Blue Crystal Are The Future [Atl|Oracle|Closed]

[Andavariel]

First Cycle of Ponutis, Winter of Era XIII pf

The Governor of Lauryl and the Thane of Mystique were approaching their destination in a shared carriage; Andavariel was still not sure where her Master of Horses had found the thing, or indeed whether the old contraption belonged to Lord Thane Myrsa. The pair had chatted amiably about unimportant matters, such as the burden of funding education, a matter that had only recently fallen into the Provincial and City Budgets. Under the Articles of Imperium, it was a direct matter for the Sage and the Imperial Treasury; but of course, times change.

They were headed to a small, quite village; funded jointly by the Governor and the Thane, a joint project that investigated the properties and uses of the famous Crystalium. The carriage drew to a creaking halt outside a large stone house, and the small troupe of Provincial Militia took up their stations around the perimeter, checking the security of the destination that His Grace and Her Imperial Excellency sought. Within were men, magi, better known to Atl than Andavariel; for Governor Klen-ais there was still much to learn.

The tall red head stepped out of the coach, ignoring the hand held out to assist her by the driver, and surveyed the old house. It certainly looked damaged enough to her, were they really carrying out such experiments inside? She turned and smiled at Atl, as he alighted from the coach. "So this is where you have been hiding your experts, my friend. Shall we go in and say hello?"

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl had wondered why Crystalium had not been studied before, but of well there is nothing to do about it. So it was that together he and the Governor arrived at the Crystalium Village as it was being called.

The village was small. Less then fifty people, but probable has some of the most intelligent people in the provinces. Two representatives of the lawfully allowed arcane spheres were stationed at the village. A number of scientists, gnomes, and dwarves were also in residences.

Atl followed behind Anda out of the carriage, and paused to look around. “Yep.” He said smiling. “There are several guards stationed to protect the building and its area.” He looked around. “Master Troth should be around here. He is in charge of the project.”

[Andavariel]

"Well then, lead on. Unless they have been keeping you away for so long that you have forgotten your way around." A gentle jest, but she certainly did not know her way around. She was a bit apprehensive about what they might discover, for Crystalium was an uncertain quantity. Considering that many buildings had been covered in the stuff, it seemed likely to Andavariel that over the years the stone could have a remarkable effect on those who lived there.

She would have to check the back issues of the Journal of the Academy of Magical Sciences. It had been many a year since she had trodden the halls of their Bibliotheke Arkanos, but certainly there must be some references to the stone in there.

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl smiled as he looked at the governor. “I have only been her a couple times so I don’t know it to well, but I will show you want I can.” Atl said holding out his arm for Anda to take. He then led the way toward the building. “We decided to choose something less then appealing in appearances to not announce the importance of what is going on here.”

They soon arrived that building Atl held open the door and then motioned for Anda to enter. “I am always afraid when I enter this building. Its not the building, but the fear that some one will something experimental and blow up the place.” Atl said with a chuckle. “Master Troth is a talented dwarf who has studied types of magic for a long time.” Atl lead the way down a hall to the first door. “This was his office last time I was here.” He gave the door a brisk knock waiting for its occupant to answer.

[Govannon]

The knock on the door brought forth a crash followed by lot's of colourful language, all in the language of the Dwarves. Should either of them actually be able to understand the Dwarven language, then they would hear several old swear words, plus a few new ones. In fact, it seemed that the occupant could go up against a Port Alyxandryan sailor and likely make the sailor blush. Soon enough, the door was cracked open and a slightly-singed, bearded face appeared at the door. It looked like he was about to start off another tirade of swearing before pale blue eyes rested on Atl. Instead, there was a long sigh from the Dwarf whom was still hiding behind his door. "Bloody 'ell, Atl, ye coulda warned me tha' ye were comin'. I'd 'ave cleaned up a bit." The door was fully opened and the two were greeted with a dwarf wearing brown leather overalls, a white shirt and some brown cloth pants. They looked a little worse for wear, like he'd been blown up a few times.

"This 'ere th' governor woman?" Master Troth gestured towards Andavariel with his question, turning and giving her a low bow. "Pleasure ta meet ye, lass... now let's all get inside. It's cold enough ta freeze Jorel's nuts off." He stepped back and opened the door wide, letting Atl and Andavariel inside. Once that was done, he closed the door and locked it. The two of them were greeted with something akin to a war-zone. Blast-marks covered the walls, there were components that did god-knows what scattered all over the floor and workbenches covered in paper, bits of Crystalium and various strange devices. Troth wandered over to some of the paper and started rummaging around, eventually pulling out a piece of paper, squinting at it for a moment and grinning. "There, i'm thinkin' tha's me findin's so far." The Dwarf went back to rummaging through the paper. Should she actually bother to read the piece of paper, the Governor would find that it contained the following:

Atl,

This is me damn shoppin' list! Don't be skimping on me beer this time!

