Subject: I am now imagining the distant future.
Author:
Posted on: 2019-11-20 16:57:32 UTC
Some random agent: "Jenni Robinson? Like Robinson the wandmaker in New Caledonia?? Oh, wow! Are you his... *squint* granddaughter or something?"
Jenni: *blush* "Er, actually, you've got that somewhat backwards..." ^_^;
"My son is a famous wandmaker. I am a professional head-shrinker. It's fine."
~Neshomeh is amused.
Some wands' preferences are obvious. Truffula wands clearly prefer nature lovers, wroshyr wands clearly prefer outgoing types (the trees meld together, after all), and toffeewood wands clearly favor inquiring minds (as the species owes its existence to a botanical experiment on young Digory's part). But what about say, mallorn wands? Terrose wood from Mystverse, well, Kadish was setting Ahnonay up to pretend that he could move through time, so maybe smooth talkers?
Notes from the writings of Mr. Ollivander, HFA
"Thus far, no multiversal exploration has found any material to match the three supreme cores of dragon, phoenix, and unicorn. Wand wood, however, is another matter, and there are many 'canonical' trees with personality enough to contribute to the manufacture of student wands for the Academy.
"Mallorn: A tall tree with pale, often silvery wood. Mallorn-wood makes for a wand that will reject any effort to turn it to the Dark Arts, often to extremes: there have been reports of mallorn wands which misfire if they are used to cast any spell against another person, Dark or otherwise. It is often held that these wands are especially attracted to students who will live a long life; though given the enduring dominance of Learning Through Pain on the Academy's schedule, this can rarely be assumed for any student.
White Tree: The seven White Trees of Tirion, Eressëa, Númenor and Gondor all willingly provide wand-wood, and their longevity means that with careful planning, they will remain viable sources for many years to come. Sadly, however, these wands tend to be drawn to the more arrogant bearers, and are often drawn in anger. This presents a problem for their wielders, since they are also known to be rather brittle, and can shatter without warning.
Taur-nu-Fuin Pine: It is a curious fact that the two forest to bear the name Taur-nu-Fuin ('Mirkwood' in translation) both provide very similar wand-woods. Both forests are said to have been influenced by the presence of Sauron the dark wizard, and their wood might be expected to reflect that darkness, but wands from this source are more ambiguous than that. Certainly, they can easily be used for the Dark Arts; yet they also seem to be drawn to acts of great heroism. It is the simple, everyday spells that prove challenging with these wands, requiring a vigorous personality to unlock their potential.
Lebethron: The hardwood lebethron, growing in Ithilien, is known even by the Muggles of Gondor to be fond of travellers. Many a wanderer has found herself claimed by a lebethron wand, and has found it to stand her in good stead during her adventures. The density of this wood adds an uncommon weight to its spells, and a dueller attempting to use one may find their attacks rather more potent than they intended.
Laurelin & Telperion: The wood of the Two Trees has been used only sparingly in wandmaking; for while both trees have been willing to provide of their wood (Laurelin rather more so, it must be said), their semi-sacred status, plus the necessity of only taking from the furthest branches, has restricted the supply of this material. These wands, it must be said, are rather showy: even the least spell is accompanied by a burst of light. They are not fond of adventure, and the few that have been made have all fallen into the hands of students who are content to stay close to home - wherever that home may be."
hS
MREDURE:
The giant trees of Kadish Tolesa have been tentatively fan-identified as eucalypti, about whose wands JKR has yet to reveal anything.
It is not revealed by CyanWorlds if the Great Tree of Riven was a conifer, an angiosperm, a ginkgophyte, or what.
"Lattice wands prefer bearers who are cooperative and/or willing to compromise." -- Mr. Ollivander, HFA "Lattice wood needs to be used sparingly, because Narayani buildings need live lattice trees to support them, and the maintenance of lattice trees requires carefully balanced trimming; too little and the root net smothers the spores, too much and the spores break free. This is what we trimmed this morning." -- Saavedro, OFUMREDURE
I Wanna Be the Guy:
"Delicious Fruit trees are described by Kayin as 'more like giant cherries' than apples, and so have preferences typical of the genus Prunus. Because of their aggressive nature and their use of their fruit as deadly projectiles, however, one cannot safely harvest wand wood from them unless one is wearing a D'ni Maintainer's suit or something equally hyperprotective. Did I just coin a new word there?" -- Dennis Two Eagle, DoSAT
MLP:
"Because of questions about how sentient the trees from the Shadow Forest in the [G1] My Little Pony movie are, wood may only ever be harvested from the spikes they cast. Wands from said spikes naturally prefer highly aggressive individuals." -- Mr. Ollivander, HFA.
