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A pearl is made of layers of translucent nacre that
create an opaque whole. Pearls are usually round, though
not necessarily perfectly spherical. They occur naturally
in a variety of colors, including grey, pink, black,
white, and the intense crimson color of the rare fire
pearl. Hints of iridescence often infuse the pearl's
predominant color, and the darkest pearls sometimes
possess a peculiar, almost metallic gleam.
Location:
Pearls come from oysters, which are ocean-dwelling
bivalve mollusks. Pearl divers ply their trade off both
coasts of Elanith.
Lore:
Pearls are strongly aligned with the element of water,
enabling elemental mages to cast powerful water spells
even in the heart of the desert. They are also affiliated
with religious lore, as meditation upon a pearl will
assist clerics in perceiving the influences of various
Arkati. Pearls are also quite effective in dispelling
evil enchantments or fashioning wards against sorcery.
On Kezmon Isle, clerics of Niima taught their flock
that every pearl holds one of Niima's tears at its heart.
When Niima's divine mother died, according to Kezmonian
legend, Niima wept for a thousand years, and oysters
caught her tears and preserved them in nacre. At the
end of her time of weeping, she set aside her grief
forever, becoming the sunny, joyous goddess to whom
sailors pray. According to the same legend, her father
never wept for the death of his love, and that is the
reason for Charl's dark temper and the storms that sweep
over the sea. Since the disappearance of Kezmon, human
scholars have relegated this legend to the realm of
pretty stories rather than according it the respect
of true religious lore.
Pearls are undoubtedly the most popular gem in the
southwest part of the Turamzzyrian Empire. In the garb
of human nobility, pearls serve equally as jewelry and
trim. Along the coast near Tamzyrr, even the poorest
fisherwoman normally has a pearl earring squirreled
away for the highest of occasions.
Human poets often refer to pearls as "the gem
of knights" because ancient legends claim that
a pure white pearl will not abide a dishonorable wearer.
As a result, black pearls are rarely worn in the Turamzzyrian
Empire. Few modern nobles truly believe in the ancient
superstition, but it still suggests that the wearer's
honor is tarnished. The comparison with the royal black
pearls used in elven heraldry by House Nalfein is inevitable
and damaging to relations between elves and humans.
During the retreat of the Turamzzyrian forces at the
end of the Second Elven War, songsmiths and minstrels
made much of the black pearls worn by their Nalfein
opponents, claiming that they had only been defeated
due to elven treachery -- "Look, the pearl tells
the tale!"
Peridot
Value:
Infrequently found.
Appearance:
In its natural state, peridot is a transparent green
stone that often has a yellowish tint. It can be faceted
to sparkle prettily. However, it is susceptible to a
color change under certain magical influences, which
may result in a blue or pink stone.
Location:
Peridot is most often found near active volcanoes,
such as those of Teras Isle. However, peridot sometimes
falls from the sky in meteors, just like veil iron --
sometimes in the same meteor!
Lore:
Volcanic peridot is magically aligned with the elements
of fire and earth, while meteoric peridot is magically
aligned with the elements of fire and air. As a result,
magically trained jewelers are able to tell the difference
between the two physically-similar stones. When volcanic
peridot is exposed to elemental energies of air, or
when meteoric peridot is exposed to elemental energies
of earth, then the peridot will turn a pale blue color.
Exposing either type of peridot to spiritual energies
will give it a peculiar pink hue. For centuries, these
pink stones were considered tainted, useless, and decidedly
peculiar-looking, but recent research on the Demonwall
has shown that they may have certain properties that
assist in resisting sorcerous assault. As a result,
their value has risen in the last decade to match that
of the other types of peridot.
For many thousands of years, there have been no active
volcanoes in elven lands, and, before new trade routes
opened across the DragonSpine in 5102, meteoric peridot
was more common on the east side of Elanith than volcanic
peridot. This may explain why the elves sometimes refer
to peridot as "evening emerald" -- a falling
star in the evening might mean that another piece of
peridot was falling to the ground. Others say that it
is because of the peculiar way that light falls through
peridot. If an emerald and a peridot are placed side
by side, and a shade is slowly drawn over a lantern,
the peridot will appear brightly hued and sparkle in
the remaining light much longer than the emerald's fire
and hue will endure.
Dwarves are not generally a superstitious people, but
they treat peridot with great respect. For centuries,
beloved tradition among the Egrentek clan held that
carrying a piece of peridot would protect against mine
disasters, and no Egrentek dwarf would go into the mines
without a piece of peridot any more than he would go
into the mines without his pickaxe -- and, indeed, other
clans of dwarves mused that the Egrentek seemed particularly
blessed in safety beneath the earth. Among the Egrentek,
a peridot stone was a traditional gift from a parent
to a child upon the occasion of the child's first mining
trip. When Baron Hochstib destroyed part of a mine of
Talador, however, hundreds of miner dwarves were trapped
and killed in the collapse, and the supposed charm of
the peridot stone was dismissed in the dwarven grief.
