Ebony Blade (Skyrim)

The Ebony Blade is a two-handed weapon found in Dragonsreach in Whiterun Hold. Resembling an Akaviri Dai-Katana, the Ebony Blade is a Daedric artifact belonging to Mephala. Killing kindred with the blade bolsters its power. Followers can wield the blade, but cannot fortify the enchantment unless instructed to kill an ally.

History
The blade has changed hands many times over the years. It is believed that the Eternal Champion himself once wielded the blade when it was discovered in Valenwood. Later, it was rewarded to the Hero of Daggerfall sometime after the War of Bretony. In the late Third Era, the Hero of Kvatch was granted the blade by Mephala. Later, in the Fourth Era, it was discovered by the Jarl of Whiterun sometime before the events of Skyrim and he had it hidden underneath Dragonsreach ever since.

Acquisition
The Ebony Blade is obtained in the Daedric quest The Whispering Door, which can be initiated by speaking with the barkeep Hulda at The Bannered Mare in Whiterun after reaching level 20. If Hulda is killed, Ysolda will not begin the quest. In this case, it can be started using the console command.

Enchantment
This weapon starts with a 10-point Absorb Health enchantment that can be increased by slaying friendly characters. For example, someone whose favor has been completed, or someone who's been won over during any type of quest can be absorbed by the blade. For every two such characters killed, the weapon's Absorb Health enchantment increases four points. Killing ten friendly characters maximizes its power at 30 points Absorb Health per hit.

The enchantment has unlimited uses and never needs recharging. This makes this weapon ideal for followers, especially if they are used to sustain large amounts of damage.

Mephala's voice sounds each time the enchantment improves, commenting on the progress of the blade. Her dialogue, in order, is such:


 * 2nd Kill - "Excellent work, Child."


 * 4th Kill - "I can feel their heartbreak swelling in my blade."


 * 6th Kill - "Their tears shine the ebony to a sharpest gleam."


 * 8th Kill - "Ah, the blood of deceit is a nourishing flow."


 * 10th Kill -  "At last, my blade is returned to its full glory. Now, go forth, child. Continue your tiny subversions against the orders of trust and intimacy."

If the hilt glows red, the blade has gained power.

Characters

 * Any beggar. Give them a single septim to gain favor, then kill them.
 * Mercenaries and followers. Characters that are bested in gambling brawls often become followers immediately thereafter and mercenaries can be hired for 500 gold.
 * Dogs that are followers. Tested and confirmed on Meeko and Vigilance.
 * Orc Strongholds - Upon retrieving the Forgemaster's Fingers, kill everyone in at least two of the four strongholds, including the miners.
 * Cicero during The Cure for Madness.
 * Amaund Motierre - killed at the end of Hail Sithis! after he reveals where the gold is.
 * Betrid Silver-Blood during the quest The Forsworn Conspiracy. Killing her before her inevitable death will grant a charge, after which the Dragonborn can try yielding and paying the fee, then continue with the quest.
 * Uaile also during The Forsworn Conspiracy
 * Jaree-Ra and Deeja during Lights Out!.
 * Nilsine Shatter-Shield during Mourning Never Comes. Blood on the Ice must be completed first.
 * Any innkeeper or merchant.
 * Hroggar during Laid to Rest. Sell some firewood to him before breaking into Alva's house and then kill him there with the Blade.
 * Aicantar in Calcelmo's Laboratory.
 * Completing The Chief of Thirsk Hall (added by ) allows select Rieklings to become followers.  Killing them while they are followers counts toward the needed kills without the need to lose potential allies or characters. Also, Bujold the Intrepid, the other Nords, and the old chief may count as charges during this same quest.
 * Narfi and Beitild during the Contract: Kill Narfi and Contract: Kill Beitild (need to complete Narfi's quest and sell ore to Beitild first).
 * Gerdur or Alvor after Before the Storm
 * Sven or Faendal after completing their quest.
 * Ondolemar, though not the target of an actual quest, some may disagree with his beliefs and feel no remorse about killing him after giving him Ogmund's Talos Amulet.
 * If you choose to slay Astrid instead of any of her captives during the With Friends Like These... quest and the members of the Dark Brotherhood during the Destroy the Dark Brotherhood each provide a charge.
 * Lucan Valerius and his sister Camilla Valerius after the Golden Claw is returned.

Daedric quests

 * Boethiah's Calling - involves slaying both a companion (first charge) and the cult leader who gives the quest upon investigation (second charge).
 * Pieces of the Past - if the Dragonborn chooses to obtain Mehrunes' Razor, killing Silus will provide a charge.
 * Ill Met By Moonlight - killing Sinding, should the Dragonborn choose the Savior's Hide instead of the Ring of Hircine. Killing the dying hunter J'Kier after speaking to him inside the entrance to Bloated Man's Grotto may also provide a charge.
 * The Taste of Death - the Dragonborn has to kill Brother Verulus at the conclusion of the quest.
 * Waking Nightmare - much like Mehrunes' Razor, if the Dragonborn chooses to obtain the Skull of Corruption, Erandur counts for another charge.

