ho could see that thev were either going to be captured, or die in battle without sufficient time elapsing for their blades to disintegrate, shattered them on the nearest hard object) The tip, the hollow ont,e occupied by the tooth s nerve, customarily held a small amount of the most deadly poison available, most often a mixed derivative of the native desert plants Fremen usually attempted to avoid killing a respected enemy with the tip of the blade, poison was considered a weapon more suitable for use against animals than humans The mounting of the blade into the handle was patterned on the kindjal, a type of long knife popular throughout the empire, with a blade of almost identical length to mat of the cryskmfe Where they differed was in the shearing-guard the kindjal generally boasted a stout guard, while the cryskmfe had only the raised lips of its round handle, where it joined the blade, to protect its user's band Most authorities believe that the earliest cryskmves were deliberately constructed to mimic the kindjal a blade the Fremen were already familiar with from their many generations of sen ice in the empire The later changes, including the elimination of the shearing guard, came about when the eryskmfe became a truly unique weapon rather than a native imitation of an off-world knife Considerable mythology surrounded the blades Fremen cherished their cryskmves, giving mem names which were held secret from even the other troop members, protecting them from harm with their own lives Even after the owner's death, the cryskmfe was treated differently from all other possessions A cryskmfe handle was the only tiling that was taken to the Funeral Haul for' bunal' after its owner's water was returned to the tribe The one exception to tins custom was in the case of a cryskmfe whose blade shattered during a fight Fremen superstition held in such cases that the person had somehow offended Shai Hulud who had retaliated by withdrawing the strength from the tooth A good deal of history surrounds cryskmves as well The initial acceptance of Paul Maud'Dib Atreides among the Fremen for example, came about when his mother, the Lady Jessica, was tested by the Shadout Mapes and deemed worthy of possessing a cryskmfe The original Duncan Idaho, who had proven himself in Stilgar's sietch, was also allowed to keep one of the sacred blades The blade that has attracted the most his toncal attention, however, is undoubtedly that mounted in Maud Dib b tryskmfe When the hrst Atreides emperor-in the guise of The Preacher-was killed, his son took his cryskmfe for his own In the centuries that followed, Leto II made frequent ceremonial use of the blade, culminating m its use in Siaynoq In addition, The God Emperor controlled the tiny supply of the knives which still remained during the last centuries of his rule while his Museum Fremen earned out the old ntuals with them utterly ignorant of the true reasons for their actions The fact that one of them would copy a cryskmfe for sale to Siona Atreides illustrates the degeneration of the customs, no true Fremen would have permitted such a thing for any reason, least of all personal gam Maud'Dib s cryskmfe, then, could be seen as the last of its kind-a blade earned by one who knew the traditions and myths that held it apart from more common, less holy weapons While the old Fremen might have disap proved of the use to which the God Emperor put their leader's crjskmfe, they would cer tainly have approved of the level, of veneration which surrounded it C W Further references ATREIDES LETO 11 ATREIDES PAUL MUAD DIB SANDWORM SHADOUT MAPES DUNCAN IDAHO Jarel Oslo Fremen Lives and Legend (Salusa Secundus Morgan and Sharak) Daiwid Kuuan Monuments of the Zensunm Migrations (Salusa Secundus Morgan and Sharak) Defa 1-Fanini Taaj I Fremen 12v (Salusa Secundus Morgan and Sharak) 184 DE VRIES, PITER.