In this world, there are many tools one may use to direct magic. One of the most well known of these is the wand. Of course it is a common saying that "The wand chooses the wizard", with all wands having a degree of awareness with which they select...
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Populus trichocarpa, the black cottonwood, western balsam-poplar or California poplar, is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology. A high-coverage genome sequence was published in 2006 and was the first tree genome to be sequenced. Long-read Pacbio sequencing enabled the assembly of all scaffolds in 2018.
Black Cottonwood is considered one of the most powerful members of the poplar family, making it heavily popular in western North America, especially in California. Owners of black cottonwood wands take judgement more personally and want to see justice be enacted and the truth be discovered. They are investigators, and like to work alone or with a partner, but not in larger groups. The black cottonwood aligns with those left behind by the death, left in mourning. Early tragedies in life are common among their owners. These wands favor people with flexible perceptions of the world, and hyper-sensitive awareness to magic fluctuations around them.
There is a tendency for these witches and wizards to hold onto sorrow and grudges for far longer than they should. This is due to the deep loyalty they fell to others as well as how little they put their full trust in others. If they put their full trust in someone and that person betrays them, these owners can become overwhelmingly cynical. This loyalty extends to the black poplar wood itself, as it will die with its owner– killing its core in the process.
An interest in esoteric subjects and lore is common. There is talent in magic to do with healing, hexes, communicating with the dead, past lives, and ghosts. Soul based magic is one of its specialties. A talent for retrocognition is common. This wand's best subjects are divination, herbology, ancient runes, and transfiguration. It performs above average in all other subjects. Deep maroon, chocolate, and plum heart-like shapes are emitted by this wand when performing spellwork. Its magic smells of golden apples, sun cracked earth, and a faint trace of balsam. Cover this wand in damp black poplar leaves when it seems depressed or despondent. Wands made of black cottonwood are weak to lightning based magics.
