SWORD, SKYBREAKER
Weight: 2,000 grams
Blade Length: an arm's length, full tang.
Material: Vibranium (pure), leather (panther), precious metals (inlay/ornamental), African Black Wood Place of Origin: Wakanda
Maker: Olumo, first Father of Wakanda
Attributes: Skybreaker is a conduit; it can convert small amounts of energy into exponentially larger amounts of energy, amplifying and channeling that energy. The edge will never get dull. In fact, the only way the metal changes shape is through extreme heat -- no amount of pressure or strikes on its cold edge will cause any change. The blade itself is unbreakable. Acting as a conduit does not change the temperature of the blade -- it is lukewarm to cold to the touch unless submerged in extreme heat.
The Forging: The name of the forger of the blade has been lost to time, but his title -- Olumo, Knower -- has persisted. It was he who realized that no normal fire could tame the metal, and he who built a special forge near the lip of a volcano. There, he, his oldest daughter and his oldest son stayed for many days, using the heat of the volcano to soften and temper the metal. It took them three weeks to reach the volcano, another month to forge the blade and hone the edge. When they had finished, it took them another two weeks to find wood for the handle of the sword.
Secret History: The Skybreaker is an object of the purest Vibranium. The mountain the Vibranium was found in was struck by a meteorite -- a remnant of a planet whose sun went supernova. The radiation emanating from the meteorite purified the Vibranium at a molecular level and imbued it with its strange conduit properties.
Prolonged contact with the metal causes damage to living tissues (any energy it absorbs is amplified, and channeled outward), but strengthens non-living materials (even if they were once biological in origin). The damage to living tissues manifests in a variety of ways, from burns to cancers, but even one layer of protection (a hilt, wrap, sheath or even a piece of cloth) stops the energy transfer. The changes in inert tissues manifests in a strengthening of the material -- stone and metals become harder, wood becomes more resilient (the hilt is by now stronger than steel), leather more supple and harder to tear. The effects have long been studied by Wakandan scientists and mystics but have never been satisfactorily explained.