The Orb of Avalir is a magic item containing much of the knowledge accumulated by the flying city of Avalir.
Description[]
Appearance[]
When Patia Por'co used the orb as her arcane focus, it glowed and orbited around her.[1] The orb reacted readily to her magic. It would pulse when she was holding a spell to be released.[2] When she used it to attempt Scrying, the orb would expand and Patia looked into it.[3] And when she cast Fireball using the focus, the orb itself would burst into flame.[4]
When the orb recorded information in particular ways, the effects could be visible. Patia could record runes from where they were written as wisps of light to be absorbed by the sphere.[5] When she recorded a person's thoughts, the orb would expand and project memories as if from a reel of film onto a silver screen; the orb would glow noticeably when replaying such memories.[6]
When Crokas found the orb near the end of the Calamity, it was beautiful and gem-like.[7]
Properties[]
The Orb of Avalir increases the wearer's Intelligence ability score by 6, and their Wisdom ability score by 4. It also grants one new tool proficiency and knowledge of one new language.[8]
History[]
Exandria Unlimited: Calamity[]
Patia Por'co, Keeper of Scrolls and Archmage of the Librarium Incantatum in the city of Avalir at the start of the Calamity, possessed an item known as a Sphere of Power that, along with the properties of a Staff of Power, held and could play back her lifetime of accumulated lore, knowledge, and memories. As the city fell, Patia teleported the Sphere to Maya, Cerrit Agrupnin's fourteen-year-old daughter.[9]
Fan art of the Orb of Avalir, by Ekaterina Victoria.[art 2]
"Mirror and Key" (E4x03)[]
The orb had been passed down from one eisfuura to another, and eventually reached Liana in order to remove it from conflict in the world. She stored the item in a chest marked "Agrupnin Vault" in a hidden cache in the Stormpoint Mountains where it was found by Crokas. When it was joined with an amulet of The Knowing Mentor, the orb produced visions of an eisfuuran man flying and a young girl, his daughter, holding the orb.[10]
"By Heart Alone" (E4x04) and beyond[]
Crokas brought the orb with him to Vasselheim, using its recorded memories as proof of all he and his friends had seen. Later, he kept it with him as he traveled across Exandria, until he joined a monastery in Wildemount.
By the end of the Era of Reclamation the orb was kept in a deep and heavily guarded vault of the Cobalt Soul that no one had actually visited in a long time.[11]
Trivia[]
- Back when it was used by Patia it was called the "Sphere of Power"[12] (a reskinned Staff of Power), and it served as the wizard's magical focus.[13]
- According to Marisha, one of her inspirations for Patia's orb (and the fact that it and all its knowledge survived the destruction of Avalir) was the Library of Alexandria, and imagining what could have been if its content hadn't been lost.[14]
- A popular fan theory that Marisha Ray herself likes is that eventually the orb would have helped creating the Cobalt Reserve, with Maya's father and his job influencing the work that future expositors would have to do.[15] Although it didn't happen exactly like that, both Brennan Lee Mulligan and Matthew Mercer liked the theory so it became real through Crokas.[16]
- Aabria Iyengar preferred the theory that Wrayne (Maya's mom) was doing a research with the Qoniira Tetrarchy, and that their family took refuge there, making it possible for both them and the knowledge of the orb to survive the Calamity in Niirdal-Poc.[17] While not confirmed, the orb was found in southern Gwessar, not far from Qoniiran territory.
- A popular fan theory that Marisha Ray herself likes is that eventually the orb would have helped creating the Cobalt Reserve, with Maya's father and his job influencing the work that future expositors would have to do.[15] Although it didn't happen exactly like that, both Brennan Lee Mulligan and Matthew Mercer liked the theory so it became real through Crokas.[16]
References[]
- ↑ See "Excelsior" (E3x01) at 1:52:27.
- ↑ See "Blood and Shadow" (E3x03) at 2:28:22.
- ↑ See "Bitterness and Dread" (E3x02) at 2:26:30.
- ↑ See "Blood and Shadow" (E3x03) at 0:32:22.
- ↑ See "Bitterness and Dread" (E3x02) at 1:54:46.
- ↑ See "Blood and Shadow" (E3x03) at 3:20:25. See also at 3:44:31, at 3:51:34, and at 4:25:47.
- ↑ See "Mirror and Key" (E4x03) at 1:55:18.
- ↑ See "Mirror and Key" (E4x03) at 2:40:13.
- ↑ See "Fire and Ruin" (E3x04) at 2:56:52.
- ↑ See "Mirror and Key" (E4x03) from 2:40:13 through 2:43:12. See also "Mirror and Key" (E4x03) at 1:54:51.
- ↑ See "Wrap Up: Campaign 3 and the Era of Reclamation" (Sx94) at 3:03:19.
- ↑ See "Fire and Ruin" (E3x04) at 2:56:52.
- ↑ See "Excelsior" (E3x01) at 1:52:25.
- ↑ See "Exandria Unlimited: Calamity Wrap Up" (Sx70) at 1:39:52.
- ↑ See "Exandria Unlimited: Calamity Wrap Up" (Sx70) at 1:40:57.
- ↑
CR Cooldown - CE4 E04 at 18:04 (subscription required) (Transcript).
- ↑ https://quiddie.tumblr.com/post/687295816855158784/id-like-to-hope-theyre-there-too
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of Patia Por'co with her orb, by shalizeh7 (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of the Orb of Avalir, by Ekaterina Victoria (source). Used with permission.
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