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Like "agate," "beryl" is a Common word that annoys
many dwarves. According to Dwarven jewelers,
emerald,
aquamarine,
morganite,
heliodor, and beryl are all
essentially the same kind of stone, varying only in hue, location,
and available quality. The Dwarven language differentiates them
accordingly; for example, "zhaljar greosh" is the Dwarven term for
emerald, and it translates simply as "green beryl." In the
imprecision of Common, however, "beryl" normally refers only to the
golden-orange form that is most common for the stone. Some jewelers
do differentiate it as "golden beryl," particularly if they deal
routinely with dwarves. One noteworthy beryl
variant is Kezmonian honey beryl, which is a translucent golden
stone with an intense, beautiful luster. When the stone is turned in
strong sunlight, the hues within seem to shift and flow in a fashion
similar to clover honey flowing across a surface of glass.
The only known source of Kezmonian honey beryl was,
unsurprisingly, a mine on the lost island of Kezmon. Deposits of
ordinary golden beryl exist all over Elanthia.
Magically, golden beryl shows a weak predisposition
toward spiritual spells, but it is really useful for little more
than channeling power for minor cantrips. Similarly, beryl is not
used over-much in divination, as it is not considered a sufficiently
sensitive stone. However, Kezmonian honey beryl is the exception to
both rules, being quite sensitive in discovering and moderating the
influences of water spirits.
In Common, the words “bear” and “beryl” spring
from the same root. Human woodsmen from Kragsfell claim that bears
are spiritually linked to beryl, and they caution against wearing
beryl outdoors as a result. If someone is mauled by a bear, then the
mayor or a priest of the village will leave a piece of beryl in the
woods to appease the bear and encourage it to go away
The word brilliance is possibly derived from the ancient Greek word for
beryl, berullos, which means crystal. Everyone admires the
green fire of emerald and the aqua blue magnetism of
aquamarine, but not many people realize that they are different
colors of the same mineral - beryl.
Other, much less known members
of the beryl family are colorless beryl, or goshenite, which shows
off the brilliance of this gem family, pink and peach
morganite,
heliodor, also known as golden beryl; rare red beryl, pale green
beryl, which is a green version of aquamarine.
The rarest beryl is bixbite (red) and is not usually seen in jewelry
as it occurs in only very small crystals. The red color is due to
manganese, and the best material comes from Utah. |
