Difference between revisions of "Nightblood"

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== Powers and Characteristics ==
Nightblood is sentient, but lacks a human context for its intelligence. Time has no meaning for it, nor can it well understand the dynamic aspect of human personalities. It can speak into Vasher's mind, as well as Vivenna's, and reads their surface thoughts whether they want it to or not. Though he thinks so, Nightblood doesn't need to sleep.{{ref|17s|4254|post|66703|Does Nightblood need to sleep?}}
 
When its clasp is undone and even a bit of its blade shows, it leaks an inky smoke. The smoke is the Breaths that it has absorbed from its victims, twisted and fouled, leaking back out.{{ref|annotation|wb|chapter=51}} Those it defines as "evil" feel drawn to possess it; once an "evil" person picks Nightblood up, the sword is able to take control and will murder anyone in the vicinity who is evil, finally killing its wielder when there is no one left.
 
A "good" person, someone who wouldn't want to use Nightblood for evil purposes, feels sick in Nightblood's vicinity.
 
Even while still in its scabbard, once Nightblood is unclapsed every part of it is a deadly weapon that--literally--yearns to kill evil-doers. It can smash bones and even run a man through. Once drawn, Nightblood becomes incredibly powerful. Its voice and will become overpowering. Lifeless that it touches disappear in a puff of smoke and stone also disappears when struck. It is not shown whether living humans struck by Nightblood's blade would disappear like the Lifeless or would die in some other way, but one would assume even a minor cut by Nightblood would result in instant death.
 
So long as Nightblood is unsheathed, it drains the Breath from its wielder, drawing Breath faster the longer it is used. Vasher claims that if it drained all the Breath from him he would die; butthis whetherwould thisalso happenshappen to allnot-Returned wielderswielding orNightblood isunsheathed.{{ref|?|979|69|Does onlythe becauserisk ... of Vasher'sdying Returnedfrom naturewielding isNightblood unsheathed too long unclear... also extend to those who are not Returned?}}
 
== Notes ==