Within the Vaults of Ilvermorny: The Naming Stone
No one knows the creator of the Naming Stone. It was found among ancient Mayan ruins in Southern Mexico in 1834 by Gerard Froid and his esteemed team of skilled magical archaeologists. They knew it was a powerful object when weeks after its discovery, the outer ring changed drastically. The team’s Mayan language expert decoded the message and discovered that it was a name, a place, and a time. However, when Froid touched the Stone, the face carved into the center spoke out the name stated on the ring.
The Naming Stone was carefully transported to MACUSA headquarters, where it was studied closely. They found that any time a magical child was born within 300 square miles or so from the Stone, the Stone would tell the details of that child.
The Stone was kept at MACUSA headquarters for many years for further study, but finally, in 1866, it was transferred to Ilvermorny. Previously to the American Civil War, African American wixes were generally considered “lesser” because of prejudices shared by wixes and No-Maj alike, and enslaved witches and wizards were rarely allowed to practice magic in any form. Often, a magical slave would not even know they had magic, or would try to hide it because of the discipline they were threatened with should anything abnormal happen. Therefore, records of magical children were ill-kept. MACUSA moved the Stone to Ilvermorny in order to allow its use to supply the information needed for all sufficiently magical children to be recorded and offered a spot at Ilvermorny.
Currently, the Naming Stone is deep in Ilvermorny Castle, protected by various enchantments that prevent everything from students accidentally stumbling upon it, to theft, to tampering.
The Stone’s power is magnified to cover the entire continent by echoing through smaller Stones (such copies of powerful objects that mimic to a smaller extent or magnify that object’s power are often referred to as “Echoes”).
Whenever a magical child is born, the enchantments notify the Head of Admissions (currently Veruca Froid) that the Stone has changed. She will go to the Stone, activate the Stone, verify the existence of the child said (a mere precaution; the Stone has not been wrong yet), and then write the child’s name in the Book of Admissions. Upon the child’s 11th birthday, they receive their acceptance letter to Ilvermorny and begin their journey.
