Bluebeard's ship appears in flashbacks in Fables: The Last Castle, in which Bluebeard loaned the use of his special ship to the refugees trying to escape through the portal behind the keep at world's end. The portal was found after traveling down a rapid river, and just beyond the clouds following a waterfall. The boat comes equipped with sprouting wings, making it the only vehicle on hand that could reach the portal. It is also mentioned in Fables #41 — "Pax Imperium: Chapter Five of Homelands."
C
Chariot of Glass
The Chariot of Glass briefly appears in flashbacks in Fairest: In All the Land. It would transport a hero to their greatest challenge, and was made by the enchanter Cendrée, as one of the many "wondrous things of power and insight" that the wizard created.
The clock is based on the clock that the mouse ran up in the nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock."
E
The egg
The egg first appears in Fables #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited."Snow White kept it on her Business Office desk for ages, wondering what might hatch of it. The egg turned out to contain a virginal new universe, lacking only form and direction. The Literals were banished into this universe, ending their threat once and for all.[1]
The Hindering String is mentioned in Fairest: In All the Land. It was wowen by the enchanter Cendrée, from the song of thirteen unborn tenné (orange-brown, as a stain used in blazoning) finches. It was one of the many "wondrous things of power and insight" that the wizard created.
M
Magic barleycorns
The magic barleycorns first appear in Fables #18 — "Barleycorn Brides." The Fairy Witch possessed a jar full of enchanted barleycorns back in the Homelands, which she was forced to leave behind when she escaped to the mundane world. Thumbelina's mother planted a barleycorn in a flower pot, and from it grew a beautiful tulip. As the flower bloomed, Thumbelina emerged from its petals, born directly from the blossom itself. Upon hearing Thumbelina's story and knowing that Smalltown needed women, the LilliputianJohnny Bullhorn volunteered to travel to the Homelands and retrieve the jar of magic barleycorns. The barleycorns were planted and a great big crop of Barleycorn Brides were grown, and soon there were weddings. The barleycorns were taken to the Business Office, and it became tradition for young men in Smalltown to try to steal one.[6] When Bufkin was trapped in the Business Office with Baba Yaga, he grew a crop of new barleycorn girls to aid him in his fight against the witch.[7]
Magic box artifacts first appear in flashbacks Fables #98 — "Red Dawn, Chapter Five of Rose Red" and are personal magic boxes that belong to the Great Powers. The Boxing League copied the idea to lock away more malign powers. According to Dunster Happ, because not much can harm them, the Powers use these boxes as a way to die or commit suicide. The boxes are hidden away and can only be accessed by their owners. It is theorized that they pass on to some new afterlife of sorts.[8] It is shown that a Great Power can be killed by another's box artifact when Mister Dark was pulled into the North Wind's artifact.[9]
The magic ring first appears in Fables #137 — "An Early Winter: Part Six of Camelot."Leigh Duglas steals the last shard of the glass statue of Bigby Wolf for herself,[10] and, through months of spellcraft and delicate shaping, forges it into a ring,[11] bringing Bigby back to life and nearly completely under her control. When Leigh is killed by Rose Red, the latter steals the ring for herself and uses it to take over the control of Bigby.
