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Jasper is an opaque stone that may be black, red, or
yellow. It can be rather pretty when polished, but it is quite
unimpressive in its rough state. Jasper can be
mined worldwide.
Jasper is quite well-suited for channeling and
redirecting elemental energy, as many wizards have discovered while
experimenting with a certain commonly-used spell that creates temporary
storage containers. Of its three common hues, yellow jasper is the most
useful in elemental magics, red jasper is the second most useful, and
black is the least useful, with the last of the three sometimes
producing unreliable results. Alchemical recipes for the summoning and
binding of various elementals will frequently include yellow jasper dust
as a necessary component.
Jasper is also associated with thieves, and, while it
is difficult to learn the complete truth of any matter involving the
Rogues' Guild, there is one commonly-known explanation. The Grot'karesh
giantmen do not shun sorcery, considering it one more weapon against
Despana's return, and many skillful hexers can be found in the fortress
city of Kilanirij. Because jasper is a cheap, ready available gem in the
Southron Wastes of their home, many Grot'karesh travelers took to
carrying a cursed piece of jasper in their pouches to fend off
pickpockets. As many clerics of Tonis have close relationships with
members of the Rogues' Guild, the clerics rapidly noticed this trend.
One of these clerics communed to Tonis and asked for his aid, telling
the Arkati, "Your hands are so fast that you can touch it and never draw
forth the curse, but ours are only mortal!" The Arkati responded by
changing a pile of the cursed jaspers so that they all were blessed with
the ability to remove a curse, and the cleric spread the jaspers
throughout the Rogues' Guild. Each piece of jasper had been marked with
the sign of a Pegasus, and the Pegasus-carved jasper rapidly became a
recognition sign for traveling thieves. Many clerics of Tonis also wear
jasper in honor of this story.
The legend of the blessed jaspers has also worked its
way into rogues' slang. Among rogues, someone who is a "yellow jasper"
is a rogue who uses his skills for the benefit of the city and his
fellow citizens, normally through picking locks and disarming traps
rather than through pick pocketing, and he will not steal from someone
unless provoked. A "red jasper" is a rogue who steals, but who will not
steal from empaths, clerics of Lorminstra, other rogues, or those who
aid him. A "black jasper" makes his living from pick pocketing, and such
a rogue considers few targets off-limits, if any. Related slang includes
"She has a jasper wedding ring" (meaning that someone is married to a
rogue), "Not a jasper in his jewelry box" (meaning that the person is
too snobbish to associate with rogues), and "Give him a piece of jasper"
(which is one thief suggesting to another thief that someone would make
a good pick pocketing target.)
Jasper is a member of the chalcedony
family, part of the
quartz group.
For thousands of years, black jasper was used to test gold-silver alloys
for their gold content. Rubbing the alloys on the stone, called a
touchstone, produces a streak the color of which determines the gold
content within 1 part in 100.
From ancient times this hard and durable
gemstone was cherished for its beauty and mystical properties. The
jasper mentioned in the Bible as one of the stones in the breastplate of
the ancient high priest and in the wall of the New Jerusalem is believed
to have been a dark green, opalescent stone.
Because of its physical properties, engravers
of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt carved this stone into exquisite
cameos, intaglios and scarabs. Jasper was considered a sacred stone by
the Native Americans .
Jasper is said to aid quickness of thought, allowing your mind to
function with less distractions and aiding clearness of thought. It
is also said to help dispel negative energies and reduce stress.
The different colors of jasper
also are said to have specific qualities of their own: |
