Ariadne's Threads

### Abilities

Directs the user to the place where they need to be rather than where they want to.

### Wielder(s)

**Current Wielder*** Theodore Nott

**Former Wielders**

* Ariadne
* Unnamed Brotherhood
* {Daedalus} & {Theseus}

**Ariadne's Threads**, also known as the **Threads of Labyrinth**, is a divine artifact used by Theseus to nagivate the Minoan Labyrinth. It's currently wielded by Theodore Nott, a lineal descendant of said hero.

## Summary

Ariadne's Threads is, like its name suggests, an enchanted ball of threads created by the Cretan princess-turned-goddess Ariadne, who used it to navigate the Minoan Labyrinth where her monstrous half-brother, the Minotaur, was kept.

When Prince Theseus of Athens came to slay the Minotaur, he seduced and tricked Ariadne into lending him the ball of threads, thus allowing him to safely navigate the treacherous paths of the labyrinth and then escaped, before taking Ariadne with her to protect her from her father King Minos' wrath. Since then, the ball had been considered lost in time.

At some point in the Middle Ages, the ball of threads came into the possession of an unnamed brotherhood of sorcerers who used its connection with the myth of Minotaur and the labyrinth to summon forth the ruined labyrinth-like complex beneath Knossos and gave it some form of artificial intelligence, as well as a hunger for human flesh.

Years later, due to their own arrogance, they were tricked by the labyrinth into thinking that they were able to "tame" the cursed labyrinth of Greek mythology, and were eventually killed and consumed entirely by the now sentient labyrinth. Since then, dozens of cults had been born around it and all of them were devoured by it in the end.

Centuries later, sometimes in between the Victorian era and the Edwardian era, the ball of threads came into the possession of Daedalus who is the original designer of the labyrinth and he used it to create the various hidden rooms and vaults within the labyrinth, especially to create his main workshop in the center where the Minotaur used to make its nest.

However, after he had done all he needed to do with the labyrinth, he attempted to destroy the ball of threads in order to safely keep all the secrets of the labyrinth's secret rooms for himself, but failed due to the protection spells Ariadne had woven into the ball was too strong. He then hid the ball of threads in a secret location that went out alongside him when he committed suicide in the Battle of the Labyrinth.

## Appearance

In ancient mosaics, Ariadne's Threads take the form of a ball of threads roughly the size of a volleyball and the string is often depicted as either blood-red or pure-white. When Theo dreamed about his ancestor's past, the ball appeared as nothing more than a regular ball of threads, with the string it left behind dripping with Theseus' own blood.

## Abilities

The Ariadne's Threads is an item created solely for the purpose of navigating the Minoan Labyrinth and nothing more. Its original and intended usage is the fact the threads are enchanted to elongate itself to the point of reaching a near-infinite length, in addition to it being charmed so that no weapons or items of mundane origins can destroy it, thus allowing the user to attached it to the entrance of the labyrinth and keep letting loose more and more threads as they venture into the underground maze without having to fear about it running out or being cut.

Later on, after Ariadne became a goddess, the ball of threads became associated with her myths and became one of her divine symbols, and thus, gained some new powers to it. Now, it can automatically lead the user to any place or anyone within the labyrinth without needing to actively seeking them out, as well as protecting them from the dangers within the labyrinth by somewhat manipulating the labyrinth's structure through their shared connection built in the labyrinth's foundation.

In addition, by dropping a drop of the user's blood, the ball of threads will create a white, wisp-like thread that leads the user to the place where they need to be rather than the place they want to go. For example, when Theo tried to use it to navigate through a hidden tomb beneath Hogwarts, it instead led him to a secret passageway to the middle of the Forbidden Forest where he discovered an assassination plan on the British Minister of Magic Hermione Weasley.

## Trivia

* Despite not being her possession, it's still considered Ariadne's Symbol of Power.
* "Ariadne's thread", a problem solving method by multiple means - such as a physical maze, a logic puzzle, or an ethical dilemma - through an exhaustive application of logic to all available routes, is named after the ball of strings.
* According to Dadaelus, only a descendant of Minoan royalty can truly use it.
	+ Later on, this is changed into only those who are connected to blood to Pasiphaë, Queen of Crete and the goddess who enchanted the Minoan Labyrinth, can truly use the power.
	+ Despite, Daedalus had shown to have no problems using it to create his secret hideouts, though it's implied that he "committed tabbos and performed crimes of unspeakable unlawfulness" in order to use it, most likely some form of Blood Magic.