Magic tulips
The magic tulips[7] first appear in Fables #18 — "Barleycorn Brides." They are magical flowers grown from magic barleycorns. Thumbelina's mother planted a barleycorn in a flower pot, and from it grew a beautiful tulip. As the flower bloomed, Thumbelina emerged from its petals, born directly from the blossom itself. Later, a crop of tulips were planted in Smalltown at the Farm, because the Lilliputians were in desperate need of women to keep the population from dying out.[6] When Bufkin was trapped in the Business Office with Baba Yaga, he grew a whole new crop of magic tulips to create a group of Barleycorn Brides to aid him in his fight against the witch.[7]
While the name "Numblin" seems to have been invented for the comic, the seven-league boots are a pair of mythical boots from European folklore, that grant the wearer the ability to travel seven leagues with each step. The name "seven-league boots" comes from the fairy tale "Hop-o'-My-Thumb" by Charles Perrault.[12]
P
Pestle, mortar and birchwood broom
The pestle, mortar and birchwood broom are magical items that belong to the witch Baba Yaga. They first appear in Fables #87 — "Bufkin: Chapter One of Witches." The pestle and mortar and broom were kept in the Business Office for ages, while their owner searched countless worlds for them. Once Baba Yaga was released into the Business Office, she quickly found her stolen treasures and took them back without hesitation.[13]
Original source
The version of Baba Yaga from Russian folklore is known for riding through the air in mortar, with a pestle or birch broom used as a rudder, creating storms along the way.[14] According to Slavic folklore, she travels in a mortar, using a pestle as propulsion in one hand, while in the other hand, she wields a broom, erasing any signs of her tracks as she goes.[15]
Powder of Life
The Powder of Life appears in Fables #114 — "A Revolution in Oz, Chapter 1: The Treasure House." It is a mystical substance that was used to bring Jack Pumpkinhead to life. Jack is delighted when he and Bufkin's resistance find a box of the powder in the Nome King's bunker, saying that it is practically his own mother and father in a box.[2] Later, Lily Martagon saves Bufkin from being hanged by carefully sprinkling powder onto the rope in the early morning hours. To her relief, the rope comes alive and releases him.[16]
The resurrection amulet appears in Fables #152 — "The Black Forest Chapter Two: Pandemonium." At one point, Cinderella struck a deal with a sorcerer for an amulet that promised one guaranteed resurrection. She chose to have it implanted in her thigh, ensuring that she would never be without it. The amulet revives her after a fierce battle with Frau Totenkinder, but now that it has exhausted its magical powers, it is becoming toxic and may ironically lead to her death once more. Elias, a worker at the morgue where she was taken, helps her cut it out and dispose of it through a cremation furnace.
S
Seven swords
The Seven Swords appear in Fairest: In All the Land. They were forged by the enchanter Cendrée at the height of his power, and were seven deadly swords, each with its own power. They were named Mercy, Justice, Regret, Rage, Judgment, Love and Wisdom, with the sword of Regret also being known as Maerorgladi. All Seven Swords eventually ended up in Fabletown's Business Office.
Soup stone
The soup stone is first mentioned in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall — "Diaspora Part One," and is a magic item used to make real soup. Snow White once owned a magic soup stone, which she had purchased from a peddler, and she mourned its loss as she and her sister escaped from the goblin forces.[17]Jack Horner once attempted to sell a magic soup stone to a woman in the Homelands, claiming that all she had to do was drop it in hot water and it magically made soup. However, the woman angrily chased him out of the house, saying that another sweet-talking rogue had tricked her the same way last year. Jack countered that this seller's soup stone was obviously fake, as some vendors could not be trusted, but his own soup stones were real.[18] Snow White, Briar Rose and Cinderella once had dinner in a restaurant called Stone Soup in the mundane world.[19]
Original source
The soup stone is based on the stone from the European folk story "Stone Soup."
Super spell book
The super spell book[20] is a powerful book of spells that holds twelve of the most powerful spells known to Fablekind. Fabletown originally locked away in the most secure place they could manage. Frau Totenkinder's explosion during her fight with Cinderella actually penetrated a hundred dimensions and sprang it loose. This book of spells arrived in Gotham City and was sought after by Totenkinder's ghost; she hoped to use one of the spells to properly resurrect herself. Ultimately, Bigby Wolf and Cinderella took possession of the book and apprehended Totenkinder, returning to their Earth back in their own dimension.
↑seven-league boots, The Free Dictionary. "...magical boots featured in European folklore that grant the wearer the ability to travel seven leagues in a single stride. (...) This phrase comes from the fairy story of Hop o' my Thumb, in which magic boots enable the wearer to travel seven leagues at each stride."
↑Liadov, Anatoli (2015). Baba-Yaga, Enchanted Lake, Kikimora, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. "Baba-Yaga and her two older sisters permeated Eastern European folklore, especially Russia folklore from 1755 when she first appeared in Mikhail Lomonosov's Russian Grammar. She is terrifying—an old lady with a huge appetite and iron teeth, but she somehow remains very thin, almost like a skeleton. She lives deep in the forest, in a frightening hut, which spins on chicken legs, and has a fence made of human bones with skulls on top. In the Russian version, she travels in a mortar with the pestle used as a rudder, or a birch broom, and wherever she goes she is “announced” by a wild wind disturbing the trees, which groan at her evil presence."
↑Mark, Joshua J. (October 7, 2021). Baba Yaga, World History Encyclopedia. "When she leaves her house, she rides in a mortar propelled by a pestle with one hand while, in the other, she holds a broom she uses to wipe away any trace of her tracks."
