One of the most deadly weapons used by the Yuuzhan Vong,
the amphistaff wasn't strictly a weapon at all. It was in fact
a living creature, capable of great damage to all who came
near.
Amphistaffs, being living creatures, were born rather
than created. They grew in large amphistaff groves,
emerging from deep-rooted polyps. Even at this early stage,
amphistaffs were carnivorous, using their teeth to tear into prey.
Their feeding nourished both the amphistaff and its polyp.
Eventually, the amphistaff would grow too large for the polyp,
and break off. Wild amphistaffs either planted themselves in the
ground to become new polyps, or were captured and bonded
with a Yuuzhan Vong warrior.
The amphistaff featured strange power glands, which it used to harden all or parts of its body. While usually a snake-like creature, in this state the amphistaff resembled some kind of spear. It could also narrow its neck and tail, which, when hardened, would act as a sharp razor, adding to the living weapon's lethality. The edge of an amphistaff was so sharp, it could cut through almost anything, though vonduun crab armour - worn by the Yuuzhan Vong to protect themselves in battle - was one of the few substances it could not cut. As well as being used as a spear or a whip, amphistaffs were also venomous, and could spit poison into the eyes of an opponent twenty meters away. The poison blinded the victim instantly, and ensured a slow death were it to seep through their pores.
Another remarkable aspect of the amphistaff was its ability to repel a lightsaber. When the Praetorite Vong launched their invasion force into the galaxy, Mara Jade Skywalker came up against the Yuuzhan Vong warrior Yomin Carr, wielding an amphistaff. She found her lightsaber could not cut through the weapon in its hardened state, though that wasn't entirely true: a lightsaber could actually penetrate an amphistaff's tough body, but the weapon was able to heal itself so quickly that it appeared to deflect it. However, the head of an amphistaff proved to be its weak point. |
