Magical Item: A Mother's Compass
Magical
item
Type
of magic: White
Magic
level: Moderate
Rarity:
Highly Uncommon
Origin:
Created by Sorceress Karteza
A Mother’s Compass
performs only a single function, which is very basic, but requires a skilled sorcerer
or sorceress to cast the enchantment. The Mother’s Compass can be any normal
compass and will appear completely normal to all outward appearances. The enchantment can be removed but is
otherwise permanent.
Because the compass will
always point toward a specific location, it is unique to an individual and
while it can be viewed by others, it will only guide the original recipient home.
A Short Tale of the First Mother's Compass
The Needle of Nysa
The Third Kingdom, a sprawling tapestry of iron keeps and sun-dappled forests, was a land where old magic still clung to the mountain passes. In the small, winding city of Oakhavan lived a mother named Elara, whose heart was as sturdy as the great oak that gave the city its name. Her daughter, Nysa, was soon to embark on a journey that would take her beyond the Peaks of the Green Mountains —farther than any of their kin had ventured.
Elara watched Nysa pack her worn leather satchel, a knot of mingled pride and fear tightening in her chest.
"The scholars of the Royal University await me, Mother," Nysa said, sensing her worry. "It is a chance few receive, one I cannot pass up."
"I know, my bright star," Elara murmured, "but the road is long, and the wilds are vast. The maps mark the path to the north, south, east, and west, but they do not mark the path back."
Determined, Elara rode for two days to the crumbling tower of Sorceress Karteza, a woman whose enchantments were legend but whose temper was notoriously sharp. Elara presented her plea: "I need an anchor for my child's heart, Karteza. A guide that can pierce all distance and misdirection."
Karteza, inspecting a crystal ball with a look of profound boredom, finally sighed. "Such a guide already exists, woven from the most potent magic—the simple desire to return to comfort. But to bind it to an object... that takes a specific resonance."
After a week of intense, shimmering work, Karteza presented Elara with a small, unadorned brass compass. Its face was blank, save for a single, perfectly balanced silver needle.
"It is finished," Karteza announced. "It is bound by your love and your daughter's memory of this specific dwelling. The needle will always point toward home, as defined by Nysa's heart. It is the Mother’s Compass. Others may look upon it, but only Nysa will be led by its truth. Give it to her."
Elara rushed back to Oakhaven and pressed the compass into Nysa’s hand on the morning of her departure.
"Carry this, my love. Let it ease your mind when the world spins too fast," she instructed.
Nysa, laughing gently, tried to align it with her map. "But Mother, it's useless! My map says the Capital is north, but this silver needle points... west, toward the Whispering Peaks!"
Elara smiled. "It knows better than any map, Nysa. It points to us."
Nysa’s journey was arduous. She studied brilliantly in the Capital, but after three years, loneliness began to dull her passion. One winter, while leading a survey through the treacherous Sunken Marsh, a sudden fog descended, thick and blinding. Her scholarly team quickly became disoriented.
"Which way is the edge of the Marsh?" one scholar shouted, consulting his magnetic compass. "The needle is erratic!"
Nysa pulled out the brass compass her mother had given her. The silver needle, always steadfast, was pointing not toward the Capital (which was miles east) nor any conventional direction, but held firm in a path that seemed strangely south-west.
"I know the way," Nysa declared, though the path was nothing but tangled roots and stagnant water. She ignored the confused glances of her companions, trusting the compass that pointed with the unwavering fidelity of a mother's memory. She led them through the marsh, following the simple silver tip until they reached the familiar, solid ground of a forgotten King's road.
Her companions were amazed, praising her "instinct" and "uncanny sense of direction." But Nysa knew the truth. That night, safe by a fire, she watched the needle: it pointed south-west, exactly the direction of Oakhaven.
The sight filled her with an immense, sudden longing. She realized her great success meant little if it took her forever from the only place the compass considered home.
The next day, she packed her bags. She used the Mother's Compass to guide her through forests, over rivers, and around impassable mountains, ignoring every conventional map, until one golden autumn evening, she saw the silhouette of the great oak and the welcoming glow of her childhood window.
She found her mother tending the hearth, and they embraced—a reunion as simple and profound as the compass’s truth.
"The Sorceress was right, Mother," Nysa whispered, holding up the brass disc. "It showed me no direction, but it showed me the only place I truly belonged."
Nysa decided to stay in the Third Kingdom's local region, using her knowledge to establish a network of safer roads and routes between the small towns, ensuring no traveler felt quite so far from their own people.
The Mother's Compass now sat proudly on a shelf above her desk, a reminder that while the world offers many directions to explore, the most important one is the path that leads back to love.
The End