First thoughts: *raise eyebrow* HFA is never giving out non-canon wands; the fan-created Ipiopius mold that makes them work for Muggles is an exception already. How would Ollivander even make them in the first place?
Second thoughts: He's not the only wandmaker there is, though. Do we have a rogue wandmaker in HQ? That would make more sense.
Third thoughts: *GASP* Henry! It makes so much sense!
See, I've been toying with the idea of Henry getting into woodworking as a hobby/future occupation, and he's a restless, adventurous sort with a lot of smarts to boot. He's set to inherit his mom's wand when he turns eleven, but he'll naturally want his own—the real thing, mind you. He's also set to do a year at HFA for the near-genuine Hogwarts experience, whereupon he will meet Mr. Ollivander. Perhaps he'll get the notion that he could make his own wand.
Rather more than ten years hence:
"Of course, trees from continua without inherent magic are less apt to provide useful wand wood, but some can be woken up with a little coaxing. Pernese skybroom, for instance, is a fantastic wood for any purpose, and I've found that wandmaking is no exception. The density and tensile strength that make skybroom wood resistant to Thread also make for unyielding, loyal wands. They are difficult to please, but once they find their match, they will never willingly be parted from them, and are apt to 'die' if removed by force, especially if paired with a unicorn hair core. Their performance is reliable, not flashy; suited more for hard work than frivolous displays. That said, if it is called upon to go big or go home, you can bet that a wand made from the tree that sweeps the sky will always go big."
—Henry Robinson
If you want one, I expect you'll have to supply the materials yourself. And, you know, be around in the future, when he starts to get good at it. {= )
~Neshomeh
I've been considering Ix getting her wand snapped on a mission for a while now—could be neat if an older Henry supplied her replacement. :)
Dare we hope that, not being Ollivander, Henry will consider cores other than the supreme three? America does, after all, and there's a whole host of magical creatures out there in the multiverse.
I do have a sudden urge to have a W.A.N.E. activist confront Henry about the ethics of his hobby-slash-trade. Of course, the fact that he probably knows people who can directly ask the animals and trees for their stuff may take the sting out of it a little.
hS
I definitely see him being willing to experiment. You can come by all sorts of exotic materials in HQ by way of mission souvenirs ("Nothing glittery, though; I missed some contamination one time and it was SUCH a disaster. Sue hair is right out, stop asking."), and he also probably knows people he can ask personally for donations. ^_^
"Protip: Do not go to the Flowers for wand wood, for they are tetchy and mostly not made of wood anyway. And also the one time Hornbeam gave me a branch it was a total dud. Sooo slooow."
Ooh, New Caledonian woods, though! I reckon he ultimately sets up shop in New Cal. Araucaria and niaouli are sure to be interesting. Araucaria, a.k.a. monkey puzzle. Need I say more? And...
"A niaouli wand is best suited to someone who thrives in adversity and never says no to a challenge. They are adept at healing magic of all sorts and will also do well in the hands of someone with an affinity for herbalism or magical creatures. Niaouli is an attractive wood that bears the faint scent of its essential oil, long prized for its own healing properties. Mom, your new wand is done!"
—XYH Henry, via Neshomeh
Tongue obviously planted firmly in cheek here. =]
These include an ancient Scythian warrior and a fuzzy, blue centaur-alien. One makes his own quivers out of Sue-skin and the other likes to tinker with irrational electronics. Handicrafts, you see. {= D
Frankly, Henry is lucky he survives long enough to consider a settled occupation.
Hmm, I've also been seeing Simon Robinson (who hasn't been properly introduced yet) as an artist of some sort. Comics where the characters actually run through the panels, anyone?
Everything is more fun with wizard kids!
~Neshomeh
"...I have been encouraging intellectual pursuits among the youth."
"How did you even find out about him?"
"Derik. Mrs. Robinson was in no way shy about her son's talents. He passed along the news."
"You know, you still didn't answer about the wood."
"I have merely been encouraging intellectual pursuits among the youth."
"Why do I find that statement concerning?"
"Because you know me."
--
I have no idea who's talking to Thoth. But this popped into my head and I found it amusing.
Some random agent: "Jenni Robinson? Like Robinson the wandmaker in New Caledonia?? Oh, wow! Are you his... *squint* granddaughter or something?"
Jenni: *blush* "Er, actually, you've got that somewhat backwards..." ^_^;
"My son is a famous wandmaker. I am a professional head-shrinker. It's fine."
~Neshomeh is amused.
And then patting her shoulder sympathetically when he's done laughing, and saying, "I've been there. On the plus side, he's done well himself; wouldn't it suck to be asked if you're the granddaughter of a famous bandit, or something, instead?"
No idea how good the magical properties are, but it's got to be worth a shot, surely?
