Helm of Elanore

Jeff De Boer

This beautifully crafted helm was created by the famed Sorceress Elanore of Abernath. Elanore had been something of a prodigy in her youth, quickly mastering all seven dimensions of the magician's cube, and becoming proficient in several schools including elementalism, wyld magics, witchcraft, plane shifting and most tellingly, natural magic. Her familiar was a black cat named Norag that started out as a kitten, but grew into a sleek and dangerous panther as Elanore's channeled more and more power into her pet.

At the height of her power, Elanore created a magical helm that allowed her to communicate more directly with Norag and other felines. Elanore's bond with Norag had already been stronger than most, and some believe that her wearing of the helm caused Elanore's mind to slip so deeply into her familiar that eventually, their consciousnesses merged.

Elanore was eventually shipped off to a distant nunnery, where she helped keep the local rodent population under control. Norag, surprisingly, went on to pen a number of important treatises on the ecology of the Displacer Beast, and the importance of cleanliness in spellcasting, before she retired to a small cottage not far from the nunnery.

The Helm meanwhile, disappeared from the Mage's Vaults and some believe it had been in the possession of Paddy Furfoot, the famed Halfling burglar, catamount and arsonist before he died somewhere deep inside a forgotten dungeon. Legend has it he had scampered away from the rest of his party in valiant pursuit of a giant stoat.

Known Powers

The helm conveys on the wearer the senses of a (non-magical) cat. Heightened sense of smell and hearing, but also extremely acute low-light vision (see well in everything but absolute darkness).

If worn daily over a long period of time, it will grant the wearer the ability to communicate with felines. The effect takes a number of weeks of constant wear to manifest and will begin with housecats, then alley cats and finally up to large cats such as lions, tigers etc.