True, this is less a character with goals and wants and relationships than a two-legged support system for a Special Magic Device--which a bunch of other characters are going to WANT.
Why use it on a battlefield when you can send messages at supernatural speeds from one country to the next?
Were I a ruler I can better maintain control by knowing what's going on at the borders. Having a cool thing like that distributed to trusted messengers would be invaluable! (Yo, your royalness, the Googlie-Ooglies are attacking the north border, send help ASAP--and while you're at it, we're short on beef jerky, bandaging, and t.p.)
It's not enough to have a cool Special Magic Device, you have to anticipate its impact on the rest of the world. If there's only one, that impact is going to be pretty dire to the person possessing it. (Think how well things went for Frodo with that Ring!)
If there's a lot of them, then the world changes to reflect its use. When Gutenberg came up with movable type printing things went
nuts. Suddenly everyone is reading! Certainly it must have seemed a miracle to the non-tech types.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRBIVRwvUeE
There's always going to be a screaming need for faster communications--heck, we're on one such Special Magic Device right now, the result of 100's of years of development from smoke signals to satellite signals.
The one you describe would be on the want list of any hot shot, good or bad, faster than you can say "Can you hear me now?"
Here's some VERY helpful books to swot up on the impact of tech on society. They're fun, easy reads,
fascinating--and not a little scary! They'll be free at the library and reading them will absolutely help your world-building!
Connections by James Burke (originally a TV series)
The Day the Universe Changed by James Burke (Also a TV show.)
Good luck!
