The Black Obsidian Dagger is a dagger of the SGL chronicle in which Barbarella ended up imprisoned.
History
In the sanatorium beneath the Temple of Ashtar, Barbarella offered two daggers for the hammer and chisel: this one and a white one of ice. The companions refused, and in the ensuing confrontation she drained Adriel. She was left locked in the black dagger.
Uken held that the dagger would have to be broken to free her. The ancient obsidian of Nothenvell helped identify the material and relate it to other tales of captivity.
Open questions
- Whether the aunt can be freed or consulted: in Karlstorf, Dandy wanted to ask her for Ajani’s true name; Adriel recalled the harm and subjugation suffered. Attempts to act on the magic yielded neither an interlocutor nor a confirmed release.
- Its relation to Ajani, a different woman: the prisoner is the aunt, while Ajani is the great-grandmother tied to obsidian. Similar material does not prove that all black daggers are one.
- Lirio’s whetstone, prayer, cut hand and inner voice, and Dandy’s dream, remain clues without explanation.
- Its permanent bearer is not settled; the dagger stays with the companions.