Today, a dwarf who carries or wears a peridot stone
normally does so because the stones are talismans to
remember the dead dwarves of Talador. These dwarves
are often suspicious of human intentions and hostile
toward non-dwarves.
Pyrite
Value:
Common.
Appearance:
Pyrite is routinely mistaken for gold by the uninitiated,
but it cannot be smelted like gold -- it is truly a
rock and not a metal. It is an opaque stone with a shiny,
brassy yellow color and a beautiful luster. It forms
in a variety of crystal shapes, including cubes, octahedrons,
and dodecahedrons with pentagonal faces.
Location:
Pyrite's various forms can be found worldwide.
Lore:
Among the dwarves, pyrite is nicknamed "gnome
gold," and, among the gnomes, pyrite is nicknamed
"dwarf gold." The origin of this peculiar
twinning has something to do with an incident between
an Aledotter gnome and a Mithrenek dwarf, but the gnomes
and the dwarves tell the story differently, each group
casting it to put their own people in the best possible
light. Interestingly, due to the twinned stories, both
Aledotter gnomes and Mithrenek dwarves both now consider
a gift of pyrite to be an appropriate gift to someone
who plays a particularly good practical joke on someone
else. Clerics of Cholen suggest that both stories are
true and that their chosen Arkati had something to do
with the matter.
Pyrite possesses a magical affinity for the element
of earth, but its affinity is so faint that few people
beyond their apprenticeships bother to use it.
Quartz
Value:
Varies by variety. Most are common or very common, such
as quartz crystals, carnelian quartz, milky quartz, leopard
quartz, blue quartz, and smoky quartz. Three types of
quartz are rare and beautiful enough to hold greater value,
and those three are dragonfire quartz, asterfire quartz,
and rainbow quartz.
Appearance:
Many kinds of quartz exist in Elanith, each with
its own unusual appearance and quirks. Color is the
primary matter that differentiates the varieties of
quartz: carnelian quartz is primarily orange to red,
citrine quartz is lemon yellow, rose quartz is blush
pink, blue quartz is a striking robin's-egg color, smoky
quartz is grey with a possible hint of violet, and milky
quartz is white. Cat's-eye quartz is grey and black
with a distinctive silver line that results in its name.
Rainbow quartz contains every color in wide, even stripes.
Amethyst is said to be the purple variety of quartz,
but its lore is addressed in its own category, as is
the lore of rock crystal.
Location:
Various types of quartz are located all across Elanith.
Lore:
According to sylvan lore, blue quartz is found at
the top of the sky, and it is a sacred stone to the
greater spirit Jaston. After his death in the Ur-Daemon
War, Jaston was returned to life by the permission of
Lorminstra and the will of Imaera, and Imaera had given
six marvelous white-feathered wings to him. Imaera charged
him to be the patron of birds and the caretaker of the
Four Winds, but, before he took on these duties, the
Arkati permitted him to go and speak with his people,
who were awed by the wondrous transformation. Seeing
his wings, a sylvan child asked him what lay at the
top of the sky, and the spirit promised to find out.
He flew so high that they could not see him, and he
did not return for six days. When he came back, he bore
a piece of quartz in his hand that was just as blue
as the sky, and he gave it to the child, telling her,
"This is at the top of the sky." Seeing the
stone's beauty, other children asked for similar pieces
of quartz, and, the sylvans say, Jaston has never forgotten
them -- from time to time, he will go to the top of
the sky and bring back more blue quartz, scattering
it through the world for children's delight.
Halflings of the Shirelands enjoy scaring each other
around a late-night fire with a story about a carved
carnelian dragon that came to life and ate livestock.
As a general rule, however, halflings consider carnelian
quartz to be an ill-luck stone and prefer not to wear
it. In particular, the Paradis seem to draw some association
between carnelian and demon-summoning, although the
Faendryl have never found any such connection (to the
annoyance of many experimenters) and dismiss the matter
as foolish superstition.
Halflings also attribute a number of powers to rose
quartz, but these are beneficial rather than malicious.
Supposedly, carrying a rose quartz crystal or wearing
a rose quartz amulet engraved with a wildflower will
bring you true love, and giving a piece of rose quartz
jewelry to someone that you love will place them under
Oleani's protection so long as the person wears it.
Human stone-tenders also attribute benign power to rose
quartz; they use it to restore lost blood, to lessen
bruising, and to mend cuts and scratches.
Citrine quartz is sometimes called "Grandfather's
stone" or, alternately, "folly's stone."
