Cortana

This article uses material from the “Cortana" article on the Shadowhunter wiki at FANDOM and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License. 
Cortana is a shortsword that has been passed down through many generations of the Carstairs family, having been in the family for many centuries. 
== Description ==
Cortana is a shortsword with a simple and bare blade, save for the inscription that runs down the metal of the blade and describes its legendary forging, "of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal." It apparently has a feather from the wing of an Angel on its hilt.
While it was in Elias' possession, the sword was in a scabbard covered in intricate designs of leaves and runes—the same design that also covered the sword's hilt.
== History ==
Cortana was forged by the first Shadowhunter weapons maker, Wayland the Smith, tempered with the same steel as Joyeuse, Charlemagne's sword, and Durendal, Roland's sword. It was once the sword of Ogier the Dane. According to the faerie Gwyn the Hunter, it is considered one of the Great Swords.
Jonah Carstairs inherited the family sword in the 1800s. Before his death, he instructed his brother, Elias, to give Cortana to his son, Jem, when he turns 18. However, upon finding out that Jem had become a Silent Brother and can no longer accept gifts, Elias decided to give the sword to Will, Jem's parabatai. Offended by how Elias seemed to be referring to Jem as if he were dead, Will refused the gift. After he stormed off, Tessa Gray suggested to Elias that if he one day decided to have his own children, he could give the sword to them. When he eventually did have his own children, he passed the sword down onto them.
One of the eventual wielders of the sword, John Carstairs, believed that the inscription was meant to remind them that Shadowhunters are the Angel's weapons, and that trials make them stronger. After his death in 2007, the sword was passed down to his only child and the only remaining heir to the sword, Emma Carstairs.
The sword has been said to have the power to cut through anything. In 2012, the sword, wielded by Emma, was able to kill one of the Seven Riders of the Unseelie King, a feat that had never been done before. Cortana also managed to shatter a Mortal Instrument, specifically the Mortal Sword.
== Known Owners ==
* Jonah Carstairs
* Elias Carstairs
* Alastair Carstairs
* Cordelia Carstairs
* John Carstairs
* Zara Dearborn
* Emma Carstairs (current)
== Trivia ==
* Cortana, to a certain extent, chooses its owner.
Category:Artifacts
Category:Family Heirlooms