The Sword of Alagondar

The Sword of Alagondar (famously known as Dragon Slayer or Lady Alagondar’s Sword) is a legendary dragon-slaying weapon once wielded by Lady Tanager Alagondar of Neverwinter. Created over three centuries ago, this powerful blade is historically renowned for delivering the death blow to Virethas (also known as Villathas or Villethas), the ancient green dragon known as the Jade Queen, during the great chromatic dragon war that threatened the Sword Coast.

Mechanically, the weapon is a magical +1 greatsword that inflicts an additional 3d6 points of damage against any creature of the dragon type.

History and the Death of Virethas

Three hundred years ago, a coalition of chromatic dragons—including Cryovain the Everfrost, Skaldreth the Red Rage, Barakis the Sandstorm, and Nocturne the Dread Prince—devastated the northern settlements of the Sword Coast, prompting the formation of the Lord’s Alliance. To combat this threat, a legendary band of heroes arose: Elminster Aumar, Lady Tanager Alagondar, Hrothgar Hillsfar (who later became known as Farwald), Esfaloth Nightbreeze, Gorion of Candlekeep, Kiara Shadowbreaker, and Uther Vendrock.

The heroes constructed five powerful dragon masks to control and influence the minds of the chromatic dragons, successfully driving away the black, red, and blue dragons. However, the masks failed against Virethas, the smartest and most wily of the wyrms. In a climactic battle outside the city of Neverwinter, Lady Alagondar fought the green wyrm directly. In her final moments, she made the ultimate sacrifice—driving the Sword of Alagondar directly through the dragon’s heart as one of the beast’s massive claws burst through her own chest. The two died locked together, leaving the sword deeply embedded within the dragon’s heart.

The Ward of the Dragon Barrow

Following her death, Lady Alagondar was entombed in the Dragon Barrow, a historic burial site constructed over the skeletal remains of Virethas. The Sword of Alagondar remained fixed in the calcified heart of the Jade Queen, anchoring a powerful, permanent magical ward that prevented any attempt to resurrect her.

The burial mound’s central chamber features four beautiful murals depicting these ancient heroes and the historic battle:

  1. Five dragons descending upon a burning Neverwinter.
  2. The heroic band (Hrothgar, Esfaloth, Lady Alagondar, Elminster, Uther, Kiara, and Gorion) consulting a plan.
  3. The profile of Lady Alagondar driving her sword through Virethas’s heart.
  4. The dragons dispersing and the heroes going their separate ways.

Due to its ancient enchantments, none but those carrying the blood of Alagondar could touch or move the sword. A bronze plaque fixed near the tomb read:

“Only the blood of Alagondar may lift the sword. May it never need to be used again.”

This restriction posed a barrier to the Cult of the Dragon and their Green Wyrmspeaker, Sidorna, who was operating inside the barrow. Unable to physically touch the blade, Sidorna cast a hold person spell on it and devised an ambush to lure a true heir of Alagondar.

The legacy of the sword and Lady Tanager was so respected that centuries later, when the descendant house of Stork faced execution in the Moonshae Isles for a forbidden marriage, the High King spared their lives solely due to their Alagondar bloodline, choosing instead to banish them to Stork’s Rest.

The Extraction and Resurrection of Villathas

The trap succeeded when Gilmore Stork—secretly descended from Lady Tanager Alagondar—arrived at the Dragon Barrow, seeking to recover his sister Elire’s soul stone. Drawn by Sidorna’s trickery, Gilmore grasped and drew the Dragon Slayer from the calcified heart. This action triggered a powerful paralysis trap that froze his companion Nalini and shattered the ancient ward keeping the green dragon dead.

Upon attuning to the newly freed greatsword, Gilmore was struck by a powerful vision of the ancient battle, seeing the arrayed armies, the legendary heroes, and Lady Tanager Alagondar driving the blade into the dragon’s open jaws.

With the sword removed, Sidorna and her cultists initiated a dark ritual, sacrificing their own lives to reincarnate Villathas. Although Gilmore and his companions fought valiantly—with Gilmore wielding both the Dragon Slayer and the Blade of Tristan—the ritual completed. Villathas was awakened as a weakened, skeletal adult dragon. The party barely escaped the collapsing barrow, with Gilmore carrying the legendary sword out into the autumn sunlight.