The Net of Pruth
The Net of Pruth is a fabulous magical fishing net which belongs to the Fisher Kings and Queens of Nephatar. It can be thrown into any body of water to catch anything that lives there.
The silvery net is woven from five different types of thread. Twisted skeins drawn from the triple moonlight that shines over Magicians' End have been combined so that the different colours of
Lumina, Celestria and Triquetra are blended into the softly glowing rope. The knots that hold it together are tied tightly with starlight. A fifth material, wound subtly and skillfully into the net with great magical art has been used to repair a formerly torn section. It is the hair of Hella, a priestess of the Harmonic Order during the years of the Long Famine, whose story is told in the legend of Hella and the Widow.
The Net of Pruth has the wonderful property of arcane geometric scaling and when deployed over the water it conforms according to the will of the wielder, making it marvelously easy to use. The net can shrink down to become little bigger than a pocket handkerchief or a hairnet but it can also draw from enfolded dimensional reserves to extend over a great area. It is unclear exactly how large it can become, but certainly enough to capture the largest schools of fish.
The net has a soothing effect on the creatures it captures, bringing them the divine dreams that are the gift of Pruth and a sense of peace and fulfilment, perhaps in their final moments of life.
History
According to the story of Hella and the Widow, the Net of Pruth was given to the young priestess of the Way of the Harmonic Path by the Old God Pruth herself, during the age of the Long Famine. Hella lent the net to the Fisher King and with its help, the fortunes of the fishing fleets of Nephatar were restored and the people of the city did not go hungry again.
During the Time of Terrors, the mage Pezulruth Veld, who ruled the city of Ralsimoor determined to claim the Net of Pruth for himself. It is said that he had explored so far into the cracks behind the world that his mind was in constant torment from the horrors he had seen. He could not sleep without a constant fear of nightmares and only the dreams brought by the Net of Pruth might save him from this nagging madness.
In 3324 APC, the Battle of the Rising Deep was fought between the forces of Ralsimoor and the Fisher Queen Shellesha to determine the fate of Nephatar and the Net. Queen Shellesha prevailed and the Net remains as a greatly valued symbol and occasional practical aid to the Fisher Kings and Queens down to this day.
Magicians' End - Fisher Queen Shellesha Portrait 05 by DMFW with Night Cafe
Pezulruth Veld by DMFW with Midjourney
Item type
Unique Artifact
Current Location
Current Holder
Related Myths
Magicians' End - Old Gods - Pruth by DMFW with Midjourney
A net is a hella cool magical item! I do feel kinda bad for the poor wizard, but that of course doesnt excuse the selfishness. Very unique idea for the item, good job!
Its Worldember!I am building out a spooky world, which you can read about here! (psst, its a link)
To learn about my main world click on this link! (if you want to ;) )
Thanks! I've not gone too far into Pezulruth Veld's history so far, and I'll probably leave it fairly lightly sketched (apart from the account of the Battle of the Rising Deep and its aftermath), just in the interest of capturing more of the grand sweep of the history of Magicians' End where I have other time periods I want to get to. You can rest assured he deserved his fate, though! I am working on a story about how the net first came into the possession of the Fisher Kings and Queens, called "Hella and the Widow" which is public but is very much a work in progress at the moment. It's turning out to be a longer piece of writing than I originally envisaged but I think it will make a nice little short tale when it is done and will be a fun way to bring some narrative life into the world, with a little more focus on story telling rather than just pure world building.