Dragonslair (pronounced "Dragonslayer") was a magical longsword that served as a phylactery for the dracolich Dretchroyaster.[1][2]
Name[]
Dretchroyaster, ever fond of riddles, named the sword Dragonslair as a pun on the term "dragon's lair", which is pronounced nigh identically to "dragonslayer". The sword was, after all, created to serve as a phylactery (and therefore a dragon's lair, in a sense), yet it was also forged to kill green dragons.[1]
Description[]
Crafted almost entirely from mithral, Dragonslair had a straight blade treated with everbright to prevent any tarnishing or corrosion, and to ensure the blade always shone brightly. The hilt, also made from mithral, resembled a stylized green dragon wrapped in its own, spiraling tail, with the tail serving as the sword's grip. The dragon's stretched-open jaw formed the hand-guard, with the base of the blade etched to resemble a green dragon's gaseous dragon's breath billowing forth. The part of the sword that served as Dretchroyaster's actual phylactery was the rainbow-colored rogue stone embedded in the pommel, which would glow dully green when the dracolich's spirit was present within.[1]
The blade was inscribed with runes in Auld Wyrmish that spelled out "Dragonslair". These runes were enchanted with a permanent spell of confuse languages causing most anyone attempting to magically translate them (through comprehend languages or a similar effect) to mistranslate the text as "Dragonslayer". This effect could be negated with dispel magic, albeit not permanently.[1]
Classification[]
Dragonslair was one of the swords of dragonblood,[2] a series of (for the most part) dragon slayer[1] (or dragon bane) weapons originally created to combat Dretchroyaster.[3]
Powers[]
In addition to being a powerful enchanted weapon in its own right, Dragonslair possessed a number of special powers and properties. The blade was especially deadly when wielded against green dragons, but was significantly less powerful when swung against any type of dracolich (and especially a green dracolich, like its master).[1]
The rogue stone set in the pommel had been enchanted with twelve individual gemjump spells from twelve of its previous owners,[1] all of whom were archmagi,[2] seven of whom were associated with the Cult of the Dragon,[1] yet none of these castings were known to the Cult at large. The gemjump effect allowed these wizards to immediately teleport to Dragonslair's location and retrieve it,[2] provided it wasn't in an area of dead magic or stuck in an anti-magic shell.[1]
In the event that Dretchroyaster was bested in combat, his spirit would enter the rogue stone and imbue Dragonslair with a plethora of additional powers. Perhaps most crucially, it would transform into a sentient weapon inhabited by Dretchroyaster himself. The dracolich would attempt to influence Dragonslair's wielder toward his goal: returning to dracolich form by seizing a dragon's corpse (preferably a green one) and then devouring Dretchroyaster's original body. The dracolich's spirit would readily employ spells of suggestion to achieve this, provided he could not simply dominate the wielder into his service.[1]
If Dretchroyaster's spirit came to dwell in the phylactery-stone, the wielder would be empowered with the ability to cast a number of spells, such as warp wood, water breathing, plant growth, and entangle. They would also be able to detect the closest green dragon on the same plane of existence (if any), and would become immune to the deleterious effects of gases.[1][2]
Finally, Dragonslair was enchanted with a permanent undetectable alignment spell that could not be dispelled.[1]
History[]
The history of Dragonslair began with the Cult of the Dragon's courting of Dretchroyaster. Although the Cult had long tried to convince the green dragon to become a dracolich, it took two near-death experiences at the hands of adventurers before Dretchroyaster acceded. The first occurred in the Year of the Snarling Dragon, 1279 DR, when he was nearly slain by the Crossed Swords, a coalition of independent adventuring companies. The second occurred in the Year of the Crown, 1351 DR, when the Merry Marauders attacked and nearly killed Dretchroyaster near Myth Drannor. Unbeknownst to Dretchroyaster, the Merry Marauders had been hired by Larkonlan, a wizard in the Cult's Sembian cell,[4] who wished to make the green dragon question his own mortality. Larkonlan had also outfitted the adventurers with swords of dragonblood, weapons specifically forged to harm Dretchroyaster (and dragons in general).[3]
Although he survived the encounter, barely, Dretchroyaster became fearful of adventurers and grew closer to the Cult of the Dragon, even accepting their offer of a new, safer lair. Eventually, in the Year of the Sword, 1365 DR, Dretchroyaster agreed to become a dracolich. He insisted, however, that his phylactery contain a number of safety features to ensure his survival.[5]
Working in tandem with a duergar master smith, Larkonlan created Dragonslair to meet Dretchroyaster's demands,[1] modeling the blade and its enchantments on the very swords of dragonblood that had nearly killed the dragon fourteen years earlier.[2]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 51. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 125. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 124. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.
- ↑ Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 47. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 48. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.