Subtle Knife, The
From Srafopedia
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Disambiguation
This article deals with the tool known as the Subtle Knife. For information on the book entitled "The Subtle Knife," see Subtle Knife, The (novel)
Introduction
The Subtle Knife is one of the Three Tools. It was created by the Guild of the Torre degli Angeli which can cut apart any matter, even slicing matter itself. This allows it to create windows to other worlds. It is prophesized to destroy the Authority and it allowed Dust to leak out into the Abyss.
Appearance
The Subtle Knife has a long blade attached to a shorter hilt. The blade has two sides, one which is sharp enough to cut the bonds between any matter and appears as an ordinary knife, the other which is sharp enough to cut apart matter itself, even elementary particles, and appears to have a strange, subtle, rainbow-like colour. Lyra compares the blade to the edge used in the silver guillotine during intercision. The latter side allows a window to another world to appear from the slice it makes. The ability to slice windows to other worlds comes from the sharpness of its tip. The hilt of the knife has an angel made of lines woven onto the surface, allowing for better grip. The knife comes with a belt and a sheath which locks the knife into place so that it doesn't cut anything else. The knife selects its bearers by cutting off the two left-most fingers on the left hand through fate. It also protects the bearer from Spectres.
The knife allows the knife-bearer's mind to come in tune with the tip of the blade when the bearer is in negative capability. This causes the bearer to feel what are described as "snags" at the edge of the knife. Once the bearer locks onto one of these snags, the bearer can slice it to open a gap between worlds. The bearer can go to different snags next to each other, and each snag tells the bearer something about the world. For example, on type of snag sends the signal to the bearer that the corresponding elevation at another world is the same as the world the bearer is currently in. When the bearer cuts a window into the Suburbs of the Dead, the books describe the feelings as like sliding across a mirror. When the bearer tries to open a world while thinking about someone he/she loves, the knife shatters into pieces, as true love is the one thing the knife cannot cut.
Names of the Subtle Knife
- The Subtle Knife
- Æsahættr
- Teleutaia Makhaira (SK 312)
Rules of the Guild regarding the Knife
In TSK, Giacomo Paradisi tells Will how the knife should be used, although with the lack of time they were much abbreviated to the necessary, and the ones Mr. Paradisi could remember. 1.Never open without closing 2. Never let anyone else use the knife 3. Never use it for a base purpose 4. Keep it secret
Uses
The subtle knife was originally created for the purpose of travelling to other worlds. The Guild used this ability to obtain many treasures from across different worlds and the people of the world of Cittàgazze became very wealthy because of this, Cittàgazze itself getting its name from the magpie, which steals shiny objects. The knife bearers themselves had much ability with the other side of the knife, as few obstacles, material or otherwise, could not be overcome by the ability to cut literally anything. The knife could be used to cut apart barriers, cut apart objects to use for varying reasons, or attacking something, among other things.
The knife was discovered by the angels and discussed. The cliff-ghasts also knew of its existence and called it the Æsahættr, or God-destroyer. It gained reputation as it was prophesized to destroy the Authority, God. People found that no matter how powerful the Authority was, it could still be cut by the knife. Eventually, Will used the knife to cut apart the Authority's protective crystal and the wind blew the Authority apart, so the prophecy was arguably fulfilled.
It also affected Dust. The windows, which linked one world to the next, went through the Abyss, so Dust leaked out in between the edges of the windows into the Abyss. This caused Dust to accelerate and flow into the windows so that certain organisms didn't receive as much Dust as they did before. Also, a form leaked out from the Abyss and, when it reached the materials world, it formed the Spectres. This destroyed the society of Cittàgazze and also harmed other worlds. So, while it helped people obtain Dust by defeating the Authority, it also took Dust away from the worlds.
History
The subtle knife was created approxiamately 300 years before Lyra and Will's journey by the Guild of the Torre degli Angeli. At that time, many windows were created, and many were closed, but some remained open and allowed Dust to leak out. This was seen in many different worlds, such as the world of the mulefa, where Dust leaked to the window and the trees which collected sraf failed to obtain enough and died. Eventually Spectres came and wiped out much of the population of the world of Cittàgazze, destroying its economy also.
300 years later, Lord Boreal lived in Our World and also saw the world of Cittàgazze, where he met the knife-bearer Giacomo Paradisi and tried to steal the knife, which he knew was prophesized to kill the Authority and could give him power. Giacomo tried to lure Boreal into his world where Spectres would attack him, but Boreal didn't fall for it. Instead, Will found the window and entered that world. Later, Tullio, a teenager, found his way to the Torre degli Angeli and subdued Giacomo, stealing the knife, though he was not destined for it. Lord Boreal knew that he needed children to acquire the knife and stole Lyra's alethiometer. With it, he made a deal with Lyra and Will. If they brought him the subtle knife, he would give them the alethiometer. Will fought Tullio and obtained the knife, using it to steal the alethiometer from Lord Boreal. Giacomo committed suicide since he would not have the knife the Spectres would attack.
John Parry knew of the knife, which led Lee Scoresby to look for him so Parry would use it to help Lyra. Lee took John Parry into Cittàgazze, and after Lee's death John Parry found Will atop mountains in the wilderness of the world. The father explained to his son that the knife would be used to destroy the Authority and he was destined to wield it. Will went alone with Baruch and Balthamos to find the kidnapped Lyra and learned how to access many different worlds, one time escaping from Metatron with it. However, when he confronted Mrs Coulter, who kidnapped Lyra, Mrs Coulter used her abilities to remind Will of his mother. While trying to open a window to escape, the knife shattered into pieces due to Mrs Coulter. They escaped through a window Will left open and later Iorek Byrnison reluctantly forged it back together.
Later, Will and Lyra used the knife to find their way to a unique world, the World of the Dead. Will also used the knife to cut apart the lock on the door to the Land of the Dead. However, no elevation in any other world was the same as the one in the World of the Dead, so all the windows were just stone walls which would take too long to dig out of. However, Tialys and Lady Salmakia reasoned with the harpies to allow them to go through a cave system to find higher elevation. After crossing over the Abyss, they found the top and opened a window the world of the mulefa, where the ghosts happily dissolved. They went to another section of the caves to enter Lord Asriel's Republic of Heaven, where Lyra and Will ran to find their dæmons. Along the way, they found the Authority, freed him from his protective crystal, and he dissolved in the wind. They got their dæmons and opened a window to the world of the mulefa.
Later, Xaphania explained to Lyra and Will that the windows allowed Dust to leak out of the worlds and Spectres to form. With this knowledge, Will taught Xaphania how to close all the windows so the angels could do so and Will and Lyra decided that they had to return to their own worlds. One window was left open, the window that was connected to the World of the Dead. Lyra left Will from the Botanic Garden and Will thought of Lyra while cutting a window, shattering the knife into pieces.
Trivia
Theories
In the Adaptations
In the Movie Adaptations
In the Stage Adaptations
In the Radio Adaptations
Sources
| The Three Tools |
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