The core of a wand is a magical substance laid within the axis of the wand shaft. Usually comprised of hair, feather, or bone fragments extracted from a Magical Creature, the core is the part of a wand that is most attuned to the wizard’s type of magic. The materials used for wand cores can vary widely, although certain wand-makers may prefer to use certain materials. A wide variety of cores have been documented, including cactus cat spine, lightning snake bone, snipe antennae, triple eagle feather, troll whisker, and wyvern heartstring. The properties of the wand core determine the level of sheer magical power the wand can channel and which types of magic the wand has affinity for. The compatibility between the properties of the wand shaft and the wand core are of clear significance, and synergy between them can significantly impact the results of casting. Ill-crafted wands, with a core and shaft that are poorly tuned, can result in unpredictable and even harmful spellcasting. It is believed that some dark wizards purposefully create misaligned wands in order to harness the negative energies and disharmonies for their own power and use. Tricksters with more ability than sense may also build and set out wands with haphazard effects for their entertainment as other wizards attempt to use them.
While there are understood wand core properties, it should not go unnoticed that the wand wood may influence the core's properties. For example, a rowan wand with a humfaerie hair core may be especially volatile and produce powerful, yet difficult to control spells on account of rowan typically being anti-miroven, and humfaerie hair being a miroven component. Other Rowan and humfaerie hair wands, however, might be incredibly weak because the balance between core and wood is different and the two cancel each other out more than compete.
Creature | Part | Affinity | Properties | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ahuizotl | Fur | Water | Pro-Water Pro-Illusion | |
Nails | Water | Pro-Water Pro-Grasping |
||
Cactus Cat | Spines | Fire | Pro-Herbology Pro-Sun |
|
Chupacabra | Spines | Fire | REDACTED | Information difficult to obtain, either suppressed or redacted. |
Fairymaid | Feathers | Air | Pro-Miroven Pro-Feminine |
Illegal to harvest. |
Fiddle Spider | Legs | Earth | Pro-Cryptozoology Pro-Music |
Too fragile for regular use. |
Gillygaloo | Breastbone | Air | Pro-Flying Pro-Luck |
|
Gremlin | Hair | N/A | N/A | Too reactive to use safely. |
Teeth | N/A | N/A | Too reactive to use safely. | |
Hoop Snake | Stinger | Earth/Fire | Pro-Attack | Do not use as a wand extender. |
Humfaerie | Hair | Air/Water | Pro-Miroven Pro-Illusion |
Illegal to harvest. |
Hugag | Bone | Earth | Pro-Defense Pro-Strength |
Gives magical boost. |
Jackalope | Antler | Earth/Fire | Pro-Attack Pro-Illusion |
Makes powerful wands. |
Jersey Devil | Bone | Earth | Pro-Attack Pro-Ritual Magic |
Very difficult to obtain. |
Hair | Earth | Pro-Ritual Magic | Difficult to obtain. | |
Kumcharangi | Bone | Earth | Pro-Defense Pro-Death Magic |
Don't get bitten by one. |
Lightning Snake | Bone | Air/Fire | Pro-Electricity Pro-Artificiery |
|
Mannegishi | Finger Bone | Water | Pro-Charm Pro-Crafting |
|
Mermaid | Hair | Water | Pro-Charm Pro-Water |
Illegal to harvest. |
Mishipeshu | Antler | Earth/Water | Pro-Attack Pro-Elemental Magic |
Makes powerful wands. |
Spike | Water | Pro-Defense Pro-Elemental Magic |
Makes powerful wands. | |
Mothman | Feather | Air/Earth | Pro-Ritual Magic Pro-Shapeshifting |
Usually fake. |
Nunnehi | Hair | Earth | Pro-Charm Pro-Shapeshifting |
Probably wand core properties; illegal to harvest. |
Polhappler's Mantis | Antennae | Air | Pro-Movement Pro-Strength |
|
Revenant/Lich | Arm Bone | Earth | Pro-Dark Magic Pro-Ritual Magic |
Legendary item. |
Sasquatch | Hair | Earth | Anti-Dark Magic Pro-Confusion |
|
Snipe | Antennae | Earth | Pro-Charm Pro-Invisibility |
Difficult to find one of sufficient length. |
Snow Dragon | Bone | Earth/Water | Pro-Attack Pro-Cold |
Makes powerful wands. Good luck finding authentic bones. |
Soucriant | Muscle Fiber | Air | Pro-Blood Magic Pro-Dark Magic |
Must be treated to prevent rot. |
Thunderbird | Feather | Air/Fire | Pro-Defense Pro-Elemental Magic |
Legendary item; illegal to harvest; highly regulated. |
Triple Eagle | Feather | Air | Pro-Divination | |
Heartstring | Air | Pro-Divination | ||
Sinew | Air | Pro-Divination | ||
Vampire | Hair | Earth | Pro-Blood Magic Pro-Charm |
Illegal to harvest. |
Troll | Whisker | Earth | Pro-Healing Pro-Strength |
|
Waheela | Hair | Earth | Pro-Attack | |
Wasco | Paw Bones | Water | Pro-Water | |
Wyvern | Heartstring | Air/Fire | Pro-Defense Pro-Fire |
Makes excellent wand cores. |