Switch Axe

[The Guild]

The switch-axe is a weapon that focuses on dealing devastating damage through its various methods of attacking. While not quite so heavy as greatswords or hammers, switch-axes are still quite large and unwieldy in the untrained hands, and may require some sort of physical strength aid to wield properly. In addition, with the various mechanisms contained within a switch-axe in order to allow proper function, one should take care to upkeep their weapon regularly, and by extension, the switch axe is not a weapon meant for blocking the full crushing weight of monster impacts.... As robust as Wyverian engineering can be, it is not perfect, especially when faced with the crushing might of a monster’s jaws.

The switch axe is a morphing weapon, the first of its forms being that of axe-mode. When drawn, through use of a simple mechanism present on the handle, the axe head will slide up the handle and lock into place at full extension. This mode offers incredible reach, and can deal precise blows that pack an incredible punch by making use of the majority of the weapon’s mass having shifted upwards to the striking point.

The true power of the switch-axe, though, comes not just from its axe mode, but from the weapon’s ability to shift as the situation calls for into a powerful alternate form. With a twist of one’s wrist, the axe-head will lock into position at the bottom of the handle, and a specialized blade will swivel over the top of the handle, slide down, and secure itself.

Sword-mode, as it is called, makes use of a powerful device built into the weapon, and channeled through the blade of the weapon while in sword-mode. These “phials” empower the weapon in various ways, be it channeling elemental energies into the blade, poisoning foes, or simply increasing the stopping power of the weapon by a significant margin! As well as this, between the phial, and the point of balance being moved closer to one’s hands increases the ability to follow through with one’s strikes and align the edge of one’s blade, reducing the likeliness that one’s attacks would simply glance off or be deflected.

As powerful as these phials may be, however, theirs is not an infinite one, and as you make use of sword-mode, the phial will slowly drain of energy. When the Phial has fully drained, as a safety precaution to avoid damaging the mechanisms involved, the Wyverian engineers who designed the weapon to automatically return to axe mode until the phial either has time to recharge, or is reloaded manually through use of a special charging device activated from the handle.

One final trick the switch-axe has up its morphing sleeve is that of the phial burst.
This technique pushes the weapon to the limits of its construction, expelling the phial’s energy rapidly through the blade before culminating in a full discharge of all the remaining energy stored within the phial. This move, while quite powerful, is not one to use carelessly.

All in all, the switch-axe is a powerful weapon in the right hands, with both power and versatility at its command. Skilled users of this weapon should remember that it is not merely a sword, nor is it merely an axe, but a powerful fusion of the two.