>It's not so much that Anthy is creating it as that she's
>acquiring it. It's a bit of sorcery: everybody's heart
>(spiritually speaking) is a sword, and a person with the appropriate
>spiritual connection to someone else can draw that sword forth (make
>it manifest in the corporeal world, if you prefer). They're physical
>manifestations of their owners' spiritual hearts. In UF, this
>works out quite nicely for the cross-tie to Cephiro, which is a world
>of magic defined by will and emotion anyway.

*blink* Actually, going back and reading my own post, it's amazing how pathetically biased my hypothetical questions were. It was obvious that I had already come to a conclusion and was then looking to support it. But, to be frank, your explanation makes a hell of a lot more sense, especially given the Black Rose Duelists' method for acquiring their own swords. As for Cephiro, I've only seen part of the first MKR season. But you're right, it does fit in remarkably well. It sort of begs the question, though, whether people other than Akio and Anthy could exert their will and get powers of their own, and perhaps explains something of how Utena invokes Dios in her duels. Pure speculation, of course, and it might not even fit that well. But it's a thought.

>
>Now, I'm not saying that my interpretation is the correct one for the
>original series, because how would I know - they never provide enough
>data for a full conclusion. But it's the one that's correct for the
>UF version, anyway, and also happens to be the way I
>think it works in the original.

--"I invoke the rites of fiery Muspelheim, and give thy soul up to the inferno's embrace..."