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Alabaster is a lustrous, fine-grained stone often
used in sculpture because of its softness. True alabaster is weak
enough to be scratched with a fingernail. In hue, it is either snow
white or streaked with red. High quality alabaster is translucent
with a delicate sheen to its surface, but lesser quality alabaster
may be opaque. Alabaster can be mined in a
variety of locations, including the DragonSpine Mountains and most
of southwestern Elanthia.
Some humans say that powdered alabaster will heal
diseases of the skin. Although alabaster has no particular alignment
with healing magic, the pale, faintly shimmering powder serves as an
effective disguise for most such diseases when combined into
ointment.
Magically, alabaster is an oddity. It can be used
as a catalyst to enhance almost any spell, but it will always be
destroyed in the working.
A major deposit of alabaster once existed beneath
Rhoska-Tor, but the magically sensitive stone transforms into
despanal when exposed to a high degree of sorcerous magic. Only
slight traces of alabaster remain, and those only where veins of
mithril or krodera shielded the metal.
The Faendryl are the masters of alabaster. Their
greatest stoneworkers know a way to “seal” the stone with spiritual
magic and reduce its fragility. They craft ornate and beautiful
vases, urns, and pieces of sculpture from the stone. For the most
part, these elegant creations do not leave Faendryl hands, but the
rare exception has led to Faendryl craftsmanship being present in
more than one elven palace. |
