Magic Sword

Swords are central to any S&S tale – I mean it’s right there in the title. Somewhere somebody has probably written a Sword & Sorcery story with no swords in it, but really, I mean, why would you, aside from the desire to prove a point? True, there are plenty of other weapons with which to maim and kill, and spears, bows, axes and maces all get their due in the genre, but swords are special, and in fantasy we reach the very pinnacle of awesome: the magic sword.

There is actually a good amount of speculation about how swords came to occupy their lofty position in legend and fiction. After all, there are plenty of weapons better for getting through armor, and spears were a far more characteristic arm for much of history. Some have posited that the inherent equality of sword combat helped make it symbolic of fairness and honor. Two men with swords, barring other factors, are on an even footing, with only skill to separate them.

Some have theorized that it is simply that swords were expensive, and therefore reserved for the elite, that made them seem more important. This doesn’t seem to tell the whole story either, as there were periods where the production of swords all but ceased, after the widespread use of mail made the old slashing swords functionally useless. The long blade did not recover until the advent of iron and steel forging allowed longer, heavier weapons that could be used effectively.

But nevertheless, the cult of the sword survived, and flourishes to this day despite being an archaic weapon rendered obsolete on the modern battlefield. In fantasy literature, authors have been free to imagine swords possessed of extraordinary qualities, inspired by the legendary swords of myth and folklore. It seems to be the Vikings and Celts who really dug in on the idea, and through them we have the magical blades of the dark ages: Thyrfing, Durendal, Excalibur, and others.

Fiction has spawned its own host of enchanted blades, often with far more flashy and detailed powers than the rather nebulous qualities of a sword like Excalibur. In the dark ages, a sword that cut deep and didn’t break seemed like the best you could want, but modern fiction has proved impatient with such limitations, providing weapons that flame, dance, talk, and devour souls. This is all the more interesting when you realize that Sword & Sorcery has had a rather ambivalent history with such weapons.

After all, most of the great S&S heroes are all about self-reliance. Conan, Cormac, Turlough, Fafhrd and Kane are all products of their savage backgrounds. They lived hard and fought hard and it made them into men of iron – able to take immense amounts of punishment and keep going. In a scenario like this, even having a favorite weapon can be seen as a sign of weakness. A real action hero should be able to fight and kill with anything that comes to hand. Both Kull and Conan fight with whatever they can find, and in one case Conan batters an enemy to death with a rock after his other weapons break.

Also, you have to take into account the adversarial view taken of magic in a true S&S world. In these kinds of stories, magic is the weapon of the enemy. It is an untrustworthy, dangerous force that will drive men mad or worse. A magic weapon in a world of Sword & Sorcery is always going to be seen as evil, or at least a thing unfeeling and unfriendly to humankind. Magic is always dangerous, and so a magic weapon would be dangerous to both foes and wielder alike.

Some heroes have characteristic weapons. Solomon Kane always has his rapier, Fafhrd and the Mouser have their favored weapons, and name them – but this is never more than an affectation. Fafhrd calls whatever sword he picks up Greywand. There’s nothing special about the sword itself. And while Turlough has his specially-made axe, it is never supposed to be magical.

The one real exception to this is Elric, and his monstrous weapon Stormbringer. And this brings the whole issue into focus, because how Stormbringer works in the narrative shows why S&S heroes do not have magic swords.

Because Sword & Sorcery stories are highly individualistic: one character against a world that doesn’t care about them. S&S heroes cut their way through life, and so for maximum drama everything must be stacked against them. A reliable magic weapon is an advantage they have that no one else does, and it weakens them as characters. Conan would be less impressive if he won his battles with an invincible sword rather than just because he is tough as hell. In fact, a constant trope in Howard’s tales is weapons breaking and armor rent to pieces while the heroes endure. The message is plain: steel isn’t strong, flesh is stronger. Or rather, the will that drives it.

So the one famous magical sword in the Sword & Sorcery canon is Stormbringer, and that works because while the runesword is an awesome weapon that makes Elric a more than mortal opponent, it also serves as an antagonist for him. The sword, after all, has a will of its own, and on many occasions it does things Elric doesn’t want it to do. It feeds him with power, but sometimes that power drives him mad and makes him kill without thinking. Sometimes the blade simply turns in his hand at the wrong moment and strikes down those he loves. He needs it, but he cannot control it, and it acts against him enough that he cannot trust it.

This sets up a dynamic that feeds into the essentially lone-wolf nature of S&S narratives – Elric has a magic sword, and it does awesome stuff that is cool to read about, but it is his enemy. Magic in a Sword & Sorcery world is not a benevolent or morally blank force, it is a dangerous power that always has a cost to be paid for using it. It is a mark of corruption and evil to rely on magic, and a mark of insanity to trust it. So a reliable magic sword does not fit the style of a genuine S&S story. If there is to be a magical weapon or tool of any kind, it must be mysterious, dangerous, and perhaps best left alone.