Athame

An Athame is a ceremonial blade, often but not always with a black handle, used in witchcraft or religious rituals.

Description
Not much is known about this object of power (as of yet) that seemingly it at least just as powerful as the Swords of the Cross, wielded by the White God's own chosen Knights. It has been suggested that the knife is not important because of any specific enchantment or material intrinsic to the knife, but (like the Swords of the Cross) powerful because of it's connection to a previous owner. The Swords are connected to Christ, and the Athame, the Leanansidhe suggests, is likewise connected to a powerful being. The Author has confirmed it was owned at one point by Morgan LeFay, and it gained more power than it may have already possessed by being present and employed in serious workings of Power performed by the original Merlin's fabled rival.

''"Bianca presented her with a small black case. Lea opened it, and a slow tremble ran down her body, made her flame-red hair shift and glisten. My godmother closed it again and said, "A princely gift. Happily, as is the custom of my people, I have brought a matter of equal worth, to exchange with you.”''

"A belt made from a twisted braid of silken threads of gold wound around her waist, and a dark-handled knife rested on a slant at her hip through a loop in the belt."

''"She rested her fingers lightly on the knife’s hilt. "Don’t cheapen it. This athame was no creation of theirs. And it was less a gift than a trade.” Amoracchius and that thing are in the same league?"<ref name="DF04ch23" /''

"The gown (Mab's) was belted with a woven silver rope, and a slightly curved, single-edged knife of some dark, glassy material hung at an angle through it." ''

This athame has been referred to as a treacherous gift by the Leanansidhe because it allowed Nemesis to infect her, and through her Maeve was corrupted. Lea spent years in Winter's Wellspring at the heart of Mab's garden in Arctis Tor recovering from the experience. Mab found out that Lea had infected Maeve as well, but unlike Lea Maeve rejected her help and was beyond curing. Mab has only recently mastered her unfathomable fury to the point where her spoken voice is no longer aneurysm inducing.

Grave Peril
In Grave Peril, Bianca St. Claire gave the Leanansidhe a small black box, and peering at the contents made her shiver and her flame-red hair shift and glisten.

Summer Knight
In Summer Knight, the Leanansidhe told Harry that after Bianca's Ball she returned to Faerie with great power, meaning the Athame, and upset many balances. To redress the imbalance, Harry's debt to her was the means that Mab chose to redress them. Leanansidhe said the Athame was not created by the vampires and it was a trade rather than a gift—an artifact of magic in the same league as Amoracchius. Lea hinted that the value of the knife lies in whom it once belonged to.

Dead Beat
In Dead Beat, Harry Dresden recognized Kumori and Cowl from Bianca's Ball (in Grave Peril) as the ones who gave the Leanansidhe the athame. Mab told Harry that she has Leanansidhe detained because she challenged Mab's authority, that certain events made Lea believe she no longer was bound to Mab's will.

Proven Guilty
In Proven Guilty, Harry found the Leanansidhe encased in ice in the heart of Arctis Tor. This was for "growing too arrogant with power I held. I thought I could overcome what stalks us all."

Changes
In Changes, the Leanansidhe told Harry that Mab had imprisoned her at Arctis Tor because an affliction, a madness had beset her—"robbed me of myself. Treacherous gifts"—meaning the Athame.

Cold Days
In Cold Days, Mab confirmed that the reason her voice made people's ears bleed was due to her rage over Maeve being taken by Adversary. She said: "It was the knife. Morgana's athame. The one given her by the Red Court at Bianca's masquerade. That was how the Leanansidhe was tainted—and your godmother spread it to Maeve before I could set it right."

External references

 * Athame - Wicca and Witchcraft
 * Athame
 * Morgan le Fay - Wikipedia
 * In Celebration of Morgan le fay
 * Why is Morgan Le Fay portrayed as evil
 * Morgan Le Fay - arthurian-legend.com
 * Morgan le Fay - faculty.arts.ubc.ca
 * Morgan le Fay | Robbins Library Digital Projects
 * Morgan le Fay ~ Other Characters in Arthurian Legend | King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table
 * Morgan le Fay in Legend - the circle cast.com
 * Morgana, Sorceress and Healer in Arthurian Legend - thalia took.com
 * Morgan Le Fay - arthurian adventure .com
 * Morgan Le Fay - pace.edu/grendel
 * How Morgan le Fay Tried to Kill King Arthur
 * Morgan le Fay (legend) - Villains Wiki - villains, bad guys, comic books, anime
 * King Arthur: A Man for the Ages--Morgan Le Fay