This week’s Fantasy Favorites post is going to be magical.
Why?
Because the topic is magical items from fantasy. Brilliant, huh? This is the third side in the triangle of fantasy magic. We’ve already covered favorite magic system and favorite magical talent.
Now it’s time for magical items to take the stage and shine.
What do I mean by magical items? Any object—weapon, trinket, piece of jewelry—that’s infused with magical powers. For example, the yellow and green rings from Magician’s Nephew. Ordinarily, there’s nothing special about a ring. When touched, however, those rings send the person to the Wood Between the Worlds. If you think about it, they’re small teleportation devices.
I love this topic for two reasons:
- It’s broad, covering everything from invisibility cloaks to life-giving cordial, so I have plenty of options to choose from
- It reveals the range of imagination and creativity in fantasy
The pages of fantasy are as full of magical items as Marvel’s multiverse is of people with superpowers. Here are a couple honorable mentions—because this is too fun to restrict to my favorite.
Tom Riddle’s Diary (Harry Potter)
When I first read about this, the concept captured my imagination and locked it in a tower room of wonder and geeky glee. A journal that stores its original owner’s soul? And talks to people?
Awesomesauce times five.
Better yet, it’s not some random but ultimately useless object. It plays a crucial role in the story and allows Harry to have some…interesting conversations.
The Horn of Valere (Wheel of Time)
You might be wondering what this Horn of Valere is. Think Susan’s horn, but in this case, the “help” that comes is in the form of an army of legendary warriors returning from the dead to fight for the trumpeter.
The epic, fantasy-is-awesome version of a 9-1-1 call.
During the course of history, it disappeared and so entered the pages of myth and legend, yet its discovery was a portent of the arrival of the Last Battle. Not only does it summon an army of heroes, its presence serves as the alarm warning the possible end of the world.
Talk about intense.
Spanreed (Stormlight Archive)
What would a post about wildly creative inventions be without a shout out to the genius himself, Brandon Sanderson?
Once again, his ingenuity fills me with a mixture of awe and jealousy and makes me wish we could send telepathic messages so I could soak up his brilliance.
A spanreed, for those of you who haven’t read the books (if you love fantasy, you MUST read Stormlight Archive), is the equivalent of a medieval-times telephone—but using writing. I won’t get too far into the details of how the magic works, but it’s used for communicating over long distances.
Two writing reeds are paired, each affixed with a ruby infused with stormlight. The result? When one spanreed moves, its twin mimics the movement and pow. You can write a message that appears on a paper hundreds of miles away.
Those are examples of highly awesome magical items. Now for the main event. My favorite magical item is…
The One Ring (do I really need to say?)
Seems cliché, but there’s a reason for that. The One Ring is legendary, in our world and Middle-earth. Of course it will garner loads of attention.
You know the story, the history, the part it plays in Frodo’s quest. But when was the last time you actually thought about what the ring does? The extent of its powers…and dangers.
Objects that turn people invisible are nothing new, but Tolkien took this concept and tossed it in the fire. Yes, pun intended. Why not have a magical ring that zaps people out of visual existence, and on top of that, slowly corrupts the heart of its bearer?
When powers or items infused with magic also bear consequences, it adds another layer of meaning and intrigue. The ring functions on multiple levels.
- It makes the wearer vanish
- It draws the attention of Sauron
- It shows the corruptive nature of power
That last one fascinates me and is why I had to pick the One Ring as my favorite magical item. As Boromir so poetically stated, “It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing.”
The Ring’s nature implies a host of symbolic elements. Even the smallest evil exerts a powerful influence. Nearly everyone is susceptible to the lure of power.
One final reason why the One Ring tops the list. Its existence instigated one of the most famous quests of any age. Without the One Ring, there would be no Lord of the Rings.
What’s your favorite magical item? I would love to hear your thoughts.