Loaves of Bread
Rack of Beef...

It was quite obviously not the piece of paper that she wanted, a fact that the Dwarf confirmed with a slight blush and another piece of paper being held out to her. "Uh... sorry... wrong list." This one, did actually read a little better.

Properties of Crystalium.

To correctly determine the properties of the blue crystal, it has been subjected to a series of magical and mundane tests. The findings are listed below.

Subjected to non-magical blows (I hit it with my hammer): Chipped a bit, nothing unusual other than this.
Subjected to magical blows (I threw lots of rocks at it): Pulverized into blue dust. The dust retains slightly magical properties, but these quickly fade. Could be nice to make ornaments out of or to splice it into glass.
Subjected to non-magical fire (I threw it in a forge): Rock get's hot and burns things... i've got the scars to prove it.
Subjected to magical fire (I blew the crap out of it): Do. Not. Do. This. The damn thing explodes!
Tested for Singes: The crystal appears to have no singes that can be activated. However, it does seem to be arcanic in nature, and thus will hold imbuements and enchantments rather well.
Tested for reaction to Arcana: Aside from blowing up when super-heated, the crystal does little else when subjected to the elements of air or water. Super-cooling does nothing. However, I have noticed that less Vis is required when casting my spells if I have some of this rock on my person. About half, which effectivley doubles the amount of spells that can be cast.

Generic Properties: The rock seems to alter it's properties depending on what is required by the owner. The ones mentioned above are constant no matter what. Therefore, it could potentially have a variety of uses.

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl enjoyed the room. It was chaos incarnate that was for sure but it felt comforting in a strange way. Then again it was also this room that caused Atl to pause and look around each corner waiting for an explosion. The Thane looked over the first list with the Governor. He raised an eyebrow wondering if this was supposed to be some sort of complaint about his job. His blue eyes took on a confused look. He always got the note about ale, but that was to be expected from a dwarf. Atl yes didn’t send large quantizes of beer, but again that fear of explosions.

Atl looked at the sheepish dwarf as he handed over the correct paper. Atl kept his face straight to keep from embarrassing the dwarf. He then once again read over the list with the Governor. He was glade the Master Troth was performing these experiments and not him.

Atl looked at the other two. “Hmm interesting.” Atl said putting his fist to his chin and thinking. “This is very good work. What were some of the alterations that the stone went through for yourself?”

[Andavariel]

A deep breath, and a pause for consideration. She could feel the wyrm inside her bubbling with excitement, as if the dragon had discovered some sort of toy. However the reason for the excitement, giddy as it made her feel, escaped her. A swift pain lanced through her head, and she shook her head slightly.

"Indeed, I would be keen to hear that too. It seems like you have been very thorough, Master Troth, and it is now time to look at suitable applications. I wonder, if it would suit to boosting signals or beacons so that we can send more than 'danger', or whatever people us beacons for these days."

[Govannon]

The two of them were interested in how the crystal had reacted to the Dwarven elementalist, and he was more than willing to provide them with that information. Masther Troth wandered over to a bench and picked up one of the crystals that he has been working on. The Thane and Governor could see that there was a variety of targets in various states of disrepair. "Somethin' I noticed is me spells... do more. Th' increase be only slight at first, but it does make ye arcana slightly more powerful. Gettin' Clara be easier too. Tha's wha' it's done fer me at any rate." He handed the Crystal to Atl so he could examine it and then pass it onto Andavariel if he was so inclined.

Listening to what the Governor said, the Dwarf's gaze turned to her and he gave a nod. "I see no reason why not, lass." It seemed that he had momentarily forgotten his manners when dealing with someone in office, but then it could also be noted that he was quite excited about these discoveries. "I'm guessin' ye'd need ta keep it near someone who wanted ta use it fer communication purposes. Then ye could 'ave a Mysticist create spells ta enchant it ta carry thoughts between people holdin' it... so kinda like a telepathic communication device. Once it's enchanted, th' stone will hold it's shape. Might be a good way ta do it, aye?"

