Background of the story “Death to the Emperor!” It's hard to become a hero without a decent weapon. However, becoming a hero is generally not easy; to do this you need to accomplish at least one feat. And, of course, you can do it using an old poker, but with a decent blade it will be a little easier. At least the young Viscount Blair is absolutely sure that all he needs to accomplish a heroic deed is a magic sword. Well, and some other monster that’s lying around, so that there’s someone to defeat. Just don’t confuse enchanted swords with magic ones. And the latter tend to independently choose the owner. Whether the owner of such a sword will become a hero or a monster depends not at all on the sword.