The strange logic of elemental sword hilts in the Renegades Epic

Elemental magic in the Renegades Epic comes in two typical ways, one of which occurs when an Elemental achieves Master Status.

When an Elemental, Mage, or Sentry reaches Master Status, a sword manifests in their hand. These swords allow for stronger, quicker attacks that save energy. Swords transform Elemental Masters into more than just lethal weapons, something I show you in every single book I write. 

Whether it’s Liza Fury conjuring a firestorm, Sion Zona knocking down entire cities with an F-5 tornado, or Sabre Kjaergaard causing maximum-magnitude earthquakes, Elemental Masters sometimes don’t even realize their own strength until they’ve destroyed nearly everything around them. 

But not all Elemental Swords (also called Mage Swords and Sentry Swords) are alike. Instead, each sword contains a hilt made from a different metal or substance. And today, I’m breaking it all down for you. 

Elemental Masters and their sword hilts in the Renegades Epic 

Check out the table below, where you’ll find each element listed on the left, and its corresponding sword hilt on the right. So, what made me pick specific hilts for each of the nine elements? Honestly, the answer may surprise you. 

Often, I have some weird methodology for my magical systems, but this one’s more random. For the classical elements, I used metals more familiar to readers, like gold, silver, and bronze, plus a mineral for water – diamond. 

But I had no real reason for corresponding the metals with each sword, except maybe that the metals meshed well with colors representing each element. For example, wind boasted gold on gold, while the clearness of a diamond made sense for water’s cerulean hue. Ditto for crimson and bronze, or emerald and silver. 

For spirit, purple and white, or in this case, pearl, made for a good color contrast, the opposite of wind. But other than complementary colors (mostly), there was no rhyme or reason for the classical elements. 

Niche elements had a little more meaning

The challenging part came with the niche elements, or at least that’s what I called them, of wood, blood, metal, and smoke. These ones were more symbolic, with opal contrasting well with the dullness of wood. 

I had the same irony in mind for smoke, coming from how I made the smoke element work. Its color, black, symbolized darkness surrounding a Smoke Master’s opponent. But when a Smoke Master conjures a smokescreen to cloak themselves, they can see through it clearly. As for what the clear material is, neither myself nor any of you will likely find out, but it’s not diamond. 

Ironically, we can all guess what made me roll with iron alongside blood, and it’s probably self-explanatory. Ditto for metal since, a Metal Elemental/Mage/Sentry can control anything as long as it’s a metal. And alloys are part of that group. 

In yet another trace of irony, I added wood, blood, smoke, and metal to give myself and readers more variety as opposed to the four (sometimes five) classical elements. Yet there was far more meaning with me pairing hilts for the niche elements as opposed to earth, water, air, fire, and spirit.