This dates to a young Illistim alchemist's discovery
that, when sufficiently heated, amethyst will transform
into citrine. In usefulness, this was considered to
be a feat akin to transforming gold into lead, as amethyst
is deemed more valuable and attractive than citrine.
The young alchemist held the knowledge-hungry Fash'lo'nae
as his patron, but he was studying with a master who
preferred the ways of the wise Arkati Lumnis. According
to the story, when the master alchemist came by to see
the apprentice's progress, he stared at the chunk of
citrine and slowly said, "My student, just because
you _can_ does not mean that you _should_." Disgusted
by his master's rejection of his discovery, the student
determined to find three useful things about citrine,
which he did. First, he discovered that citrine, being
attuned to the element of fire, is particularly useful
for holding a warming enchantment that will fend off
the cold of Whistler's Pass. Second, he discovered that
citrine may be used to divine destructive impulses in
others. Third, although his master was unimpressed,
the apprentice discovered that humans are quite superstitious
about eye-cut citrines. Possessing a distinct sadistic
streak, he was quite pleased about the stories of the
"man with an eye of yellow fire" that followed
his travels in human lands. In Phannus, where divination
is practiced with the greatest skill in the Turamzzyrian
Empire, cat's-eye quartz is said to divine malice and
danger. If worn by someone with the proper sensitivity,
it will grow cold and tingle when in the presence of
an enemy. Rangers and worshippers of Andelas who hail
from Seareach are particularly prone to carrying the
jewel.
Smoky quartz is favored by the Grishnkel Wolf Clan,
and many of these giantmen will wear small wolf talismans
carved from smoky quartz in addition to their traditional
glaes armbands. Smoky quartz is said to help people
blend into the shadows and to avoid detection. It is
nicknamed the "stone of spies" in the Turamzzyrian
Empire. Diviners say that smoky quartz will assist in
revealing the presence of deception, but not its nature.
The Wendwillow gnomes know a peculiar story regarding
leopard quartz. According to the story, there once was
a leopard that was delighted to see another leopard
when he looked in a puddle. He wanted to play with the
other leopard, but, when he pawed at the pool, the other
leopard ran away. The leopard was very disappointed,
and he searched all over the world to find his leopard
friend. Again and again, the first leopard found the
second leopard in puddles and pools, but the other leopard
always ran away when the first leopard tried to play.
One day, however, the first leopard came to a place
where the dwarves had been mining quartz, and he saw
the second leopard in the polished surface of a quartz
vein. The leopard ran over to greet his friend, and,
instead of colliding with the rock, he passed straight
into the quartz. This turned the quartz all spotty.
Somewhere inside any piece of leopard quartz, the two
leopards are still playing together. Like most Wendwillow
stories, it does not have a reliable moral, but the
gnomes who retell it always seem pleased with the conclusion.
Rock
crystal
Value:
Very common.
Appearance:
Rock crystal is a perfectly clear, utterly colorless
form of quartz. It occurs in large veins running through
the earth and in marvelous crystals inside caverns.
Location:
Rock crystal can be mined all over Elanthia.
Lore:
Rock crystal is good for dispelling illusions, and,
when properly enchanted, it can detect the flows of
mana in a fashion akin to the natural properties of
blazestar. It is attuned very strongly to the magics
of divination. Followers of Jastev often use a perfect
sphere of rock crystal when divining, and a ball of
rock crystal is Jastev's traditional symbol.
Rock crystal is considered a very potent tool in the
ancient stone-tending healing techniques of Aldora,
particularly in the intact crystals. It is said to be
good for clearing an addled mind, removing diseases
from the blood, and protecting against poisons.
When going hunting, many Basingstoke gnomes wear a
talisman around their necks that is made from a perfect
rock crystal wrapped in the skin of the beast being
hunted and secured with a leather thong. These talismans
are said to protect the hunter from accidents such as
the snapping of a snare or the error of a bear to follow
a deadfall route correctly. In order to keep the talismans
functioning properly, the Basingstoke apply the freshly
spilled blood of their prey to the protective crystals
on a monthly basis.
The Rosengift gnomes also use rock crystal in a variety
of ways, but the Basingstoke gnomes would disapprove
of most of their techniques. When Rosengift gardeners
train bushes and trees to grow in new forms, much of
the craft involves imbedding toxin-laden shards of rock
crystal into branches or roots. Also, Rosengift alchemists
often use mortars and pestles of rock crystal, as the
clear hue of the stone assists in ensuring that implements
are properly cleansed before their next use. Finally,
the gnomes of this bloodline delight in altering their
bodies with eyebrow, nose, or lip piercings as well
as tattoos, and carved pieces of crystal are often used
to accent these decorations.
