RefusesToElaborate Posted November 23, 2024 Posted November 23, 2024 Spoilers for the Elric Saga Spoiler On the Dragon Isle was a Sorcerer-King of a decadent empire long past its prime. This Albino Emperor was weak and sickly and required potions and drugs to live, he did so until he found Stormbringer. A sword that spoke in a voice only he could hear, that strengthened his weak body, and it hungered. It was perfectly fine with feasting on the blood of Elrics enemies, but it had a preference for the blood of Elrics loved ones. Of course while Elric was more fascinated with the idea of morality than other Melniboneans, and introduced wild concepts to court like taking pleasure in the pleasure of others, though he was still a Melnibonean and more than willing to feed Stormbringer. At the End of Time, with Elric and Stormbringer being the last two beings alive in the multiverse, Stormbringer declares "Farewell my friend, I was always a thousand times more evil than thou." Kills Elric and lives on as the only being to make it to the next multiverse. The Eternal Champion is a mainstay of Moorcocks multiverse and is always accompanied by the Black Blade. Not always made manifest as a weapon, but always an avatar for chaos. Here are the similarities I've noticed between Stormbringer and Nightblood. Black swords. Hungry boys. Uncaring of morality. Fighting their wielder Is a real stupid idea. Somewhat impatient and impulsive personalities. Brandon has said Nightblood can be sated and become full, Stormbringer has overeaten in the Elric saga and mid-battle became heavy in Elrics hands where he would usually do most of the fighting for Elric. Now of course they have separate powers, Nightblood saps the investiture from all things around it, though Stormbringer can cut a hole in reality for portal goodness. Has Sabderson said anything about Nightblood and Stormbringer?
Treamayne Posted November 23, 2024 Posted November 23, 2024 2 hours ago, RefusesToElaborate said: Has Sanderson said anything about Nightblood and Stormbringer? He has. Yes, Stormbringer was part of the Inspiration. WoB: Spoiler Quote Brandon Sanderson Nightblood Nightblood's name, by the way, is supposed to sound kind of like the names of the Returned. I played with various different ways for his powers to manifest. I liked the idea of him driving those who hold him to kill anyone nearby. It seemed to work with the concepts that have come before—a kind of unholy, sentient mix of Stormbringer and the One Ring. The strangest thing about him is the idea that his form isn't that important. The sheath is like a binding for him, keeping his power contained. So drawing him out isn't like drawing a regular weapon, but rather an unleashing of a creature who has been kept chained. Once that creature is unleashed, he becomes a weapon—even if he's unleashed only a little bit. The sheath itself turns into a weapon, twisting those around it. You don't need to stab someone with Nightblood to kill them; smashing them on the back with the sheath works just as well. It will crunch bones, but beyond that, merely touching them with the sheath when the smoke is leaking can be deadly. Warbreaker Annotations (Feb. 7, 2011) Quote Panelist I'm thinking of the characters of metal. Other than the One Ring, you have Elric's sword, that can ingest your soul. Brandon Sanderson Yeah, oh, I love Stormbringer. Stormbringer is an amazing sword. If you guy shaven't read Elric, it was the inspiration for Nightblood, was the Elric cycle with Stormbringer. It's this sword that sucks people's souls and gives the main character the ability to be strong, 'cause he was born very weak. But it usually harvests the souls of the people he loves most as he's trying to save the world, and it's this give-and-take. Do I use this powerful sword, because I'm really saving the world; it's really important. But it's probably gonna suck the souls of everyone I love. Creates some really great tension. But those books are kicks to the face. They are not pleasant stories necessarily. ICon 2019 (Oct. 15, 2019) For another, similar effect, if you have not checked out Brent Weeks' Night Angel Series (Content and Language Warning) - Retribution and the Ka'kari: Spoiler Retribution isn't really what's fueling the effect, just the sword that the Ka'Kari often dwells upon - but the Ka'kari (Spoiler Warning): Spoiler Makes the person to whom it is bonded immortal - at the cost of every time the person dies, they are sent back and somebody they love dies in their place instead. . . . . . It takes most of the trilogy (and many dead friends) before Kylar (the MC) figures this out. 1
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