal holding some of my limbs together, and it all aches in cold and wet weather. I also suffer badly from PTSD. I'll never recover full fitness, and I'm medically retired so I'll never serve in the army again.

Combat takes it out of you in a big way. Both at the time and later in life. Very few of us have walked away without permanent scars and even fewer of us came out of it fully functional (be that physically or mentally). We cope, but...

I guess this is what I have against many, perhaps most, swords and sorcery style stories. They're unrealistic, and unless they're very well written I can't suspend belief long enough to enjoy the story.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

It doesn't happen in the real world. Most sword-wielding cultures viewed scars as badges of honor. But hey, this is fantasy, and fanstasy is supposed to make you think, 'hey, what if...'
So go ahead and write it your way. It's a neat idea.

I mean part of it is that this particular guy is a showman, he knows how to put on a "show" to perpetuate the myths about him (True or not, he likes the publicity) not all swordsmen/women are like he is, loads of them have plenty of scars barring the woman who betrayed him when she was done playing with him.

His one scar has caused him plenty of grief in certain things (Like he started his whole thing of never showing his back to his opponent to not reveal his scar, that a less than honorable opponent would easily find and target, that's what started the whole 'pristine body' myth.) and he has to brute force his body working with an overabundance of Mana. Flame Blood elves already have enormous mana reserves and he's a Dragon (the title, not the creature) flame blood which only makes him more mana potent.

The kind of thing he's doing to keep the wound 'closed' is generally frowned upon by most medics, even people who have basic medical knowledge are genuinely shocked/revolted by the use of this technique, because it doesn't allow the wound to heal properly.

He basically has a 'string' of mana constantly stitching up the wound whenever it opens, and even when it's properly 'closed' and not bleeding, it can't properly heal because his body is trying to process the mana flowing through the wound. Doesn't stop him from fighting at peak performance, but he IS putting himself at risk, in spite of his immense reserves of mana. Even then he's pretty stubborn about fighting at his 'peak' whenever he's able to. Technically the scar would have healed up and just left an honorable battle scar decades ago, but he doesn't trust doctors to not be bribed by people who fight him.

It also lead him to learning how to use his mana to move at insane speeds, opponents can't get behind you if you're too fast to see, and can react even faster. Though the one downfall to this technique is that people with good 'instinct' can feel your attack coming and react to that

 

[skip.knox]

>Someone write a book about a guy in his 50's, limping his way through an adventure, sitting the hell down after a fight and smoking weed for a few hours because his neck is killing him. I'll buy it.

Funny you should say this. For years I've had this image of a veteran warrior whose injuries make it so he can no longer raise his arm above shoulder level. So he's fairly functional, just not as a warrior. I have too many other stories to write ever to get to this one, but it's nice to hear someone out there would read such a tale, or at least be interested in such a character. It stems from when I was dealing with a rotator cuff tear

Secondarily it made me think about Joe Peasant or pretty much anyone prior to modern times. You don't need to have waded into battle to sustain injuries. Indeed, death by accident was a leading cause of death for adolescent age from as early as we can document it from parish registers. It actually gets a bit worse with mechanization (the machines have been after us for a very long time). Anyway, I realized there must have been any number of farmers, shopkeepers, craftsmen, who were impaired in their trade, nor did they have the luxury of retirement. The story, I think lies in the persevering through injuries because you must.

 

[ThinkerX]

I have several characters who were badly injured in combat. In 'exiles,' Peter loses most of his hand. A dwarf was able to craft a 'pincer' to what was left. Another received a super science cire that partly prepared severe leg damage, letting him walk instead of hobble

 

[pmmg]

In 'exiles,' Peter loses most of his hand.

Ouch!

Id rather lose a lot whole hand than half of one. Seems it would hurt less.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Ouch!

Id rather lose a lot whole hand than half of one. Seems it would hurt less.

Happens in Resident Evil Village (The one with the uh 'pretty' vampire lady) too, protagonist gets a good bit one of his hands knommed on by a zombie and torn off.