Skyrim:Red Eagle's Bane

Unique Item: Red Eagle's Bane (000ab703) (lore page)
Type	One-handed Sword
Editor ID	dunRedEagleSwordUpgraded
Statistics
Damage	11
Damage	11		{{{health}}}
Speed	1
Speed	1	Reach	1
Weight	15	Value	345
Tempering	Steel Ingot
Tempering	Steel Ingot	Perk	Dwarven Smithing
Enchantment
Undead up to level 13 are set on fire and flee for 30 seconds: Red Eagle Fire Damage, 10 pts Red Eagle Turn Undead, 13 pts for 30 secs
Charge/Cost = Uses		500/35=14

Red Eagle's Bane

Red Eagle's Bane after upgrading

Red Eagle's Bane is an Ancient Nord Sword which serves as a reward for recovering Red Eagle's Fury and slaying the eponymous Red Eagle. Its enchantment does ten points of fire damage and turns undead that are at or lower than level thirteen for thirty seconds. Tempering Red Eagle's Bane requires a steel ingot and the Arcane Blacksmith perk. If the Dwarven Smithing perk is also unlocked, the improvements to the weapon will be doubled.

Red Eagle used the original version of this weapon in an attempted rebellion against the rule of Empress Hestra, as told in The Legend of Red Eagle. Before the Imperial conquest of The Reach, Red Eagle was one of many feuding kings of The Reach, prophesied to unite the region one day. While his throne at the Sundered Hills was eventually lost to him, he gathered all loyal Reachmen in a revolt against Imperial rule, which succeeded in almost forcing them out for two years.

However, the Imperial legions would not be driven off, and Red Eagle's fortress was eventually surrounded and besieged. At the end of the siege, Red Eagle sallied forth against the Imperials alone, naked, and with this sword in hand. The story claims he slew a thousand of them before the force was routed from his stronghold. Victorious, Red Eagle collapsed when night fell, and was placed in his tomb, Rebel's Cairn. Before finally dying, Red Eagle gave his followers his sword, and commanded they continue his campaign to free The Reach. Once The Reach had been totally liberated, the sword should be returned to him, in his tomb, with the intention that this would resurrect him and allow him to lead them once more.

Eventually, the weapon found its way into the hands of the modern group fighting to free The Reach, the Forsworn. At their fortress inside Red Eagle's old one, a Forsworn Briarheart possesses the weapon, with a nearby journal that includes a ritual to resurrect Red Eagle. Taking the weapon and going to his tomb will lead to the discovery of an altar with a slot to place Red Eagle's Fury. Placing it in the slot shall unlock the hidden passage to Red Eagle's true tomb, as well as causing him to rise from the grave. Killing Red Eagle will cause the sword to transform from Red Eagle's Fury to Red Eagle's Bane, and complete this quest.

Related Quests

• Rebel's Cairn: Find Red Eagle's sword.

Notes

• If Red Eagle's Bane is removed from the pedestal, the door closes so be sure to remove all the loot from the tomb if you intend to sell the sword.
• If Red Eagle's Fury is removed from the pedestal after Red Eagle is awakened but before he is killed, it will not become Red Eagle's Bane.

Bugs

• It is possible for the sword to reappear when the Forsworn at Red Eagle Redoubt respawn. Picking up another Red Eagle's Fury sword will make it a quest item and it cannot be removed from your inventory by dropping it. You must travel to Rebel's Cairn and activate the weapon slot in the first room to have it removed from your inventory. Alternately, if you own a house, the weapon plaques can be used to remove quest marked weapons from your inventory.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.3.2, addresses this issue. The quest will no longer restart itself after completion, which is what led to this bug.