Terminus Est
| Terminus Est | |
|---|---|
| Plot element from Book of the New Sun | |
| First appearance | The Shadow of the Torturer |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| In-story information | |
| Type | Fictional sword |
| Element of stories featuring | Severian |
Terminus Est is a sword in the science fiction series The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. It is wielded by Severian, a torturer and the narrator of the series.
In the Shadow of the Torturer, after Severian is expelled from his guild and the city of Nessus for showing mercy to one of his charges, he is sent north to serve as an executioner in a different city. Before Severian leaves, Master Palaemon gives him Terminus Est. A sharp, intimidating sword, it serves as a symbol of his authority and as a deadly weapon. Despite its utility, the sword is apparently extremely ostentatious, as "art had been lavished upon her," according to the narrator.
Terminus Est is described as being "Light to raise, weighty to descend." This is due to (in addition to the obvious ethical quandary, in that raising the sword causes no harm, but the descending stroke ends a life by decapitation) a channel in the spine of the blade, containing liquid hydrargyrum, another name for mercury. (Wolfe makes use of obscure terms from Latin and Greek in many of his works, and in the New Sun Cycle additionally makes heavy use of French and Spanish.) Given the fact the novel's text is described as having been translated from "a language that has not yet achieved existence", the substance referred to may not in fact be mercury, although its properties would seem to suggest that it is. The channel would have been extremely difficult to fabricate: the usual techniques of forging would have crushed it. However, a simple possibility is that the sword was forged and then the channel drilled, especially before quenching and heat hardening.
In addition, the melting point of iron is 1811 K (1538 °C, or 2800 °F), which is far above the boiling point of mercury (629.88 K, 356.73 °C, or 674.11 °F)), which would complicate the task of sealing the mercury into the channel. Terminus Est is mentioned several times in the book as being able to be removed from its hilt, and especially after it is destroyed, Severian removes the shards from the hilt and keeps the furniture. This indicates a Japanese style of construction with hilt independent of sword tang. A simple means of sealing the mercury into the sword would be to employ a plug or screw in the end of the tang. This could easily be hammered over once inserted so that the edges of the tang overlap and trap in the plug. All of this would be covered over by the sword furniture and could have been accomplished with well-below-modern levels of technology.
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