Hadean War Scythe

“The Hadeans brandished blades that curved back on the wielder…I don’t think you could make a better visual metaphor of a culture if you tried.” - Professor Victoria Tomlain, Historian

Yes, that is indeed a scythe blade bayoneted to a gun.
The word “Hade” in modern parlance is a synonym for “fool” or a crazy person. If you ever wondered why, one simply has to look at the absurdity of the weaponry they brought to bear against the defenders of Acheron.
Practicalities and historic biases aside, the Hadean War Scythe was not merely the lashed-together weapons of a suicidal berserker culture we are generally led to believe, but methodical weapons designed for intimidation.
The Hadeans did not build things to stand the test of time as the Acheronians did, so much of their history and culture is lost, and most of what we know of it comes from The Chronicle, which has an obvious Acheronian bias. What we do know is that the Hadean warriors would enter battle in hooded black clothing, flaunting their infamous magikinetic powers, while wielding their war scythes, styling themselves as avatars of their dark reaper god “The Riverman”. As they screamed and roared into battle, they created a display intentionally crafted to terrify.
There were many variations manufactured of the war scythe, with different types and calibers of firearm components, and blade designs and lengths, depending possibly on the warrior’s role or preference.
The gun portion of the weapon, though strange in appearance, utilized fairly orthodox gunpowder-based firearm mechanisms. Shells were placed in the magazine, which fed into a chamber connected to a barrel, with a firing pin, trigger, and an ejection port to discharge spent cartridges.
The blade was traditionally double-edged and curved. It was attached to a mechanism located on the under-barrel portion of the gun, with either a lever located somewhere on the haft/stock of the weapon, or a button designed to be tapped on the ground at the pommel, depending on the model.
When engaged, the blade sprang outward and locked into its scythe configuration, though several models had blades long enough that they could also be swung with the blade folded down like an axe.
Late models featured a two-directional mechanism that allowed the blade to be folded with an additional tap of the button. But many had to be pushed back down and locked into place manually.

Remnants of Hadean War Scythes are a fairly common find in Xenish archaeology. Particularly in known battle site locations across the Leodora Desert, and though there are collectors, they are usually not worth a substantial sum. However, this particular example is worth mentioning, as it is in such improbably pristine condition that it was at first thought to be a reproduction.

The artifact in question is a late-model 10-gauge heavy shotgun-style Hadean War Scythe, with an oversized blade. Its functionality was demonstrated on the night of Lampusdee the 29th, 2nd Quenchmoon by its yet-to-be-identified hooded wielder. Discharging the weapon twice in a convenience store robbery, then threatening the shop owner by extending the blade, and slicing a metal display shelf in half, before escaping into the night only taking several bags of junk food. The recovered shell casings are puzzling, as they appear to be genuine Hade craft, but are far, far too new to be possible.

These cosplayers are getting a little too into their roleplaying if you ask me.