Item from Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
The black sword within Dragnipur's pocket universe — the weapon that holds the Gate of Darkness upright on the wagon, the last structural support between Darkness and annihilation.
The Spar of Andii is the keystone of Dragnipur's internal architecture. Within the sword's pocket universe, the Gate of Darkness — the portal to Kurald Galain — is mounted on a wagon pulled by the souls of everyone Dragnipur has killed. The Spar holds the Gate upright on the wagon bed. If the Spar breaks, the Gate falls, and Darkness loses its anchor to reality. When Anomander Rake allowed himself to die on Dragnipur's blade, he entered the realm within and used his will — his connection to Kurald Galain as Son of Darkness — to shatter the chains binding the Gate, freeing Mother Dark to reclaim it. The Spar was central to this act: it was the physical manifestation of the Andii's connection to Darkness, and Rake's sacrifice activated it as a conduit for reunion rather than imprisonment.
A massive blade of black stone or metal, driven point-first into the bed of the wagon that carries the Gate of Darkness within Dragnipur's realm. The sword radiates Kurald Galain's essence — pure Darkness given physical form. Its surface is featureless black, absorbing all light, and the Gate it supports is visible as a rectangular absence in reality mounted above it.
Also known as: Spar of Andii, the Spar, the black sword within Dragnipur