<p>Black Keys are a type of conceptual weapons (albeit weak), called Keys of Providence. They are essentially charms used by agents of the Church to exorcise demons. They are meant to bind and/or seal spiritual phenomena (e.g. Vampires hunted by the Church), rather than hurt them.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Church#Black_Keys" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Type-Moon Wiki</a> notes that: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If they hit the shadow of a target, the target will be unable to move their body, leaving them to the mercy of the black key's wielder. It could also be used to track down and seal or injure a target until its wielder tells it to stop doing so, or unless it is destroyed or neutralized by an outside force. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>It's been noted that they can take the form of many types weapons, but are usually in the form of long, rapier-like swords or spears, which they are generally thrown as a dagger or used to stab opponents. Ciel-senpai and Kotomine Kirei are notable wields of these weapons.</p>

<p><a href="http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Magic_Spells#Sacraments_2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sacraments</a>, which are basically spell-sigils, can be engraved in Black Keys to give them different effects.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/5QJFt.jpg" alt="It&#39;s like a cross that&#39;s also a throwing dagger"></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-05T21:19:18.647Z
Stupid me, searched "black key" but not "fate black key"... Ah, so no rockstar. I should give up on that. By the way, what is that screenshot from? The game?
Saturn
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-05T23:04:19.147Z
@Omega yes it's from the visual novel however it wont appear until you first see them, quite sure it wont be until Heaven's Feel when Kotomine uses them on Assassin
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-05T15:38:46.593Z
2013-09-05T15:38:46.593Z
кяαzєя
<p>I was watching Fate Zero, the fight between Kiritsugu and Kotomine. At some point, both are thinking about the resources at their disposal:</p>

<p>Kiritsugu has a grenade, a knife, etc. Kotomine has a handful of Reijus and something I'm not sure how is called, but according to the spanish subtitles I saw, it would be "Black Keys".</p>

<p>I don't think I've heard that term anywhere else in the (anime) series. Sounds like some kind of martial art thing, but a Google search tells me more about some rock band.</p>

<p>So, what's a "black key" here? Do they appear anywhere in the series? Or is Kotomine an accomplished rockstar during his free time?</p>

<fate-zero>
What's a "black key"?
# What's a "black key"?
Posted by: username_0 on 2013-09-05
I was watching Fate Zero, the fight between Kiritsugu and Kotomine. At some point, both are thinking about the resources at their disposal:

Kiritsugu has a grenade, a knife, etc. Kotomine has a handful of Reijus and something I'm not sure how is called, but according to the spanish subtitles I saw, it would be "Black Keys".

I don't think I've heard that term anywhere else in the (anime) series. Sounds like some kind of martial art thing, but a Google search tells me more about some rock band.

So, what's a "black key" here? Do they appear anywhere in the series? Or is Kotomine an accomplished rockstar during his free time?
**Tags:** fate-zero
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2013-09-05. Score: 9 | Accepted answer
Black Keys are a type of conceptual weapons (albeit weak), called Keys of Providence. They are essentially charms used by agents of the Church to exorcise demons. They are meant to bind and/or seal spiritual phenomena (e.g. Vampires hunted by the Church), rather than hurt them.

The [Type-Moon Wiki](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Church#Black_Keys) notes that:

> If they hit the shadow of a target, the target will be unable to move their body, leaving them to the mercy of the black key's wielder. It could also be used to track down and seal or injure a target until its wielder tells it to stop doing so, or unless it is destroyed or neutralized by an outside force.

It's been noted that they can take the form of many types weapons, but are usually in the form of long, rapier-like swords or spears, which they are generally thrown as a dagger or used to stab opponents. Ciel-senpai and Kotomine Kirei are notable wields of these weapons.

[Sacraments](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Magic_Spells#Sacraments_2), which are basically spell-sigils, can be engraved in Black Keys to give them different effects.

![It's like a cross that's also a throwing dagger](https://i.sstatic.net/5QJFt.jpg)
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2013-09-05): Stupid me, searched "black key" but not "fate black key"... Ah, so no rockstar. I should give up on that. By the way, what is that screenshot from? The game?  
> **username_2** (2013-09-05): @Omega yes it's from the visual novel however it wont appear until you first see them, quite sure it wont be until Heaven's Feel when Kotomine uses them on Assassin  
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