Exploits

 * Kill a friendly character with the Ebony Blade, then resurrect them by clicking on them in the console and typing, and kill them again.. The command   (xxx is the character's ID) also works.
 * Kill a friendly person and reanimate them with Dead Thrall or the Ritual Stone. Because these powers don't turn them into ash when they die, the character can be repeatedly killed the required number of times. (Tested on patch 1.4.21.0.4) . Death Hound followers from are good victims, as they won't fight back and have little health.
 * To quickly charge the blade, one may conjure a familiar and kill it repeatedly. This provides unlimited charges, and the familiars have very low health. No negative relationships will be incurred. (Doesn't seem to work post-patch for the DLC.)
 * to charge the blade (legitimately) without needing to kill any named characters, find the random encounter with wandering farmers, give them gold and slay them both as with other named beggars. This method can be repeated as many times as necessary. Alternatively, the two automaton followers acquired at Kagrumez can be killed for an indefinite amount of charges, as they respawn.
 * In one case, the sword was maximized by killing and resurrecting a dog follower ten times. Afterwards, it was confirmed via the console command that it had indeed counted ten valid kills. HOWEVER, actively using the blade to kill any and all characters and monsters, dragons included, the damage output continued to increase. This test is ongoing to confirm the limit to which this will reach, but presently, it doesn't appear to be stopping. Whether this effects the amount of absorbed health is inconclusive at this time, but it is suspected to have capped at 30, as noted above.

Smithing
The blade cannot be upgraded. This is possibly explained in Admonition Against Ebony which states that: "Not even the hottest fires of the Skyforge could melt it; indeed the coals themselves seemed to cool when it was placed within," revealing the sword's immunity to heat or normal forging/smithing techniques.

Weapon classification
The blade behaves as a two-handed weapon with the following exceptions: Though it uses a two-handed mesh file, it uses the template for a one-handed weapon, resulting in improper sound files, attack speed, damage, weight, perk benefits, impact force, and stamina usage.
 * It only benefits from one-handed damage effects, enchantments, and potions.
 * It benefits from one-handed weapon perks.
 * It swings much faster than two-handed weapons, and about as fast as most one-handed weapons.

As of patch 1.9, this has been fixed, and the sword benefits from the two-handed weapon skill and perks.

Usefulness
The Ebony Blade is, in some ways, an upgraded version of the Blade of Woe; it's two-handed and has unlimited charge. It has a very fast attack speed, faster than any other two-handed weapon (about as fast as a One-Handed Sword), though it has the lowest damage per hit. The unlimited enchantment charge and heightened attack speed helps make up for the reduced damage.

Prior to patch 1.9, the blade is useful for training the two-handed skill on characters who don't often use it, because its damage is actually dependent on the one-handed skill. This will give it a significant damage bonus over other weapons while two-handed is still low. However, for those that use two-handed weapons normally, this weapon is a poor choice because it will not benefit from any of the progress or perks from that skill.

The Ebony Blade retains the advantage of unlimited charges, however. The Ebony Blade doesn't affect Animunculi. It will not steal Health from them, making it a poor choice for combat in Dwemer Ruins.

Trivia

 * Though items can be bought from and sold to hunters, killing them may not charge the blade.
 * Killing the hunters on Solstheim after helping them kill a netch may not charge the blade.
 * The Ebony Blade shares similarities with Stormbringer, a black, runed sword from the Elric of Melnibone novels. Stormbringer strengthened its wielder by absorbing souls, including those of friends and lovers. Elric was called the Eternal Champion, a name also shared by a previous wielder of the Ebony Blade.
 * Despite Farengar Secret-Fire being allegedly aware of the Blade, it can be sold to him.
 * If the Dragonborn uses the console command  to teleport to the game's testing room, another version of the Ebony Blade can be found in a Dwemer cabinet. This version of the Blade has an enchantment that states that the "Victim does not treat an attack with this weapon as assault." The weapon can also be obtained through the console command.
 * The Ebony Blade has a smaller range compared to other two-handed weapons despite being just as long in appearance.
 * Although patch 1.9 fixed the Ebony Blade's incorrect classification as a One-Handed weapon, the Ebony Blade will still swing faster than any in-game Two-Handed weapon, and even surpass some One-Handed weapons. Members of the Dark Brotherhood who are best with Two-Handed weapons may want to use the Ebony Blade for the high swinging speed.

Appearances


Ebenerzklinge Hoja de ébano (Skyrim) Lame d'ébonite Ebonowe ostrze (Skyrim) Эбонитовый Клинок