Enserric the Longsword

“this blade is almost as nasty as the personality that permanently resides within” – Description of blade

Enserric is a magical +4 sentient sword that was discovered in Undermountain among the hall of sleeping kings during Hordes of the Underdark

Appearance
It was not known what Enserric looked like in his mortal life, though one could assume through his initial title, that he was generally attired in grey clothing, or that he was aged enough to have grey hair, or possibly both instances.

As for the sword, the weapon is described to be a black with a red glittering effect, with the intensity increasing whenever Enserric speaks. Initially, the weapon appeared as a long sword, but due in part of Enserric’s presence within the sword, the size might have been varying, the possible shapes including, a dagger, a short sword or a great sword.

Personality
“''hmmm… Deader? More dead? Can anything be more dead? That’s the sort of question that makes Enserric clam up and mutter in agitation.''” --Description of Blade

Enserric is described as generally irritable, arrogant and easy to annoy. Even as a sword, Enserric holds himself in higher regard that most people, including the Hero of Undrentide. He has shown to have little regard or respect for several of the smaller-sized races.

Due to Enserric’s fading persona within the blade, Enserric has become more in tune to the nature of the weapon, possibally changing his personality from his original traits, such as no longer being unsettled by the sight of blood, stating what the blood of opponent’s taste like and making remarks on enjoying the sound of being used.

Enserric’s Biography
As the Gray

Because of Enserric’s fading memory, lack of renown and few close acquaintances, his early life has been largely lost to time. From the few shreds of information that can be ascertained, Enserric was possibly the son of a fighter, in whose footsteps he did not follow. During his childhood, (or possibly later) he was bullied by a half-orc, an event he does not remember fondly.

At some point, he later learned to be a wizard, after which he enlisted himself to an adventuring party, At some point before or during this, he sired a daughter (though who the mother was, is not known), who was largely neglected due to his absence and general lack of interest in her.

Deader than Dead

Later on, the Enserric’s adventuring party decided to venture through Undermountain in search of treasure and glory, which eventually lead to the Hall of Sleeping Kings. It was there that Enserric found the sword in the hands of one of the aforementioned Kings. Intrigued by the weapon, Enserric attempted to take the sword as his own, only to awake its owner and be slain by it.

When this happened, the soul of Enserric became aware that he was being absorbed into the sword. Not willing to be consumed, Enserric tried to reverse the flow and escape back into his own body. This proved to be only partially successful, as while his soul was not consumed by the sword, his soul did not return to his body, and as such became a sort of extension of the sword, or perhaps just an echo of the soul consumed, as Enserric himself speculates.

As he tried to call out to his companions to save his body, they simply fled into further reaches of Undermountain, whether this meant they were killed by other means or managed to leave with their lives, it was clear that Enserric was abandoned.

For the next four to five decades, Enserric spent a very unhappy existence as a sword, seeing very little to no action on the part of his owner, and that the only adventurer that got as far as meeting Enserric and hearing his request for rescue merely took advantage of stealing Enserric’s belongings from his body. After which, the only thing he could watch was his remains being consumed by rats, leaving him feeling very (and understandably) undignified and bored.

A chance encounter

“''Pardon me to make a simple request, that an adventurer might just do as he asks for once? No? sigh… fine. Let’s start this out correctly, shall we?''” --Enserric the Grey

During the events of Hordes of the Underdark, the Hero of Undrentide was sent by the Waterdavian Lords to discover the nature of, and if possible, quell the invasion coming from Undermountain. This may have lead the hero into the Hall of Sleeping Kings, and also into Enserric. Seeing this, Enserric begged for the hero to be taken away from the hall, even willing to change his shape or even just to be sold off to a merchant just to leave.

Whenever the hero did or didn’t agree to the wizard’s request was not known. On the account that the hero refused, Enserric simply screams at being left behind again, infuriated that the Dead King wouldn’t do anything. On the other account that the hero accepted Enserric’s offer, the sword would be ecstatic in being rescued, while leaving the hero to fight a moderately difficult battle.

In the (possible) service of the Hero of Undrentide

“''So! You have rescued me from an existence of boredom. How can I ever repay you?''” --Enserric the Grey

After the battle in the latter case, the sword expresses his gratitude to being freed from the Sleeping King. After which, the hero stated his/her intention on what he/she will do with Enserric. It may have been possible that the hero sold Enserric to a merchant for a handsome price, which would be something that Enserric agreed to, as it was a more preferable fate than in the hands of a dead king, but is somewhat disappointed that the hero would be so willing to be rid of him.