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl nodded his head as the dwarf explained some of the properties. Atl looked it over wondering at the wonder of the stone. Atl then handed it over to the Governor also curious about her question. He raised his eye brow at the explanation. The stone could hold great potential. If they could do that with communications who knew what else it could do.

He looked at the two of them and said. “This would make communication across the Empire easier.” He said. He tapped his chin. “That might help prevent situations like the orc invasions.” Atl said. “It could also bring a lot of wealth to the province.” Atl could think of dozens of other things it could be used from. Teleporting came quickly to mind. Hmm. “Question could anyone uses it if the spell was placed in it or just magi?”

[Andavariel]

Andavariel remained silent, waiting for the man to answer the thane's questions. He knew more on the topic, and the implications, than she did at present, so it was in her best interest to hold her tongue and listen. Although, as they talked, her mind began to wander. Her thane did an awful lot that she should have dealt with, although the minuatae of tax collection, and the work she did with the Province's justice system, and everything she did to work with the nobility filled her time.

There are others better suited to this position than I.

Outwardly, she betrayed nothing of this, as she appeared intent on the conversation.

[Govannon]

The Dwarf gave a nod when Atl commented that the crystal would make communication across the empire easier. It certainly did have a lot of potential, but implementing it would be the harder part. As Lauryl was the only province that seemed to have this stone, then the mention of bringing a lot of wealth in was also reasonable. Master Troth's gaze occasionally drifted to Andavariel, trying to gague what she was thinking without actually saying anything. He was hoping that his research pleased her, but there was only one way to determine that. He heard Atl's question about spells and chuckled softly, knowing the answer to that one immediately.

"Well, depends 'ow ye enchant it. Iffen ye jes Imbue it, then it's normally fer mages only, but ye can put touch, thought or command activation inta th' spell." He gave a pause here, watching both Atl and Andavariel to make sure they were listening to him, a wide grin splitting his features as he contnued. "But iffen ye get a Master like meself, then they can Enchant it instead. Make it one spell tha' be activated by thought an' touch... think o'th' person ye wanna contact, or th' city, touch th' crystal an' then either think wha' ye wanna say or speak. Should work. With th' unique makeup o'these crystals, they might even regenerate their Vis fast enough ta allow several uses per brightenin'. So aye... it's very possible."

[Andavariel]

She nodded slowly. She was not completely on top of Arcana, in terms of layman's knowledge. The wyrm knew, of course, but it wasn't telling her anything. So much frustration - so much limitation. "Enchanting is a time-consuming business, I hear. How long do you estimate it would take to set up a viable network of these stones, if enchanted by a Master such as yourself? And to that matter, the reparations for taking up your valueble time? This would be at the expense of the Province, of course - as we can obtain the stone for the use of the Province only."

Her smile was crisp, and the brightness in her face indicated a certain excitement about the prospect. These stones would create a permenant communication channel, perhaps manned by Government employees throughout Brightening and Darkening.

"Would there be distance limits to this stone? For instance, if one wanted to supply the Senator's Office with one. We are far from the centres of Imperial power here, we would do well to be able to keep a tabs on things, to further protect Lauryl's interests."

[Atl Myrsa]

Atl turned to look at the governor as she asked about the distances of the stone. "I would imageine the limite would be that of the spell more so then the stone itself. Even thought if it changes over time to fit the need of the wealder might not that range increase over time?" Atl said after a moment.

[Govannon]

The questions that were being posed to the Master Elementalist caused him to give a slight shrug. They were ones that he could possibly answer in theory, but not in practice. "Right. Enchantin' should nay be too bad. Iffen ye wanna set up a network o'th' stones across Lauryl, i'd guess ye'd be lookin at... oooooh... mebbe three months? Tha's assumin' ye 'ave a Master workin' on every stone ye need an' then properly configurin' an' testin' 'em all. Th' actual enchantin' should nay take too long, it's th' whole settin' up an' testin' stuff that'll be takin' a while, iffen ye see wha' I mean?" He gave a slight nod followed by a very slight sigh at the question of how much it might cost for his services.

"I'm afraid I canna enchant 'em. Fer communication, ye are likely ta need a Mystic instead o'a Elementalist like meself. findin' enough Masters could be a wee bit tricky too, but i'm sure ye'll come up with somethin' there. As fer th' range o'th' spell, ye would need ta talk with th' Mysticists again. I've no idea wha' th' range o'their spells is, but I dinnae see a reason why they would nay be able ta make a long-range custom spell or somethin'. O'course, that'll be costin' more, but might be worth it." The Dwarf offered another slight shrug and fell silent.