Casting Shadows

This seed is being planted for Palladium Fantasy. It is a very old idea I have been kicking around for a few decades but never had the pleasure of seeing a party pick from the vast garden of options this grand old game with its incredible setting provides.

My Saturday Seeds also reappear on Ancient Scroll on random Saturdays~

The seed

The seed involves a peculiar magic item and the wide-reaching effects its use can have on those around it.

Planting the seed

The seed can be planted at any point in a journey through the Old Kingdom. As appropriate, the party may take shelter in an Elven ruin, or be intent on recovering some lost treasure or another and while otherwise engaged, will come in contact with an unassuming item with the ostensible capacity to change all that ever was. Whether they take it or not, it’s proximity may be used to lend an air of mystery and ineffable magnitude to the world.

The Details

While the group rests, those who set up their camp will find a luxurious quill looking as fresh and clean as the day it was prepared for writing. Regardless of them choosing to keep it or leave it, the quill will provide them all with great dreams of mistakes undone, dreams fulfilled, and victory always at hand. They will speak more glibly, plan more effectively, and learn faster while in the presence of the quill.

What they do with this experience, and the quill, is the fruit of this particular seed~

What’s going on

The quill is a fabulous, seemingly natural feather with shadings of gold and hues of rich browns with hints and glints of other spectra depending on the light. It is roughly of similar length and width to a human forearm. It has one small rune etched in its shaft which has little or nothing in common stylistically with the runes known to the sentient races of the world, but glints in the light like silver would.

If used to write, the quill will function like an exceptionally good one, but will manifest no unusual powers. However, asleep or awake, those around the quill will find themselves able to speak more descriptively and accurately, and will similarly feel like their thoughts are clearer and faster than usual. When they sleep, they will dream great dreams of ambition and correcting past mistakes.

If used to write on a specifically prepared piece of parchment, namely one made permanent through the application of the silver rune for Magic specifically, whatever written will come true.

The quill itself, over time, will impart this knowledge to a long-term possessor through intimations and feelings, but is not sentient and is in no rush.  Those who come in contact with the quill, even for a short time, will dream strange dreams ever after and will find the memory of the quill is often drawn to the surface of their mind when faced with a tremendous challenge for which solutions seem unlikely.

The limitations of the quill are threefold.

The first limitation is that it is empowered to edit the history only of the person writing with it. If they write that they were born into wealth, this will become the truth. If they write untruthfully that they do not remember their childhood, that will become real. It cannot add new details to the skein of someone’s life, but it can change any detail therein.

The second limitation is that it will always write in a firm, bold, and fairly large script (roughly 14 point, double-spaced, with appreciable margins of 4 cm). No matter how the writer seeks to shape their text, the script will flow out as the quill has been enchanted to write.

The third limitation is that it may only affect a person for a limited period of time – one page of parchment of standard size to be precise. After this limit has been reached, the writer will find no further edits take effect.

Enjoy~