| “ | Take me! Wield me! Make me the instrument of your dance! Oh, I beg! It is all I was made for, all I desire! I am better than the others. As are yourself! Better than that woman, I'm now knowing. Oh, do not deny me, my love! Wield me, I'm begging! Only in your hands might I be whole! | „ |
| ~ Kazid'hea trying to convince Drizzt to wield it while possessing Catti-bree. |
Khazid'hea is a major character in R.A Salvatore's The Legend of Drizzt, as well as the titular main antagonist of the spin-off comic Cutter and the short story Comrades at Odds. It is a sentient and magical sword which has the ability to speak with and sometimes control its user. It mainly desired to be used by the most powerful and skilled fighters, particularly violent ones. To this end, it would often get its wielders killed in battle so that it could be taken by stronger users.
Appearance[]
Khazid'hea was a beautiful and well-crafted longsword that could glow faintly red. It would often change its pommel to appeal to its respective wielder, being a demon head for Dantrag Baenre and a unicorn head for Catti-bree Battlehammer.
Personality[]
Khazid'hea possessed a somewhat alien intelligence and consciousness. It could be best described as extremely egotistical, desiring above all else to be wielded by the person it saw as the most skilled swordfighter. It saw every other being as either a tool to achieve this or an obstacle that stood in its way, and manipulated its wielders accordingly, oftentimes leading to their deaths so that it would be found by fighters it saw as superior. It was also very bloodthirsty, mindlessly hunting bloodshed and death, and constantly trying to convince its wielders to kill everyone around them, allies and enemies alike, even trying to convince a woman to kill her own baby on one occasion simply out of boredom. Despite this, it could be reasoned with if it was satisfied by its wielder's skill.
History[]
Creation[]
Khazid'hea's origins are unclear. One the theories about its creation state that it was a demonic consciousness somehow forced into the form of a sword in the abyss thousands of years before recorded history. Another theory states that it was a sword left in some strange part of the Underdark where it was exposed to faerzress and given consciousness. This theory is more plausible, since the sword was at some point found by the drow.
Wielded by Dantrag Baenre[]
At some point, Kazid'hea was obtained by House Baenre, the most powerful house of the drow city of Menzoberranzan. The sword was taken as the chief weapon of the house's weapons master Dantrag Baenre. Khazid'hea persuaded to powerful fighter into challenging every famous fighter in the city and helped him win, until he was arguably the most skilled swordman in all of Menzoberranzan.
One day, the drow renegade Drizzt Do'Urden came to the city. Drizzt was a legendarily skilled sword-fighter, so Kazid'hea encouraged Dantrag to fight him. Dantrag eventually did confront Drizzt and was killed in the subsequent battle, which pleased Kazid'hea, because it wanted to be wielded by someone as skilled as Drizzt. In order to appeal to the renegade, it changed it pommel to a unicorn head. However, Drizzt only used scimitars, and instead gave the sword to his friend Catti-bree.
Wielded by Catti-bree[]
Drizzt and Catti-bree returned to the surface, where they lived in the dwarven city of Mithral Hall, where the two would have friendly sparring matches regularly. Kazid'hea was bitter at Drizzt for refusing to wield it, and during one of said sparring matches, tried to make Catti-bree kill him. This failed, but Catti-bree, though unsettled, didn't realize that the sword had put those thoughts of murder into her head.
During the Time of Troubles, a period of time where magic stopped working or backfired in unpredictable ways, Kazid'hea's power was increased, and it was able to possess Catti-bree. Now in a human body, it assaulted Drizzt, begging him to wield it while not explaining what it was or that it wasn't Catti-bree who was wielding it. A confused Drizzt was eventually able to understand the situation, and Catti-bree was able to take back her body. She then spent several days in the mountains trying to submit Kazid'hea to her will. She eventually succeeded, and Kazid'hea was satisfied with her as wielder, agreeing to be her sword.
Catti-bree used Khazid'hea when she had to defend Mithral Hall against the forces of Yvonnel Baenre shortly thereafter after. She then used it regularly for several years when living on the ship known as the Sea Sprite and fighting pirates on the sword Coast, before abandoning this life after a battle with the balor Errtu, during which she once again used Khazid'hea. She then carried Khazid'hea on her journey to destroy a different magical artifact known as the Crenshinibon, and during the battle with the crew as the pirate captain Sheila Kree.