A Guide To American Wandlore

American Wand Cores Part 2

Extremely rare cores: The following wand cores are almost impossible to find, often prized for their unique magical properties and inherent rarity. Many magical creatures tied to these cores are endangered or dwell in very isolated locations, making acquisition particularly challenging. In the U.S., these cores are typically acquired only through trade, with wizarding communities worldwide holding tight to their limited supplies. Each core comes with its own set of challenges and regulations regarding capture and trade, adding layers of complexity to obtaining them. Notably, the Gowrow Tusk, native to the Ozarks, is an exception to this trade dependency. Its use involves local knowledge and careful handling due to its dangerous nature and conservation status.

Gowrow Tusk - Native to the Ozarks, the gowrow is reported to be a large dragon-like creature with tusks, but no wings. It is twenty feet long and has a long tail with a blade-like tip. It scurries forth on short legs and webbed feet. Semi-aquatic, its favored habitat is deep caverns by rivers and other bodies of water. In one story, a gowrow is captured because it was lured out of its cave with dried apples. It ate so many that it could no longer fit into its burrow and could not move fast enough to escape. Their soft and leathery eggs are the size of beer kegs.

In the 1920s, a witch from Arkansas named Generosity Kneller, aka Gen Kneller, bred this species to protect her apple orchard and moonshine empire from envious rivals and the law. She created the gowrow by crossing a variety of creatures. The speculated genetics include the snallygaster, the white river monster, and her pet alligators, Zebedee and Lenore. However, her pets attracted much notice when a young gowrow by the name of Thimble was captured and 'killed' by a No-Maj named Milner. His body was almost sent to the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, MACUSA became involved just in time to take the necessary measures to sweep this breach of the international statute of wizarding secrecy under the rug. They crafted the story into a hoax and made Milner play the fool. Though MACUSA tried to take Kneller into custody, they never managed to catch her. Whispers of her subsequent years remain, with some claiming she vanished into the dense forests of the Ozarks, becoming as much a myth as her creations. Others speak of sightings in distant lands on secretive missions. Her legacy lives on in the hundreds of gowrow that occupy the Ozarks and the acres of apples she abandoned. Vintage Knellergator moonshine is one of the most expensive libations available in the wizarding United States.

Gowrows occasionally get into fights with white river monsters where their territories cross. They live solitary lives, but both the males and females are involved in raising their hatchlings. As their eggs are huge and soft, they are often preyed upon by creatures like thunderbirds and horned serpents. Two to three eggs are the average for gowrow nests. About fifty percent of gowrow eggs make it to their hatching point, with their incubation period being about four and a half months. They emerge from the egg about the size of a full-grown Labrador retriever. Sixty percent of these hatchlings make it through their first year. The greatest factors against their survival are thunderbirds, pollution, and illegal poaching. It takes ten years for the gowrow to reach its full length. Another 7 years later, the females of the species can reproduce. Twenty years old is the age for a male gowrow to reach full sexual maturity.

Both males and females use their tusks to establish dominance and mating rights. These tusks are also used to dig holes in the ground, including their burrows. It is believed that Kneller used gowrows like plows to plant seeds for her orchard and gardens in holes dug by their tusks. Their tusks seem to help them sense minute magical vibrations, but further study is needed. Gowrows eat whatever they can find, but have a special love for apples. They have been known to eat humans, but gowrows that are raised around or by humans are known to refrain from such a practice. The act of playing dead is common among gowrow, especially their young.