Norn Thread

Norn Thread is a Focus used for sympathetic magic; a silk-like golden thread that binds fates together with the proper application of magic. On its own, it's a great Reagent for all manner of ritual, but in the hands of those who have the right magic to use it, it can rewrite fate and direct destiny. What it lacks in sheer destructive power, it makes up for with clever application and subtlety.
Unfortunately for witches everywhere, Norn Thread can only by spun with plants found in the Beyond, and best done so by Entities that live there. Even a single thread requires dire and powerful pacts to be signed, if you can even find your way there in the first place.

Bound By Fate

Norn thread always comes in a single string with two anchors. Each anchor is a loop of the thread, and until each one has been fastened to something, the thread itself is invisible to the naked eye. To those with the sight to see magic, there's a faint glitter or shimmer that connects the two anchors. When both anchors are bound around something, the threat betwen them goes taut and can never slacken, the invisible thread between them visible now to spell-sight as golden thread.

Once in place, Norn Threads are hard to get rid of, even if you can see them. Only enchanted blades seem to do the trick, with scissors being the classic.

No matter the distance, Norn Thread can grow or contract to always connect the two anchors in a straight line. They never loosen on their own, but can be unwound by the witch who placed them.

Designing Destiny

On its own, the Norn Thread can't really do anything. It's in the hand of someone already capable of sympathetic magic, the magic that binds things together to share cause and effect, that they start to shine. Like the classic voodoo doll, the Thread is just a vessel for the power of the mage, but it's one hell of a vessel. Sympathetic magic channeled through the thread is amplified, sometimes to unpredictable degrees, and raises the limit to what can be done through it to a witches imagination.
Of course, most people object to having a magical thread tied around them, so use of Norn Thread requires their user to be careful how they go about it. Some witches only use the thread on friends and allies to bolster them from afar, track their wellbeing, or generally faff about in a good way. Others focus instead of inanimate object: a thread wound around the handle of a locked vault and regular door means one opens as easy as the other. A few really adventrous witches however get exceedingly talented at lassoing, though that utility is questionable.

by Pixabay

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