On different reports, it was possible that the hero kept the sword for its powers, which did prove to be an effective weapon throughout the whole adventure, possibly even becoming more powerful than usual through the hero’s actions. In a few occasions, the hero would converse with Enserric, though whenever it was for advice, the sword merely gave a snide remark. Enserric did, when asked, tried to the best of his abilities to recount his early life, though with very little success, which also leads him to the possible conclusion that he is in fact, not Enserric at all, but rather an echo made by the sword when it consumed a soul. He also speculated that as a “cure” for his predicament, he could try and transfer his soul into an empty body, or a construct, though is in doubt that such a thing could be possible, and that it would do little good, as his mind is already fragmented as it is.

In the end, it would appear that Enserric has resigned to his fate as a sword, and takes a small consolation that as a sword, he is no longer held for his actions, he is simply there to be used for whatever.

Fate

Should have the hero have kept the blade, the sword's fate is unknown. Whether the hero still wields the blade, sold it, or passed hands to another adventurer are possible outcomes. Moreover, if Enserric himself still speaks within the blade or as he suggested, has his conscience truly eradicated by the sword is equally unknown.

The Sword’s Biography
In Regards to the sword, its origins are completely unknown. While it might be speculated that it might be an artefact from the times of the ancient north, due to where the Hero of Undrentide located the blade, but it may be equally possible that Halaster merely found the sword somewhere else and gave it to one of the sleeping kings to act as an extra precaution and/or a lure for adventurers. Regardless, the sword was most like of a dark creation due to its nature of stealing the life force of even its owner to fuel its power.

Relationships
Family

Enserric stated that when he was alive, he had a father whom wished that Enserric took up the occupation of a fighter for adventuring, though this wish was obviously not carried out. Enserric also mentioned that he once had a daughter in life, who he expects likely to be dead or very old at least. In the latter case, he doubts that the said child would want to see her father again, due to his poor and generally absent parenting with her, and the fact his current state as a sword would be generally be a generally uncomfortable encounter as he has trouble remembering his mortal years.

Friends

It was highly unlikely that Enserric made many if any friends, due to the high status he puts himself in. Enserric stated that Prior to his exploration of Undermountian, the wizard was part of an adventuring party though the names, numbers and occupations of his comrades was lost to his failing memory. It was not likely a very close relationship, as Enserric stated that his body was abandoned by his comrades to further explore Undermountain, as such, the deceased wizard states that he finds the idea of his comrades being slain by the same weapon he fell to would be an appealing one.

When he was retrieved by The Hero of Undrentide, he was generally a serviceable, if irritable weapon. The sword generally does not think very highly of the hero, generally criticising his/her performance at swordplay, or the treatment he gets as a sword. Though ultimately, is grateful of the liberation from boredom at the hands of the sleeping king, and does show appreciation at the occasional sympathy he receives from the hero.

Abilities
Beyond the fact that Enserric was a wizard, it was not known what talents Enserric had before his soul was absorbed into the blade, though it could be assumed that he was able to cast conjuration spells on the account of him mentioning that he made a habit of summoning elementals, and considering where he was found, it was possible that he was a fairly competent one (or highly overestimated his skills). He has stated that he generally relied on his spells in combat, very rarely using any weapons, which by his choice was a crossbow. He was also, (by his own self proclamation) highly intelligent which was greater than anyone he found in his company, though possibly lacked prudence necessary for self-preservation (which has ultimately cost him his life).

As for the sword itself, its principle power was to draw the life-force out of its opponents and use it to heal the wielder. A more exotic though temporary property of the sword was to form a symbiotic link with the wielder, by absorbing some of the life force of the user to create a stronger enchantment on the blade itself. As the sword, Enserric had some control over the said powers and indeed its shape, able to change it into a larger or smaller than its initial size, though was only able to do this once as a plead to be rescued.

Notable Quotes
Hero of Undrentide:  "Do you have any advice for me?"

Enserric:  "You're asking a sword for advice? Here's some advice, DON'T DO THAT."

Enserric: During Combat  "Hmmm... is it dead yet?"

Hero of Undrentide:  "You appear to be affecting my health, is there any reason for that?"

Enserric:  "Hmmm... I'm not quite sure, I noticed that myself..."

Hero of Undrentide:  "What do you mean 'you're not sure'?"

Enserric:  "NEED I remind you that I did not start of existence as this weapon!? And that the last owner of this blade was QUITE DEVOID OF ANY HEALTH AT ALL!?!"