Lore: Shazzellim was created by (or at
least under the orders and with the assis-
tance of) Lauzoril of the Red Wizards of
Thay, in order to destroy his enemies the
Harpers. Little is known of the Harpers;
they consist of bards and a few rangers,
are known by the device of a silver moon
and a silver harp, operate in the northern
regions on both sides of the Great Desert,
and are a secretive organization rather
than a band or race of people. Of the
bards of great power, only Mintiper is
thought not to be a member, and of the
high-level rangers, only Thulraven and
Estulphore are believed to be independent
of the Harpers.

It is not clear if the Harpers are any
thing more than a private club or fellow-
ship at present, although in the past they
have acted in concert to keep kingdoms in
the northern lands and in the Dalelands
small in power, and on at least two occa-
sions have forcibly prevented the expan-
sion of farms and settlements into elven
woods. The cause of Lauzoril?s enmity
toward the Harpers is unknown.

Elminster saw Shazzellim when Ahlzul,
a captain of the armies of Thay, brought
it to Archendale to slay the ranger Dove.
Mistakenly Ahlzul attacked the wrong
woman ? the knight Jasilmer ? and was
himself slain. Ahlzul?s men recovered
Shazzellim and their captain?s body, but
were later killed by men of Archendale
over a code-of-conduct dispute.

Shazzellim disappeared from view
briefly, was later identified by the sage
Helavaster of Hillsfar when brought to
that city by the caravan master Lhemako
Tarsakh, and subsequently passed into
the hands of Lhemako?s superior, Meer.
The scimitar does not appear to have
passed on to Meer?s superiors in Zhentil
Keep (unless one of the lords of that city
is hiding it from his fellow lords for some
reason), and may have been stolen, hid-
den, or passed to another by Meer before
his disappearance. The blade?s present
whereabouts are unknown.

by Ed Greenwood