Origins of Spellbreaker[]
The origins of Spellbreaker are very unclear.
There are two basic schools of thought for where it originated from:
1. Loraan is responsible for Spellbreaker's special abilities. Evidence for this:
- He's a powerful Wizard, obviously capable of making such a thing if anyone is.
- Vlad found it in his possession, and he even claims later (in Athyra) that it belongs to him.
- He seems very familiar with its abilities to block spells. (He gets fear in his eyes when he sees it in Vlad's hands in Taltos.)
- Godslayer is obviously not 100% the same as it used to be. (At the very least Teldra's soul is a new element)... We don't know for sure that Spellbreaker was even involved in the original version of the weapon.
- We have seen Wizards (namely Orlaan) place souls in inanimate objects before. (Placing Aliera's soul in a wooden staff)
2. Some argue that Spellbreaker derives its special abilities from the fact that it is a component of a Great Weapon that was disassembled previously, and that therefore Spellbreaker was like this before Loraan got ahold of it.
Evidence for this theory:
- Spellbreaker's additional powers (sentience, bonding with its owner, mysterious changing of shape and length, motile abilities) sound more like Great Weapon attributes than wizardly tinkering.
- It's got some ability to move itself and some tiny amount of sentience, both evident the first time Vlad sees it in Loraan's workshop. We know of Serioli investing weapons with sentience, but not Athyra wizards.
- If Loraan had invested it deliberately with the ability to bond to its bearer and stay in place, why was it sitting in a case instead of on Loraan's arm?
- If Spellbreaker wasn't one of the original Godslayer's components, what was?
- The Serioli whom Vlad and Morollan meet asks to be introduced to Spellbreaker and Blackwand, as if they were sentient beings. On being asked if Spellbreaker is a Great Weapon, the Serioli says "not yet." The Serioli also explains that there 'was/will be' a weapon called 'Destroyer of aspects of deity' and that Spellbreaker is somehow connected.
Possibly referenced in Sethra Lavode?[]
Regarding Spellbreaker, there is one speculation to add: That the chain belonging to Tsira, on which the amulet with Serioli markings was attached, was Spellbreaker, before it came into Loraan's possession. In support of this notion, Tsira says that the artifact was alleged to be able to "disrupt the workings of any sorcerous field." Which is precisely what Spellbreaker does, only with somewhat less pedantry. (Sethra Lavode)
Contact with other Great Weapons[]
A few more thoughts on Spellbreaker becoming Godslayer:
Something which may have been more important than it appeared was the fact that Spellbreaker was in contact with Blackwand, and then with Pathfinder, when connecting up the Necromantic Gate through Morrolan's Window and from Verra's Halls in Issola).
When Spellbreaker was in Verra's realm before (in Phoenix), it didn't do anything particular around Verra.
However, it rose and coiled in an aggressive manner in front of her in Issola. There are several possible explanations for this:
- Godslayer was literally hours away from being reformed. In particular, Spellbreaker is also within reaching distance of its long-lost companion dagger, as well as with Teldra. In other parts of Issola, Spellbreaker also has more autonomy than before, beginning when that dagger, and also Teldra, are first nearby.
- Spellbreaker may have been sympathetically taking on some of the anger that Vlad had against Verra after Phoenix.
- This happened at a point in time after Spellbreaker had been used to contact Blackwand. Could this contact have "awakened" Spellbreaker somehow? Note that when Verra made the connection to the Jenoine's Place from her Halls, she did it to Pathfinder. Perhaps she knew that Blackwand had caused Spellbreaker to become too aggressive, and she wanted to connect it to Pathfinder in the hopes that that would temper that aggressivness? Although to the left, we should note that she may simply have been more familiar with Pathfinder since it was her daughter's "toy". (One minor note: It's likely Verra knew of the connection between Godslayer and Pathfinder (and she clearly recognized Spellbreaker for what it was going to become) and she may simply have had Vlad contact Pathfinder the second time because she knew it would be easier to get a link to. This is made more likely by Verra's initial assumption that Vlad has contacted Pathfinder (not Blackwand) the first time.)
Assuming that the last point above is correct (although not excluding the other points), the contact with one or both of those other Great Weapons may have been as necessary to re-creating Godslayer as the rest of the ingredients (Morganti knife, with a soul inside) - especially when recalling the Serioli (that Vlad and Morrolan met with) stating that there was some sort of connection between Pathfinder and Godslayer.
Further evidence to this effect: Pathfinder herself was masked and her true form hidden, until she clashed with another Great Weapon.