Nightblood
Nightblood | |
---|---|
Type | weapon |
Creators | Shashara, Vasher |
Owner | Vasher |
World of Origin | Nalthis |
[[Category: Spoilers for Book shorthand incorrect]]
“You cannot tempt the hearts of men who are pure, Nightblood.”
—VasherCite error: Invalid<ref>
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Nightblood is a sentient sword on Nalthis. It was created through the experiments of Vasher and his associates, the Five Scholars.
Though it was speculated that Hoid wields Nightblood when on Roshar acting as the King's Wit, it's now confirmed that his blade is not Nightblood.Cite error: Invalid <ref>
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Nightblood has, somehow, traveled to Roshar. The sword was given to Szeth after Jezrien's honorblade was taken from him.Cite error: Invalid <ref>
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Creation
Nightblood was created in a collaboration between Vasher and Shashara. It took a thousand Breaths and a very difficult visualization to Awaken steel. After much deliberation, the Command that was decided on was "Destroy evil." Unfortunately, a sentient sword doesn't really know what evil is. The Breaths it inherited decided "evil was someone who would try to take the sword and use it for evil purposes, selling it, manipulating and extorting others, that sort of thing."Cite error: Invalid <ref>
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Vasher decided the knowledge to Awaken steel was far too dangerous and when Shashara didn't agree, he felt it was better to kill her than risk the knowledge getting out.
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.Cite error: Invalid <ref>
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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.Cite error: Invalid <ref>
tag; refs with no name must have content Those it defines as "evil" feel drawn to possess it; once an "evil" person picks Nightblood up, the sword amplifies the wielder's bloodlust causing him or her to slaughter anyone nearby and then commit suicide with the blade.
A "good" person, someone who wouldn't want to use Nightblood for evil purposes, feels sick in Nightblood's vicinity. This sensation of nausea is suppressed if the user has drawn Nightblood and had his or her breath drained. It is of note that Szeth makes no mention of any sensation of nausea or lust for the sword upon encountering Nightblood.
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; this would also happen to not-Returned wielding Nightblood unsheathed.Cite error: Invalid <ref>
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Notes