|
|
Color range: Externally, a geode is a
round rock of unimpressive appearance. Within, however, a
geode will either contain a pocket of sparkling crystals at its
heart or a core of solid, semi-precious stone.
Value: Common |
|
The center of a geode may be made of quartz, calcite,
or chalcedony (using the word "chalcedony" in the Dwarven sense,
which incorporates carnelian, sard, bloodstone, onyx, sardonyx,
chrysoprase, agate, and jasper as well as the traditional white
stone). Geodes can be mined in many parts of
Elanthia, but have little value except as curiosities. Due to
availability and local custom, Torre exports a particularly great
number of geodes.
An oft-retold parable among followers of Voaris
compares the mortal races to geodes -- the outside may be dull or
repulsive, but a shimmering jewel waits within the heart. This story
is recounted most often when attempting to reconcile two
disapproving families to a love match between their offspring, and
it traditionally ends, "Now, if your son's eye is so keen that he
can see jewels where you see only dull rock...is it a lacking in his
vision, or your own? Be sure in your answer, for your son's
happiness and your own depend upon it." Geodes make poor jewelry,
but many clerics of Voaris carry a geode around for the purpose of
illustrating the story, and shrines consecrated to Voaris often bear
one or more of the stones.
Geodes without air pockets are called “thunder
eggs” along the coast of the Turamzzyrian Empire. Mined in parts of
Torre, they are commonly carried by human sea captains, for throwing
a thunder egg overboard will supposedly lessen the wrath of Charl.
Regrettably, the origins of this custom have been lost in time.
Magically, geodes are aligned with the elemental
power of earth. Some mages who are particularly well-attuned to the
earth have the ability to find geodes without splitting the stones
open. Meditating upon unbroken stones, they can tell the heart of a
geode from the heart of a regular rock. |
