Twelve Swords of Power - Mindsword

The Mindsword is also known as the Sword of Glory, or by the pejorative Skulltwister, the Sword of Madness. It has a flying banner engraved in white on its hilt.

The Mindsword's verse in The Song of Swords describes its power as follows:

The Mindsword spun in the dawn's gray light

And men and demons knelt down before.

The Mindsword flashed in the midday bright

Gods joined the dance, and the march to war.

It spun in the twilight dim as well

And gods and men marched off to hell.

The Mindsword is one of the more overtly evil of the Swords, as it is difficult to imagine a good cause Skulltwister would be associated with. The Mindsword, when drawn, compels absolute and fanatical devotion to the person holding it. It flashes brightly as if catching the sun, and emits the faint roar of a cheering mob, which cannot be blocked out by covering ears or averting eyes. All who are in visual or aural range are affected. Not even the gods of the Swords universe are immune to its power.

The strength of the devotion is such that one under the Mindsword's power would even throw their life away if so ordered. There is no possibility of resisting or recovery, except for the passage of time. When removed from the Mindsword's presence, a person will gradually begin to lose the unnatural loyalty they felt toward the Sword's bearer and show signs of skepticism and then increasing rebelliousness before finally regaining their own mind. It takes around a week to fully recover, depending on the relationship between the target and the wielder, the wielder's own personal charisma, and the psychological resistance of the target.

The Blade seems to have another, lesser property as well—wounds made from its edge fester, preventing healing and possibly leading to fever and delirium.

Other Swords provide some protection from the mind-control effect of the Mindsword, by virtue of their hold on the user's psyche. Sightblinder offers some resistance, although it still takes a great deal of willpower from the affected wielder and allows them only enough presence of mind to escape. Wayfinder also provides some protection. While it does not protect its wielder from the fanatical devotion, it allows them to maintain their sense of reason. For example, Wayfinder's wielder would not follow orders from Mindsword's wielder if those orders were blatantly suicidal or foolish. Soulcutter will trump the Mindsword's power, but in this case the cure can be worse than the disease. Shieldbreaker offers absolute immunity when employed.

Although this was never demonstrated in the books, some characters speculated that Doomgiver might also provide protection against the Mindsword. Woundhealer successfully healed the poisoned wound from the Sword of Glory.

The Mindsword is one of the few Swords that is always "on" whether or not it is held by someone. At one point in the series, the Sword was left unsheathed on an icy mountain. Locals worshiped the mountain itself as a god, apparently under the effect of the Sword. Sheathing the Sword (or otherwise concealing its blade) will prevent the blade from functioning, though mind control once established will remain in effect.

The Sword of Glory is one of the most sought after of all the Twelve. Tyrants want it to dominate others, and good men want it locked up where it can do no harm, or destroyed if possible.