Ix supplying werewolf fur would be a bit harder to persuade her to do, however. :P
All of the above: Prosperine wood, changeling hair, and werewolf fur. The latter two seem like they'd make for volatile wands; volatile and powerful, in the case of the fur. And anything from 40k runs the risk of being afflicted with some sort of Warp-taint, since that's what magic is over there. That wood would need a core that can balance it with some stability and lack of inclination toward evil. Unicorn hair only, perhaps. Or... actually...
Hey, Zaphoriel! How do you feel about contributing to intellectual pursuits among the youth? He only wants a stray hair or two. ^_^
Edit: Or feathers! Feathers would be great.
~Neshomeh
William Marshall has a sneaking interest in wandlore himself, although it was never his main focus. He'd be thrilled by all this. :D
Verdani (The Saga of Seven Suns)
"While speculation as to the sentience of Equestria's Shadow and Everfree Forests remains ongoing (especially in the case of Timberwolves, whose wood might be as fine an addition to my collection as my limbs might be to the rest of the pack's supper), there can be no doubt of the sapience of the verdani, an elemental world-forest from one of the more obscure continua. Though verdani wand-wood is in excellent supply considering that entire battleships have been made of the stuff, the wands themselves have been rather more discerning in choosing their wizards and witches. They seek out wanderers and philosophers, peacemakers and navigators; those who would pour oil upon troubled waters with word and deed and presence. A practitioner of magic so favoured by a verdani wand will have a friend for life, as their inherent inquisitive swishiness masks a core of enormous strength. Great things come from a verdani wand, and rarely are their wielders aligned to darkness." -- Ollivander
Drasil (The Keys To The Kingdom)
"The Incomparable Gardens are a very Eden, but to a wandmaker there is no tree so fine in all that continuum as the four mighty Drasil trees that bear those gardens aloft. Despite the best efforts of unscrupulous local villains to destroy them, these four enormous trees - well over seventeen thousand feet tall at the last count - produce quality wand-wood in copious supplies. However, the wands they make are drawn to the prideful; they show marked disdain for other wands, and will deliver harsher blows and more grievous injuries than another wand might when targeting a wizard whose wand is unkempt or of inferior wood. Not that there is such a thing as inferior wood, of course, but try telling them that." -- Ollivander again
Cadonwood (Doctor Who)
"Whereas the previous examples have been easy to get hold of (for the sufficiently adventuresome wandmaker), cadonwood is rather trickier to get hold of. This remarkable silver-leafed specimen grew only on the lost world of Gallifrey, and is only accessible through sneaking around in a dangerous part of the Doctor's history. Whether there are any other parts of the Doctor's history is something I leave open to the reader's interpretation. Nevertheless, cadonwood produces wand-wood of beautiful quality, and the resultant wands tend to end up in the hands of powerful witches. However, much like the Time Lords from whose planet the wood comes, a cadonwood wand is typically an inflexible thing, and while strong it will break before it bends. Wizards and witches of a more rebellious and renegade bent are advised, therefore, to seek out that universe's many other woods for their wands; I myself have had great success working with Androzani conifers, who are often both wand and wizard." -- Merlin's beard, Ollivander, leave some words for the rest of us.
"The famous Nalwood forests of Tanith are long gone in the Warhammer 40K continuum, but careful use of a canonical timeslide/mnemoslip (Ghostmaker) has allowed the gathering of a few precious samples from living trees. Sadly, many of the wands crafted from them have become mysteriously lost - something that might have been expected, as the forests of Tanith are said to be trackless, unnavigable, and quite possibly mobile. The three wands which have not vanished are all wielded by people with a deep, innate sense of their place in the world, both metaphorically and in literal navigation. It seems Nalwood has such an affinity for these people that it becomes almost a mirror of its normal self: they have reported that their wands are impossible to lose under any circumstances." -Possibly XYH Henry? Certainly not Ollivander.
hS
"The wood of the Arban page-tree is rather difficult to obtain. The tree itself does not provide many suitable pieces of wood because it was engineered to support large leaves. To compensate for this, a larger proportion than usual of page-trees is capable of producing wand-wood, possibly due to the intent behind their creation. The largest problem, however, is that these trees are grown in concents, where unexpected tree trimming, if noticed, would cause considerable alarm and potentially breach multiversal security.
"With the help of a former resident, however, I was able to take suitable wood from a pile of trimmings at Savant Rambraf's in the 2600s. The wands crafted from this wood appear to favor academics and others who want to push the boundaries of magical theory and practice (in other wards, Ravenclaws and Unspeakables). These wands are particularly suited to experimental spellcasting and, unsurprisingly, spells for creating records. One flaw in these wands is that they can be inconsistent at times - the power, or, in rare cases, effect, of a spell will occasionally vary for unclear reasons. " - Maybe future!Henry & Peregrin, who knows?