Rhodochrosite
Value:
Infrequently found.
Appearance:
Rhodochrosite is a translucent stone with an intense,
rose pink hue and a beautiful pearly finish. It often
displays distinctive banding. Rare specimens may be
transparent instead of translucent, and these stones
can be faceted for a beautiful result.
Location:
Rhodochrosite can be mined all over Elanith, but
one of the best mines lies deep in the Gattrof mountains
within the Duchy of Aldora.
Lore:
Magically, rhodocrosite assists both in spells related
to the element of water and in spells related to summoning
spirits. As the stone can encompass both without damage,
it did not take long for the Faendryl to begin using
it in sorcerous arts, where the benefit it provides
is minor but noticeable.
Rhodochrosite is associated with the spirit Laethe.
It is said to have healing properties that assist in
overcoming grief and other emotional trauma. The stone-healers
of Aldora administer rhodochrosite to their patients
in order to lessen physical pain.
Many followers of Mularos actively avoid wearing rhodochrosite
because they believe that it will lessen the connection
between themselves and their chosen deity. Human belief
holds that Mularos's control over a person will be severed
if that person holds a piece of rhodochrosite in each
hand and says, "I solemnly and sacredly swear that
I reject Mularos and all his ways" while standing
on the holy ground of one of the Liabo Arkati. When
cults of Mularos are discovered in the Turamzzyrian
Empire, this ritual is commonly forced upon the followers.
Ruby
Value:
Most rubies are rare, but dragon's-tear rubies are very
rare and sylvarraend rubies are extremely rare.
Appearance:
Ruby is a transparent stone that displays a marvelous
fire when properly faceted. It is extraordinarily hard,
and it will scratch almost any other stone rather than
being scratched if the two are rubbed together. By definition,
rubies are always red, though the hue may vary from
dark pink to a purplish color to a muddy reddish-brown.
Rubies may contain filaments of rutile, which will create
a visible star on a cabochon-cut stone. Two varieties
that merit special attention are the dragon's-tear ruby,
which reflects white light as sky blue, and the sylvarraend
ruby, which contains many small, fernlike inclusions
of golden imflass.
Location:
Rubies are mined all over the world, but Mestanir
is noteworthy for its particularly beautiful star rubies.
Sylvarraend rubies have only been located outside the
elven village of Sylvarraend (hence the name!) and dragon's-tear
rubies are mined along a rocky ridge to the north of
Ta'Ardenai, although a few scant samples have been located
in other places on the east side of the DragonSpine.
Lore:
With their beautiful fire and sanguine hue, rubies
have attracted wary interest from many groups. Ancient
elven legend holds that rubies are not true gems at
all, but spilled drops of Arkati blood from the Ur-Daemon
War (although most elves have dismissed this as mere
fantasy in the current age.)
Magically, rubies are most strongly associated with
the element of earth. To a lesser extent, they are aligned
with spells related to telepathy. Empaths concerned
with causing unnecessary pain to their patients or determining
the exact nature of a complicated injury will often
utilize ruby talismans in the effort.
The stone-tenders of Aldora use ruby to try to drive
poisons from the body, saying that the stone is strongly
affiliated with blood and can therefore cleanse the
blood of toxin. Aging and superstitious humans often
seek to wear a piece of ruby to strengthen their hearts.
Rubies hold special significance to the Vylem bloodline
of gnomes. The Vylem say that, if you carve a ruby into
the symbol of one of the Arkati and apply your blood
to the ruby, then that Arkati can watch you through
the "blooded" jewel.
A similar belief grew popular in a human cult of Mularos
that appeared roughly two decades ago in the small barony
of Mestanir. Although the cult was quashed ruthlessly
when Jantalar invaded in 5092, other Mularosians have
adopted the belief that Mularos watches his followers
through ruby jewelry, and few human followers of Mularos
are without a piece of the jewel somewhere on their
person -- a practice that usually goes without notice,
yet which can serve as identification when coupled with
the proper words and actions. By the same followers,
it is said that if you give someone a ruby, you give
that person power over you, and a gift of a ruby heart
will enslave you eternally to its recipient.
The peculiar association between rubies and krolvin
is also worthy of mention. As a general rule, krolvin
do not make jewelry of any kind. Crafting jewelry, after
all, is slave work, and the krolvin are above that --
they do wear jewelry, but they wear only what they take
from the throats of their captives, and they never exchange
jewelry among themselves. However, rubies are an exception,
and the krolvin both force their slaves to mine ruby
for ornamentation and craft crude amulets from unfaceted
chunks of ruby bound in metal wire. Some theorize that
ruby holds religious significance to the krolvin; others
suggest that krolvin just like the intense red color.
Garnets, spinels, and other red gems are not given the
same status.
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