Explanation of Kat’s quote: When you make a sword, you have to cool it in liquid to harden it, and allow it to keep an edge. If it cools too fast, cracks can form, allowing the blade to shatter. Of course, this isn’t completely safe, if Theo was the one striking, it could have flown back and stabbed him in the eye. OUCH. I know this fight wasn’t as spectacular as Violet and Kat’s, but a rematch of that is next.  Theo’s sword is a Greek xiphos, (Think Bilbo’s sword, Sting from The Hobbit) and Lars’ is a typical scottish claymore. If you want to invoke the fury of the internet, go on ANY forum and say “Katanas are better than Claymores”, or “Claymores are better than Katanas”. I’ll wait. (Personally, I think [CENSORED] are better, because [CENSORED]. The reason Lars has a claymore is because he is wearing plate armor, which fits better.

 

And for those who were wondering what kind of sword Violet’s is, it’s called a Pandat. It’s the sword of the Dayak people of Borneo, and it looked like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lars is based on a good friend of mine, (who will remain unnamed), who was known for being really tall in my school. (He’s about 6’6″ in real life, Lars in the comic is 6’2″.) His name, “Lars”, comes from a chat in my latin class one day, when we were discussing the Etruscans. The Etruscan King, Lars Porsenna, came up, and my latin teacher, (who was known to go on occasional tangents), said this: “You know, when you hear the name “Lars”, you think of some really manly guy.” (If anyone has a first name that sounds manlier than Lars, post it in the comments. I’ll be surprised.) Since I needed a name for Theo’s friend who’s the strong guy (exempting Orion, which gives the name Lars a good run for its money. Orion came later – Lars was the third character I created. Orion was about the 9th.), Lars fit. Intresting sidenote: Each of the three main charicters (Katrina, Theo and Lars) all share names with some kind of “barbaric tribe” during the roman empire. Katrina’s last name is McClellan (Scottish), Theo’s full name is Theodoric, like the king of the Visigoths, and Lars was explained above. I did NOT plan this out. Theo and Lars both being named for Barbarian Kings was complete coincidence. Also, I built my ADORABLE lego Akila figure! SQUEE!