Bonescribes

Bonescribes are tools used across the lands of Shadowfire to record agreements and contracts. In most cases they are simply mundane tools carved from the bones of numerous dead animals and beasts, with many cultures reserving the rarer of these for the more important agreements.
They are used to etch or stamp the terms of agreements into other physical objects for permanent records. In the Shimmerlands for instance, this is often upon clay tablets or sheets of shroom paper, and across the Uferbrech archipelago it has traditionally been either upon plates of Coral Glass, or even long stretches of toughened seaweed grown across The Tangled Fathoms.
There is nothing complicated about the basic mechanics of a bonescribe. Most have been sculpted so that one end has a fine chiselled point and the other is blunt and smooth. This allows for a wide variety of weights and style to the inscriptions sculpted by them.
Many bonescribes may be decorated with other materials and carved with ornate patterns. These can become quite valued pieces of jewellery or adornment in their own right, and often a personal fashion statement.

Tactile and permanent

The nature of the technique means that all writings made with bonescribes are physical, and many cultures rely on touch to read them rather than sight. Neither does the script rely on inks or paints that are often unavailable, nor even workable in all environments.
Significantly, this includes the peoples who came from the darkness of the Hollow Earth before it collapsed, such as the Deepkin, and the many underwater cultures across the Tangled Fathoms.

Tribescripts and tradescript

Different cultures across Shadowfire have created their own scripts, which are collectively know as Tribescripts. These are not commonly known or practiced beyond the confines of individual cultures or ethnic groups.
The permanence and sharability of the technique is the primary reason it has spread across Shadowfire as a common means of recording agreements between peoples.
A common script, known as Tradescript, emerged from the agreements of The Tempus Accord 80 years ago, and has fast become the most accessible script across the world of Shadowfire. It is used predominantly in trade, but many across the nations are just beginning to use it for more artisitic and expressive purposes.

Mundane bonescribes

The most common of the bonescribes are implements taken from whatever recent meal people may have shared. And these can range to more permanent devices made from animals and beasts commonly found across the lands where they are used.

Magical bonescribes

Rarer examples are made from the bones from more exotic creatures, such as the leviathans of the deep, or the great wyrms of the Mortugurra wastes. These are reserved for the most important of agreements between nations, and often carry much social cache or spiritual importance to the people who hold them. The magics imbued into these bonescribes enable fact-checking, scrying and truth-telling to be placed on all who take part in the agreements.

Devilbones

The rarest of Bonescribes are rumoured to have been made from the bones of devils or those of kin themselves. They say these are imbued with the darkest of magics that affect those bonded by the contracts written with them. Breaking these agreements may be outright impossible, or curses and disastrous consequences can befall those who even try.

You been marked by the Devilbone kid. Best say your goodbyes. You'll be busy payin' your dues til the world starts spinnin' again. And then some.

Item type

Tool