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A weekly column from children’s author Simon Rose

Magical objects abound in fantasy stories and take a wide variety of forms. They are usually endowed with fabulous powers which can affect memory, cast illusions, disguise people or objects by transforming them into something else, stop or turn back time and so on.

The origin of the object is often shrouded in mystery and, if the creator is actually known, he or she is rarely mentioned. It is also naturally important that the creator of the artifact is not the only person able to use the object, otherwise it would be a largely pointless addition to the story.

Sometimes the object is extremely powerful and highly dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. Perhaps it is the only object capable of defeating the hero or rendering him defenseless. It may be the means by which the chief villain will be able to conquer the entire world, thus triggering a quest to either obtain the object or destroy it as happens with the ring of power in Lord of the Rings, but has also been a very common theme in many stories since then and continues to be used heavily in fantasy tales in one form or another.

In my fifth novel, The Heretic’s Tomb, Lady Isabella Devereaux comes into the possession of a mysterious amulet that has the power to restore life to the recently deceased. Living at the time of the Black Death in 1349, the noble and virtuous Lady Isabella intends to use the mysterious artifact to cure the relentless disease. However, the villain of the piece, Sir Roger de Walsingham, is also determined to secure the amulet for himself, in order to raise an army of the dead in order to seize the kingdom and make himself King of England.

Tolkien’s tale also features other magical objects such the sword wielded by Frodo which can detect the oncoming presence of orcs, while fans of Harry Potter are familiar with Harry’s invisibility cloak and his marauder’s map, by which he can observe the movements of others in the corridors of Hogwarts.

Wands are wielded by all the leading characters in the Harry Potter series and Gandalf in Lord of the Rings has his trusty staff. Other fantasy tales are imbued with objects of a similar nature. Although the lead character in a fantasy tale may be endowed with magical abilities or have the power to cast spells and enchantments, the fact that a wand, staff or other means is used to help cast the spell also helps the story be more believable. The use of an object to help them, an aid to magic if you like, makes opposition to the magical character, whether good or bad, much more feasible. If the staff or wand is lost or damaged, the wizard is either helpless or at least less powerful, making the story more interesting by adding conflict.