Item from Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
Memory — the first of the three Great Swords, forged from a ship's keel by Dwarrow hands, stolen by a king, reforged with a dragon-slayer's bone and a holy nail, and carried to the final battle by a blind man.
Minneyar — 'Year of Memory' — was forged by the Dwarrows from the keel of King Elvrit's boat. Elvrit took it without paying and killed the Dwarrow-Lord, which is exactly the kind of origin story that creates cursed swords. It passed through the hands of Rimmersgard conquerors, ended up in the dragon Shurakai's breast alongside the body of King Eahlstan, and was found by Prester John, who reforged it as Bright-Nail and claimed the dragon-kill as his own. The sword's journey through the trilogy is almost more interesting than the characters'. Placed in Prester John's burial mound. Dug out by the blind, half-mad Guthwulf. Delivered to Simon. Carried to the top of Green Angel Tower. And then — the twist — the three swords were bait. The Storm King wanted them brought together. Bright-Nail disintegrated in Simon's hands at the climax, its role in the story not what anyone expected.
A longsword reforged by Prester John from the ancient blade Minneyar. The hilt contains two relics: a fingerbone of King Eahlstan Fiskerne (the true dragon-slayer) and a nail from the Execution Tree (a holy Aedonite artifact). The blade itself carries the history of every hand that held it — Rimmersgard craftsmanship layered with Erkynlandish reforging.
Also known as: Minneyar, Bright-Nail, Memory