The Compass of Pedro Ataide (Brújula de Pedro Ataide)

For a long time before the Western Archipelagos had been discovered, scholars and mages had known that the world was round, and approximately how large it was. The information however was considered both esoteric and pointless since the common belief was that there was a single vast ocean between the Western Kingdoms and the far eastern lands. Pedro Ataide corrected that misconception. His family was a noble family that had relatively strong connections to the Castilian throne. He sailed west and discovered the Western Archipelagos. His three famous expeditions mapped and sampled the islands and opened the doors for other explorers. Unfortunately he met his fate on the shores of the Dark Coast where his landing party was slaughtered by monsters, and he himself was poisoned and died aboard ship as they headed east back to Castile. His infamous death, and the accounts of the survivors of this fated expedition left the Castilian nobility with little interest in the Archipelagos themselves, and even less so of the continent beyond. His journals and his nautical equipment survived him, however, and are now in possession of the Castilian crown. This single device, referred to as the Compass of Pedro Ataide (or in Castilian Brújula de Pedro Ataide) is actually a clever contraption of both sextant, compass and magical writing instrument, that allows the user to both know his location and accurately map any shoreline that he has direct line of sight to. It is a unique and valued piece of equipment that is so highly valued by the Castilian crown that it has not left the palace since it was brought there immediately after his expedition returned. Scholars and Artificers are occasionally granted access to the artifact in attempts to replicate the device, but so far have been foiled. It is believed that Pedro acquired some piece of the Compass from the Dark Coast and incorporated it into the device itself, making the unknown magic indecipherable by current understanding of magic.

Item type

Navigational Aid / Instrument

Owning Organization

Castillia

Rarity

This item is completely unique

Weight

5 pounds

Raw materials & Components

Brass metal is used for the sextant and compass frames, with the occasional gemstone for decoration