🐚Ankora

"The scent of blood chases a starving vampire, driving them mad as they try to control their bloodlust... A distant lullaby serenades a homesick sailor, begging him to abandon his hopeless quest... An long-forgotten ache visits a couple in their dreams, causing them to wake yearning for a child's love. Oh, these pitiful people, desperate for help. Desperate enough to make a bargain with a witch..."  - Sphinx Guardian

This surprisingly heavy locket is made of twisted silver vines wrapped around an iridescent tiger eye gem. When a creature is attuned to the ankora, the gem glows softly. 

Planar Anchor. While attuned to an ankora, you are anchored to the plane of existence that the ankora is on, are unable to pass through planar portals, and cannot be summoned to other planes. If your ankora is moved to another plane of existence, you must succeed a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or else be brought to the plane of existence where your ankora is. On a success, you stay where you are, you become unattuned to the ankora, and the token inside is released.

Attunement. To attune to an ankora, a creature must place a piece of their essence, called a token, into the locket. In most cases, a physical token, such as a treasured belonging, a lock of hair, or a drop of blood is sufficient to attune to an ankora. It is also possible to use a non-physical token to attune to an ankora, such as one's voice, one's name, or a precious memory. Hags have a long history of using ankoras in their magical bargains with unsuspecting mortals. They are also used to imprison powerful beings in demiplane prisons.

When attuned, the ankora's locket is magically sealed, and no one but the attuned creature can open it. Opening the locket and removing the token within ends the attunement and restores the token. A physical token is preserved in the ankora for the duration of the attunement, untouched by decay or time. A non-physical token becomes inaccessible to everyone, including the attuned creature, for the duration of the attunement. A creature who imparts their voice will find all attempts to speak raspy and toneless. A creature who imparts their name will find it redacted from all records. A creature who imparts a precious memory will find that everyone present in their memory has forgotten it, including themselves. A creature retains awareness of any willingly given token, even if the skill or specific memory is inaccessible. Per DM discretion, others may or may not be aware that something is missing.

Dying while attuned. If a creature dies while attuned to an ankora, their token is preserved inside it as if the attunement has not ended. The spirits of those who die while attuned to an ankora are only able pass on to the afterlife once their ankora is opened and their token is released. Anyone is able to open an ankora after the attuned creature has died. Physical tokens turn to dust when removed unless steps are taken to preserve them. Non-physical tokens manifest as a sphinx of wonder.

Unwitting attunement. It is possible to attune a creature to an ankora without their knowledge. Doing so requires Scrying to be cast on the intended target using the ankora as the casting focus. If the targeted creature fails the initial Wisdom saving throw, the caster can then attune them to the ankora by successfully placing a token belonging to them inside the locket at the end of Scrying's 10-minute duration. The token cannot be placed in the locket early. The caster of Scrying chooses what the token is before the spell is cast. If the targeted creature succeeds the initial Wisdom saving throw, the spell fizzles with effects as written and without the effects detailed below. If the caster of Scrying loses concentration or casts any other spells before Scrying's 10-minute duration is complete, the spell fails with the effects detailed below.

Physical token. A physical token can be attained prior to casting Scrying and can be the same one used in the casting of Scrying.

Non-physical token. A non-physical token must be attained from the targeted creature while Scrying is active. It may be spoken by the targeted creature themselves, at which point the tiger eye gem disappears from the locket and reappears touching the targeted creature's lips. Or the non-physical token can be called forth in the targeted creature's mind, which must be done using magic, at which point the tiger eye gem disappears and reappears touching the back of the creature's head. Through either method, the tiger eye gem then absorbs the token and drops to the ground and must be retrieved. The tiger eye gem cannot be destroyed through conventional means. If it is destroyed, the token it held is lost forever unless recovered through use of the Wish spell.

The magic used to call forth the token in the targeted creature's mind must be cast by someone other than the caster of Scrying and must be spells that connect the caster's mind to the targeted creature's, such as Message, Detect Thoughts, Sending, or Dream, expending spell slots as normal. Other magical abilities that achieve a similar effect may be used per the DM's discretion. Spells with the option to require a saving throw always require a saving throw when used in this way.

Chance of failure. If any relevant spell fails or the targeted creature succeeds a saving throw at any point during the scrying, they become aware that magic is being cast on them, become able to see the scrying sensor, and instinctually know to protect the tiger eye marble once they are aware of it. If the Scrying spell fails, is dispelled, or the token is not placed in the locket at the end of the 10-minute duration, the attempt to attune the creature to the ankora fails. If a tiger eye marble was called forth, it is restored to the mind of the the targeted creature and the tiger eye gem returns to the ankora, inert. The targeted creature is then immune to all attempts to attune them to an ankora for one year and is immune to all scrying attempts from the Scrying's caster for one year.

Success. If concentration on Scrying is held for the full 10-minute duration and the token is placed into the ankora at the end of that duration, the attunement succeeds. Ankoras attuned in this way to not count towards the targeted creature's attunement slots.

If the targeted creature remains unaware of the Scrying and attunement, the DM may decide whether or not the creature is aware something occurred, depending on the potency of the chosen token. The targeted creature may be completely unaware that something has occurred but for an uneasy feeling, they may have an awareness that something important is missing without being able to name it, or they may have a vision of the last moments of the Scrying spell, witnessing the caster place their token in the ankora.

Nefarious uses. Although creatures not attuned to the ankora cannot open it, it is still possible to extract echoes of the token within. This is a prized skill used by hags in particular.

Notes: images from "Keys from the Golden Vault", placing a token inside the ankora's locket, Summoning, Teleportation, Scrying, Warding, Necklace, Jewelry