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Been trying to figure out what the Venatori with the sickles are doing. They're fighting weird—swinging them almost like axes. But a sickle's blade doesn't face outward like an axe blade does. A sickle's blade faces down perpendicular to the handle. You'd swing it to chop down more (or hook onto something if you were trying to catch hold and then climb). Or an expert would snap their wrist back right as they connected so that the blade twists along the point of impact. That's how you cut through stuff cleanly with a single slice.
These guys are clearly trained. So why fight that way?
Update: Talked with Neve. It's because they aren't trying to get quick kills. They're trying to make bleeding wounds. The weapons are enchanted. They use blood magic to do their fancy vanishing-and-jumping-around tricks.
Assholes.