[quote=@HereComesTheSnow]
Sounds to me like the katana might be a more ceremonial holdover from earlier in the Republic's history— maybe kenjutsu still survives as a martial art, but the very maritime Brothers that Imre would have devoured years of fencing under now prefer the single-handed, swept-hilt [i]Bilbao/Spada da lato/Espada Ropera[/i] genre since it's easier to use when you're keeping ahold of the rigging or something. Maybe a transition that came in when the Keepers of Light started shaping swords out of anti-magic coral instead of the [i]tamahagane[/i] method for steel? That'd make sense since we're kind of in an archipelago situation by my read of things
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He'sSpeakingEnglishIKnowIt.mp3

Yes. Let's go with that.