Bladesinger’s Order

The Bladesinger's Order are an eclectic collection of master smiths, accomplished swordsmen and mages who have a singular goal- the creation of swords to do things swords aren't really supposed to do.

History
According to legend, the Order was formed on a bet. Two men met in the Saltspray District of The City of Peace Abiding, in a tavern for the dockhands of the airship spire: one a human pirate, the other a journeyman smith of The Reasonable Folk. After some hours of drinking, the two men got into a fight after the Reason insulted the pirate's saber, insisting it was 'Like a dagger somebody streched and bent.'  A general melee broke out, but was quieted when the barkeeper demanded that the two each pay for a full round to everyone who sat back down and shut up immediately. Several hours of drinking later, the pirate lamented to his new best friend that his saber could never take the fight out of a man as fast as too many drinks (as opposed to just many drinks, which is famous for putting the fight into a man).

Apparently struck by the general inanity of this statement, the young smith was unable to get the idea out of his head. After several years of design, failure and agonized consideration, he produced the legendary weapon known as The Drunkblerd, a mystic saber which inflicts no damage but can kill a liver in a span of mere weeks. More than a decade after his bar fight, the now-master smith waited until the pirate returned to the port of call, then presented him with the potent gift.

The pirate, now a full captain, laden with treasure and not at all comfortable with the looks his First Mate kept shooting him, was so taken by the atrocious item that he decided to settle down on the spot and dedicate his entire ill-gotten fortune to the craft of his old comrade.

The smith and his pirate friend soon set up shop, and within weeks began offering the most ridiculous weapons in the entire world. Driven by the smith's sudden celebrity, curiousity and the generally poor state of the job market, apprentice smiths came to learn at the Reasonable smithy, and soon an entire absurdist order arose, fueled by a mixture of incredulity and illegal pirate gold.

Current Prospects
The Order enjoys considerable support among many classes of The Reasonable Folk, in large part because of how entertaining many of the Order's products and secret disciplines are. Order chefs, sword-ventriloquests and cloud-bonsai artists are in high demand, while the Order sells their (often hilarious) failures for scrap-prices as trinkets. The elder families of the city consider the Bladesingers a crass mockery, but their lack of support is strongly offset by the incredibly high quality (and corresponding high prices) of the custom-made Songblades. While glowing baubles and amulets might be cheaper, a Torchblade of the order will continue functioning under any circumstances, and many a village has survived a drought by pooling the money for an unlimited-use Cropsword. More importantly, the Order somehow still recieves huge quantities of pirate treasure, so they can really do whatever they want.

Notable Members
Alter Segment

A master smith among the Reasonable Folk, Alter is one of the founders of the order and one of the best smiths in the known world. Having made an enormous number of absurdly stupid swords in his life, Alter's current role as Order Primarch allows him to spend months on the creation of intricate and potent swords which have no combat purpose. His identifying blade is of his own creation, a mighty and legendary sword known as The Blade of Rather Poor Wizardry.

Captain Alex Albertander

Alex was a lowly ship's boy when he first came to the City of Peace Abiding aboard what would become his ship, the Ignoble Bandolier. His incredible naval prowess led him to become King of the Northmost Pirates, and his hold full of gold made him a target. After being presented with the fruits of Alter's work, Alex chose to remain in port, where his former crew would not dare touch him, and made a deal with his former colleagues- they could divvy up his pirate empire so long as they paid him a stipend for the rest of his life.

For hundreds of years, the pirates have still paid the stipend, none daring to challenge the master pirate, who remains young and more deadly than ever thanks to his Blade of Comical Immortality.