The Tidemark Compass
A palm-sized compass of pearlescent shell and silver filigree, its needle a sliver of bone taken from a deep-sea leviathan and blessed at the Abyss Gate. The face shimmers with faint bioluminescent tracery that pulses in rhythm with the tides, shifting color as currents change beneath any vessel that carries it.
Artifact Details
- Type
- Talisman
- Rarity
- Legendary
- Origin
- Crafted by master artisans of the Ministry of Currents and Navigation at the Driftwood Yards of Koralheim, the Tidemark Compass combines the Islanders' enchanted navigational tools with bone offerings consecrated by the Abyssal Scribes. It represents the supreme standard of navigational magic, a step beyond the common enchanted compasses issued to fleet navigators.
Overview
The Tidemark Compass is a legendary talisman in Landorya. Its known origin is Crafted by master artisans of the Ministry of Currents and Navigation at the Driftwood Yards of Koralheim, the Tidemark Compass combines the Islanders' enchanted navigational tools with bone offerings consecrated by the Abyssal Scribes. It represents the supreme standard of navigational magic, a step beyond the common enchanted compasses issued to fleet navigators.. Its most cited abilities include Senses changes in ocean currents and weather patterns days in advance, Guides the bearer along the safest and most efficient sea routes, and Pulses a warning rhythm when a storm of magical origin approaches. Accounts also warn of a drawback: Those who consult the compass too frequently begin to hear the ocean's rhythms even in landlocked silence, an obsessive auditory haunting that, in extreme case…
History
The compass was first recorded as the personal instrument of Elder Mahina of Pearlhaven, who reportedly used it across more than a century of voyages, crediting it with guiding her vessel through the legendary Storm of Tenfold Darkening. After her death at age 137, it passed to the Ministry of Currents and Navigation as a ceremonial relic, carried aboard the flagship of every newly elected President of the Isles. President Marisol Tidewalker reportedly carries it on all diplomatic voyages, calling it 'the voice the ocean lends to those wise enough to listen.'
Powers & Abilities
- ✦ Senses changes in ocean currents and weather patterns days in advance
- ✦ Guides the bearer along the safest and most efficient sea routes
- ✦ Pulses a warning rhythm when a storm of magical origin approaches
- ✦ Glows bright enough to navigate by in absolute darkness
Curse or Drawback
Those who consult the compass too frequently begin to hear the ocean's rhythms even in landlocked silence, an obsessive auditory haunting that, in extreme cases, has driven bearers to abandon ship and wade into the sea, following currents only they can perceive.