Strong Soft Wood Focus sits in the palm like a small ember carved from sunrise—its surface a honeyed satin wood, the grain curling in narrow, deliberate rings that catch the light as if the piece itself were breathing. A slender spine bears a runic sigil: a leaf-woven emblem that looks like it grew from the focus’s own heart, not painted on but pressed into the wood with patient care. The edges are softly bevelled, not sharp enough to bite the skin, and the finish has a micro-crackle that hints at a patient curing spell worked into the varnish. It smells faintly of amber resin and forest air; when you tilt it, tiny flecks of green seem to rise from the grain like breath from a sleeping tree. Lore threads glow around this object, as if it were a bridge between memory and magic. It's said to have been carved by a caravan carpenter who traveled with a circle of menders, trading stories and wards in equal measure. They bound the focus with a thread of myth—that the soft wood remembers every spell spoken near its grain, and that a ward etched into its core will not falter when the wind shifts. Though softened by age, the wood holds a stubborn resilience, a quality traders call “strong,” a promise that the charm will endure when lesser tools fail. In the world of play, the Strong Soft Wood Focus is a conduit as much as a shield. Slotted into the off-hand, it channels the wielder’s energy, sharpening the cadence of their magic and granting steadier draws on power during long skirmishes. It supports the user’s attunements, guiding pulses of healing or frost, or the flicker of a ward that absorbs the bite of incoming assaults. As you walk a road between ruined temples and blooming groves, the focus hums with a quiet patience, allowing your spells to land with a little more certainty, to hold a line a moment longer, to cradle a fellow traveler in a shield that feels almost alive. Market-minded travelers know its value too, not only for what it does in combat but for what it represents in the world’s memory. They speak of it softly as if sharing a rumor—that a good batch of Strong Soft Wood Focuses can thread a whole week’s supplies together, or that a mismatched stat roll could mean a crown more in the saddlebag than in the pocket. It’s here that Saddlebag Exchange comes into play, where a buyer might trade an extra rune stone or two for a focus that matches their needs. A price tag settles into leather and wax, four silver on a quiet day, or more when the star chart favors the craftsman. The Exchange is a market of stories, and the Strong Soft Wood Focus is a bookmark in one of them—an artifact of wood, memory, and the patient craft that binds them. Now, we need to ensure 500 words exactly. May its grain guide you.