[2] This powerful enchanted black blade is a member of a demon race that takes on the form of a sword, and as such is an agent of Chaos.

Stormbringer's edge is capable of cutting through virtually any material not protected by potent sorcery, and it can drink the soul from (and thereby kill) any unprotected living creature upon delivering any wound, even a scratch.

[3][4] Stormbringer's hunger for souls is such that it frequently betrays Elric[4] by creating a bloodlust in his mind, turning in his hands and killing friends and lovers.

The cursed nature of the sword adds to Elric's guilt and self-loathing, even as he feels pleasure when the stolen lifeforce enters his body.

In The Weird of the White Wolf, Elric returns to Imrryr after a long journey and confronts Yyrkoon, who usurped the throne in his absence.

Imrryr is sacked, though the pillagers' fate is not much better, being pursued by the golden battle barges and the few dragons who were awakened, led by Dyvim Tvar.

Elric summons others of Stormbringer's demonic race (also in the form of swords) to fight against a number of Dukes of Hell, brought to the Young Kingdoms by Jagreen Lern, theocrat of Pan Tang.

"[6] Ontologist Levi Bryant stated that Stormbringer belongs to a special class of magical items which also appear in Dungeons & Dragons, which are not "merely passive tools", but have will, goals, alignment and a personality of their own.

Bryant saw the sword as an active entity, not unlike "some of the artificial life we are developing today", and also compared it to "technologies unleashed on the world that are agents in their own right".