Besides a lot of the things a canonical changeling can do (Kincaid, Meryl, etc) are similar to physical adepts. It would be very easy to modify a changeling to an adept that channels magic through their body. They should have less potential than a changeling, but they would never have to face the choice.

It also depends on your genre. To use examples from film, there really isn't that much difference between Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Jar-Jar in Star Wars Ep. 1.  They are both somewhat bumbling characters with accents who exist for comic relief. Arguably, Jar-Jar is a better defined character, as he has clear flaws, goals, and a back story that is revealed throughout the film, but he is hated while Short Round is loved.

I think the reasons are that Short Round was at least competent in some areas. He was a good kid, and was able to play off the hero. Secondly, he was able to fade into the background when it was Indy's time to shine, but come right back when the Hero needed saving.

There are actually many Native American cultures; please to be doing the research with a reasonable degree of respect and specificity as to which one you mean.

Sorry, that was implied, I should have been more specific. I was just being broad because I think that is the most common general grouping of Shamanic traditions. I didn't mean any disrespect, I was just being brief.


I am most familiar with the practices of the Navajo people, as I did some reasearh after reading Tony Hillerman and then again later when I was looking for a spirtual path after I found Christianity didn't work for me.

The wikipedia article is pretty good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_people#Healing_and_spiritual_practices

But I fear you lost me on the "pivot point of the blade's swing"  - wouldn't the pivot point be the person's wrist or elbow?  Or do I need to go more 3d here rather than the simple thrust.  The pivot point would shift to a section of the blade if the wrist or elbow is thrusting forward, but also spinning it somewhat? Can't seem to picture that.  I admit my fighting skills are based from fencing classes in college----years ago. 

The pivot point I'm talking about is anywhere from the wrist of the hand holding the sword to the first 1/4 of the the blade from the hilt. It's much easier to stop a blade there, because there is less force needed to stop it in that area. A long cutting blade is a lever, and the most force is going to be at the end of the blade. All fencing except schlager and saber to a lesser extent has very little to do with an actual swordfight, since epee and smallsword are thrusting weapons with low mass and no blades. I guess modern fencing weapons are similar to some of the dueling swords used in the late Renaissance, but using them to model a fight between someone using a scimitar or other heavy blade is not a good idea. Most longswords (and scimitars) are slashing weapons with a heavy blade and no sharpened tip. They are very different fighting styles.

If its cutting through Time, you can do all sorts of fun things to block a blow that neatly sidesteps physics entirely.  It could slash a short term rift in space-time that (due to the necessity of normal cause/effect in the universe) cannot be passed through edgewise.  The effect would be a floating line of Do-Not-Pass.  The possibilities are endless when space/time manipulation is involved.

True, but using those early in the narrative would be like watching the matrix with Neo being able to fly and stop the bullets in mid-flight from the beginning. You would lose out on the skyscraper window not-escape and the training, and the kung fu.

It looks like meg was looking for a beliveable way to have the hero fight of the ghoul using the weapon as a simple tool before unlocking the artifact level goodies, which would likely work better for her scene.

When you have a smaller weapon like a knife fighting a long weapon like a scimitar, footwork is far more important than bladework. If you are using the knife, and are staying out at a range of 2-4 feet where the scimitar wielder can make a solid strike you would be a fool to try to parry it on the swing. The key is to rapidly close into in-fighting range where you can trip up your opponent, and keep them from effectively using their weapon while you have room to use your smaller one. You can do this by circling your opponent so they have to turn before they can strike, or by staying far back so they have to rush to strike, and then close quickly to get inside of their range when they make their move.
You need to be constantly aware of where the opponent's blade is and not be there when it is about to hit you.

You CAN redirect a large blade with a smaller one, but it is very difficult, and you have to be strong, fast, and precise to do it. On the other hand, nothing gives you motivation like a 2 and half feet of sharp steel coming at you very fast. 

Three threads over in the Codex Alera spoilers need to be joined.
They all start off as my disappointment and need to be joined into one thread.