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The rich, intense hue of a high-quality emerald has
captivated interest through the ages. Tiny inclusions and fissures
often mar emeralds, preventing them from growing to any large size,
but Dwarven miners delight in finding the rare specimen that escapes
the hazards of its creation. Some fine specimens display a beautiful
six-rayed star. While most emeralds show a
faint blue or yellow tinge, rather than displaying a pure green,
there is a variant of emerald called the dragonfire emerald. As
light falls through a properly-cut dragonfire emerald, some of its
facets display an intense reddish-gold color, while the others are
the same deep, piney shade that one would expect of a proper
emerald. Dragonfire emeralds are particularly beautiful when
displayed in golden imflass settings, and they are particularly
prized by the Ardenai. Since emeralds can be particularly fragile,
there is actually a specific jewelers' cut called the "emerald cut",
which reduces mechanical strain with its beveled edges while
allowing the intense hue to be properly seen through the rectangular
or square upper surface.
Emeralds are often used in stone-tending as charms
against poisons, particularly snakebite. They can also be used to
avert panic and seizures. In Aldora, emeralds are avoided as jewelry
stones for precisely this reason -- in a place where stone-tenders
are so common, routinely wearing an emerald suggests that the gem
was prescribed to help combat an ailing will.
When used as a tool in divination, emeralds are
used to predict the best or worst outcome of a possible situation or
decision. This should not be mistaken for emeralds having any power
in divination, for diviners often utilize many things as tools that
possess no innate magical link to divination. Magically, emeralds
possess power over the element of earth, raising mountains or
stilling quakes when correctly bespelled.
In the county of Torre, devotees of Aeia hold that
the emerald is her sacred stone -- a gem as beautiful as the gardens
she creates. Outside Torre, others associate the emerald with
Imaera, many saying that the jewel was created by Eonak to remind
the dwarves of the beauty of his wife's kingdom. However, Luukosian
followers also prize emeralds, particularly those with a strong
golden-yellow tint to their green color. To complicate matters of
symbolism further, lore holds that Koar's eyes are an intense green
hue, and a legendarily rare type of emerald -- the Eye-of-Koar
emerald -- bears his name.
Emerald was the heraldic jewel of Ta'Ashrim. As
well as granting the right for an emerald to be displayed in a
traditional elven crest, Ashrim monarchs often gave beautiful pieces
of jewelry wrought from pearls and emeralds to those elves who
pleased them particularly well.
Legend holds that some amount of Lorminstra's
power was placed into the Griffin Sword. A similar legend holds that
Luukos also placed some of his power into a physical object -- a
perfect, golden-green emerald as large as a giantman's fist, which,
instead of a star, was marked with a line of light like the line on
a cat's-eye moonstone -- a serpent's-eye emerald. The stone was
mentioned briefly in the memoirs of a guard to Southern Sentinel
Marcus Calquinor -- the guard claimed that he saw a vision of a
snake-eyed priest bearing the emerald in the hour of Marcus's
assassination. The precise whereabouts of the stone, if it truly
does exist, are unknown.
The name emerald comes from the Greek "smaragdos" meaning "green
stone" and probably referred, in fact, not just to emeralds but also
to all or many green gems.
Emerald is a medium to dark green
beryl which derives its
color from chromium and vanadium. Always rich green in color, most
emeralds have many "inclusions," or flaws, and are typically oiled
to fill cracks and generally improve appearance. The extreme rarity of
transparent emerald is why inclusions in emeralds are
tolerated. These inclusions are like a fingerprint, giving each
emerald a distinct personality. They are called garden from the
French "jardin". The history of the emerald is as fascinating as it is voluminous.
The ancients prized it as the symbol of love, rebirth, and eternal
youth. Because the rich green color of emerald reminds of spring,
it has been treasured for at least the past 4,000 years by different
cultures all around the world.The first emerald mines recorded in
history are the famous Cleopatra mines rediscovered in 1818 in
Northern Egypt. These ancient mines were exhausted long ago.
The emerald mines in Colombia have a history somewhat similar to
those in Egypt. When the Spaniards conquered the Incas, they saw
emeralds in their possession, but even under torture, these never
revealed their source. Years later, one mine in the Chivor area in
Colombia was discovered quite by accident
Pliny wrote, "nothing is
more intense than the green of emerald" and "sight is refreshed and
restored by gazing upon this stone". Following his advice, Roman
emperor Nero wore emerald sunglasses to watch the gladiators.
Emerald is said to give a supernatural ability to foretell future
events. Surprising varieties of virtues have been ascribed to
emerald. Among these, emerald was thought to improve its owner's
memory and eloquence, and was said to quicken intelligence. In a
particular instance of emerald's use, as a measure against ills,
women wearing the stone were believed to be immune from epilepsy.
Although many people consider Colombia to be the source of the best
emeralds, the country of origin is never a guarantee of
quality. Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Russia are also
producers of fine quality stones.
For Taurus,
wearing an emerald will insure loyalty and improve memory. Emerald
is the birthstone for May. It is the anniversary gemstone for
the 20th, 35th and 55th year of marriage, the perfect emblem of an
enduring love. |
